8 month recap!

I can't believe I haven't written since November. 

Maybe I felt like I didn't have anything noteworthy or important to say.

Not that every post has to be important,

maybe I'm putting too much pressure on myself. 

To be funny.

Or clever.

Or witty.

Or heartfelt. 

And even though this post may not be any of those things, 

a lot has transpired since November,

so I guess a recap wouldn't be a bad idea.

At Christmas, we found out we were having...

A GIRL.

We were excited.

This seems like so long ago!

During the pregnancy J and I talked about our future family. 

We talked about his future as a medical student,

and then a resident.

Hours would be long.

Rotations would be hard.

Sleep deprivation would surely be the norm in our lives.

Studying.

Boards Step 1.

Studying.

Boards Step 2.

Studying.

Did I say studying?

And then as a resident?

More sleep deprivation.

On call.

Rounds.

80 hour work weeks.

I have heartburn when I think about it.

So as we talked,

we talked about this third bun baking.

Maybe this bun should be our last.

We left it as a maybe,

we'd come back to the conversation later.

Except the more we let the idea simmer in our minds,

the more clear the picture became of what our family looks like.

It's a family of 5.

We knew it.

We felt it.

This little starfish growing in my uterus would be the last one to inhabit the space.

My last roommate.

And so,

on Christmas morning, 

when we read the words,

"Congratulations, it's a girl!"

on the small card the nurse handed me at the doctor the week before,

we knew that this little girl was our caboose,

the last piece to the DeWitt family puzzle.

And that felt right.

At the beginning of the year,

Jason was offered an interview in Texas.

I tagged along.

We drove to the neighborhood I heard about to see if we could envision our lives there.

We fell in love. 

The interviews went great, and the school was fantastic.

Jason fell in love.

We were committed.

Though we still had an acceptance to UofA Phoenix,

(Or UACOM-P as the students call it)

we felt like Texas was where we would surely end up.

So now it was just a waiting game.

A couple of months after that,

more good news.

Mom was cancer free!

After a radical debunking surgery

and a few more rounds of chemotherapy,

she was in remission.

Of course this was the greatest blessing, 

and what everyone had been praying for for months. 

We threw her a party

and celebrated her victory.

Some time in March, I was awakened by the Spirit,

telling me to do a specific something in my Laurel's lesson I was giving that weekend.

After I had made the mental note to add that to the lesson,

I received this message,

"You are going to Texas. Start organizing the house. Everything will work out."

My chest burned as I heard those words.

It was clear.

I could not deny it.

And the next day, I told Jason about my experience.

We mentally prepared ourself for our move to Houston. 

Now all we needed was the official acceptance from the medical school. 

It was coming.

How could it not?

The Spirit had told me so.

The first weekend of April, UACOM-P had their second look weekend.

This is where they "wine and dine" their accepted applicants, 

hoping that those with multiple offers will ultimately choose their school.

Jason went, even though we were still waiting for an acceptance from TX.

After a full day of tours, talking to students and staff, and learning more about the school,

Jason surprised me by saying that if TX accepted him,

it was going to be more of a weighted decision than it was before.

He liked what he saw. And heard.

And felt like he fit in with the students better.

As he explained how his perspective had changed,

my focus started to shift as well.

Life WOULD be easier if we stayed here.

And the closer my due date got,

the more my mind changed from Texas to Arizona.

And then, 

after a while,

I didn't want to move at all.

I wanted to stay.

We were going to stay.

I didn't want to pack up the house while trying to recover from labor,

having a newborn,

trying to find a rental in Houston,

not knowing how long it would take for our house to sell,

Camden changing schools.

It was all too much.
So I picked out some paint and started decorating the girls' room.
Jason didn't stop me- so I guess I knew the answer was Arizona.

Fast forward to the morning of April 29th...
I was DONE with being pregnant,
it was time to get this baby out!
So after breakfast, I made myself a little castor oil cocktail,
plugged my nose,
and gulped it down.
And then I waited....
....
.............

At about 2 p.m., I felt my first real contraction.
Hard and long.
Then another at 2:20,
2:40,
2:50,
3:00,
and then every five minutes.
Jason called on his way home from work.
I told him I was having steady contractions.
When he said, "So you think this could be it??"
I said, "DON'T JINX IT!"
He got home around 4 and we walked down the park with kids.
I stopped with each contraction and held onto Jason.
At the park, it was uncomfortable to sit, to stand, to walk.
I was hurting.
And my back was taking the brunt of it.
Because I had a c-section with Navy,
my doctor didn't really want me to labor long because of risk of rupturing,
so at 6 o'clock when they were still 5 minutes apart and getting painful,
I decided to call Dr. Holmes.
Without wanting to know how far apart my contractions were or how long they were lasting, he said
"I'll meet you at the hospital"
It was go time!

After checking in, I was checked in triage and was only 1 cm dilated.
My doctor came in and said he wasn't sure that I was actually in labor,
though looking back I had never told him I was having back labor-
since that is a good indicator of true labor,
he probably wouldn't have made me wait.
Anyway,
he wanted to wait an hour to see if I would progress.
The hospital wouldn't let me walk around because I wasn't considered "full term"
which is now 38 weeks.
I was 37 and 4 days.
For that hour, I prayed hard!
I prayed that my labor would progress and that this baby would be born tonight.
I did NOT want to go home.
My contractions continued, but seemed to get less intense and farther apart according to the monitor.
I was worried.
But my back was still cramping so I figured that was probably a good sign.
After the hour was up, Dr. Holmes checked me again and I was at a 3!
HOORAY!
Then it was i.v. placement, sign paperwork, meet anesthesiologist, o.r. nurse,
and then the walk back to the operating room.
Seeing that room in a non emergency situation
(like I did with Navy)
was unnerving.
It's very sterile,
and cold
and unwelcoming.
I told Jason later,
"I can't believe you want to spend every day in a room like this"
He said I was crazy and that it made him excited.
Onto the table I went, hunched over,
and the spinal was administered.
And let me tell you,
I'm a huge wuss.
I cried and grabbed the nurse who was holding me.
It was not fun.

After I laid down, the drapes were put up,
and Jason was finally let in.
I felt the tugging and pulling and at 10:24 p.m.
we heard that sweet cry.
It was strong and loud!
They cleaned her off a bit and then laid her on my chest.
I was so happy to be able to hold her right after.
Because I was really shaky and feeling drugged from all the medication,
I didn't hold her long,
but I was grateful for the few minutes I got.
She weighted 7 lbs even and was 20 inches,
with a full head of red hair just like her sister!

Jason took pictures of the whole process,
but my (ahem) lower half wasn't covered,
so I'm going to spare you those.

Woah... I was swollen! No wonder I was so miserable!

We have had Lily Jewel in our family for 7 weeks now and we just love her.
She is a great baby and is really packin' on the pounds!
Her little cheeks have really filled out and she's got some delicious thigh rolls.
(Why doesn't anyone say that about me??)
Lily will be our last baby,
so I am trying to enjoy her as much as I can,
but man!
3 kids is hard!!
I am finally feeling like I am SORTA getting the hang of things around here,
but there are days where I still don't find time to shower.
It is overwhelming.

Since having her home,
we've been busy with summer camps, dance recitals,
work, doctors/dentist appointments, but Jason's last day of work for DeWitt Equipment is today!
He will have one whole week off before he starts school on June 27th,
so we are excited to spend some quality time as a family before our lives change forever.
And,
We are so grateful for Jason's dad, for employing him the last 7 years-
DeWitt Equipment has been a great blessing for our family.

That was a pretty long recap I'm sorry-
I really should be better about blogging.
Though I may have a more interesting life once Jason starts school,
so maybe there will be more frequent posts ahead!

Happy Friday!