It's the Simple Things

Benjamin Mitchell arrived on April 17th at 4:00 p.m. He weighed in at 7 lbs. 10 ozs. (3 ozs. heavier than Grant was) and was 20 inches long. My doctor admitted me to the hospital at 6:00 p.m. on Monday the 16th to kind of get things going and the plan was to start the actual induction Tuesday morning. Tuesday morning around 9:30 a.m. Dr. Martin came in to check everything out. I was only dilated to 2 centimeters and she went ahead and broke my water to get things moving a little faster. I had been having some bearable contractions since about 3:00 a.m. that morning but once she started the Pitocin I wanted my epidural pretty bad. They had a record number of OB/GYN patients in the hospital on the 17th and 18th. They delivered two babies in the ER and had moms laboring in the triage most of the night. There were at least 18 births on Tuesday that I know of and maybe more.

Because of the large number of patients and shortage of rooms I did most of my laboring in a regular room. I was on the waiting list for a labor and delivery room. Well, around 3:00 p.m. I started to feel quite a bit of pressure and called the nurse about increasing my epidural. She came in to check me and I was at 7 centimeters. Steph had made in into town around 1:30 p.m. and mom and dad had come for a visit with Grant close to 3:00 p.m. Since I was at 7 centimeters we sent dad home with Grant so he could take a nap and mom stayed since we figured I'd at least have Ben in the next few hours. About 10 minutes after dad left I was still feeling tremendous pressure and the nurse came in to empty my bladder (disgusting, I know). Well, that must have made plenty of room for Ben to make his final descent because that increased the pressure I was feeling tenfold. The nurse checked me again and I was at 9 1/2 centimeters. The nurse advised me over and over not to push (it's harder than you might think) and they all started running around like crazy because they didn't have a warmer or anything ready for me to deliver. They unhooked the bed and went running through the hallway with me to a labor and delivery room. When we got to the room there were still janitorial staff there mopping the floor from the previous mom who had been there. I think I probably had at least 5 nurses in my room running around to get things ready. This whole time I'm holding on to the bed panting like a dog trying to hold Ben in. It was definitely insane and was pretty comical believe it or not. My doctor (who is 7 months pregnant with twins) made it into the labor/delivery room shortly after I did and asked me if she had time to go pee. I told her that I had crossed my legs and held him in that long what difference did a couple of minutes make. She left for a short period of time (I assume she went to the bathroom) and when she came back I asked her if she felt any better. She's such a great doctor! So laid back! After about five minutes of pushing Baby Ben made his entrance with a cone head and a few bruises on his face where I had held him in for a few minutes. All in all I labored for only 6 1/2 hours and only had bad labor pains for 2 1/2 hours of that. I labored with Grant for 16 hours and pushed for 45 minutes so this was definitely a different experience.

I feel extremely blessed that everything went as fast as it did and am glad to be back home in my own bed. Ben is a blessing and it's amazing the amount of love I feel for him. I wondered beforehand what it would feel like to love two children as much and the same. It feels absolutely wonderful! I couldn't ask for anything more. God has blessed us in great ways.

Ben didn't eat much at the hospital yesterday so I figured that as soon as I headed for bed last night he would be wanting to eat. Well, that's exactly what happened. He made up for his lack of feedings during the night last night. Still, it wasn't as bad as I anticipated and am only a little tired today. Nothing a couple of naps won't take care of. Otherwise, between bottles he slept about 2 1/2 to 3 hours so I did get quite a bit of rest. Another blessing!

My mom and dad have been here this entire week to help out with Grant. Grant loves his Mamaw and Papaw and we are extremely thankful for all of their help. Thanks Mamaw and Papaw! We also are thankful that Aunt Steph got to make it down for the birth. She was able to be in the labor and delivery room with us along with mom when Ben was born. Thanks Steph! Ben had a few visitors in the hospital... Mamaw, Papaw, Big Brother Grant, Uncle Jason, Aunt Steph, cousins Nathaniel and Jared, and Heather and Ginger. Thanks for visiting everybody!

I'm off to take a shower and a nap. I'll update you guys possibly this weekend when I get another burst of energy. Later!

Today is Friday the 13th and you'd definitely know it by the way my day has gone. Kim, Brianna, and Ethan came down on Wednesday and planned on leaving by 11:00 a.m. today. However, most things in my life don't usually work out as planned. Wednesday night Grant woke up at 4:30 a.m. in the morning and wouldn't go back to sleep so I brought him back to bed with me. Since our house is small Chris slept out on the couch, Ethan was on the air mattress in the living room with Chris, Brianna was in the floor at the foot of my bed, and my Kim slept in the bed with me. So, anyway, after bringing Grant to bed I started having tiny contractions around 4:40 a.m. I didn't really pay attention at first until they kept coming. I woke my sister up (Grant was still awake) and we began timing them. They came every 4-6 minutes steadily for about an hour and Kim was convinced that we were headed to the hospital. But, they stopped. After an hour of consistency they became very sporadic and eventually stopped altogether. Needless to say, Kim, Grant, and I didn't get much sleep. Since I was watching Tristen we hung out at the house most of the morning and then went to lunch and Target (we're broke what can I say?).

Then, last night around 1:45 a.m. I woke up to Grant's cries. I went to his bedroom and he was crying something awful like he was in pain and scratching his eyes. After about 15 minutes of trying to calm him Chris had woken up and came in to help out. Nothing worked. We took him into Ben's nursery to look him over and noticed his eyes were really red and had a rash around them and his upper lip was swollen. I was terrified that his throat was swelling or something so we quickly got dressed and rushed him to the ER a little after 2:00 a.m. Once again, he has had an allergic reaction to something he has eaten. I have racked my brain trying to figure what it could've been but still have no clue. By the time we had gotten to the ER he had broken out in hives all over the trunk of his body and on his legs. He slept in this morning and then took two good naps today. I figure he was catching up on his sleep. Chris and I are exhausted. Yet, here I sit at 11:00 p.m. updating my blog. I'm crazy.

Also, I got a call from my OB's office today rescheduling my appointment that was originally scheduled for 3:30 p.m. on Monday to 9:00 a.m. on Monday. My predicament is that my doctor was possibly going to send me to the hospital from her office Monday afternoon for an induction. I still haven't heard from the hospital that there is a room for me at the hospital for Monday or Tuesday for my inducation so I've got my fingers crossed that that will change. Mom and dad are coming down on Sunday afternoon to get Grant adjusted somewhat before I go into the hospital. Hopefully, they will put me in the hospital some time on Monday, and, if not, then on Tuesday at the latest. I'm miserable!

Like I said before, Kim and the kids were going to leave my house by 11:00 a.m. Well, she went out to back her car into the driveway so she could load their luggage and realized her back, right tire was completely flat. There was no way she could drive it anywhere. We had no options other than to get Chris to come from work (a half hour away) and put her spare on so she could take it to Firestone. Her tire got patched and put back in place, but they didn't end up leaving until almost 3:00 p.m. Luckily, once they left Grant and Tristen were both ready for naps and I got to take one myself. Yeah! Here's a picture Kim took just before she left for Firestone. Ethan said it looked like a hillbilly car. Hee, hee!

I've got my fingers crossed that everything will work out as planned (or as much as it can be) next week. Hopefully, we'll see our new addition, Benjamin Mitchell Simpkins, by Wednesday. I'll keep everyone posted.

Love,

Jen

All is quiet on this pretty but chilly Thursday afternoon. Both of the boys are sleeping so I thought I'd take this opportunity to update the blog. Not a whole lot of anything new has been happening the last couple of weeks. I've been to my weekly doctor's appointments and nothing has been happening. I get my hopes up that Ben has started to make his "move," and then when I go to the doctor it's always a huge let down because everything is still shut up tighter than Fort Knox. Oh well! I suppose he'll come when it's his time to come in spite of my impatience. I am scheduled for an on-call induction on April 17th. On-call meaning that I will either be induced on the 17th or be bumped until a day after that depending on how many deliveries they have. I know, I know, I said I'd never go through induction again if I didn't have to, but with a lot of thought I've come to the conclusion that it is probably the best thing for us right now since I have to worry about someone taking care of Grant. I don't look forward to the process of induction and still rethink my position from time to time, but overall I think it'll be for the best. Mom and dad are coming down to watch Grant for me while we're in the hospital and then they will stay for a week to help us out with our new adjustment. I got a new sonogram picture of Ben but silly me laminated the picture before I could post it. Hence, I can't scan it or take a picture of it because of the glare. Sorry! I was amazed at how well we could see him. Of course, like Grant, Ben always has his hand over his face or mouth so we only got a picture of the nose and eyes. Otherwise, it's a great picture. He looks so much like Grant!

Wow! It's hard to believe that in a couple of weeks we will be a family of four. Eek! I thought one kid was an adjustment. I can't imagine what it will be like to have a newborn and a toddler. I think Grant will do well with Ben. He loves little Tristen to death and is incredibly gentle and loving with him. This past week he has learned to give him kisses on the face. These, of course, are open mouthed kisses that are usually planted on Tristen's forehead. It's so adorable!

Grant is still a flurry of energy and is constantly on the go. He had his 18 month check up last Monday and all was well. He had to get three shots. I think it is worse to watch him get shots now than it was when he was a baby. Horrible. Anyway, Sara Gillis (the nurse practitioner Grant sees) said that he has 6-8 teeth (molars and incisors) all moving and coming in at the same time. His right molar has cut through just about all the way. Poor little guy. We were sad to learn that Ms. Gillis (who I love more than any doctor in that office) is retiring in June. Boo hoo hoo! I suppose I will have to find another doctor for the boys. I have always made my appointments with her since she seemed to be so much more loving and attentive than most of the doctors Grant had seen on sick visits. We will miss her!

I took Grant outside for a little while yesterday evening and we took a walk and played in the yard. He has learned how to pick the flowers and smell them - well, he puts them to his mouth anyway. He had yellow stuff all over his mouth from where he was smelling the weed flowers (I can't remember what they are called). I posted a couple of the pictures that I took of him yesterday. He such a cutie!

I go back to the doctor next Tuesday morning, and I will post again with the update. Don't get your hopes up 'cause there probably won't be anything happening next week either. Ha, ha! Regardless, I'm ready to get this kid out! I feel so huge and incredibly uncomfortable. Oh well, life goes on. Until then... take care!

Jen