Millie Taylor's Birth Story

When we found out we  were expecting our second girl, we were overjoyed.  What a blessing!  The kids were so excited at having a second sister! 

My pregnancy wasn’t uncomplicated.  We were faced with the prospect of a c-section more than once, and our faith in God’s plan, regardless of the outcome, was something that pulled us through!  We were very relieved when my previa resolved itself.  We were relieved, once again, when she flipped from a frank breech, to head down!  We truly felt the prayers of family and friends throughout our entire pregnancy!

At 35 weeks, my blood pressure began to go up.  There were no other complications, but as it continued to creep up, my doctor decided that she wasn’t comfortable with me going past my due date of April 10^th. 

At 37 weeks, I was finally considered fullterm! I would head to my weekly appointments, hoping there had been some sort of progress made that allow my induction to go smoothly.  Every week, there would be no change, but I refused to get too discouraged.  She was following the rest of her siblings…not wanting to arrive before her time!

My induction was scheduled at my 38 week appointment.  Unless she decided to arrive earlier, she would be born on April 9^th!  I was very excited to have an end in sight.  My 39 week appointment showed some progress, and I was finally measuring 3cm and 60% effaced!  It was a relief to know that my body was moving in the right direction!

That last weekend before my induction was hard!  It was filled with choir practice, church services, Easter egg hunts, some last minute cleaning….and not much rest!  John could see the toll on my body and I was able to get some much needed rest after the Easter service on Sunday.  He was a bit nervous that I would go into labor, and he would have to deliver a baby at home….more than once he asked me if he thought we should go to the hospital.  I wasn’t having any contractions, and I was feeling a lot of movement from the baby, so I always said no.  I could deal with the nausea and tiredness…and I had my end in sight!

I woke up at 5am, Monday morning.  We were expected at the hospital at 6:30am, and I wanted to have some quiet time and didn’t want to be rushed. Our good friend, Amy, arrived at 6am to watch the kids for us.  It was such a blessing to know that our children were in good hands!

We arrived on time and brought to our room.  We settled in and then the waiting began. The nurse’s shift change was at 7am, so it wasn’t until the new shift settled in that we met our nurse, Chenoa.  She was very nice and made us feel very comfortable.  She had read of our history and knew this was our 7^th baby…and we told her there were only a few things that we didn’t want to happen.  First, I did not want to be close to transition and have that frantic feeling that no one was in the room with us. John did not want to deliver a baby…and I didn’t want him to either! Second, I did not want to have to wait for the doctor to arrive.  I wanted the staff to be prepared and know that once the intensity of my labor heightens, it won’t be long, and they are to have called my doctor before I reach full dilation.  She was very assuring and put us at ease.

Ha…more on that later!

Around 7:45am, the iv was placed and I was hooked up to some fluids. My doctor came in around 8am, checked me and broke my water.  I hadn’t made any change since my appointment the week before.  I was still sitting at 3cm.

The Pitocin began dripping around 8:20am.

The contractions began very mild.  They were immediately regular, but way too manageable.  I labored sitting in bed, figuring that maybe by sitting, gravity would help things along.

My nurse would come in every half hour or so and see how I was doing.  She would ask me my pain level, and I was not at the point of having to even concentrate through the contractions.  On a scale of 1-10, I would say, maybe a 2 or a 3. 

At 10am, she decided to check me to see if I had made any progress.  She said that I was still 3-4cm.  I really think that at this point, she began to wonder if this labor wouldn’t be as fast as we had warned her about.

For the next hour, things continued about the same.  I could tell that the contractions were getting a little stronger.  John would check the monitor, and I was in a very good pattern, but still missing the intensity that we knew was necessary!

Around 11:30, I asked to be checked again, and I was measuring about 4-5cm.  Since the contractions were still very manageable, I began to think that maybe I would have a long labor without the intensity I was used to.  I thought back to my previous labors. I had never labored sitting the way I was sitting.  I had always laid on my side.  It was at that time, I decided to change my position and proceeded to lay on my left side.

I felt an immediate change in the contractions.  I felt a little more pressure, so I knew that I had made the right decision!  I could tell the baby was moving down into a better position.

Around noon, things really began to intensify.  The nurse was having a hard time registering the baby’s heart rate and my contractions weren’t showing up on the monitor either.  She had to depend on me for how the labor was going!

 

The first time John heard me give a low groan during a contraction, I heard an excited ‘YES!’.  He knew that once that begins, it won’t be too much longer!

Around 12:30, I knew the contractions were doing more than they had all morning, so I asked the nurse to check me.  I was now at 6cm, and the baby had moved much lower.  At this point, John told the nurse that she had better call the doctor.  Her response was…we’ll just wait and see.  She had been warned early on that once I hit a certain point in labor, that my babies come quickly. But I think she was thinking that because the morning had been so slow, that this labor would be different.

It wasn’t.

Right after I was told I was at 6cm, I had 5-6 back to back contractions within 10 minutes.  Earlier that morning, I had told John that when my labor gets really intense, I would ask for prayers and encouragement.  When I asked him to pray for me, he did.  When I asked him for encouragement, he said “Baby, you’ve done this before!  You can do it again!  Just think, within the next hour, she’ll be here!”  To which I responded, “DON’T SAY THAT TO ME!!”  In my mind, there was no way I could continue breathing through these contractions for another HOUR!!

 I urgently told John to get a nurse because I needed to push.  We were once again in the situation of being completely dilated and were the only ones in the room.  John did not want to deliver the baby by himself!

He jumped up, screamed HELP!, ran across the room and yelled into the hall….”We need a nurse!  She needs to push!”

Then the scurrying began.  My room was filled with nurses prepping things for delivery.  This is when they finally called my doctor!

I rolled onto my back and said….I need to push NOW!

That is when the nazi nurse got right in my face and firmly told me to BLOW IT OUT!  To which I sternly replied….BUT I NEED TO PUSH NOW!  She then proceeded to blow in my face with such force and annoyance, John was surprised I didn’t slap her.

The nurses told me that Dr Yang was 3 minutes away and that they wanted me to wait.  Again, in a situation that we did not want to be in!

The moment Dr Yang arrived, one of the nurses asked her if she was going to put her scrubs on….her response was ‘no, just gloves!’

I immediately started pushing and within one and a half pushes, out came Millie!  John wasn’t able to get the bottom of the bed fast enough to see her crown!  She was out before he knew it!

One of my concerns with delivery had been about the placenta.  With my last birth, my dr had to manually extract it, since the cord began to unattach and it wouldn’t deliver. Thankfully, due to the red raspberry leaf supplements I had been taking since 32 weeks, it was not even an issue!

Millie came out screaming and was immediately laid on my chest.  She was beautiful!  She weighed in at 7lbs14oz and 20 inches long.  She received an 8/9 on her APGAR scores!

After giving her a quick once over, they handed her back to me for some skin to skin contact, and I was able to nurse her for about an hour! 

I have been blessed to have extremely easy recoveries after having babies.  Once again, I did not tear or need any medications afterwards. After she received her bath, I was able to get up and take a shower and get dressed into some comfy pajamas.

We named Millie after my great-grandmother Amilda.  Her middle name, Taylor, is after the Chinese missionary Hudson Taylor. 

Our family is complete….and we are so thrilled to have been able to end it with a pink caboose!

Millie was able to meet her brothers and sister on her birthday and they remain completely smitten with their baby sister!!

Since coming home, they just want to keep coming over to her to just stare at her because she is so beautiful.  The boys are having a hard time playing, because they can’t stop thinking about her!  I have been abundantly blessed and am so incredibly grateful to God for my family!

Every child needs a super hero cape....

I just can't believe it's taken me this long to make the kids their own cape!

The kids have been really into Super Why lately. It's a cute show that helps kids learn how to read better. If you've ever seen it, you know that Wyatt wears a cape. Needless to say, that means I received several requests yesterday for a cape.

I searched online for tutorials on how to make a cape. I found one that I liked and tweaked it a little. You can find it here.

In between feeding the kids, getting them dressed, keeping up the house, and homeschooling, I managed to make 5 double sided capes, with each of the kid's initials. It took me all day to make them. It would have been quicker and easier had I not been constantly interrupted, but then, I cherish my life with all of the interruptions!

The kids are thrilled and so am I! They came out so adorable! It was hard going through my fabric stash, trying to find boyish fabric....but I did :)

Judson.....sweet potatoes or yogurt

There is a struggle at each mealtime. A struggle with what one wants and what one gets. For my youngest boy that means...do I get to eat what I LOVE...or, do I have to eat what I dislike.

More often than not, it's a vegetable or a fruit that he would rather do without. But then there is that special meal where the yogurt flows like honey.

Merry Christmas!

Love, Judson

I feel like my blogging lately has been one apology after another!

I haven't posted in awhile...not only have I been busy, but I have been having a hard time slowing down enough to have something even worthwhile to post.

Here is a long-awaited update on life and how things are going!

First off, this seems to be the question that I get asked most often...How is Gideon?

Gideon is doing extraordinarily well! He continues to go to therapy 3 times a week and is progressing every day! When I think back to where he was 3 months ago...I am amazed at God's healing in Gideon. He has been walking on his own for about 6 weeks now and hasn't used his wheelchair or his walker for a long time. He has even started running!! He is completely self-sufficient and takes care of himself like a normal 6 year old.

Our main area of struggle is starting him back up with his schoolwork. I am easing back into it with him, but this is an area that he is lacking in right now. We are beginning with basic letter formation and basic reading skills. He is doing really well with that....so I hope to incorporate more into our routine over the next few months. I think I will continue a small amount of tutoring for him once summer hits...so I can concentrate solely on him and his needs, while the rest enjoy summer vacation!

He will need surgery on his left eye to correct the muscle. Hopefully, this will take place in April/May. I really want this to be taken care of before the baby arrives in June. It's a very minor procedure, and we ask for peace of mind for Gideon, since being put to sleep is not a comforting thought for him.

He has his 3 month follow-up MRI on March 6th. I'll be sure to update with the results of his tests when we know anything.

Other than that, we are so thankful for our boy and how God has used him to draw others closer to Himself. When I think over the past few months, I am often drawn to tears of gratitude at the sufficiency of His grace throughout this ordeal.

Meanwhile, Nolan is zipping through second grade. I hope to be done with his schooling in late April. He is a sponge to knowledge and it is truly a joy to be able to teach him. It won't be long until Haddon joins in when he turns 5 in April, and begins Kindergarten in the fall.

Haddon and Jamison continue to have a love/hate relationship. One moment, they are playing nicely together, the next moment, they are at each other's throats! I believe that Jamison is slowly working his way into the threesome that is Nolan, Gideon and Haddon.

Paysie...oh, my little girl...she is talking, walking, climbing...you name it, she is doing it! I have to keep a watchful eye out for her. She is a little daredevil who continues to have her brothers wrapped around her finger. Regardless of what she is doing, she faithfully remains to be called "sweet girl" by her brothers. At any given time, she can be standing on any piece of furniture and getting into any number of things around the house. By God's grace, she is slowly being trained into a docile creature...ha!

And now, the baby! Judson is growing well and is quite the poker and prodder. He now weighs nearly a pound and a half and is perfect in every way. At my ultrasound last week, I could see him opening and closing his mouth, all while wiggling his little tongue...so adorable! I am excited for his arrival, yet remaining extremely patient until June....quite possibly July! A lot needs to happen between now and then, and I am being sustained by God's promises through it all.

I want to thank you for your prayers and encouragement throughout the ups and downs associated with Gideon. I am overwhelmed by the amount of support from our local church family and those that volunteer their time each week to watch the kids for me while I bring Gideon to his therapy. God has been so good to us....better than we deserve!

Ungratefulness

The other day, I was at Walmart doing a bit of grocery shopping with the kids. As we were finishing up, we passed by the wall of Little Debbie snacks.

Nolan asked me if we could get some pecan wheels. I said sure....then I added...each one of you can pick out whichever box of treats you would like.

Joy was very present on each of my boys faces as they tried to decide which treat to choose. The possibilities are endless. Do I choose swiss cake rolls or Honey Buns? Oatmeal cookies or Fudge Cakes? Confetti Brownies or Boston Creme Cakes?

The pecan wheels ended up staying on the shelf. Nolan chose Fancy Cakes. Gideon ended up with Boston Creme Cakes. Haddon came home with mini chocolate covered donuts. At first, Jamison was excited over the Swiss Cake Rolls, but once he saw the Twinkies....he was so over the Swiss Cake Rolls.

I told the kids they would be able to have one of their treats if they ate all of their lunch.

We had our typical picnic lunch on the floor. You wouldn't believe how easy the clean up is when your children eat on a blanket on the floor! It's one less meal I don't have to sweep up after...I highly recommend you try it!

Anyway....the food was eaten lightning fast and the boxes were brought out for all to enjoy.

You would think that you would want the treat that you picked out. I found that to not be the case.

Yes, Gideon chose his Boston Creme Cakes. Yes, Haddon chose his donuts. Yes, Jamison chose his Twinkies. But Nolan wanted a Twinkie.....or a Tinker...is it a Tinkie? (For the life of him, he could not get a grip on the word Twinkie!)

Jamison had been very excited to get his Twinkie...until he saw Haddon and his mini fudge covered donuts.

The Twinkie was not good enough anymore. He proceeded to shove the entire Twinkie in his mouth while pointing to the donuts. He wanted donuts so badly.

Little did he know that he was not going to get a donut.

Jamison had a mouth full of Twinkie, yet that wasn't good enough. He wasn't enjoying what he had and wanted what he couldn't have. When I told him no, he cried and got upset....even while his mouth remained full of something that he should be savoring.

I saw myself in him.

How often are we like that?

God has so richly blessed us with such wonderful things. We have a house over our heads, food in our bellies, clothes to wear....and even more importantly, we have had our greatest need met through Christ's bloodshed on the cross.

But instead of being content in what we have, we stand at the foot of God, crying and whimpering with a mouth filled with blessing....and want more of something that we don't even need.

The kids

A few pictures

My friend Brittany is an excellent photographer and has taken some pictures of my kids! She has only shown me a few shots, to wet my appetite for more...that I impatiently await to see!

You can find her here at http://Photography Honestly and also at her http://blog!

Here are a few of the shots of the kids that she recently posted on her blog:





I can't wait to see more!!

This is going to be a rough couple of weeks..

Gideon is turning 6 on the 13th.

Paysie is turning 1 on the 18th.

I don't want my babies to get older :(

A trip to Sam's Club

I haven't had to buy toilet paper in at least 6 years. The last time I can remember...I believe Nolan was a baby. He is now 7.

On Saturday, I put Paysie down for a nap. Jamison was in the high chair with a snack.

One by one, I had Nolan, Gideon and Haddon, each sneak down the stairs to put their shoes on, and then proceed to get in the van.

Why did we sneak? (you might ask!)

Well, if we had announced we were going, it would have created some weeping and gnashing of poor little Jamison's teeth, since he was NOT going with us!

We proceeded to head out to enjoy a tax-free shopping trip for some back to (home)school items, as well as the dreaded toilet paper purchase.

After all of this, I still haven't told you why it's been so long since I've bought toilet paper....well, my husband used to be able to buy it by the case from his employer. But then he was let-go (or should I say fired...something that I will not go into, but believe me when I say to you that it was all on the up and up and was not his fault!)

The last time I looked into our pantry closet...we were down to 2 rolls. That was last week, so I was pretty confident that we were closing in on having to start using paper towels...that is, if I didn't purchase more!

Anyway...

After a few stores, we get to Sam's Club. At first I wandered around lost, since I have no idea where the tp is. Not only is it because they changed the layout of the store around, but also because I have never needed to know where it is!

I finally find it. I tried calling John to see if it was a good price. I don't know what the going rate of tp is nowadays...what, with inflation and all. But, I couldn't get ahold of him, so I picked the cheapest and hoped that it was a good decision. I don't know about you, but I really don't need to have fluffy pillow top tp...it's not like I'm going to be sleeping on it!

I lug the tp into the cart.

Nolan looks at it and asks me what bath tissue is. I told him it is just another name for tp.

He got a sly look on his face...and replied, "I know what bath tissue is. Let's say you are in the bath tub and then you sneeze. You might say...oh, I need some bath tissue!"

We were all laughing at that one.

I said, "Nolan, you always make me laugh. I am so happy that you are my boy."

To which he said, "Yeah, and I'm so happy that you are my woman."

All in all, it was an enjoyable trip with my boys, even if I had to buy tp.

Life Happens

This past week has brought many doctor's visits, prescriptions, coughing, vomitting, ice cream, popsicles and cuddling together on the couch.

Our household was attacked by Strep throat, and thankfully, we are all on the mend.

The only member of our family not attacked was John, and since the rest of us are no longer contagious, it's looking like he was able to sneak past the Strep bug.

Needless to say, it is nice to finally be feeling better. I feel like I'm to the point where I would actually welcome the option of leaving the house! It's the simple things like swallowing that are taken for granted....especially when your throat and tonsils are covered with blisters!

We have taken advantage of eating popsicles and ice cream...it's all about getting better, right?

Paysie and Jamison

My Blessings

Happy St Patty's Day!

The Experiment

Every now and then, you hear of a small child who saved their mother's life because she collapsed and the child called 9-1-1.

This is not my child.

A few weeks ago, I did an experiement.

I collapsed on the kitchen floor and was unresponsive to any and all poking and prodding.

My children thought it was a game and they climbed all over me. They didn't care that I didn't even respond to my name or to their climbing.

I did this again today with the same result.

If you ever hear about the mother who was found unconscious while her children used her lifeless body as a jungle gym...that would be me.

Taking Cain and Abel to a more personal level

Last night, we were reading the story of Cain and Abel during our family devotions.

The kids agreed that it was very sinful for Cain to pick up a rock and kill his brother with it.

Then the discussion began....

"If I picked up a rock this big (spreading his arms really wide) then that would kill Haddon!" Gideon said, continuing..."We have rocks that big in the backyard! I could throw it!"

Haddon then solemnly looked at me..."Mommy, please don't kill me with a rock."

There was a need to once again go over the rules:

NOBODY IS TO THROW ROCKS AT ANYONE AT ANY TIME....UNDERSTOOD?!?

The Casualties of Sledding

Haddon had a rough morning sledding....


He was surprised to get as beat up as he did....


But it's all good...that's part of being a boy, right?

The fun of having boys

I am participating in the 22 word challenge over at Abraham Piper's blog. You have to write a story about your kids in 22 words. If you know my kids...the hardest part was picking which story to write about!!

Gideon: "My lip has red on it."

Mommy: "Why is your lip bleeding?"

Gideon: "I hit my head on the Incredible Hulk!"

I was driving down the road with the kids yesterday, and we saw this sign:



Nolan tells Gideon that this is a sign that trucks will tip over if they go too fast on the road.

Gideon replies, "Mommy! I need to pray for all the trucks that are going to tip over!!"

Booties for the boys!

Each time I make booties for Paysie, my boys always say that they want a pair too. I mentioned this to my mom, and she quickly volunteered to make them!

The kids are excited to be able to wear them! Gramma has promised the boys that their booties will be waiting by the door!