Adam is 7!

Yesterday was Adam's 7th birthday. We were out of town, so I did not get his birthday post done on the day of his birthday, but we had a fun day at Matt and Lana's. Lana made him some wonder cupcakes (strawberry cupcakes made with pumpkin--easy and yummy). Overall, I think he had a good day!

To follow suit with Austin's birthday post, I'm going to revisit his pregnancy and labor. I'm not sure they will ever find this interesting. But, one day, their future wives may!

When I was pregnant with Adam, I had a much easier pregnancy compared to Austin's. I never had to go on full bed rest with him. I did go to the hospital several times, thinking I was in labor, but they would usually find something that could be corrected with antibiotics (some sort of infection to cause cramping).

Adam a few weeks old

Adam's due date was August 1. In early June my mid-wives became concerned that I may go into preterm labor again. They suggested that I go on what is called modified bed rest. This is sitting, with your feet propped up, and not heavy lifting. I remember feeling like, "how am I going to do this? I have a 23 month old at home!! But, I did it! I closed all the doors that Austin would be able to get into and let him have free reign of the house. I no longer lifted him into his high chair. We made it work. I was very thankful that it was only a few days until Mike was out of school and would be able to take care of Austin for me.

The mid-wives told me that since I had Austin 3 1/2 weeks early, this pregnancy was going to feel a whole lot longer. I did not believe them, until I passed the time when I had Austin. On July 10th, I was able to get off of bed rest. I sort of expected to go into labor right away, like I did with Austin. That did not happen. I remember walking and walking, trying to go into labor. I would walk up the street and back to the house, use the bathroom, get a drink, and go do it all over again. I did that for about an hour every evening. There were days that I truly wondered if I would ever have this baby!

Adam about 3 months

For Austin's labor I had asked for a doula (a service provided by the hospital). I got this wonderful lady to help me through his labor. When I was pre-registering for Adam's, I asked for that service again. They told me that they were running short on doulas (one was on a trip, one on medical leave, etc), and I should not expect that service. I decided to ask a friend of mine if she would be my "doula." She was very honored that I asked and agreed to help me. At that time she was working full time, but was very good about calling me on her way home from work to see if anything was going on.

On Friday, July 25th, she called me on her way home. I was making supper (hot dogs, and macaroni and cheese--I think we had that quite often. I was so focused on "I have to have this baby" I could not think of decent meals!) She asked how I was doing. I told her that I had about 3 contractions all day, I was sure it would not be that day.

Adam about 10 months

After supper, we had some things to take to my parents house. I was starting to have some, what I thought was, braxton hicks. We delivered the stuff and went to Wal-Mart. The "braxton hicks" were getting worse, and I was getting really irritated about it all. As we were leaving Wal-Mart, Mike and Austin were walking to the car. I had to stop and hold onto the post in front of the store. Mike looked back and I told him, "Go on to the car, I'll be there in a second." (at this point you would have thought that I might have had a clue, but...no, I didn't)

We went home, and all I remember from that point on was sitting on the couch, being totally miserable. I remember trying to time this awful pain, but we had 2 digital clocks int he living room and they were 2 minutes different. I remember being frustrated because I could not remember which clock I looked at! During this time, Mom called to tell me that she was going to Lowe's with Dad to get lumber, so Dad could build their tree house or swing set (I forget what they called it) (She was going to watch Austin for us, so she reported her going about quite frequently.) I told her that I did not that was a good idea, maybe she should stay at home. (I think I was starting to realize what was going on) It finally got to the point that I sat on the couch, crying. Austin was standing by me, wiping my tears. At this point, I decided we needed to go to the hospital.

Adam, 15 months Austin,3

I love this picture! I still have it in a frame in my living room.

I needed to call the mid-wives to let them know I was going in. I called, however, that particular day someone forgot to transfer the phones to the answering service. I tried to call my mom, there was no answer there. I tried to call my friend her land line was busy and she would not pick up her cell phone. I could not contact anyone, I had by then decided I just might be in labor, I did not feel good--things were not going well at this point! I decided to call L&D at the hospital, and tell them about the situation. They said to come on in, if I was in labor, they would get someone there. As we were walking out of the house, I got a hold of Mom. She had been in the garage, helping to unload the wood. I told her there was no time for us to bring Austin out, we would take him in with us, and she could meet us there.

Adam, 2

We got to the hospital at about 9:00. When Mom came, she saw one of her good friends who worked in the nursery. Mom said, "maybe you will get to clean up my new grandson." Her friend replied, "No, my shift is over at 11:00. I'm sure I won't get too."

I settled into my room. I was dilated to between 9 and 10cm. They paged the midwife on call. She did not answer. They did it again. Again, she did not answer. The 3rd time they paged her they put in stat. (Turned out she was at a movie, and thought she had time to watch the last 10 minutes. When they put stat, she realized someone was having a baby --NOW!) I called my friend who said she would be with me, and finally go through. I told her to "COME NOW!" The mid-wife on call got there with about 20 minutes to spare, my friend came with 10-15 minutes to spare. At 9:50 Adam Henry joined our family.

Adam,3 Austin, 5

I love this picture, too! This is taken

by my Aunt Dora's flower garden in Glenbush, Saskatchewan.

And my mom's friend did get to clean him up!

Happy birthday, Adam. We love you!!