Merry Christmas

Merry Christmas!  We had a wonderful holiday full of family, parties, way too much food and tons of fun!   In spite of all the trials and heartache that are afflicting our family and friends and that surround us in this world, a brand new baby made our Christmas truly special.  And for that we will forever be grateful.  Porter enjoyed his first Christmas sleeping through most of it, while Miko found all the decorations, presents, and food quite enjoyable.  Tom and I were spoiled with all of our gifts and loved having time to spend together with our new little family.

 

Porter and Kai in their matching outfits from Nanny

      

Playing Catch Up

Not that I even really dare to follow a post like that from Tommy, but I thought I would update the blog with some cute pictures of Porter and all his many visitors. We are now home from the hospital and enjoying every minute of being parents.  Porter had his three day check up and has already gained back all the weight he lost in the hospital. We have a very happy and very healthy baby.  He only cries for two reasons:  when he is naked and when he is hungry, other than that, he basically sleeps!  They say that the baby usually has the same disposition as the mother, but for those of you that know me, you would realize that that is definitely not true.

Porter has had a very busy first two weeks of life.  Attending a surprise party at the Jazz Game in the Suites was one of his first experiences on the town. Which also provided another opportunity for his uncle Justin to spoil him by buying him a Jazz Jersey.       

            

Here is Porter sitting on Santa's Lap at the Ward Christmas Party.

 

Last Saturday was the annual Friend Christmas Party with all of my friends from highschool.  We have been doing this for at least 10 years!    It is incredible to realize all the changes all of us have experienced over the years from immature 8th graders to adults with careers and husbands and children!

                         

Thankful Hearts

First off, I apologize that Jessica isn't here to to the bloggin', but I thought I would try and give you all an update. So please cut me a little slack. And, I hope you all protect me from Jessica for putting up a picture of her and her awesome belly. Happy reading to all!

Well, what an overwhelming week this has been. As most of you know Jessica has been pretty frustrated that the baby had decided to make such a late entrance to his own party and I have been out of work for the past four weeks. So, we decided we were going to make it an extra special "fast Sunday". Needless to say, the Lord hears our prayers! On Sunday afternoon we were with Jessica's family and I was talking to her father when he told me that he wanted to offer me a job as a production and installation manager at his cabinet mill in Ogden. I was pretty amazed that I would find a solution to one of our dilemmas that very same day. I felt good about going to work for him and Monday afternoon I got a call from another complany I had interviewed with and they offered me a job as well. I never imagined I would have to make a decision like that. After a lot of careful deliberation, prayer, a blessing from my dad, and some negotiation I have decided to go work for Carl.

Just when we thought that it couldn't get better we went to our appointment on Monday and found out that we would go in Tuesday night to start the induction process. It was a long slow process because Jess could only eat ice cubes and I could only eat McDonalds and Paradise Bakery, but we made it through the night. In the morning the nurse came in and told us that with the Petocin we would probably have the baby Wednesday evening. YIKES!! Jessica was so upset, but, the doctor came in right after that and broke her water to help speed things up. From there it moved right along. Jessica started having really regular contraction and the baby started moving into position pretty quickly. At about 2:45 the nurse decided that we would try and get the doctor to come over to start the delivery. The doctor got there close to 3:00 and we (jess) started pushing. Right after she started pushing I could tell that the doctor was getting a little nervous about something, but I didn't know what it was. I then noticed that inbetween contractions the baby's heart rate was dropping to dangerous levels. I could also sense the doctor's urgency and I got a little more nervous even though he didn't really say anything. He then very quickly went into some spiel about forceps and vacuums and how these things could possibly hurt the baby but that he might need to use them. By this time I wasn't really sure what he was trying to say but he just told Jessica to push some more. Once the babys head cleared I could see that the cord had wrapped around Porter's neck twice and it was so tight that the doctor couldn't even get his scissors in to cut the cord. I could see Porter's little face and it was completely purple. I am sure most of you could imagine the instant feeling of helplessness and terror that I felt in that moment. All I could think was, "Heavenly Father help my child." The doctor was able to get Porter out and into the hands of the nurses who were standing by with oxygen for the baby and from there everything seemed to go fine. Jessica and I are so proud and humbled to announce the birth of Porter Thomas LeBaron born on December 5th at 3:19 p.m. weighing 8lbs.14oz. and measuring 22 inches long. A beautiful, BIG, and healthy boy. And yeah, you read it right, Jess was only pushing for about 20 minutes.

As I look back on all that happened today. I keep coming back to that feeling I had when I saw Porter with the cord around his neck and knowing how fragile his tiny life is, I know that I would have given anything to keep him alive. While I have been thinking about this, I think of our Heavenly Father and His Son. Can we even fathom the agony and heartache and even more than that, the love, that He has for us to let His son die? It is wonderful to me. As I mentioned at the top this is a time to be thankful. This scripture has been in my head a lot lately and I think it fits well with my feelings today.

Therefore, let us glory, yea, we will glory in the Lord; yea, we will rejoice, for our joy is full; yea, we will praise our God forever. Behold, who can glory too much in the Lord? Yea, who can say too much of his great power, and of his mercy, and of his long-suffering towards the children of men? Behold, I say unto you, I cannot say the smallest part which I feel.

One Final Update

First of all, let me assure you all that I would not just have a baby and fail to call anyone. Which is why I am writing another update. It is getting a little frustrating to get phone calls and texts every five seconds asking if the baby is here. The one thing I have to do in this pregnancy, (give birth) I apparently am failing at. Oh, and has anyone else noticed that my baby counter on the right is now beginning to count upwards again? Four days until baby, um no, try four days since the baby should have been here.

Well, Tommy and I went to the doctor this morning. Not surprisingly, I had not progressed much. The doctor originally told me we could look at inducing me on Thursday, but I think after the look he saw on my face, he decided to offer Wednesday as a possible induction date. After realizing that that still wasn't good enough, he consented to bring me in Tuesday night to begin the cervitil treatment. For those of you from the older generation of birthing, this is different from pitocin and takes about 6-8 hours to induce labor so they give it to you in the evening and expect action to begin early in the morning. So hopefully the baby will come Wednesday morning! From the beginning of my pregnancy, my brother Justin told me that I would have this baby December 5th. Kinda scary that he is going to be right. We will keep everyone posted and be sure to upload pictures of the newest addition to our family.

Still No Baby Yet

Well today is my official due date, November 29, but not surprisingly, the baby does not want to cooperate. The baby counter at the bottom of my blog says that my baby is too-cool and wants to arrive late to his own party. My next doctor's appointment is Monday. Hopefully then we can talk about inducing me. However, the doctor said I was not even close enough to even think about inducing as of last Monday. I am not having any contractions, which is a bad sign, but what can ya do? The doctor told me that things like castor oil actually work, but they wouldn't work for me. I am actually that far away! Sad, but we will survive. It can't go on much longer, right? Although, once again Grandma Adams comes to mind who had Ruth Ann a month and a half late. Luckily, I don't think they allow that to happen any more. Hopefully my next post will be exciting news with cute pictures of the baby, but we will see!

No Baby Yet

As of last Tuesday, the doctor informed me that I was not even close and that if I showed no signs of being ready that they would not induce me by my due date. (Bad news on the insurance end, I know) Oh the misery of the last week of pregnancy! Any of you out there that have been through it know what I mean. Everything is miserable, you're too fat to even stand up on your own, everything is uncomfortable, nothing fits, nothing tastes good and there is no room for it to fit in your stomach, and you have pretty much given up on caring about anything but getting that baby out any way possible. You start googling things that induce pregnancy on the internet. I've read that pineapple, bumpy roads, long walks, and castor oil are among the many ways people have tried. The bad news is that most of them are useless unless you are close, which the doctor informed me that I am not!

The Final Baby Shower

We had another baby shower on Friday night with Tom's side of the family. It was tons of fun and we had lots of yummy treats. Everyone in my family is so creative and talented, they put me to shame with all of their creations. Baby Emergency Kits, blankets, bath towels and the awesome creation by Ruth Ann of the diaper cake. I am blessed to have such great people in my life that are so supportive and have such great advice about being mothers. As the time slowly draws near to finally have this baby, I am amazed by some of my relatives that were able to do this so many times! And I'm just talking about pregnancy, we haven't even started on the raising of the child. Seriously, Grandma Adams had twelve kids, and Ruth Ann had eight! How did they do it?