First bath

I tried to post this last week but the video upload didn't seem to want to work. I'm hoping this time the video doesn't turn black. The day after Alexander came home I gave him a bath on the kitchen counter. Dakota decided she wanted to film his first bath so she grabbed the camera. All the girls were excited to watch Alex take his first bath because they wanted to see if he loved the water as much as Megan did. They got a little more than they bargained for though. Nancy will think this is funny because she warned us many times about the dangers of taking a little boy's diaper off with out proper precautions.

It was so funny to see the girl's reactions to the bath surprise. They couldn't stop laughing and they had to tell Grandma many times about what happened. I have since learned to leave a wash cloth over the area that caused such a bout of laughter in every one so that his subsequent baths have all been event free.

Visitor ban lifted

Remember my post titled "I hate the swine flu"? I talked about my frustrations for the visitor ban placed on the maternity ward of the hospital I was going to deliver in. I was saddened because the girls wouldn't be able to visit their new brother in the hospital. I called the hospital in December and was told the ban was still in place and wouldn't be lifted until mid January at the earliest. Well I am happy to report that by the time Alexander was born the ban had been lifted and the girls were able to visit. I was so happy. Here are the first family pics.
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It's Official!!!!!

We have so much more traffic in our neighborhood today than we have since we moved in. In fact it was so crowded with cars and people taking pictures you would have thought they were filming a movie down the street from us. I guess we should get used to it though because it is here to stay. President Monson has announced that Payson is getting a temple. It will only be 2 blocks from our house. Can you believe it, a temple in my backyard!!!! I am soooooo excited!!! I can't tell you what this means to me. I will get to see it every day. I have been reminded though that we have always had not one but many temples in our backyard. It is so easy to take the temple for granted when you have such easy access to them. Even in Arizona I was only 10 minutes from the temple. Thank you so much Ty for reminding me that I have always had this blessing.

President Monson Announces New Temple in Payson, Utah - LDS Newsroom

Fun baby pix

Here are some random pictures of Alex.

Jack and Oliver trying to figure out what this new thing was.  They are so good with him.

One week old.

He's already working on the puppy dog face.

"Harah for Israel!"

(for reference see the movie "The Other Side of Heaven")

Cute hair

Rebecca and Dakota were treated to a day at the local beauty school for one of their Activity Days activities. They had their nails and hair done by the girls at the school. The girls loved it so much. I wish I was tallented enough to do these fun hair styles on the girls but I couldn't even think of different hairstyles let alone create them. The school offers birthday party packages and the girls are seriously considering having their party at the school. I think it would be a blast.

Dakota's lovely locks.

Rebecca's cool curls.

Road Trip

One of my favorite activities to do with my dad is to go on road trips with him.  You never know where you will end up.  We used to take road trips all the time when I lived with him in Arizona before marriage and kids entered my life.  We would go for a drive with no destination in mind and be gone for hours just exploring different areas of the state.  He would just decide as we were driving which direction to drive and then we were off.  Sometimes we even got out of the car for some light hiking and exploring these new areas on foot as well.  These are some of my most favorite memories.  I really miss those adventurous road trips with my dad. 

When he was here waiting for the baby to arrive we couldn't do too many activities because I was uncomfortable and unable to walk too far.  Plus the baby could arrive at any minute so we had to stay close to home.  After the false labor dissapointment I really wanted to get out of the house and do something.  I asked my dad if he wanted to take a road trip and see what we could find around here.  He jumped right on the suggestion and we were off.  Rebecca and CJ decided to come with us.  We didn't have any destination in mind we just set out to drive.  We drove through Salem to Spanish Fork and then headed up the Spanish Fork Canyon on Hwy 6.  We started disscussing the trip to the Manti Temple that my ward took a few weeks after we moved in and how long it took to get to Manti from Payson.  My dad saw the sign that pointed the way to Manti and took the turn down that road.  It was a beautiful drive and I loved seeing so many of the old homes that are still in the area.  Before we new it we were in Manti.  We passed through some older cities on the way to Manti and they were so fun to see with all their Christmas decorations.  We took some pictures of the Temple and then headed home in a different direction so that we were still exploring and not seeing the same scenery we already passed through.  We were gone for a lot longer than we had planned not to mention farther away from the hospital than we intended to be, but it was so fun and it was such a great escape from the waiting game that seemed to dominate my thoughts.  Thanks dad for another great road trip.

Two weeks old

I took Alexander in for his two week check today.  He's doing very well.  When he went to see the doctor at 4 days old to be weighed he had dropped to 8lb. 7oz.  Very typical for a newborn.  Today he was weighed and he has gained an entire pound.  He wieghs 9lb. 7oz. and has grown 1 inch already.  Good job little man.  He also had to have his heel poked so he could have the second PKU check.  I forgot how much blood they need for that.  The nurse seemed to squeeze forever.  He got a clean bill of health though so everything is going so well.  Alex is such a good baby.  I love to give him as many kisses as he will let me give him.  All the fears I had about having a little boy are gone.  I feel so much peace when I look at him.  I am so grateful to Heavenly Father for each and every one of our children.

Alexander's arrival

After the false labor embarrassment I kept having occasional contractions all the time, every day, but tried not to think too much about it because I felt so bad waking my family up in the middle of the night for nothing.  Sunday afternoon I started having the contractions a little more frequently but they felt exactly like false labor so I didn't say anything.  When I went in to labor with Dakota (the only other child I went into labor on my own with) the contrations started in my back similar to gas pains before they moved in to the front, so that is what I was waiting for to signal that the contractions were real and not false.  The day went on and the contractions kept coming a little more frequently but not really painfully.  I timed them to about 10 to 20 min. appart. for most of the evening.  They did get a little closer around 10:30pm so I thought maybe I should go in but was just not sure so agian I said nothing.  I sat on a rocking chair talking to my mom and kept falling asleep.  When I fell asleep the contractions were very light if at all so I decided that they were most likely false again and went to bed around midnight.  Just like before it took me a while to fall asleep but when I did I kept dreaming about the contractions.  I got up about 2:45am for a break and thought they were a little closer together but they were still not too strong so I went back to bed.  At 3:20am I got up again thinking that if I really was in labor I'd rather labor in the hospital where there were drugs for when the contractions got too painful.  I debated on taking a shower or just going right then.  The contractions stopped as I was thinking about the shower so I figured once again they were false.  At 3:30 CJ woke up to see if I was okay.  I told him I think I am in labor.  He asked if it was real this time.  I said I wasn't sure but I wanted to get in the shower just in case I did end up going in.  In the shower the contractions came back with a vengance.  I got out and started to fix my hair while CJ took a shower.  It only took 10 min. before the contractions got so strong that I could no longer hide them and they were about 3 min appart.  I was in to the moaning phase.  I figured they had to be real this time but I was still afraid of being sent back home.  I finally decided to wake up my mom and said we should probably go.  She got right up and we left for the hospital.  I'm not sure what time it was then but the contractions were so bad now that I dreaded the 25 min. trip to the hospital.  I did my best not to scream so I counted backwards from 12 as calmly as I could during each contraction.  I was having a hard time staying calm though since the contractions were now comming about 1 min. apart and hurt really badly (I did scream a few times in the car.)  I was so grateful to see that the trip to the hospital seemed to be going really quickly even though my mom wasn't speeding.  We got off the highway and on to the surface streets before I knew it and when we came to the first red light I tried to keep my sense of humor and told my mom to run the light.  She laughed and said that it shouldn't take long for the light to go green.  It felt like an eternity to me but I knew we were almost there.  One more red light and we were finally at the hospital.  My mom pulled up to the front doors and I asked CJ to make sure the doors were unlocked before I got out of the car because I wasn't sure I could get back in.  Thankfully there was one door unlocked.  The maternity ward was on the 5th floor (extremely stupid to me since all other hospitals have them on the 1st floor with a direct entrance) so I walked quickly to the elevator hoping to make it before the next contraction.  The night guard asked if I wanted a wheel chair and I didn't even look at him as I said there wasn't time and I prefer to walk.  The elevator reached the 5th floor just as the contraction ended so I knew I had one minute to get past the locked doors and stupid red phone before the next one hit.  I got to the front desk and the lady looked at me and called back for a room for a labor check.  Yeah right, I knew I was in full blown labor by now, couldn't she tell.  A contraction hit right then and I said I could feel the baby comming.  That brought a look of panic on the receptionists face real quick, as well as mine.  She asked if I needed a wheel chair and I said no, I just want to walk so we left right away.  I practically ran behind her to the first room available and barely made it before the next contraction.  Right after I got to the room 4 nurses ran in because I was now past moaning and into screaming.  After that contraction I got into bed as one nurse helped me into the gown and tried to see how far along I was.  The nurse had a hard time seeing how far along I was because she was checking during a contraction and I couldn't relax.  She thought it was an 8 or maybe complete.  The other nurse asked if she just said I was complete.  Right then the water broke.  They all came running over.  One nurse tried to get the IV in because I am group B strep positive and they need antibiotics to protect the baby during delivery but I couldn't give her my arm because of the next contraction.  They asked if I would like to try to get the epidural but I said no I want the IV meds.  She said it was way too late for that and right then I felt the baby coming (apparently it was too late for the epidural too.)  I had a moment of panic when I realized I was going to deliver the baby with no drugs.  I never in a million years would have thought that I would deliver with no medication.  I told the crowd the baby was coming and one nurse put her hand to my face and said "DON'T PUSH!"  I told her I wasn't but I couldn't stop the baby either.  The contraction ended and I was able to hold the baby off for a few moments, however, with the next contraction the baby shot out like a bullet.  No crowning, no head then shoulders then body, the baby just shot out and landed ON THE BED in one second.  Everyone was in shock.  I was a little scared because I didn't hear a cry and they seemed to be working on him franticly before moving him to the baby bed.  I just laid there dazed and confused trying to wrap my mind around the fact that it was already over.  Finally I heard the baby cry and I knew everything was going to be fine.  Just then my doctor walked in the room.  He was asleep on the 4th floor.  He got a page that one of his patients just arrived screaming and it was a code white.  He put his pants on (TMI for me) and ran upstairs but still didn't make the delivery.  The nurse said that I arrived on the floor at 4:41am and delivered at 4:44am.  He said thats what I get for waiting so long with a 5th baby.  I just wanted to smack him.  It was because of him that I wasn't sure if I should come back or not.  He asked if the baby was what we were expecting.  I said I don't know because no one told me what it was yet.  Just then a nurse trying to be funny said, "Yup, it's a baby."  CJ smiled at me and said it's a boy.  They brought him to me so I could hold him for a few minutes before they took him to the nursery.  They needed to take him sooner than usual because he didn't receive the antibiotics during delivery and they needed to check him out asap.  He was perfect with a full head of BLOND hair.  That shocked me.  All the kids were born with dark hair so I didn't expect to see blond hair.  It has since darkened up a little.  It's dark blond now with light blond streaks.  He is absolutely beautiful!

Looking back my mom said that if she knew how close I was to delivery she would have run all the red lights.  CJ is really glad that he didn't have to deliver the baby in the back seat of the car.  I still can't believe how close we came to doing just that.  After the nurses left the receptionist came in and told me that she was so glad I was able to walk in to the room because she couldn't find a wheel chair or any nurses to help her right then.  One of the delivery nurses came up to my mom down stairs and told her, with big eyes, that that was exciting.  All in all we feel so blessed that everything ended up so well, and that both baby and momma are healthy.

His first day here on earth.  His face was bruised from the birth.  The bruising has gone away.

Perfect little boy.

Posing for momma.

Sleepy little man.

Baby poll winners

Here are the results for the baby poll.  Thanks to everyone who played along.  It was so fun to see everyone's guesses.

Date:
Grandpa Tanquary and Myranda with Jan. 4th  (Right on.  Way to go guys.)

Time:
Grandpa Tanquary with 5am  (Only off by 16 min.  Boy you're good.)

Weight:
Matt with 9lb. 1oz.  (Are you good or what.  It was off by 1 oz.  Thank goodness, I was expecting 10lb.)

Length:
Amy and Grandma Tanquary with 20.5 in.  (Right on again.  You know your babies.)

Name:
Well, everyone was a little bit off but they were so fun to read.  I think that was the best part of the game.

The grand winner is...Grandpa Tanquary with two guesses most closely matching the real deal.

Baby Boy Thompson is here!

I just wanted to post a quick note to announce that our sweet little boy is finally here.  He was born at 4:44am on Jan. 4th.  He weiged 9lb even and is 20.5 in. long.  He is a beautiful healthy little boy and we feel so blessed.  I will post again as soon as I can with the birth story (you won't want to miss it) and some pictures of our little man.  Right now I have to go feed him.


We did finally name him.  I just thought I'd make you wait but I won't.  His name is Alexander Charles Thompson.

Eventful night (and day).

Well I took the caster oil on Wednesday night like I said, ate dinner, then sat down to watch a movie.  About an hour after the caster oil I started having contractions.  These were pretty strong but the thing that got me excited was that they were coming on regular at about 10 min. apart.  I managed to make it through the movie and then started playing games with my parents.  The contractions did slow down during the game so I didn't think much more about it.  After games we went to bed around 11pm.  I was still having irregular contractions so it took a while to fall asleep.  I kept dreaming that I was having one big contraction that never went away.  I woke up about 1:30am for a usual potty trip and noticed that my dream was infact a reality.  I was having strong contractions that just seemed to be coming one right after the other.  I didn't know if they were real or not so I just laid there seeing if they stopped.  By 2:30 I realized that they weren't stopping nor were they getting any farther apart, they were still coming on one right after the other.  I decided that it would be better to be safe and go be checked out at the hospital than to wait too long and have the baby at home or worse, in the car on the way to the hospital.  It was snowing and pretty icy on the roads so it took a little longer to get to the hospital than usual.  Normally that would be okay but in the car the contractions got stronger and longer.  I was sure that it wouldn't be long after arriving at the hospital that we would have baby.  I was taken to an L&D room and hooked up to the monitors.  Acording to the monitors the contractions were 2-5 min. appart and they were deffinately getting stronger.  The nurse checked to see what dialation I was at and it was a 2+.  A little more than my doctor appointment earlier so I was excited to see more progress.  I was given an hour and checked again.  No change this time so I was given another hour.  No change again so my doctor was called.  He said to wait two more hours and check again.  After the last wait it was now 7am and again there was no change.  The doctor said that I was most likely in early labor so he wanted me to go home and rest.  He said to come back at 1pm and if there was still no progress he would have the nurse induce labor to help it along.  I couldn't believe they were sending me home but I at least knew that it was only a matter of hours now before we would have baby.

I went home and rested easily since I had not gotten much sleep that night.  By the time I woke up though the contractions had stopped completely!  I couldn't figure out why but it didn't matter because I was told to come back and be induced.  When I got back I was checked again and was now a 3 and 60% efaced.  The contractions had come back but now they were about 12 min. apart.  I was back to the waiting game again.  After a few checks with no new progress the nurse decided that I wasn't in early labor but was really just having false labor so she called the doctor and convinced him that there was no need to induce the baby.  They sent me home again and told me to come back when I was really in labor.  Needless to say that didn't make me very happy. 

I was so close and now we were back to square one.  Not wanting to give up completely we went straight to Wal-Mart to walk around hoping to get things started again.  No such luck, not even one little contraction.  I went home and took another dose of caster oil since it had worked so well the night before but this time there was nothing.  I guess I truly was in false labor.  It was a hard night as I watched the clock tick closer and closer to midnight on New Year's Eve knowing how close we were to having the baby exactly when I was hoping to, but realizing that it wasn't going to happen now.  It's still very emotional for me...but at least I know that the baby is doing well and that is what is most important.  I don't want to do anything that would hurt the baby.