The Smith's: September 2012

I'm back! It's been too long! I got on here to post a few weeks ago and I noticed all my friends on my blog list haven't posted in a million years either. What do you think happened? Everyone just kind of got too busy? Well I'm sad I've been gone so long. I've missed so much. Things have changed a lot for our family. So let's begin...

On July 6th we welcomed our sweet sunshine into our family. He is seriously the sweetest thing. I feel like the word "sweet" describes him perfectly. He is just perfect. I know everyone worships their own children and feels like they are the cutest and best people ever to grace the face of the earth.

But mine really are.

Sorry everyone. I make really good ones. I don't know how, but I do. So here is the birth story.

My pregnancy was different from my other ones. I didn't have any problems with the baby. He was perfect. But I am older. Yes, I've said it. This body is older than it was seven years ago when I delivered McKoy. And let me tell ya, age makes a difference. I was more miserable this time. I was hot and fat. Not hot in the sense that Paris Hilton uses it. Hot in terms of temperature. I was sweaty and stinky and disgusting. Three July babies is not lovely. I was grouchy and uncomfortable. The most uncomfortable I've ever been. I couldn't sleep. I couldn't walk without peeing my pants. I basically peed them every day of the summer before he came. Anyway, I asked Dr. Newman about induction because I knew school would be starting and Kindergartners kind of need their teacher on the first day of school. If I went to my due date I would still be on maternity leave when school started. So Newman said I could be induced any time after 38 weeks because it was my third baby and he was healthy. We chose Friday, July 6th. (McKoy was also born on a Friday. I just realized this.) My only regret about this date is that I missed my cousin's wedding. The wedding pictures make me sad because I wasn't there. But the date worked best with Kody's work schedule. I've never been induced and it was weird to plan it out like that. I cleaned my house and grocery shopped the day before. I had everything ready that night so I could come home to a clean house and food to eat. We went to my friend Kim Almond's 40th birthday the night before. Dennis made me a big cheeseburger as my last meal. Then we took our kids to my aunt Jeanette's house for the night. We came home and went to bed. At 3:00am I got up and showered. Kody and I drove to Maverik for Kody to get a drink and we got to the hospital at 4:00am. The nurse that delivered Mataya checked us in. I was dilated to a 3 and 75% effaced. Also the baby was sitting way low in my pelvis. I thought I might go into labor on my own because I had been having contractions for weeks but I didn't. Anyway, they gave me Cytotec to disolve in my cheek at about 5:00am. I started having contractions so they started pitocin around 8:00. Kim and my mom showed up and went downstairs to get breakfast. Kody's mom came while they were gone and sat with Kody. The nurse anesthetist came to give me an epidural. By now shifts had changed and Brittany Houston was my nurse. So I got the epidural and was still being happy nice Kenzie. I was having more pain but the epidural was going to fix it, so I was very optimistic. The guy left and one of my legs started to tingle which made me think it was working.

It wasn't.

The pain was getting worse and the numbing wasn't happening.

Now let me just back up and say something.

Some women choose not to have drugs during labor.

That's nice.

But I'm not some woman. I want drugs and I want them to work. I had not been mentally preparing myself for pain and reading books about breathing, etc. I was busy cleaning the house so after my drug working labor I could come home and relax. I have read about people saying their epidural didn't work and I secretly didn't believe them. I thought to myself that people that said that, were just complaining because they had felt some pain before it kicked in. I'm sorry to everyone I didn't believe. Your epidural can actually NOT work. I am reminded of the movie Fools Rush In. When Alex finds out Isobel is pregnant. He says he used a condom and she says it didn't work. His response is, "But that's its job! It's whole purpose in life, is to work!" Which is exactly what I thought of the epidural situation. What in the h%#$ is the point of the thing if it possibly might not work? So what could I do?

I cried.

It's one thing to cry in front of people because you're emotional.

It's another to cry due to physical pain.

I was embarrassed but I couldn't help it.

I was in pain and I was scared of having the baby without drugs.

The nurse called the nurse anesthetist to come back in and he went over some options. He said he could take it out and try again but its possible it just wouldn't work. I was crying and hurting and opted to have him try to adjust it. Because one leg had tingled meant it might be able to adjust and be fixed. I was kicking my legs to demonstrate I wasn't lying about it not working. I was afraid they might think like me and not believe people when they said it wasn't working.

Kimi suggested I start pushing so that I could hurry and get the baby out so the pain would stop. I asked them to do a c section so I could be knocked out because I was NOT going to have the baby without drugs. I would walk out of the hospital before I tried that!

About this time Brittany, my savior nurse, got me some drugs to calm me down. I don't know what they were, but I took them and was in heaven. They worked so well I got very sleepy and felt weak. But I didn't care. It was relief. The nurse anesthetist came back to check on me and guess what?

THE EPIDURAL WAS WORKING.

I was so relaxed from whatever the drugs were that I hadn't even noticed it was working. I couldn't move my legs and have never been happier. I was embarrassed about my behavior and didn't want anyone to know how I had acted. I asked everyone to promise not to tell, that I was being crazy. But looking back I think it's OK that you all know I am a weak epidural loving person.

I pushed for just a short time. I was still dizzy and weak but I was happy. Kody filmed while my mom, Kim, and my mother in law held my legs. Kody isn't into the action. He prefers to watch from behind my shoulder.

Maverick Doni made his debut at 12:13pm.

He weighed 6 pounds 1 ounce and was 18 inches.

Just a smidge at birth. I hoped he would be at least 7 pounds. I tried people. I gained about 40 pounds but obviously not much was baby. He was bruised on his head like Mataya.

Well, not like Mataya. Nothing was like Mataya. But he still was bruised.

What is with my kids?

The bruising went away pretty quick. We decided to name him Maverick but Kody didn't want to have it spelled like the gas station. So we spelled it Maverik. No "c." Then we decided his middle name would be after my dad. His name is Don but he used to go by Doni. I told my dad he could pick if he wanted Don or Doni for Maverick's middle name. He chose Don but then I decided I wanted Doni, so I took away his privilege of choosing. Nice I know. So we went with Maverik Doni Smith. Then, a few days after we got home from the hospital I ran to the gas station Maverik to rent a redbox. I pulled in, looked up and said some bad words. It turns out the gas station doesn't have a "c" in their name, Maverik either.

Serious?

What kind of luck do I have? So I told Kody and he made me change the spelling. It is now Maverick with a "c." But don't worry, I already had his birth announcements, social security card, and birth certificate.

Note to self: Changing the spelling of your child's name is really hard and time consuming.

Back to the birth. I have a firm belief that you should stay in the hospital as long as they'll let you, so you can send the baby to the nursery to get some sleep. I stayed 2 nights which was a mistake. The second night they kept bringing him into me to nurse and I got zero sleep. I could have tended him myself at home! I was staying so THEY would tend him. I hate the hospital so much and I should have just gone home.

Note to self: Just because you're paying a butt load, doesn't mean the babysitters/nurses at the hospital will keep the baby in the nursery when you want.

We came home Sunday at about 3:00. I was waiting for Newman to check me out and he was taking a long time, so we left. We really just got up and left. Newman said it wasn't our first rodeo and it was fine we flew the coop.

Since we've been home Maverick has been a dream. He is such a good baby. He had a few bad nights. He was under the lights for a week at home so that didn't help. But almost from the first week he only wakes up once a night. And he has slept through the night a few times. The last three nights in a row, in fact. He is really such a sweetheart.

He was born with a skin tag on his ear lobe. (an extra lobe) It was cut off at about 2 weeks and looks great. He looks so much like McKoy. I love it so much. I love that they are so similar. I love having a boy again. He is just so sweet.

There is just one thing that has been a little difficult with our sunshine boy.

He was born with an ASD and a VSD. Two holes in his heart. We really didn't expect it. When they told us, both Kody and I felt like everything would be OK. We thought that they would close on their own and it would be like so many people we know that have holes in their heart, with no major problems.

Then we went to Primary Children's.

The doctor told us that the VSD would probably close on its own. The ASD however, is large and probably won't. His heart is enlarged and he has a lot of blood surrounding his lungs. He will likely need surgery. Because of where the hole is located, they will need to open his little chest up.

We were not expecting this news.

We left the hospital in silence.

We drove for a few hours in silence.

It was a rough day.

But we are going to be positive and we know that Heavenly Father will watch over our little sweetheart. We've done it before and we will do it again if we have to. Mataya is doing so well and we hope Maverick will too. We have been blessed with beautiful children and we are thankful everyday. Maverick and Mataya will both go to the cardiologist together next month, and we will know more then. They will compare the next echo with the first one and we'll have more information. They would like Maverick to be around a year old before surgery. But I've been told that before. Mataya was 10 months when she had her surgery. I am prepared for whatever they want to do. OK I'm not totally prepared but I'm pretending I am because it makes me feel better. :)

When did this post take a depressing turn?

Back to happy.

In other news I WENT PART TIME!!!

Wow! Part time is the best kind of time there is. I am teaching afternoon Kindergarten only. It is AMAZING! I don't have to be to work until 12:30PM. Yes, I said 12:30PM. I get off at 4:00 and love every day. Being a mom and working full time is HARD.

REALLY, REALLY, HARD.

There is never time to do anything. You leave the house in complete shambles every day trying to get kids ready for school and to the babysitter. You work all day and have to come home to a mess. Then try and make dinner and spend time with your kids before you wake up and do it all over again. You are constantly feeling guilty about not getting enough time with your kids. It's hard.

This is no longer my life.

Let me say it again.

PART TIME IS AMAZING!!!

I don't feel guilty leaving my kids! I am so so happy. I'm practically a real mom. I clean the house, make recipes I find on pinterest, take kids to the park, blog, etc. I may even be a classroom volunteer in Koy's class. Which is something I never thought I would be able to do. This part time thing is only for this year. But I am not going to think about that. Because right now, I am so happy!!!