So, our little story begins in Ammon, Idaho.
In April 2014, I had the "feeling". That was followed by a missed monthly occurrence....
I had had a difficult time in January and I was hesitant to take a pregnancy test.......so I called my Dr. Kay and he told me to come in to the office and he'd do a urine test there so we wouldn't have to deal with a false test AND if it was positive, he'd put me on Progesterone right away to help the pregnancy "stick". It was positive!!!!!
A couple of months later, I had some pretty intense bleeding and I thought "oh no. Here we go again." I keep thinking that each time I go through similar things like this, it will get easier. Nope. Not easier. Again, grateful for the man who is in charge of my health care and the health of this little boy I was carrying. And grateful to Cecile who is stuck dealing with me freaking out most of the time.
After 6 intense months of vomiting and sickness (a condition known as Hyperemesis Gravidarum), lots and lots of IVs, D-day was here! I was scheduled to go into the hospital and be induced at 5 am. However, at 2:15, my water broke. I knew we didn't need to head over until my contractions were coming at about 7 minutes apart or so, so I woke Darren and jumped in the shower.
Whilst in the shower, the contractions began with a whopper that about put me on my knees. I thought to myself "I'm never going to make it to the hospital"! By the time we got into the car, I had had 4. In the car, 3 more. Walking into the hospital 1 more. By the time they got me to my room and checked me, I was dilated to a 5. By the time they got the epidural guy in there, I was at almost an 8. This is me trying to hold still through monster contractions. Uh huh. Men should never, ever say that to a woman in labor even if it is true.
After what seemed like minutes, the nurse came in, checked me and told me I was at a 10. Since I didn't feel the need to push yet, we just waited for Dr. Dad to come in. (We had called him on our way to the hospital). When we came in to check me he said "Oh, baby's head is right there!" He ran out to get gowned, the nurses came in, and I pushed almost 3 times and he was out!! Born at 6:39 am, he didn't cry, or whimper. Just looked around and checked everyone out. I was in love instantly. For someone who wasn't very nice to me for such a long time, he was such a beautiful person to behold. The picture below is of Makenna holding him for the first time when she and Cath came to visit later that day.
Mother Cecile was also supposed to be there for his birth. Knowing we would be induced that morning, her plan was to be home from NY the night before. Of course, the weather never cooperates in January. I tried not to be disappointed, as I felt grateful she was able to get home safely even if it was a little later than we had hoped.
Weighing in at a very average 8 lbs, 1oz, is our Christian Davis Lotz. We named him Christian as his name reflected two things. First, the kind of man we hope he becomes. A Christian in word and in deed. A follower of our Savior in all he is and becomes and hopefully we would be the kind of parents he needed to become that. We also wanted him to carry the name of people who chose to be part of my life and care for me for as long as I can remember. Cecile and Kay Christensen (Christian spelled Christen made his name look like a girl's name, so we went with traditional spelling), and my Dad, Bartell Davis Sargent. These bonds go beyond bloodlines and genetics, but are family just the same.
Baby Christian just a few hours old and below, snuggled in mommy's Kangaroo carry top. They have found that babies acclimate to their bodies and lives outside of the womb so much better and quicker if held closely to mommy, skin to skin. It was such a special time to carry him warm little body next to mine those first few weeks.
Daddy is holding him while he is sleeping with this little sneaky grin on his face. How much we love this little boy.
My two babies.....a gift I wasn't sure I would ever get to have. How much they adore each other and how much we adore them. I didn't know my heart could be this full.
My beautiful little family. You'll notice in the picture below that Makenna has gloves on her hands. Her hands were chilly and she didn't want Christian (Pristian is how she says his name) to get cold.
This smiley boy.....he does this all day long. Such a happy baby, minus the little bit of colic he had the first few weeks. What a beautiful little sunshine he is. I thank my Heavenly Father every day for this chance to be a wife and mother, but a wife and mother to these three. How grateful I am.
