Happy Birthday Dane!

Dane celebrated his 7th birthday this past Sunday. It is amazing how fast time has flown by. For his birthday, Dane wanted to make pizzas. So, Dane had the honors of making the very first pizza. Do you see any resemblance between Dane and Seth? I think Seth looks like Karsten. The next few photos are of the girls decorating Dane's cake. They love to do it. I can't remember the last time I baked a birthday cake because they always beat me to it! They didn't do such a bad job, considering we have no cake decorating utensils in our home. They are pretty good at improvising.

This is the funny part. We lit the birthday candle and got ready to sing.

Right in the middle of us singing the candle goes out! We can't get it relit. So I check the candle, and because it has been used in the past, their is no wick left! So we grabbed a toothpick and stuck it in the top of the candle so we'd have something to light and for Dane to have something to blow out. This explains the flame on top of the candle in the next picture.

Now for she'll have something to blow out! We had to light the toothpick twice! The first time I just lit the top and it went out. So the second time I lit the bottom and the whole thing started burning!

Blowing out the candle!

Here are the gifts I got from mom and dad, and Grandma and Grandpa Stailey.

Ok, so the rest of this post you can skip if you'd like. All it contains is the events that took place on the day Dane was born. So, if you'd rather not, here's your warning!

I'd been having mild contractions with Dane for about three weeks. I even went to the hospital at one point to get checked, as Dane was going to have to be a C-section due to changes in hospital policies. Dane was due on about the 15th of January, if I remember right. As my due date got nearer, my doctor told me that he didn't care what the hospital said, he'd let me deliver vaginally if I wanted. I told the doctor that would be fine, but I'd have to expect to have no anesthesia, as we were going against hospital policy. I didn't know exactly what I was getting myself into by agreeing not to have anesthesia, but I decided to go along with it. I totally believe that Heavenly Father was watching out for me on this delivery. On the evening of January 9th, after having mild contractions all day long (nothing new from the previous 3 weeks), Todd and I turned in for the night. After having contractions for so many weeks, I thought for sure I would go to my due date. At midnight I woke up with what felt like gastrointestinal cramps. So, I got up to go to the bathroom. While in the bathroom I had a pretty good contraction. At this point I wasn't totally sure what was going on. So I go back to bed. I then have another good contraction. I get back up and go to the bathroom. The contractions are really close and are getting stronger. I tell Todd it's time! I had wanted to take a shower before heading to the hospital, but as fast as they were coming, I decided not to. Todd called a friend, Sandy Vangilder, who had agreed to watch the kids for us. She arrived a little before 1 am. By now some of the contractions were on top of each other, meaning when one would end another would immediately begin. We left for the hospital, which thank goodness was only five minutes away. As we walked into the hospital I told Todd I had to go the bathroom. I have never felt the pushing stages of labor because I had had an interthecal with the two girls. (Interthecal is just an injection into the spine, not a catheter like the epidural. But it does not last as long, so it is used when only a few hours of pain control is needed.) Todd told me no, that we should just get up to the third floor first. It probably was a good idea, as I probably could have had Dane in the bathroom! When we arrived on the third floor, we told them I was in labor, and the nurses are just calm and cool about things thinking we've got some time. I go into the bathroom and by now I am having such strong contractions that you can't help but holler! The nurse tells me to get out of the bathroom so she can check me as I think she was pretty sure this baby was coming soon. The contractions were so close that I couldn't even change. Todd and the nurse had to undress me and put a gown on. When the nurse checked me, she immediately got the other nurses and told them the baby was coming now. An on-call OB/GYN came in as my doctor was still on his way to the hospital. I remember the look on the nurses' face when they asked me how many children I had previously delivered and if they were all vaginally. I told them no, that my first was a C-section, and they kind of look at each other like, what do we do, but then continue on with getting me prepped. Remember, hospital policy was that no woman who had had a previous C-section was allowed to deliver vaginally. The baby's head was ready to come out, what are you suppose to do, push it back in and send them to the operating room? My doctor finally arrives and after two pushes, Dane is born at 1:32 am weighing in at 9 lbs. 6 oz. Nothing feels better than after delivering a baby, well, maybe an epidural. Had I taken that shower I might have not made it to the hospital!

The experience of giving birth to Dane totally changed my out look on labor and delivery. It was a very intense and traumatic experience. As I look back, I know Heavenly Father allowed it to be so fast so I wouldn't have to be in pain for very long. I have to deal with anxiety now, which I never really dealt with before Dane. When I got pregnant with Karsten, because of the experience I had with Dane, it was a pretty hard thing. Funny how it all turns out to be such a blessing, though! I've also thought about the fact that had I had a c-section with Dane, perhaps my placenta increta would have happened with Karsten, and we'd have missed out on Seth. Who knows, I just know Heavenly Father is really looking out for us! Happy Birthday, Dane! I love you! You were worth every bit of pain and anxiety I've felt!