Bentley's Birth Story

I recorded Bentley's birth story in my journal the day he was born. I love hearing birth stories, and lately I've been thinking a lot about Baby #4's birth, so I decided to reread Bentley, Maxwell, and Jonah's birth stories. Today I'm going to post part of Bentley's story here. :) My apologies to anyone who doesn't like birth stories. :)

Just a little background before I start; Bentley was due November 2, and we didn't know if we were having a boy or a girl. I was really scared for labor and delivery. (I'd actually fainted while hearing women talk about their own stories. Just to give you an idea of how squeamish my family is, my sister fainted in kindergarten when they read Sleeping Beauty. Any needles or blood and we're done.) So anyway . . .


On November 7, I woke up having some contractions and feeling yucky, but during the day I started to feel better. John and I went to the mall that evening and walked laps for an hour or so. Just after 10pm we tried to go to sleep, but the contractions were 15 minutes apart. So I gave up the idea of sleep, and got out of bed. I watched TV, read a little, took a bath, checked my email, and paced. By 3:30am I couldn't handle the contractions alone, so I woke John up. He helped me through contractions, and in between them I tried to finish packing for the hospital. We timed the contractions from 5-6am; they were 2-4 minutes apart, so we went to the hospital just after 6am.

When we got to the hospital, I was admitted and we found out that I was dilated to 7cm. I put off having an epidural because I didn't want an IV. My doctor was not on call that morning, but happened to be at the hospital to assist with a scheduled c-section. I was so glad to see her because I hadn't ever seen the other two doctors in the practice. At 8am she broke my water and shortly after they had me start pushing. Pushing was long and very scary - I hadn't been prepared for that because I thought I'd have an epidural. Bentley was born at 9:13am. As he was born, he grabbed the doctor's shirt with his little hand and made it a little awkward for her to grab the rest of him. She announced that we had a boy, quickly showed him to me, John cut the cord, and Bentley was handed to the respiratory therapist. He had already passed his first stool, and they suctioned 3 vial's of meconium out of his lungs. While that was happening he wet on the respiratory therapist and passed his second stool, making a huge mess. (That's Bentley's favorite part of his birth story.)

By the time he was cleaned up, I was finished being sewn up, but I was very shaky and in a lot of pain, so it was hard to hold him. That made me sad because I really did want to hold him. Eventually, the pain medication kicked in, I was able to cuddle and love him, and to be happy that we had a perfect little boy. I don't think I've even seen John look happier than he did after Bentley was born. I love the memories of his smile as much as the memories of meeting Bentley.

Bentley 8 lbs, 21 inches

Date Night

This summer I was able to attend some BYU Education Week classes taught by Merrilee Boyack. The title of her lectures was "How to Be a Better Wife in Five Easy Lessons," and she took her material from the book she wrote titled, Strangling Your Husband is Not an Option. Both the class and her book are excellent and I would recommend both (as well as her Parenting Breakthrough book).

One night of the class was about dating your husband. John and I have never been very good at that. When we were first married, we both worked a lot, so date nights were few and far between. I stopped working when Bentley was born, and we didn't know anyone around here who we'd trust with our new baby, so date nights REALLY didn't happen. Just before Maxwell was born we had a 9 month string of once-a-month date nights, and that's as close as we've ever come to what Sister Boyack said should be a weekly ritual. After attending her class, I talked to John and together we decided it would be a good idea to go on more dates. Earlier this week we were able to go to the Temple together (thanks Elizabeth), and we talked a few times about having another date tonight. As usual, we never got around to finding a babysitter, so here are some pictures from our "date night."

After a fun evening at the park with our boys, we got milkshakes. :)

Maybe one of these days we'll master a real date night.

The Search

This morning I took these ferocious animals shopping for Halloween costumes. Progress on the baby's quilt is almost non-existent, so I didn't think it would be a good idea to attempt making our costumes this year. After a morning spent looking for 3 perfect costumes, I'm not sure sewing would have been more difficult. We went to Wal-Mart, Toys R Us, K-Mart, and Target. None of the stores had exactly what the boys wanted in exactly the right size. Maxwell and Bentley finally decided on Red Power Ranger costumes (Maxwell's costume is the same size as Bentley's, but I think it will work anyway). Poor Jonah doesn't have a costume yet. Target was our last stop (because we'd looked there before and didn't see what they wanted) and Target didn't have costumes in Jonah's size. I can't find any Red Ranger costumes smaller than size 4-6 (in stores or online), so we'll either have to make something up for Jonah (maybe red sweats with a belt if we can find one that looks like a Power Ranger belt), or he'll have to find something else to be for Halloween. The Search continues.

Update: I found some Red Power Ranger pajamas online and I'm hoping they will work for Jonah's costume. :)

Housework

Today the boys and I did a little cleaning around the house. Jonah helped me sweep the kitchen floor.
After I mopped the floor, Bentley and Maxwell dried it. They're such great helpers. :)

Popcorn at Church

Bentley and Maxwell behaved like little angels at the movie premier Friday night. And not just during the movie, they were good for the hour and a half before the movie - while we were waiting for it to start! Today at church it was a completely different story. Sacrament meeting is only 70 minutes long, but they have the hardest time sitting quietly. Today I had things for them to color (like before the movie) and snacks for them to eat (just like at the movie) but they just wanted to be LOUD. The one clear difference (ok, there might be a few others) between the two events was the lack of popcorn at church. So I was thinking . . .

Daniel and the Lions

Last night, Bentley, Maxwell, and I attended the World Premier of the Liken the Scriptures movie, "Daniel and the Lions." Both boys got little stuffed lions, and we all got lei's. Their favorite parts of the movie took place in the Lion's Den. The Lions were played by people, and the boys thought they were very funny. Bentley's favorite joke -
Rex the Lions says to the angel who is protecting Daniel "Who are you?"
The Angel says, "I'm an angel."
Rex says- "You look like dessert to me!"
Another Lion says- "Yeah, 'angel' food cake!"
Bentley loved it!

Joy School Field Trip

Our theme this month is "Obedience and Decisions," so we've been talking a lot about laws. Today we drove (to observe Mom obeying traffic laws) to a bakery and watched employees obeying rules while they prepared food.
Krispy Kreme seemed the easiest place to take the kids because of their viewing window. I couldn't imagine the boys in the middle of a regular bakery.
After we watched the doughnut machine get fixed, and several dozen doughnuts get fried and glazed, the kids got their hat and a hot doughnut to eat. (We also bought a few to take home.) This is Jonah's new way to eat doughnuts. His hands stayed pretty clean, but his face was a big mess!

Bridal Veil Falls

Last night we drove up the canyon to Bridal Veil Falls. We walked up to the falls and along the way the kids were excited to see a squirrel (we don't have any here at our house so that was big news) and several dogs. When we got to the falls they had a great time playing by the water. They were thrilled to be able to walk up the mountain and to see the river up close. Bentley said he wanted to stay there forever. :)

Utah City Trivia

For any geography buffs out there, here's a link to a silly song about Utah cities.

3rd Trimester!

(This "ticker" updates itself every day.)
Today I have about 82 days left. That sounds like such a long time. :) I feel pretty good, though, so I can't complain. Saturday is my childbirth refresher class. I'm really looking forward to it, and hoping to regain some confidence about labor. With Jonah, I had scared myself into thinking labor would last forever, and I wouldn't be able to deal with it. This time I want to go into it with a more positive outlook. (ok, so either way it's going to really hurt, but it's nice to feel like I'll be able to handle it) :)

With our three boys, we had names picked out well in advance of their births. This time around, we're going to get a look at our baby before naming it. Who knows, maybe the way he or she looks will inspire us. I am compiling lists of favorite names, however, because I don't want to spend my entire recovery choosing the name. I will try to keep an open mind until after I see our sweet baby, and hopefully we'll be able to decide quickly.

In the meantime, I'll keep eating chocolate ice cream and look forward to a sweet, happy baby.

take 3

I took the boys to Target this morning to get them each a pair of long pants and a long sleeved shirt to supplement the winter clothes that they already have. We found jeans for each of them, and then they all picked the same shirt! What funny boys. :)

One Sticker

Maxwell got up this morning, sat on his potty chair, and for the first time, he left something in it! He was so excited! As his reward, he got a green sticker on his chart. He hasn't had the same success with his other tries today, but he's given us hope that one day he will be potty trained (with any luck it will be before baby #4 arrives or we'll be buying diapers for three kids).

Where's autumn?

Fall officially starts this Thursday, but waking it up this mornning, it felt like we were days away from winter. It rained all night here in the valley, and it was cold enough that our mountains got snow! If you look closely at the top picture, you can see the red autumn leaves right where the snowline stops. I love watching fall creep down the mountain into the valley, but I'm not ready for snow!!! Maybe this is just a short cold spell and we'll get to enjoy some pleasant weather before the real stuff hits. Here's hoping!

Where's Waldo (Spencer)?

If you watch the BYU-Boston College game today, keep an eye out for this guy. He follows Coach Mendenhall around and manages to get some camera time. :)

Actually, his job at most away games is to hold the Coach's microphone cord, so it's his job to follow Mendenhall.

a girl!

Yesterday my brother Warren and his wife, Becky, found out that they are expecting a baby girl! Ginger and Elliott are also expecting a little girl, and Judyand Loi had a boy earlier this year. I'm guessing we'll even things out by also having a boy, but we'll see. Bentley and Maxwell seem to be hoping for a girl like their cousins are getting. Jonah, on the other hand, is probably hoping to stay the baby. When I ask him where the baby is, he points to himself. :)

(Judy, David, and Loi)

A Child's Prayer

The boys used to offer short, simple blessings on their food. In the past few days, they've gotten much more specific in their expectations. Instead of simply asking that their food will help them grow healthy and strong, they ask that their food will (among other things)
1. help them grow REALLY big
2. help them have LOTS of energy
3. help them get VERY strong
4. help them not get sick
5. cool off fast and not be too hot or too cold
They usually repeat their most pressing requests two or three times, so our food is in danger of getting up and walking away while we wait for the end of the prayer. At least they put thought into what they're saying, right?

Two Milestones

Today Jonah is 18 months old! This Sunday is the much anticipated first day of nursery. He's actually attended bits and pieces of nursery before - but this will be his first experience with lesson time and craft/coloring time. I hope he won't be too disappointed to discover that nursery isn't all fun and games. Jonah will have big brother Maxwell to show him the ropes, although Max isn't sure about all of this. Nursery is HIS class. Jonah will be so happy to get to go into the nursery room. Usually he walks past with me, and stops to pound on the door. Many of the kids already in there are trying to break out, and Jonah just wants to go in. :) Another milestone marked by 18 months, is the transition from observer to participant in his brothers' games. More and more, they are including him, and he loves it!

Too quiet . . .

Yesterday I noticed the boys were being strangely silent - especially since my brother Greg was here and they are usually trying to fight him. When I went downstairs to investigate, I found the three of them crouched around something in the corner. Expecting the worst, I went a bit closer, and was pleased and surprised to see them looking at Bentley's illustrated Book of Mormon. Ok - so they were probably looking at one of the war scenes with lots of swords, or one of the pictures where someone is being burned alive - but they were into the scriptures. That's good, right?

Supermen

Grandpa Haws and Jonah are ready to fight the forces of evil!

Family Golf

Last night we took the boys miniature golfing for the first time. Their form wasn't the greatest, despite several lessons, but they had a good time.
Maxwell played a few holes before being distracted by the water features.
This was the smallest club that they had, and it was nearly as tall as Max.
While I was taking pictures, Jonah ran off with my club and ball.
Bentley played on most of the nine holes that we got in. His favorite was one where he could get a hole in one by hitting the ball into a tube that dumped it into the hole. I think he played that one at least six times.
John and I had fun golfing when we weren't chasing Jonah. :) We tied!
Jonah finally got his own club and ball. We thought that would keep him entertained, but he continued to "helpfully" pick up our balls. (by the way, he picked out his own clothes today)

Mikey's going to like this

(this is the only picture of Mike that I could find - he's wearing his costume from Fiddler on the roof)
My "little" brother, Mike, is 6' 5" tall. He's also very smart.
This article says "tall people earn more, on average, because they're smarter, on average." Great.
"Higher intelligence resolves the puzzle of higher pay for the tall but begs the question of why height and intelligence are related in the first place. It is possible that early childhood care, including prenatal care, can increase both height and cognitive ability. But maybe the Fates just have it in for short people."

close enough . . .

Until a couple of weeks ago, Jonah was a champion "napper." I would put him in his bed, tell him to have a nice rest, and leave the room. He'd lay down and go to sleep. Lately, naptime has been a big power struggle; some days it lasts for hours. Today Jonah gave up rather quickly, but he wasn't in his bed when it happened. When I peaked in at him, I found him sleeping on the floor, right next to his bed. At least he was sleeping. :)

Back to Work

Tomorrow we start the fall semester of Joy School. Both Bentley and Maxwell will be part of our group this year! I get to teach the first two lessons, so I've been busy preparing the calendar, weather chart, and rules. This afternoon, I shaved crayons for our creative art activity. It goes something like this: "Did you know that even crayons have to obey rules? When they get really hot, they melt!" The children put crayon shavings on a piece of paper, we fold it over, and then we iron it. The end result looks pretty cool, but like so many fun activities, it's messsy. I'm not mopping my kitchen floor until tomorrow. :)

Wild Things

Jonah loves being read to, and he doesn't take "no" for an answer. He likes to pick up a book, hand it to someone, and climb up next to them. Then he waits for the story to begin. One of his favorite books is Where the Wild Things Are by Maurice Sendak. Both Bentley and Maxwell have memorized most of the words to that book, so they take turns reading it to Jonah. Tonight it was Bentley's turn to read.

Rachel

In February, my friend Rachel was diagnosed with stage 2 Hodgkins Lymphoma. After 2 surgeries, she began 4 months of chemotherapy treatment followed by 1 month of radiation therapy. During chemotherapy, she had an unexpected and unrelated gall bladder removal surgery. As of August 2006, she is in remission! She recently put this video together. It shows pictures of Rachel and her family before, during, and after the cancer treatments. Her son, Mason, was in Joy School with Bentley this past year. When my boys watched the video, they said, "Rachel looks good." We're so glad she's in remission, and hope that she stays well.

Storytelling Festival

This is where I spent my Saturday. My sister, Mindy, and I got to attend the festival and listen to wonderful stories all day long. John stayed home with all three boys!
Mindy and I saw and listened to some great performers, including:

Willy Claflin

Andy Irwin

David Massengill

Bil Lepp and

Maggi Peirce

I've worked at the festival in the past as a volunteer, and I was excited to finally attend as a regular person. :)