Gavin's Birth Story

I guess Gavin did not want to be an "Irish Twin" as he was sure cozy inside me. Since Jacob was early and he was my third and having just been pregnant I assumed/hoped he would be at least a week early. Well the days in May came and went, all his little buddies were born and then it was June and then Jacob's birthday was approaching. There were so many times I thought he was close to coming - contractions for several hours but then I would wake up each morning as pregnant as ever. I did everything in my power to bring on contractions but God was teaching me that it was his timing and not mine. We were really hoping to not induce but going 2 weeks over is all they will let you do. I didn't want to have him on Jacob's birthday so the day after it was. Brad dropped me off at the hospital on Tuesday morning and then had about 45 minutes to kill with the boys before we could drop them off at a Mom's Morning Out Program. Good thing we had just been through the first hour of induction so we knew what to expect :)

Anyways, I got up to the room and got all hooked up to monitors, IV, etc. The nurse noticed I had some minor contractions and asked if I felt them. I said that I had for the past two weeks but they obviously haven't done anything. I got checked by the doctor and they started pitocin around 9:30am.  The first two hours were frustrating and the contractions were getting strong enough to get annoying and I just had to lay there through them. It was hard to even go to the bathroom being hooked up to everything. I made it very clear that I wanted the epidural as soon as the contractions were regular and strong enough. Well time kept slipping away, I was checked about 1:15 and was 6 cm and was starting to ask where the epidural guy was. Contractions were definitely getting stronger. I thought I leaked pee during one contraction and asked to go to the bathroom one last time before the epidural. The pressure down there was really strong. The epidural guy finally came and it was awful. I didn't remember it being that hard with either birth but I survived and told the nurses right away that it was wasn't working that I was still feeling a lot of pressure. The nurse told me that she bet I was ready to push. The doctor checked me (what I thought was leaked pee was actually my water breaking) and was at a 10 but the head wasn't that low. I said I would let the contractions try to push him lower. But the pressure was still there so about 5 minutes later I said I wanted to push. I probably pushed through 4 contractions and he was here at 2:35pm! The nurses were telling me when you are dilating fast that the epidural doesn't work all the way. I actually felt him come out this time which was weird. He cried for about the first hour and had a lot of junk in him which made it difficult to nurse at first but we are getting the hang of it now. Even though I had to be induced I am so grateful that it went quick and that he is here and healthy!


I've had a solo weekend (I'll blog about what the others have been doing in a few days) with just Gavin and here are a few pics I took of him sleeping. I love my little guy!

We had actually decided on the name a while back. It was more the name I liked and Brad finally came around. I had a weird thing where I wanted it to be 5 letters (like the others) and a different initial. So that narrowed down a lot. Kent is Brad's dad middle name. I love it that all my boys have middle names that honor the important men in their lives. Especially on this Father's day I am so grateful for my boy's daddy. Brad is an amazing husband and father. He obviously helps take care of the babies but seeing him interact with Chase as he gets older just melts my heart. Just one example is Saturday mornings, Chase loves to "work" around the house with his daddy. They do yard work, wash the van, clean the garage, etc. Having three boys to name the younger two after their grandfathers is also very special. Both Brad and I are so blessed to have fathers who love the Lord and their family, work hard, pray for us and who glorify the Lord with their lives. Happy Father's Day!!!