Kason Joseph

On September 16th our lives were again changed forever with the addition of Kason Joseph!!

On September 16th I had my 39 week checkup.  I was 6 cm dilated at that point and still not in labor!  At that point I was freaking out a little that if I did start to go into labor it would go so quickly that I would not make it to the hospital...so I chose to be induced.  Even typing that makes me cringe.  I never thought I would chose to be induced, and I feel selfish for doing so, but I made the decision and thankfully we were blessed with a healthy baby boy.  We went into the hospital at 2 PM that day to begin the induction and there was no turning back, we were so ready to meet out Kason!  I received an epidural (which didn't completely work) and waited for the doctor to come in and break my water.  When it was time to break my water, the doctor was about to begin and apparently my water broke on its own at that exact moment...at least that part was natural!  From there it was just a waiting game for the baby to get in position and arrive.  I was rolled onto my left side to help encourage baby to drop, and soon after that the intense labor pains arrived.  It started small on the bottom part of my stomach but quickly spread to the rest of my stomach then to my back.  HOLY COW...back labor is HORRIBLE!  And yes, I did say earlier that I had an epidural...we later found out that the way it was directed most of it ended up in my legs from my knees down (they tried to make me walk before I was ready and I nearly wiped out, the nurse barely caught me!).  I told the nurses how much pain I was in, so they checked me and sure enough the baby was already crowning!!  The doctor was there soon after that and the pushing began.  I don't remember how long exactly that lasted, but it wasn't long at all, maybe 4 or 5 contractions and at 6:57 PM Kason Joseph had arrived!!  Here is our beautiful little boy!

Waiting for Baby

Anyone who knows me knows that I absolutely LOVE being pregnant!  It is honestly one of the only times in my life that I have felt completely comfortable in my body.  I love the bump, I love knowing there is a life growing inside of me, and I don't even mind the stretch marks that much (they do go away eventually, right?!?)!  However, these last few weeks have been rough.  Really rough.  Baby Boy is definitely taking a toll on my body.  Besides being exhausted all the time, it's been painful to even walk.  And I sooo miss being able to sleep on my stomach and roll over in bed without screaming out in pain and taking 5 minutes.  The aches and pains are definitely getting to me...these last weeks have been much worse than I ever remember the last weeks being with Fenna.  And I have been getting down and feeling sorry for myself.  But today I had a wake up call.  I met a very happy, friendly lady who was wearing a stocking cap and eating a jar of baby food for lunch because she had recently undergone chemotherapy and that was all her stomach could handle.  I read a story of a boy born with no limbs who didn't let that stand in his way of doing everything his brothers did, and another of a baby that died within hours of being born.  I can't imagine that heartbreak.  I have friends and family that aren't able to conceive.  I cannot imagine that pain.  I have nothing to complain about.  I have an amazing 13 month old and a little boy I am going to hopefully meet very soon.  I need to keep everything in perspective.  Sure, I am in a little pain right now, but this will pass and when it does it will come out as a huge blessing.  So, I want to share some pictures (taken by the every so talented Melissa Pennington Photography) that make me feel beautiful so I can remember how blessed I am to be able to carry this child, this new life that God created.