Family of 5!!

The night before!

All hooked up

Updating everyone!

Wow! We're a family of 5. How awesome! And we're all home and doing splendidly. Here's the story!

I did it. I took the wretched concoction of castor oil mixed with orange juice. I took the dose Monday night at 10pm. Watched some TV in bed and waited. I had anticipated for the stuff to work right away. I was wrong. I awoke at 12:30am to use the bathroom and crawled back in bed wondering when the stuff would kick in. As I was drifting off to sleep...it kicked in! I started cramping from the castor oil 5 minutes before 1am. Oh it was not fun trying to lurch my large pregnant body out of bed to race to the toilet. All the while I was wondering when this would all stop. And stop it did. at 5 minutes before 2am. Exactly an hour. My system was empty and I was afraid that all I was going to get out of all that was cramps and a clean digestive system. I decided to stay up and literally bounce around to keep some contractions going. There was a bit of a lull in the contractions so I curled my hair and did my make-up, yes at 2am! Around 2:30am to 3am I noticed that there was some consistency to the contractions. So I waited and timed and tried to rest. They got pretty strong around 4am so I took a nice warm bath. The contractions got closer together so I hopped out and woke Dan at 5am. It was funny how quickly he popped up out of bed and quickly got dressed. We kissed the girls goodbye and headed for the hospital.

**NOTE: We are so fortunate to have my sister, Kohl, living with us and my brother and his wife, Chase and Jamie, in town on work and visiting.

So our drive to the hospital began. And so did the traffic. Oh I was so scared when I saw all those red tail-lights. SO many of them. But we were lucky that everyone was moving smoothly and the hospital was not a long drive away. I told Dan the night before and also when getting in the car how to get to the hospital. Both times I told him the WRONG freeway exit. I was working through a contraction and opened my eyes just in time to tell him, "This is the exit....see those buildings?" I would have been so mad at myself, because the exit I told him previously was several more miles down the freeway and we would have had to back-track through heavy traffic, all the while having some VERY hard contractions.

Well, we made it to the hospital just before 6am. Started to register and admit, and I decided that YES, I wanted that epidural. Now for those of you that don't know, I was scheduled to come in that very morning at 8am for a c-section/VBAC induction. I have been wanting a VBAC the whole pregnancy and just felt that I would be fine. The nurses thought it was great that I was there a few hours early and on my own schedule! Once I was finally admitted and checked (only at 4cm at 7am), I finally got that epidural at 7:30am. It took the guy 4 sticks in my back to get it right! Man, that's what hurts now! So just after 8am, and Dan's 1 and a half episodes of "Go, Diego, Go!", I was comfortable and resting well with no pain or feeling in my legs!

The pressure came and a nurse checked me at 9:20am and informed me that I had reached 10cm and once I felt enough pressure to push then we'd have a baby!. A midwife came in and advised I NOT push quite yet but to let the baby come down naturally. Down she came! And at about 10:30am I called the nurse and said I was ready to try pushing, Now the midwife wanted to make sure I remembered how to push so before she got suited up I gave it a go. And I remembered! And my pushing was great if I do say so myself. And after about 4 really good pushes out she came! And she came LOUDLY. Only her head was out and she was already declaring her entrance in to the world!

I am so happy with how things went. From the very beginning of the pregnancy I just had September 29th stuck in my head as THE delivery date. And I had just picked Dan up the day before from his touring. I was set on the date and feel very blessed that it all went according to plan.

So she's pretty darn cute! She was born at 10:49am on September 29th. She was 8lbs 13oz and 20 1/2 long.
Just Born

Sucking away!

We had some visitors at the hospital. I called Blake's school so she could get out and meet her new sister. My sister Kohl, sister-in-law Jamie and Reese took much too long for Blake's excitement. She felt like she was waiting in the office forever! My other sister-in-law, Jillian, also came by. And my good friend Genine and her kiddos came for a visit, too! They brought Dan some In-N-OUt and me a delicious lemonade!
Big sisters checking her out!
Blake & Layne
Reese & Layne

Our friends visiting and watching her first bath!


We were very pushy about going home and we were able to get home that same day at 11pm. It is so much nicer to be at home healing than at a hospital. I went home early with my other girls, Blake born at 11:11am we were at home by 8pm same day, and Reese c-section at 12:16pm we went home the next day at 6pm. And thankfully I heal quickly. I really don't have any pain, besides the multiple poke holes in my back and hand, and general discomfort and aches.

So we're home and it feels great. The girls love their new little sister. They want to hold and cuddle her, and poke at her. They have so many questions and are very concerned at her cries and black poop!

Oh and a name. When I came across the name I just loved it. And Dan was away on tour at the time but thought of the name on his own too. When I discovered the name it was spelled one way, and I quite liked it! It looked so pretty. But i soon learned that this name we loved so much is a family name. It's my Grandmother's sister's middle name, and this sister just so happens to be the third sister! Well have stuck with the name but felt the spelling needed to be changed to be like the family spelling, it's more historical and fits wonderfully!

Her name is Layne.

And we just LOVE her!

Dad doing his typical bonding of napping and listening to some quality music!!
With mom about to go home!

In the car seat ready to finally be at home!