I cannot even believe that Maddox is here in our home. I was nearly certain that this little boy would be late...never did I think Early! Not even after 7 hours of active labor contractions Monday morning. This week has been absolutely hectic. I don’t want to forget any of it so I’m glad I have this venue to remember it all.
Im gonna go ahead & start on Friday Morning.
Friday morning the boys were up early (which is 5am in our house) & so I put Tre’s school uniform on him, made breakfast & we snuggled in to watch a few noggin shows before school started. It had snowed the night before so the roads were slick & the house was freezing! I checked the local news for cancelations…but nothing for Tre’s school. I was disappointed. I thought it would be so fun to have his first “snow day.” 8 rolled around so I pulled the car to the front of the house & let it run to heat it up. I piled the boys into the car with jackets, back pack, hats & snack. When we pulled up to the school…what did we see…NO ONE! Yay! So Tre did end up having his first snow day after all. We had planned a play date for that day after Tre got out of school. I had some things to get for the play date. I decided to go straight to the store from the school then head home. When we got to the store Tre was his normal self asking for a new match box car..so of course that was our first stop in the store. As we crossed off items on my list I noticed Tre was looking a bit pale. When I went to give him a snuggle he was on FIRE! Just warm as could be. We finished up real fast & checked out. Before leaving Tre had to make a quick run to the potty…and that’s when the flu hit! Except I thought it was something he had eaten. I did not suspect the flu at all. We went home and I pondered canceling the playdate as I emptied the grocery bags. Tre said he felt fine so I made a little bed on the sofa for him to rest. Britt went down for his nap & the afternoon carried on as usual. Tre’s temperature went down & again I assumed it was simply something he ate. The finkleas & the whitings came over to play around 1pm & then the Daddies joined us all & we had cake and a song for Austin’s birthday. The adults then got all the kids ready to go and we all climbed into our cars to go to Joe’s house to shoot guns... I was NOT thrilled with the idea only because Tre was starting to wilt & his temperature was back up. Just in case I brought a bright yellow sand pale with us. Im so glad I did…it was 20 minuets into our venture out & Tre was sick sick SICK! We headed home & got the boys cleaned up & put to bed. We hoped & prayed that Tre would feel better.
Which Brings us to Saturday.
Saturday Morning I awoke at 4am to start getting myself & all the sclater guys ready for the ward temple trip. The trip would require us to spend 8 hours in the car. I went to feel Tre’s head first before getting showered & ready. I snuck to Tre’s bedside & the boy was burning up. So I went to Rod, we talked about it, prayed about it & then made the decision to stay home. Saturday we just gave Tre extra love & cuddles. Britt colored & caused chaos. It was a good day, but we were disappointed that we missed the temple trip.
Which brings us to 12:34am Sunday morning…when it all starts going DOWN HILL!
I awoke feeling 100% AWFUL! I grabbed a pillow & went to distract myself with whatever was on TLC. Not 20 minuets later Rod was out on the couch with me feeling just plain pitiful too. From that point on we each fell apart. I knew that 5am was going to come soon & Britton would be calling out to get up. Between sprints to the bathroom I pleaded that Heavenly Father would PLEASE help me have the strength to care for the boys knowing that Rod was worse then I was. I prayed & prayed that I would be able to settle my tummy & care for sick Tre, Sicker Rod & our mischievous Britt. My prayers were answered, I still felt my worst in a long time, but I was able to walk a straight line, and pour OJ. The boys were particularly understanding & sweet. We all were ready for bedtime when it came. Needless to say we had to miss church & stayed in our jammies all day hoping for the yuckies to pass.
Now the real Fun begins… Monday Morning.
I had not slept well at all. The boys were fussy with runny noses and coughs. I was worried about Rod & I myself was still incredibly sick & feeling not quite right. I awoke at 3:45am with “cramping.” I grabbed my book & went to read a little to distract me from the discomfort (okay…pain.) One by one my boys awoke. Britt at 5, Tre at 6:30 and Rod at 7. Rod is extremely anxious when it comes to class attendance. He never misses class, but opted to miss the day and catch up over the holiday. He was still sick & miserable, & he could tell that sunday had warn me out as I had taken 100% charge of caring for our sick family while also being just as sick as the rest of them. By 8am I was buckling over. I started to think…maybe this is labor, but doubting it as I still had 2 plus weeks of pregnancy according to my doctor. But still the thought that maybe this is it sent me in a full blown nesting frenzy! Between “cramping” I mopped the floors, did laundry, emptied dishwasher, cleaned bathrooms. Washed sheets, took trash out, vacuumed & made beds etc… By 9:45 Rod had seen enough of me hitting my knees each time a wave of pain came. He told me to call my parents (who had plans to come to our rescue when baby came…they are only 4 and ½ hours away.) and give them a heads up & then he took charge! He told me to take a shower & get ready. He called my Drs office & started to chart my “cramping.” At this point we both were certain how the day would end..but I still was thinking…”not today..please not today, im too sick, the boys are sick, rod is sick. NOT TODAY!” I called tamsyn, our sweet friend and she came over to watch the boys & give them love. We took off to the hospital. I was hooked up to the monitor & low and behold…my CONTRACTIONS (not cramps) were off the chart. I had already accomplished 8 hours of labor at home. I was ½ way there. I was admitted & Rod made plans for Tamsyn to be relieved so she could go back to her own little family, and for our friend Joe & his girlfriend Abby to take her place. The boys were well cared for which made the day a bit easier. I was super dehydrated after Sundays happenings so they had to get lots of IV fluid in before any pain relief could be considered. Ill spare all the details but of my 3 sweet boys this pregnancy was by far the easiest, but the labor was the WORST! My labor slowed down a little shy of the push stage so they turned off my epidural. I experienced labor in its fullness…and let me say…I cried like I have never cried before! But in the end sweet baby Maddox was in my arms, Healthy, strong & BEAUTIFUL! We were elated! We still are!
When I reflect on the days I noted here I see our Father in Heaven’s hands in our lives. Although the flu was awful, we were forced to stay home from our weekend to Nashville…which was good considering the approaching birth of our sweet baby, I also feel so blessed that Rod was home to take me to the hospital. He will tell you that I probably would not have called him even when the pain reached unbearable had he been at class. So I am grateful for the awful terrible, no good flu & how it insured that we were near our hospital, doctor & friends who could care for our boys. So here we find our selves with another son sooner then anticipated, we are still trying to find our bearings, and we are still trying to shake the flu…but we are smiling & learning & growing closer together!
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