I was scheduled to be induced on May 29th, but my doctor wanted me to come in the night before. Friday, May 28th was supposed to be a work day at school before summer vacation officially began, but my principal was kind enough to let me off the hook. My precious husband corraled Presley and Grayson all morning long so that I could sleep in and be fully rested for Ayven's arrival. We had a great day as a family..... Our last day as a family of four. That evening we all went to have dinner at Texas Roadhouse. It felt odd knowing that in less than 24 hours we would be adding another family member! The hospital told me to come in at 8:00, so after dinner, we took Presley and Grayson to my parents house. Here is the last picture of us as a family of four.
Jim and I were feeling very excited, but very anxious and nervous at the same time. We listened to Waterdeep "Big Enough to Hold Me" as we drove to the hospital. Before we could get there, the hospital called to say that they had gotten very busy and they asked if we could come in at 9:00 instead. So, Jim and I headed back home to do all those little things we ran out of time to do...like vacuum the house! ;) At 9:00 we headed to the hospital again. When we got to Labor and Delivery we were told that they were still slammed. Apparently, the full moon made every pregant woman in Lubbock think they were going into labor. They told us to go take a walk around the park and come back in an hour. It was still 90 degrees , mosquitoes were having a party outside, and I was 39 weeks pregnant...I don't think so! We headed to the Arrogant Texan for some delicious icecream to help pass the time. Finally, we called to see if they were ready for us. We headed to the hospital one last time. By this time, out anxieties and nerves had calmed down a bit, and we were ready to get the party started!Unfortunately, I did not sleep one single minute that night. Jim took a sleeping pill and so I laid wide awake and listened to him breathe! About 3:00 in the morning, I started having pretty strong contractions. With my previous deliveries, I had an epidural before the first contractions ever started, so this was a new experience. I can now honestly say that I know what a contraction feels like! I have never been so glad to see the sun come up in my life. It was a loooong night, but God gave me energy and excitement with the sunrise! I was ready to meet my baby! Things moved pretty quickly. They started the induction about 7:00 that morning. Dr. Belle-Henry came in shortly after and broke my water and I recieved my epidural immediately after. I called my mom and dad and told them to go ahead and bring the kids to the hospital because I didn't know how fast or slow labor would be and I didn't want them to miss it. It was such a relief to see my Presley and my Grayson. They were so sweet and super excited about Ayven's arrival. Grayson was very disappointed when he came in the room and saw that Ayven was still in my tummy!
Once they got there it seemed like things were going to progress slowly since I hadn't changed from 5 cm in an hour. Jim's parents arrived and everyone decided to go down to the courtyard area and let the kids run around while they waited. I decided to rest while Jim went down to spend time with the kids. He had only been gone two or three minutes when the nurse came in and asked if I was feeling okay. All of a sudden I started feeling so restless. I wanted to move my legs so badly, but they were completely numb. The nurse said that my chart was looking like something had changed. She checked me and sure enough, Ayven was ready to meet the world. The nurses exact words were, "Okay, she's not going to fall out or anything, but your husband needs to get up here quick because it is time to do this!" It happened so fast! Jim hadn't even made it downstairs yet when I called him. He yelled down to the kids and our parents that it was time and then he ran as fast as he could back up to my room. As soon as he walked in, everything got rolling. It only took maybe 15 or 20 minutes. She was officially born at 11:19 am. In the meantime, the nurse volunteered to take pictures for us. Jim handed her the camera, but she took one picture and the battery went dead! At this point the whole room went into panic mode...It was actually quite humorous. Jim started to run out of the delivery room to go get my mom's camera, and Dr. Belle-Henry shouted at him, "No! You can't go! Your baby is here!" So the nurse asked what my mom's name was and she took off running out of the room. She ran to the waiting room, found my mom and just said, "We need your camera!" Mom handed it to her and she ran back into the delivery room without time to answer any of their questions! I'm sure this left our parents perplexed! Fortunately, Mom's camera and my trusty iphone saved the day. The nurse returned just in time to get a picture of me holding my new baby girl for the first time. Ayven weighed 8 lbs 9 oz and was 20 inches long. Everyone seemed surprised by her size and went on and on about how beautiful she was. Dr. Belle-Henry told us that her umbilical cord had a tight knot in it, and the nurse said that we were blessed that she was born when she was so that there were no complications. Praise God!
To be honest, I had a ton of anxieties about having a third child. However, the minute I saw Ayven, I felt such an indescribable peace and a complete release of all those worries. It was amazing. I felt so overjoyed as I held her in my arms. I knew she was the perfect piece that completed our family.
I could not wait for Ayven to meet her big sister and brother. Jim went to get them so that they could be the first ones to meet Ayven. They were soooooo sweet! You could tell they instantly fell in love with her. Jim let Presley hold Ayven first since she was the oldest....much to Grayson's dismay, I might add! When it was finally Grayson's turn, he held her for all of five seconds. That was about all he could take! :) I will never forget how I felt when I looked from Jim to Ayven, to Presley to Grayson. Blessed. So. Very. Blessed.
We stayed in the hospital for two more days and even celebrated my 33rd birthday while we were there. What an incredible birthday present!!
A month later, we are doing fantastic! Ayven is the best, best, best baby ever. I will post an update (maybe...hopefully...sometime) on how we are adjusting to having three kids! If you endured this entirely too long post...wow, I'm impressed!
Welcome Ayven Jewel Archer!
