e-mails

I forgot to mention in my last post that my address book for my e-mail is also gone, so if you could send a quick e-mail to cmurray433@msn.com , I can get all your e-mails back on file.

Computer Troubles

I hope everyone reading this is smarter than us, and have everything on your computers backed up. We learned our lesson the hard way this last week. Our hard drive crashed. Ten years of information-gone. Just like that. TEN YEARS! Thankfully, I had some of our older pictures backed up to CD, but every picture I've taken in the 2 1/2 years, is gone. That's Ben's whole life! We have ordered an external hard drive that will back up everything from now on.
So, if your computer is not backed up, let this be a lesson to you. Get it done!

Our New Arrival

Introducing Weston Thomas Murray. He was born on May 9th at 4:22 am. He weighed 6 lbs 6 oz and was 20 inches long.

If you want all the details, read on. If not, skip to the last paragraph.

I had been having "false labor" (nothing false about the pain) since Sunday night. Finally, by Thursday, my contractions started becoming regular and it was time to go in. My Mom was already here, so Jason and I headed to the hospital.

Now, I need to backtrack for a moment. Early on in this pregnancy, I got the idea in my head that I wanted to try to go natural with this birth. If this was going to be my last pregnancy, I didn't want to have gone through them all without ever knowing what it was like to try it unmedciated. I may of been crazy, but I decided then that's what I wanted to do. I shared my thoughts with my nurse midwife, and she arranged to have a couple of Doulas (child birthing coaches or helpers) to come to my birth. They were just starting to do this professionally, so they offered their services for free instead of the usual $400 fee.

Back to the hospital. I was dilated to a 3 when I arrived. I was hopeful that it would go fast. It took me about another 3 hours to get to a 4. With my other births, by the time I got to a 4 and had my epidural, I had the baby here in an hour. So, I fully expected to go quick at this point. The thing I hadn't considered, was that I always had my water broken after my epidural, which no doubt sped things up.

My midwife was unavailable all night due to other births, so I was very glad that I had the Doulas and Jason. They made a great team. Jason put pressure on my back during each contraction and they took turns rubbing my hands and feet and helping me to relax. There was a nice jetted tub in my room, so I took advantage of that for several hours. They put essential oils in the tub and helped me to stay calm and relaxed. They were lifesavers.

Finally, by about 4am, Laurie, my midwife, was done with all the other deliveries. I had been at a 7 for quite some time. She thought I would go really fast if she broke my water. She was right. Within minutes of her breaking it, I was pushing. Although she first took a few minutes to try to turn the baby (he was posterior). A few minutes later he was born.

I've thought a lot about the difference between my births and what I liked better. In my own opinion, I've formed a list of pros and cons.

Pros of epidural:

An almost pain free birth

Cons of epidural:

Waiting for the numb feeling to wear off

Having to have an IV and being swollen because of it

Pain for several months at the injection site

Fear of something being put into my spine.

Pros of Natural:

No IV

No numbness

More husband involvement

Feeling of accomplishment

Quicker recovery

Cons of Natural:

Unspeakable pain

I was pretty sure I was going to die (for about 5 minutes)

The pain

I felt out of control (for about 5 minutes)

The pain

The pain

The Pain

So, If I had this birth to do again, would I do it the same? Yes. If I ever give birth again, would I do it the same? I think it's a little too soon to give an objective answer to that question. At this point, I'm just glad that it's over and that we have a precious new addition to our family. The boys all think he's pretty cool, even Ben, although it will be a full time job to keep Weston safe from him.

Dear Mother

So here she is, almost 33 years later, still cleaning, cooking, and doing laundry for me. Maybe she didn't realize what she was signing up for when she brought me into this world, but it's truly been a blessing having her here. Jason and I were able to go to the hospital, have our baby and relax, knowing everything at home is being taken care of. Not only do I know the kids are being fed and cared for, but I know I'll come home to a clean house, clean laundry, and meals on the table. I don't know how I'd do it without her.

Happy Mother's Day Mom! You're the best! I love you.

I also wanted to add this. She knitted this sweater, hat, and blanket for the new baby. It's so cute, I love it!

(Click on the picture to see the details)

Fun in the mud

This is what happens when I take a bathroom break and oldest brother (I won't mention any names) is "keeping an eye out".

Ben's First Haircut

Ben had his first haircut tonight. I wasn't planning on giving him one, but after I gave one to the other boys, he climbed right up in the chair and wanted his done too. It lasted about 30 seconds. He didn't have much hair to begin with, so I just ran the clippers over his head. Maybe we'll make it to a minute next time.

Babies Are Brave

As my due date approaches, the baby questions inevitably start to come.
"How are babies made?"
"But how do they get into your tummy?"
"Where do they come out at?"
And so on. And so on. While looking at some books and discussing some of the facts, Spencer came to a new realization. "Babies live in WATER! I can't BELIEVE IT!! I never knew babies were that brave!"
Yes Spencer. Six and a half years ago, even you were that brave.

Ben's Better!

I've been trying to decide weather or not I want to write about this past week. It's been a rough one, but since this is more or less my journal right now, I wanted to have it on record.
I don't want to go into all the details, so here is the abridged version:
Saturday, Ben started having what would be a series of seizures over the next few days. Fortunately, it appears that his seizures were only fever induced, or febrile seizures. As it turns out, they're not that uncommon. We've actually had a friend experience one with their child, so it wasn't totally unfamiliar to us. The scary part was that after two ER visits, including a ride in the ambulance in the middle of the night, they unable to tell us if he was having seizures or not. We didn't know what was wrong. What Ben was experiencing was uncharacteristic of a regular seizure. It wasn't until he had a longer, more characteristic one at home later on Sunday that we knew for sure that we were dealing with seizures. It was the most horrible and scary thing we've ever been through. At one point, while waiting for the ambulance, we didn't know if he was going to make it.
There were a lot of ups and downs for the next few days, but by Wednesday he was as good as new. The doc has ordered an EEG for him just to be sure, but doesn't anticipate that there will be any problems. He will, however, need to monitored closely and treated aggressively for any fevers he has in the future.
There are no words to describe how grateful we are that he is doing so much better. We are also so grateful for all the support and concern given by all of you and others around us. We almost forgot we have two other kids; they were so well cared for through it all. We pretty much didn't see them for three days. They thought it was all a big party. Especially the sleepovers.



Even when he's sick, he knows what he wants. He would not let me take off these shoes.



Here he is today. All back to normal, thankfully. I won't complain about his messes for at least another week.
Just as he was getting better, I was getting sick. I guess I have a sinus infection. I pretty much just laid on the couch all day yesterday. Today I'm feeling much better. I'm just glad this baby didn't decide to come this week. We're shooting for next week. I think we should all be recovered by then.