Sunday morning...

I took my boys to church and dropped them off and have been enjoying a few hours by myself... doing laundry, cleaning out leftovers that people have brought us, and giving sweet Campbell a bath. When I was checking out of the hospital, the baby nurse was giving me directions, and she talked about giving him a bath. She said with her first baby, he got a bath twice a day, second baby, once every other day, third baby was lucky if he got one once a week. So true. Luckily they don't get too dirty.
A few months ago I blogged about maternity clothes. Again, I need to vent. I'm three weeks out, and still can only fit into my maternity clothes, but now I'm not cute and pregnant, I'm fat and sloppy. Very depressing.
It looks like we are safe from Gustov, but I know my mother was so hoping we would have to evacuate to Shreveport. Sorry, Mom.
My first baby is in first grade and has his first loose tooth. Such a big moment. I think that Cooper and especially Cade have grown three inches since Campbell was born. Some of it is perception now that there is a baby in the house, but we swear Cade has grown some this month.
Totally random thoughts, but I had a minute, so I thought I would share.

PICTURES!

Sorry, no pictures this time

I have tried 4 times to post a picture for you of my beautiful baby, but until I can get to church to high speed, its just not going to happen. So to tied you over, I will tell you the birth story. Some people may not like birth stories, I love them, so please do not feel obligated to read it if its not your thing. I promise I won't be graphic!
I had been 4 cm for over a month, so my doctor said we would induce in another week, and to call her when the contractions were 8 minutes apart for an hour. So the contractions started that day, but they were really random. On Tuesday night, I had them consistently for three hours, 10 minutes apart, then 9, then two at 8. We got our bag ready and prepared the boys, and then, they stopped. Nothing.
Wednesday something else happened that is probably too graphic for some people, but I really thought it was a sign that we were ready, but nothing.
Thursday, contractions all day, 20 minutes, 15 minutes, 10, 20, nothing for an hour.
Friday, we ran errands, took the car to get the oil changed, hair cuts, ate lunch out, contractions all day, again, totally random times. Friday afternoon, I realized they were stronger, but still not consistent and I couldn't keep up with how long it had been, so I started writing down the times on a piece of paper with a crayon. I was doing things around the house and actually cooking dinner. Here are the times: 4:30, 4:42, 4:57, 5:34, 5:52, 5:57. WHAT! 5 minutes! That must be a fluke! We sat down to dinner and I had Cooper get my actual timer and as we ate, I watched the timer and how surprisingly, every 3 minutes I was having one. At this point I began to laugh.
I had told people for months that I wanted Campbell to be born on the 7th or the morning of the 8th so that I could be in the hospital by myself the night of the 8th to watch the opening ceremonies of the Olympics in peace. That is the highlight of my life every two years. I remember in high school having an Olympics party to watch it with my friends, and I realized no one else was watching but me. So here we are, 30 minutes from the start of the ceremonies and I am in labor. So we called the doctor, set the DVR, and headed to the hospital.
I had a great nurse, had the ceremonies on for most of the time, although listening to it through the little box that sits by your head on the bed, didn't quite give me the grandness of the event. Pain wasn't too bad. I got my epidural at some point, and had a little scare when it caused my blood pressure to drop drastically. When I was checked, I was only at a 5. My contractions were consistent but not really strong enough.
At 11:30, my nurse said the contractions were better and she would come back in 30 minutes to check me again, and I would probably be at an 8 by then. So I put on my Ipod and tried to rest... for about 10 minutes. Then I called her back to check me, and sure enough, I was complete. We were hoping he would be born by midnight so his birthday would be 8-8-08, but didn't happen. I pushed for more than an hour. My doctor said his head was a little crooked and she was close to getting out the vacuum. She didn't tell me that until the next day. It got pretty painful towards the end. But Campbell made his entrance at 1:03 AM, kicking, grabbing things, crying, so beautiful.
Mom had taken the boys to Ms Colette and Mr Lee's house and was in the waiting room. Jason's parents had driven for 6 hours and made it to the hospital at 1:20, perfect timing for them to be there when Jason came out to tell them Campbell had arrived.
Didn't get much sleep that night. Apparently neither did my older two boys. Colette said she could hear Cooper moving around most of the night, and at 4:30 she heard a noise and found them both up and dressed, packed, and ready for breakfast so they could come to the hospital. How cute!
So that's the story. He is doing great. Was 7lbs 10 oz when he was born, 7.2 when he left the hospital and 7.15 when we went the doctor this week. That is big for me. Cooper was 6.13 and Cade was 6.9.
At another time, I will describe my feelings about it being my last. I am sadder than I thought I would be. But I am not admitting that to my husband! I will post pictures as soon as I can.

He's Here!

Joshua Campbell Gadman was born Saturday morning, 1:03 AM, weighing in at 7lbs 10 oz, 19inches long. I went into labor around 6 officially, so it wasn't too long. We just got home, so when I have more energy, I will post some pictures and give more details. He has a little jaundice, but other than that, we are all happy. I am in love! Thanks for the prayers.

Another update

People are apparently checking my blog with baited breath, waiting for some huge announcement. No huge announcement here! Went to the doctor yesterday, still 4 cm. My doctor said that is just ridiculous, its been about a month at 4 cm. And she could tell when she walked in the room that I was miserable. So she "stripped" my membranes, which I had never heard of. Basically she weakened my bag of water hoping that would spur things along. Nothing so far. She said if I haven't had him in the next week, we will induce next week. I would rather not do that, but its fine if we have to. So today we are riding out the overly talked about Tropical Storm Eduard, going stir crazy just waiting around for Campbell to come. My mom came last night to beat out the storm and Jason's parents' bags are packed. I'm really tired of people asking me if I'm feeling any change. I promise I will tell you if I feel something worth talking about. My mom and I, who both have master's degrees, just took a really long time to put together a pack-n-play that I borrowed from someone, even with the instruction book. Stupid people would have never gotten it together!

The boys got home last night from Paris. It was good to see them. There were moments last week where I wondered if I was a good mom because I really didn't miss them as much as I thought a good mom would. But I guess I had other things on my mind. I was very excited when they got home last night, so I guess I'm not terrible.

So I guess keep checking in. Hopefully it will be soon. Although, when I think about it, these are my last days of pregnancy for the rest of my life. So maybe I'm not quite in such a hurry for it to be over. Wait, no, I am ready.