New school and new missionaries

 Back in the end of August, before our lives became more crazy than they already were, Grant started preschool.  This is a very well run and popular preschool (so much so you have to sign your kids up for it a year in advance).  So Grant has known about this preschool and been wanting to go for a long time.  Every time we would drive past the school he would ask "is it time for me to go to preschool yet?"  So, needless to say, he was very excited when school started and he has loved it!  I have loved it as well, as it gives me a break 4 afternoons a week!

We took the obligatory first day of school pictures outside of the school and inside by the school's sign.  Grant was really excited to find one of his friends from church in his class, who was actually also in the co-op preschool we did last year.  

He's growing up!

Tate wanted in on the picture action, but was a little concerned by the people watching him (there was a little line forming to get a picture by the sign).

This past summer the boys started playing "missionaries", where they would basically act out when the missionaries come over to our house for dinner (I think they believe that is mainly what you do on a mission).  They would come to the door and shake my hand and introduce themselves.  Tate decided to be named Elder Sticks and Grant is Elder Shoe (not sure where they came up with those).  After pretending to eat dinner, they pull two chairs in the living room, like we do when the Elders are over, to give us a message.  They both start flipping through the scriptures to "find" what they want to say, and then start to "read" church-like sayings such as: "and then Jesus said", "and behold", "he said unto me", "follow the prophet", and the like.  They're pretty serious when they do this so it's hard not to smile, but they are just so cute being little missionaries!

Luke is here!

 I guess if I'm going to keep this as our family journal I have to keep up with the times!!  Our sweet baby Luke arrived on September 20th at 8:18pm.  He weighed 9 lbs 7oz and was 21 inches long.

 Now for the birth story, which is long so feel free to skip.  On the morning of the 20th, (I was 39 weeks) I started having occasional contractions that would hurt a bit and then go away.  I just considered they were Braxton Hicks contractions that were on the strong side (since I had a few painful ones the day before).  I decided to go on with my day and just see what happened.  So I took Tate to playgroup, went grocery shopping with Grant, picked up Tate, gave the boys lunch, and took Grant and his friends to preschool.  All the while I was having the "braxton hicks" contractions.  Since I was induced with the other two deliveries, I had only known contractions on pitocin, so these contractions did not feel like real labor contractions and I still wasn't convinced I was in the early stages of labor. 

While Grant was at preschool, I decided I should probably start to time the contractions and saw they were coming about 5 minutes apart pretty regularly, and hurting enough that I would have to stop walking during one, so I figured it was probably labor.  I felt fine in between the contractions though, so I went to go pick up Grant and his friends from preschool and only had one contraction while in the school, so that was nice.  When we got home, I called around to find a place for the kids to go and realized with all my driving around that day, I hadn't cleaned the house. So I swept the floors and put things away just so we could come home to a somewhat clean house (and it probably helped move the labor on!).  Then I dropped the boys off at our very nice friends and drove to the hospital where Ryan would meet me (yes I drove myself to the hospital while in labor, I just sang songs through the contractions to keep my mind off them)

I got there at 4:30 and was only dilated 4, but they said they would keep me since the contractions were coming regularly.  Ryan didn't have any clothes/toiletries to stay the night, so I sent him home to get his things and walked around while he was gone.  She checked me about an hour after we got there and I had progressed to a 6 so they moved us to the labor room.  After about another hour of the contractions getting worse and worse I was still a 6 so I said I could go ahead and get an epidural (I was considering trying to not use one, but I spent an hour not progressing so I wasn't sure how long labor would take).  Then my water broke and the anesthesiologist was still not there and I really had to use the bathroom.  She let me go and when I came back the contractions started to get horrible.  The anesthesiologist came in the room and was explaining about the epidural but I have no idea what she was saying, I was just trying to not scream and throw up during the contractions.  The nurse checked me again (just 15 minutes after she had checked me when I was a 6) and I had progressed to a 9.  Then I felt like I had to start pushing, and the nurse is telling me not to push because my doctor is not there yet.  But let me tell you, when it's time to push, it's time to push!  At this point the contractions are insane, I'm sweating like a banshee, I don't even know what I am saying/screaming and I'm trying not to push (which is almost impossible).  The nurse gets a resident to come in and three crazy, I feel like I'm splitting in two, pushes later Luke is born!

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He came out pretty blue and they had to deep suction him to get him crying.  His apgars were actually 4 and 9 (for all you medical people out there) 4 is actually the lowest by far any of the boys had.  The nurse said when they descend as fast as he did, sometimes they swallow a lot of liquid so she just had to clean him out.  We were surprised he was so big.  Grant was 8 lbs and Tate was 8 lbs 6 oz.  It does make me worry a bit how big our next one might be :)

Ryan was a good supporter through the labor and kindly obliged to whatever I asked him to do (I think I made him turn the fan on and off again probably 10 times).  We were able to leave the hospital on the 22nd and have had a pretty smooth transition.  I feel like this was my quickest recovery so far, so maybe going natural is the was to go.  I decided I will definitely need to prepare somehow for the next one though!

 

The boys love their new little brother and are very nice with him.  Tate always wants to give the baby his blankets or a toy and asks to hold him whenever he can.  We were so lucky to have my mom with us for a whole week after we brought Luke home which helped so much.  She spoiled me by taking care of Grant and Tate and the meals and the house and letting me nap whenever possible.  We have survived the first week since she left and I think things will only get easier as Luke gets older (hopefully :).