Blessings from Heaven: Easton Martin Evers is Here!

Isn't he cute? Oh, we love him!

I will divide this post into 2 sections: The Short Scoop & The Long Scoop. The long scoop is mainly for my journaling purposes, but feel free to read if you want all the details. I warn you, it is LONG.

THE SHORT SCOOP: Easton was born 2 weeks early at 8:00 p.m. on Saturday, December 13th after my water broke earlier that afternoon. He was 6 lbs. 15.4 oz. and was 20 3/4 inches long. The labor and delivery went well (thanks of course due to drugs) and mommy and baby are doing great!

THE LONG SCOOP (believe me, it's long): When we found out our due date was December 27th, we decided that this was the year that our family would stay in Omaha for Christmas. However, with Que's passing, we knew that we needed to be back in Utah to be with my family. My family would need my little boys sweet spirits (and naughtiness that makes everyone laugh but me), to help buoy up their spirits. I talked with my doctor and he said the earliest the hospital would allow him to induce would be Monday, December 22nd, but I could get a test done to check his lung development and as long as he passed, he could induce me whenever. We knew that this is what we had to do since #1, I have never gone into labor on my own, and #2, if we waited until the 22nd we wouldn't be able to make it to UT for Christmas. My doctor said that since this is my 3rd child and my other kids were big and healthy he didn't think there would be any problems passing this test. We decided to have it done on Dec. 11th and then be induced at 6 a.m. on Dec. 12th. This was the plan.

I went in for the amnio to test his lungs on Thursday and they told me I would get the results in an hour. We waited at the hospital for close to 2 hours before they told us they still didn't have them, but we could go home and they would call us. I had everything ready to go. Bags packed, babysitters for the entire day, sheets washed for the Newmans to stay with the boys the next night, etc. We went home and waited from the call and they never called. I finally called the hospital at 7:00. They said that the lab machine broke and they had shipped it off to another hospital hours ago and they would call over there to find out the results. They called me back 20 minutes later to tell me, they still didn't have the results and they would call me in an hour. They called me an hour later to tell me, that the other hospital's machine broke and they had shipped it off to another hospital and they probably wouldn't have the results until 11 PM. I decided to just go to bed since I had to get up at 5:00 to get to the hospital. In the midst of falling asleep, I received the bad news: His lungs score was not high enough (he was shy by only 3 points) and I couldn't be induced. They could test me again in a week if I wanted, but I was just supposed to go to my regular appointment on Monday in the meantime.

I was devastated. I knew that if I had to wait another week there was no way we would be able to make it home for Christmas. Plus, we had also found out that we didn't know if our insurance was even going to cover the test in the first place so there was no way we would be able to do it again because the cost would be astronomical (for us at least) if they don't pay for it. I knew that I was probably going to have to wait until the 22nd and we would have to cancel our plane tickets for the 23rd. I knew I couldn't tell my mom especially. It would break her heart. I instead made it seem like I had an appointment for Monday and my doctor would hopefully give me good news there and that's when I went to work. I decided that instead of being depressed, I was going to do whatever I could to induce labor. Since he was SO close on the lung test, I knew that even a day longer would probably be well enough to make sure he was strong enough. Friday (the day I was supposed to have him), I walked on my treadmill at a complete incline for 1 hour (this was NOT smart....I was in a lot of pain that night), I took the kids to the museum, ate pineapple, and looked up other methods I would try the next day.

Saturday came and Mitch and I went about the day like normal. My parents were expected to arrive that night, so we went to the grocery store to get dinner for Sunday, came home and made some lunch. I was writing an email on the couch and trying to encourage Mitch to go to school and study and he proceeded to tell me, "I can't study, I was planning on doing nothing this weekend and just hanging out with the baby." Seconds later, a gush of water came pouring out and as I stood up, even more came out. I have NEVER gone on my own and he was 2 weeks early. IT WAS A MIRACLE!!!!

We called Angie to watch the kids, dropped them off, and headed to the hospital. They hooked me all up and to get my labor going I was put on pitocin about 3:00. Progressed normally and with my epideral in I felt good most of the time, ready to push at 7:30, waited for Dr. to get there, 5 pushes and he was out at 8:00 on the dot. He scored a 9 on the little baby apgar scale(10's the best so he was GREAT), and he was been perfect ever since with no problems.

My parents were flying here most of the time I was in labor so when my mom would call (before the flights and layover) I did some lying to keep it a secret that I was having the baby. I wanted them to be completely surprised when they got here. They got in about an hour after he arrived and I told her Mitch would be there to pick them up and then there was someone we wanted them to meet. Of course she was completely shocked and it was a really fun surprise.

As for the name: Those of you who have kept up on the blog probably have read the issues with the name choices. Mitch was gunning hard for Easton Martin, and in the end, he did get his way. I am very happy with it too though (Easton was a favorite for both Jackson and Creighton too) and when we saw him, we knew that was him. Plus, as we were waiting for the Dr. to arrive, we told the OB resident and nurse the two names we were deciding between and the Resident said her son was Easton. I asked what they called him for short (that been my biggest issue with the name) and she said "E," or "her little E-man." As soon as I heard that I was sold. The boys LOVE super heroes and no we have our own little (h)E-man. Plus, if he ever asks how he got his name, he can read Mitch's RIDICULOUS letter he wrote to campaign for the name. Any kid would love to have their father have that much passion about their name, right?

Ok, I told you it was long and it was. There you have it. All the details. We are just so thankful he is here. I know that my Heavenly Father blessed me with this little boy and although the timing wasn't what I expected, it could not have been more perfect. I am so thankful for this little blessing from heaven. He is a great addition to our family and the sweetest little angel.