I found out I was pregnant on our anniversary, June 16th, 2021. I was really worried when I found out I was pregnant because I had 3 consecutive miscarriages before this. Each one was before or at 6 weeks. The first was October 2019, the second January 2020, and the third was in August 2020. By this time, I was seeing a fertility specialist. They ran a bunch of tests and found out I didn't have enough progesterone to keep a viable pregnancy, so they put my supplemental progesterone to help. We were originally only going to tell our parents, but we told our siblings too. Evan and our kids came to the first ultrasound at the clinic. We thought it was going to be twins at first, but there was only one baby. It did look like two though because of the yolk sac in the ultrasound. I had 3 total ultrasounds there before I "graduated" and could move onto my regular doctor's office. Things were looking great each time I went in. At my first ultrasound, they said my due date was February 26th, 2022. But, when I went to my doctor's office, they changed it back to February 20th. I stayed on progesterone until my second trimester to stay safe. I was able to find out the gender around 13 weeks because we did genetic testing, I had to get two blood tests because the first was contaminated. Someone came to our house and drew my blood to send to the lab. We found out the gender a week or so later. I was surprised when we saw it was a boy! I really thought it was a girl haha. We wanted to find a German name for him too, but nothing fit. One day, while Evan was out running errands or something, he suggested naming him Cordell because he was due in February and would share a birth month with his daddy. :) Finally, something clicked and felt right! Evan wanted Xander as a middle name, but I vetoed it haha. I suggested Alexander instead. We officially found out the gender on October 4th, a week before my birthday :) We saw he was in fact a boy, even though I didn't completely see because he crossed his legs haha. Evan saw though. Every ultrasound I had, he always had his hands by his face. He still does in fact. It must be a comfort thing. :) I was actually pretty sick throughout this pregnancy. I had to take B6 and Unisom to help. I didn't have an appetite sometimes. It wasn't fun. In December, we all had covid I was really worried because I was pregnant. I was able to get antibody treatment. It helped, but my body couldn't handle the rate it was being administered, so it had to be slowed down fast. We all recovered well, so that was good. Because I had covid, they wanted to induce me at 38 weeks, that was February 8th, 2022. I had a follow-up ultrasound at 34 weeks to see how he was doing. He was measuring small. so that was another reason they wanted to induce sooner. After that, I had to get weekly ultrasounds and non-stress tests. At my last ultrasound, he was measuring 5lbs, 10 oz. I really thought he was going to come on his own, but he made it to his induction date! Evan and I were able to have a weekend in Logan before he was born, so that was nice. :) The night before my induction, we took our kids to my parent's house because they were already staying there while we were at the hospital. We stayed with Evan's parents. We wanted to be closer to the hospital because they were going to call me as early as 6am the next day. Evan and I got Canton Wok as a celebratory meal to eat for dinner that night. We took our kids to my parent's house then headed up to Evan's. He had to teach, so he ate dinner on break. Later that night, we finally fell asleep around 3am because we couldn't sleep. I was also starting to have contractions. I couldn't decide if I needed to go in early, so I just waited and kept track. I got a call from the hospital at 8:45 am. We had to get ready and load the car. By the time we got there and checked in, it was close to 10 am. I wish I remember the room number we were in, but I don't. The nurse had me get in a gown, then she did my IV. She did it on my forearm and I didn't like it haha. She was really nice though. She checked my cervix and I was at a 3 and 70% effaced. She started me on the Pitocin and my contractions were starting to come every minute to minute and a half! It was crazy because it was such a low amount they started me on. Because of this, the anesthesiologist came in sooner to give me my epidural. She had a few C-section patients and it would have been a while. I went to the bathroom first and when I got out, she was on her way. I sat up on the bed and leaned forward. Evan held onto me. I didn't like feeling the pinch and the needle going into my back, but once I was numb, I felt better. Luckily, I didn't feel the catheter afterward because I was numb. I got the epidural around 12:30. We thought was going to come pretty soon because of how quickly my contractions were coming. My doctor broke my water around 1:30 and said that should move things along faster. The nurse came back to check on me an hour later and I was still at a 3! I wasn't happy haha. She ended up putting me on my left side and put a peanut pillow under me. It was supposed to help move the baby down. I tried to get some sleep/rest, but I couldn't. She came back just before 4 and checked my cervix again. I was at a 7 1/2! I was so happy to have finally progressed! She was going to move me to my right side, but he didn't like that. His heart rate went down, so they moved me onto my back again. A resident doctor came in and checked me. I was at a 10 and 100% effaced! She used the term "complete." She was ready to deliver our baby, and I was making jokes with her about that because she was a resident. We heard my doctor run down the hall and yell, "I'm here!" Haha, it was awesome :) They got me into position to push. I was nervous even though I'd done this before. I pushed a few times but had to start over because I breathed too much. Evan was coaching me and told me to push after he saw his shoulders come out, and before I knew it, he was on my chest and a nurse was putting a diaper on him really fast. He was born at 4:22 pm. He is SO precious, truly a gift sent from heaven. I didn't have much skin to skin because he was really cold and had to be under the warmer for close to an hour :( They weighed him and I was really surprised to hear them say he was 6lbs, 3 oz, and 18 inches long! He gained some weight from my last ultrasound, so that was great. :) I didn't need to be stitched because I didn't tear. They gave me some ibuprofen and got me ready to go upstairs. It is always hard to get into a wheelchair when I am numb. We had a lot of stuff to take up, so some were put in the back of the chair. I don't remember the room number we had upstairs either. :( I blame being tired haha. They got us situated in our room and we ordered dinner. By the time we ate, it was after 7. I felt nauseous from lack of sleep. They gave me some medicine and sprite. I was able to breastfeed the little guy and he did pretty well :) I got a refresher from a lactation consultant the next day. He got his first bath the next day. I was actually able to stand by and watch. With our other kids, I was too weak from the epidural to get up and see up close. He cried at first but calmed down. :) He only wanted to sleep when he was held, so it was rough getting sleep. They took him for an hour so I could get some rest. Evan got him some cute things from the gift shop. An Aggie beanie and booties, and baby Yoda onesies. He also got us a special Willow Tree angel for a new baby :) He also installed the base and brought the car seat up. We were able to go home after 24 hours, it was really nice. He passed all of his tests and looked great! We got discharged just before 7pm. The CNA came down and helped us with our things and put it in a wagon. She had to check the base and Evan ended up moving it because it was too loose. After we left the hospital, we grabbed dinner at Arctic Circle. We were going to Evan's parent's house so they could meet the baby. Phyllis held him, but Joey wasn't up for it. Clarissa and her girls came over and she held him. We stayed later than we planned and I felt bad because Braelynn was calling me and asking to meet her baby brother. We left to go to my parent's so they could meet their new brother, Braelynn held him first :) It was so sweet, she loves her baby brother so much! Luka was a little shy, but he warmed up. My parents and Jessie held him as well. :) We got home after 1am. We were exhausted. I didn't get a lot of sleep, but that's okay. He is so worth it! He sleeps 2-3 hour stretches right now, At his newborn appointment, he lost some weight and was 5lbs, 13 oz. He didn't gain much back at his 2-week appointment, so I have to go back when he turns one month, which is already next Tuesday! I can't believe how fast time flies. I am soaking in all the newborn cuddles while I can. We love you so much, Cordy :) Thank you for joining our family!
