Sweet Baby Judah Bug

For those of you that actually still check our blog, here are some pictures of the Judah Bug (as we have affectionately named him!) I have been so MIA with my blogging. Everytime I even think about wanting to post, that's as far as I get.... just thinking about it! Life with four is crazy, but we are settling into a routine of sorts. Of course life has been pretty easy lately with the holidays and all the extra help. Blake is off work until the new year, so we'll see what I'm saying about four come January 5th! So far Judah has been a very easy baby. Pretty much like his brothers. He's sleeping good at night, sometimes even giving us 4 or 5 hour chunks! Unlike the other three he was not jaundiced when he came home so it was nice not having to deal with that for a change! He managed to stay healthy with two brothers hacking all around him. Even with quarantining Caleb and Nate for almost a month before Judah arrived, they still managed to catch some yucky cold and had fevers and the whole nine yards for about a week! I'm definitely learning it doesn't matter what you do, kids are just going to get sick! Judah weighed 9 pounds 11 ounces at his 2 week check. I looked back at the other boys' baby books and all three of them were right around there at the 2 week mark. Nate was even 9 pounds 11 1/2 ounces! We are loving having a newborn around again. The time just goes too fast... I am cherishing every bit!

the best Christmas present

playing under my bug gym
snoozin in my bouncy seat

still in my hospital get up!

The Long and Short Story

So I'm always quite amazed at all my girlfriends abilities to write about the birth stories of their babies and of course I always love reading them. So hear goes my attempt to recount the events of the last couple of days. Well actually the events of the last week... With my last two labors (Caleb and Nate) my body took like three days to actually ramp itself up to begin "real" labor after having false labor contractions for a couple of days. So of course this time I was expecting the same thing. Last Tuesday night, November 25th, I started to experience these false contractions. Now for those of you that have never had them, they are more than just uncomfortable Braxton Hicks and are actually painful. They really feel like the real thing and sometimes even get into a consistent pattern. I can't even tell you how sick I was of timing contractions. So for about a week, I experienced this and never knew if "this time" would be real. By about Monday I was convinced this baby would never come and had resigned myself that I was actually going to have to go to my 40 week OB appointment! (of which I have always had to make, but never actually had to go to)

So on Tuesday I was of course just expecting more of the same. And it was... nothing out of the ordinary. Picked Asher up from preschool around noon, came home, and put the boys down for their naps. Mom and I just hung out. I had a few contractions sitting down, so I decided to get up and change positions to see if they would continue. Nope. Boys woke up around 3:00 and we decided to put on a Christmas DVD for them. Sitting down watching the movie, the contractions start up again. About 10- 12 minutes apart.

4:30- Contractions still about 10 minutes apart but getting painful (Caleb is sitting on my lap watching the movie during these contractions)

5:00- Blake gets home and contractions are still coming, ate dinner and cleaned up still having contractions

5:30- Decide to go to Lowes to get the boys out of the house. While at Lowes curtain rod shopping, my contractions keep coming and continue to get more painful. Decide this IS probably the real thing and tell Blake we need to come home. (By the way, we did manage to pick out our curtain rod and tie back hooks with four kids one of which had to go all the way to the back of the store to potty (Caleb) in the middle of all the contraction action!)

6:30- Get home and start the whirlwind routine of baths and bedtime for the boys. Blake handled most of this as I am having lots of contractions and am timing them. About 5- 7 minutes apart by this time. Call my friend Laura in Georgia to tell her these are for real, but have to wait until they are consistently 5 minutes apart for about an hour before we call the doctor.

8:30- Some contractions are closer together than five minutes, but occasionally one would be longer in between than 5 minutes. Hurting like crazy.... this better not be false labor! Decide to call the doctor who tells us to go ahead and go to the hospital. Finish up packing and Blake makes his pot of coffee (just preparing for how my typical labors go... way into the wee small hours...) Leave for the hospital with some coming only three minutes apart!

9:15ish- Check in at REX. Blake drops me off (which I have never had him do before, but decided I didn't want to walk having contractions in the freezing cold) The entire waiting room was full so while waiting for Blake I just stood in between the two doors without having to actually wait inside so I wouldn't have to make a spectacle of myself! Definitely didn't want any security guards rushing for a wheelchair while I was waiting for Blake!

9:30- Into triage where the nurse decides after seeing me have a contraction that she needs to check me ASAP! Am 8 cm with my water about to break! I can hardly believe it as she starts immediately wheeling my bed into a room (with Blake helping her guide the back of the bed... ha!) She then precedes to start preparing me for the possibility that I may deliver so fast that I won't be able to get an epidural! WHAT!

10:30- Got epidural... Praise the Lord!

11:00- 11:15ish Feel my water break and a few minutes later am dilated to 10 and ready to go! Unbelievable!

11:30- After only pushing through a few contractions out HE came! I think I'm still in shock that I actually have FOUR boys. (although I really shouldn't be now should I!) And just for the record and for my friend Erin... I thought Judah was a Grace!

Here's Baby Judah

Here are some pictures of the events of last night. Obviously, there will be more to come in the next few days. Amber and Judah are doing great. Both healthy and looking fabulous.

This was before Judah arrived. This is Dr. Beatty. With her delivering Judah, Amber went 4 for 4 with her deliveries at Atrium. She had a different Ob for each one. Dr. Beatty said she didn't know of anyone else that had happened to.

Please keep us in your prayers. Amber and Judah will go home sometime on Thursday.

Welcome Baby Judah

Judah Riley Hickman, born at 11:30 pm. 8 lbs. 9 oz.

Baby whoever you are Update

Am's water just broke. They now say she was 7cm. when we got here. She's almost 9cm. now and with the water breaking it literally could be anytime now. Keep praying.

Well...

So about 5 o'clock this afternoon Am starts having contractions...REAL CONTRACTIONS!!! They were about 10 mins. apart, but we didn't think anything of it considering she had so much false labor this last week. About 7 o'clock, they started getting closer in the 5-7 min. range. We put off calling for a little while and finally Am called around 8:30. Dr. Beatty said to come on in and see where we were.
We got to Rex and figured that Am would be somewhere around 4 cm. if we were lucky. The sent us to triage and the nurse was about to get Am set on the machine, when Am had a contraction...A REAL BAD CONTRACTION!!! They nurse at that point decided to check Am. The look on the nurses face said it all. Am asked her is she was 3 or 4 cms. The nurse said, "Try 8! We're getting you to a room now!" So here we are. We're in the room and Am just got here epidural and the baby should be here soon. We'll keep you posted. Pray, pray, pray.