More pics of Baby Ethan

Grandma Sher at McKay Dee Hospital

I honestly could eat him up!

Grandma Carnesecca at the hospital.

Brynn's first time to hold the baby.

A substantial family..........5 kids!  :)  I still can't believe it when I see this picture.

Sooooooo excited!

Probably the most excited one for the new baby.

It is so nice to have a helper to carry the baby-I haven't had that before.

Anthony loves to help take care of the baby.  Anthony came with me to get Ethan's PKU poke.  He literally cried with Ethan--so cute!

We i-chatted with Krystle and Brett and we took a picture of Baby Pierce and Baby Ethan on the computer together.  (They are cousins once removed.  :)

Classic.

What a fun Easter present.

Easter Sunday.

My 3 sons.  :)

Taking one for the team.

Auntie Lori came to help with the baby and the move. 

Ethan does not like to be confined.  He likes to stretch out and chill.  I guess that explains his feet in my ribs.  When I hold Ethan he looks to the side of me and really focuses on something.  I feel like the veil is very thin for newborns.  I wonder who has been in the room with us. 

Bishop and Bradi Saunders.

 I decided to journal my labor/delivery/moving story here in the blog.  So, feel free to stop reading if you don't want to hear about it.  :)  On April 3rd I went for my 38 week doctor's appointment.  My blood pressure was at about 145/90 and they told me if it went any higher they wanted me to go to Labor and Delivery.  They would have induced me at that time but the baby had crawled all the way up into my ribs and my body was not ready to have the baby.  I found it ironic since I was having pre-term labor contractions during my pregnancy.

That night, my blood pressure jumped to 168/100.  Chad and I decided we better go in so we called his mom to come and stay with the kids.  We felt bad calling her when it was so late and dark.  We arrived at the hospital and I was given 4 hours of antibiotics because I have a mitral valve prolapse.  They started Pitocin at a low dose to see if it would do anything.  Needless to say.......it didn't.  Because my blood pressure was so high they recommended that I get an epidural.  I had an epidural placed and was feeling pretty good.  The nurse laid me back in bed to place a catheter and my blood pressure dropped to 64/42.  I told Chad that I was going to pass out.  They hurry and set me up in bed, put medication in my I.V. and Chad was patting my cheeks telling me to stay with them.  He kept calling me "Micheley" because that is his nickname for me.  Then the nurse started saying, "Shelly, Shelly stay with us."  I think that is what brought me out of my stupor because I was so bugged.  I finally replied, "My name is not Shelly."  My Pitocin was increased which was giving me hard contractions but without producing many results.  My doctor came and sat on my bed and said, "I am not sure what we should do at this point."  That is the last thing a patient wants to hear from their doctor.  My cervix wasn't budging, the baby was high and he was afraid to break my water for fear of a prolapsed cord.  He even mentioned possibly sending me home.  Chad and I just looked at each other as if to say, "Are you kidding me?  My blood pressure is crazy high and I have been laboring all night."  He decided to put a few pin sized holes in my water and see if that would bring the baby down.  Well, it started some pretty good contractions and I noticed that I was feeling everything.  The nurse brought the new anesthesiologist in and he confirmed that the epidural had come out of my back, so he placed another one.  My water broke on its own and the contractions really started coming.  Once again, I didn't have any relief.  The anesthesiologist came in again and did the poke test.  I felt everything.  By this time I had started to transition and I was a mess.  The anesthesiologist pulled everything out of my back and decided to try again.  The last thing you want to hear from an anesthesiologist working on your spine is "Ooops."  He tried to placed 2 more epidurals, but he couldn't get them to thread in my back.  Then I heard, "Oh no.  I am so sorry."  He had passed the epidural space and punctured a hole for my cerebral spinal fluid to leak out.  If you have ever heard of a spinal headache, that is where they come from.  He finally was able to place another epidural just in time for me to push.  Unfortunately, my doctor had gone home and it was going to take him 20 minutes to return.  I was informed to not push for 20 minutes until he could get there--nice.

The good news is that we delivered a healthy 7 lb. 7 oz. baby boy.  The bad news is that I had a major spinal headache.  It basically feel like your brain is jiggling with any loud noise and you can barely lift your head up.  I was doped up on narcotics which I wasn't happy about using.  Luckily the medicine took the edge off enough for me to enjoy the baby.  I was also instructed to drink as much caffeine as I could because it helps stimulate the production of cerebral spinal fluid.  At night, the nurses kept asking me if they could take the baby to the nursery for the night.  I said, "This is my 5th baby and I know how fast this stage passes.  I want to keep him with me all the time."

When I got home, my headaches were so bad.  They subsided when I would lay down, but when I would sit up I felt like I had a hammer to the head.  Before the I left the hospital I decided that I better do a blood patch to help with the headaches.  Another anesthesiologist came into the room to do a blood patch.  Basically you take blood out of your arm and inject it into your spine.  Your own blood helps to clot the holes to stop the cerebral spinal fluid from leaking.  When he found out who had placed my other epidurals, he didn't feel comfortable trying on my back because he said the two who placed my spinals were the best.  So, I left the hospital with headaches.  A few days later I was talking to my nurse angel friend, Melanie, who had talked to an anesthesiologist at her hospital (IMC) and he consented to doing a blood patch for me.  It sounds like a simple thing, but it really hurt.  They took 20 ml. of blood out of my arm and injected it into my epidural space.  It felt like crazy amounts of pressure.  After the procedure was done, the anesthesiologist asked me to slide over on the bed onto my back.  I literally couldn't.  I thought to myself, "Oh great, now I am paralyzed."  Luckily......I wasn't.  After lying on the table for an hour, I was able to sit up without headaches.  The only thing that hurt was my back, but it was do-able.  I was instructed to not do much but take care of my baby for 3 weeks.  I was instructed not to lift anything besides my baby for 3 weeks.  I knew it would be difficult with the upcoming move, but I wasn't willing to undo the blood patch.  Bless you Melanie and bless you Dr. Green.

I delivered on Wednesday and we were supposed to move into our new house on Saturday.  Chad called an audible and we decided to move into our new home the next Saturday.  So many people from the ward helped out with dinners.  I had family members come and help me clean the new house and organize closets.  We had so many friends, family and ward members help us with the move.  We are so, so, so grateful for all of the help.  I guess the Lord is trying to help me with my pride because I didn't have any other option but to let others help me.  I can't express how grateful I am.  Thank you to everyone for everything!

We are now in our new home with a new baby.  Life is crazy..........really crazy.  Chad was not able to hook up the washing machine before he left out of town for work this week because there were some issues with it, so I had to drag my kids and a newborn to the local laundromat.  It was a choice experience to nurse a baby there while my other kids pushed each other in the laundry baskets.  :)  But, I have learned a lot about patience, service and gratitude this past month.  Life sure has its ups and downs, but I am glad it does.  Just like the heart monitors at the hospital, you don't want to see a straight line.  You want to see lots of ups and downs so that you know you are alive.  Well, I am very alive this month...........and I am grateful.  :)