The Arrival of Adam Patrick

Adam Patrick Newbry

Kenny told me the other day that I needed to blog about our child before he enters kindergarten. While I still have a few years (at least 5 to be exact) until that happens, he does make a good point that I'm a little behind on my blogging. For some reason I've been dreading this blog. I don't know if it's because it's the last blog I'll write about the arrival of one of our children, or if it's just because I don't feel I have the words to describe such a wonderful event. I'm sure it's a little of both and a lot of other reasons as well. Anyway, I finally decided it needs to be done, so here goes.

We were told to go to the hospital at noon on Thursday August 19th for an induction. Dr, Huggins was out of town that morning, but expected to be back around noon so Kenny and I quickly found a babysitter for the other 5 kids (thanks so much Sara) and headed to the hospital. I wasn't expecting to be induced until the next Tuesday at the earliest so this was such a pleasant surprise. At this point I was so tired of being pregnant. The gestational diabetes had made me so large and uncomfortable, the baby had plenty of room to roam (thanks to the extra fluid) and therefore kicked and hurt me more than any of the other kids did, I couldn't sleep at night, and I was just all around miserable. The news of an early induction was music to my ears.

We arrived at the hospital a little after noon and got set up for the induction. Our nurse said she had just talked to Dr. Huggins who was still in Victor, Idaho. She wanted to wait to give me the pitocin until she was nearing Idaho Falls. This was not happy news to me. Luckily the nurse did start the medicine, but she used so little of it, it barely did anything. It took Dr. Huggins about 2 hours to get into town and by that time Kenny and I were so ready to go. There's nothing like sitting in a hospital room waiting for the doctor to show up. After I was OK'd to have the pitocin dosage upped, my body started to do it's thing. I got an epidural (those are so nice) and we hung out waiting for baby to come.

Adam with Dr. Huggins

I was slow moving at first, but I assumed that when I dilated to a 5 I would go quickly. That's what I typically do, but this time was an exception. My last 2 babies have been that way and I knew it meant there was something not right. Gracie didn't go quick because she was posterior and Daniel didn't go quick because he had that terrifying figure 8 knot in his cord. I knew something was up with Adam, I just didn't know what. About 5:00 the nurse discovered Adam was posterior, just like Gracie had been. This didn't excite me because it took Gracie FOREVER to correct her position (they almost did a C-section) and I wasn't looking forward to waiting for Adam to move. They had me lay on my sides to try and get him to move, but every time I'd lay on my right side his heart rate would drop drastically and this brought back images of Daniel's birth. So, to keep Adam's heart rate where it needed to be I stayed mostly on my back and waited for him to change position on his own.

Waiting for baby to come

Around 7:00 things started to happen. I was progressing much quicker thanks to Adam's willingness to move a little and the doctor was called back to the hospital for the delivery. When Adam arrived we discovered that his heart rate kept dropping because he had the umbilical cord wrapped around his neck. I must admit I'm not a fan of having babies born purple and not screaming. They took him quickly to the warming bed and I was left to frantically ask if he was OK. In total I've had 3 babies born screaming and 3 babies born quite (funny fact: all the girls were screaming and the boys were not) and when they're born silent I absolutely hate the helpless feeling of sitting in the hospital bed unable to get to my baby or see what's going on. Each time one of the boys was born Kenny was right over at the warming bed checking on them and being there with them. Being stuck in the hospital beds is definitely one of the disadvantages of being the mother. The doctor kept telling me he was fine, he just had the cord wrapped around his neck, but I still hadn't heard him cry. It seemed like forever (it was probably only a minute or so) before I finally heard that wonderful first cry.

The wonderful, welcomed scream of a new baby, finally!

Being that he had been posterior, he had bruises all over his face from hitting my bones as he was trying to come out upside down. His face was swollen and bruised, but it surprisingly didn't last too long. When he was first born he looked a lot like Daniel only with less hair. He was born at 7:14 and weighed 8 pounds 3 ounces. Thankfully he hadn't gained too much weight because of the diabetes and he was born a perfectly normal, healthy weight.

Weight: 8 lb 3.5 ounces

After he passed his first check I was able to hold him. There are few things in life more amazing than holding your child for the first time. Looking down into their beautiful face is such an emotional time. I've always thought to myself, 'Of course this is you. I should have known.' My babies always seem to belong from the moment they come into the world and Adam was no exception. It's a very spiritual time for me and it's something I'm truly going to miss.

Mommy and Adam

Being that it was so late we decided to wait until morning to let the kids come meet Adam. Kenny went to rescue our good friend Sara from all 5 of our kids and put them in bed. I was taken to my room where I was able to eat a nice boxed lunch and some crackers. I love eating after having a baby. It's such a wonderful feeling to get food back in my body. Adam was keep in the nursery for about 2 hours while he took a bath and did all the necessary tests. I finally got him back around 11:00. I fed him, held him, and just enjoyed him for about 2 hours and then sent him back to the nursery so I could get some much needed rest.

We are so happy to welcome Adam into our family. It took us awhile to name him, but we finally settled on Adam Patrick. We like the name Adam and think it fits well with the names of the other kids. Patrick comes from my side of the family. My dad's middle name is Patrick, my brothers first name is Patrick (he goes by his middle name) and I have a grandfather from the Lewis and Clark expedition whose name was Patrick. The name seems to fit him and hopefully he'll like it.

I'm consistently reminded of how lucky I am to have 6 wonderful, healthy children. We've had some easy births and some scary births and I'm fully aware of how lucky we are.Adam is a great addition to our family and we are truly blessed to have him in our lives.