Miracle Number Four

Looks like it says 12 oz., but it is 1.2 oz.

I have a minute of silence while Andy has taken the boys to JumpStreet and Ashten is sleeping. Minutes of silence are FEW and FAR in between these days. So I thought that I'd write the birth story of our Ashten Arik. I have to preface the story by getting all mushy and jotting down some of my thoughts today. Words cannot express how grateful I am to my Heavenly Father for sending me four of his precious sons. As many of you know, we were convinced that Aaron was our last little one. About the time Aaron was a year, I started to feel like there might be another. Andy and I talked about it. It was a "no go" for him. Over the next weeks we started to talk about it a lot. It was a stressful topic for us! I was doing a lot of praying about having another baby and I quickly received MY answer that there was, indeed, another spirit waiting to join the Wright Family. I discussed my feelings with Andy and he was still unsure. I told him that I wanted him to pray about it and that I would just give him some time without bringing it up again. In the middle of November he came to me and said that he had received his answer...he also knew that there was another spirit waiting to come. I was elated! He was elated! Seven weeks later we found out I was pregnant.

Going back to the mushies, my heart is so full today. I can't describe the feelings that I've had since we've had Ashten (a week today). I'll never forget the feeling of completeness and bliss when I saw all four of my boys on the hospital bed. "This is us," I said to myself. How grateful I am that Heavenly Father relentlessly pulled on my heart and mind until I knew that Ashten was to be ours. I know that down the road I would have always felt like someone was missing. I am bursting with happiness to be able to mother four crazy and wonderful sons of God. ...and I also hope that the Lord remembers...HE SENT ME FOUR BOYS!!! I'm going to need a lot of help and patience!!!

It's a funny thing when you know you're done having babies. In some ways I feel sad, not because there is another...but I think it's hard to close one door of life and open another. But when I think of Ashten's labor/delivery I couldn't be happier!!! One thing is for certain, I NEVER want Ashten to grow up! So far he is the sweetest thing to enter my world. Even when I'm exhausted and it's the middle of the night and I should be sleeping...I find myself staring at our little miracle and never wanting to put him down. I think it's such a special thing to KNOW that Heavenly Father wanted you to have this specific baby. Not to say that my other three aren't just as special...it's just a far more reverent matter when you're holding this precious baby that you never planned to have.

So, without further adieu...the story of Ashten's entrance into this world.

Friday, August 20th: At 4, 5, and 6 a.m. I had contractions that actually woke me from sleep. They were painful! ...and unexpected because I don't really ever contract throughout pregnancy other than your run of the mill Braxton Hicks. I have been induced with my previous two, and I didn't experience A contraction with Alex until my water broke on it's own, so I wasn't sure what to expect out of real contractions. After those three contractions, they seemed to be done. So, I wasn't too worried about it. I had invited Mandy and Nikki and their kids over for a playdate. As I was setting up the slide for them to play on...I had a few more contractions. Nothing too bad. They all played here until about noon. The STRANGEST thing happened the minute I closed the door after walking them out. I had a contraction, painful. Then I had another. Painful. I thought, "Hmmmm, I don't know if I'm in true labor...and I didn't want to call Andy to come home from work unnecessarily...so I thought I'd just write down the times of my contractions.

11:45...11:52...12:00...12:10...12:15...12:18...

Not good. They were getting closer and closer together and increasingly painful with every one. Aaron and Aiden were whinning about being hungry and Aaron needed a diaper change...so I was just trying to take care of their needs before I called Andy. Pretty soon I was having a hard time walking without contracting. I called Andy and told him to come home immediately. He then called his mom to come over and watch the kids. It would be about 40 mintues before either of them could get here. In the meantime, I fed the kids lunch and got in the shower. Andy and his mom got to the house and I was calmly trying to give her instructions on everything. She kept saying, "You guys need to go. You're making me nervous." But, for some reason I just wasn't that nervous about it, even though I had to keep taking brakes to stop and contract. At about 1:10 I walked out to the van to wait for Andy. I have a HUGE painful contraction and SPLASH!!! ...my water breaks in the car. PANIC TIME. Aaron, my third, was born about 20 minutes after my water broke. I know that we are now in a race against the clock! I started honking the horn like crazy and Andy ran out. I told him to grab a towel quick and that we needed to go. We got on the road and Andy was speeding like a mad man.

At the hospital: Naturally other people are already there. We wait for about 10 minutes while I'm sitting in a wheelchair with towels and gushing fluid everywhere. Finally Andy interrupts the lady and says, "My wife's water broke, this is her fourth baby...we need to see someone NOW!" I'm just over in the corner trying to breathe through contractions. She looks at him and says, "Sir, we do this all day long. We'll get to her when we can." ?????!!!!!! We try to be calm while she finishes with a lady having a hard time spelling her last name and CLEARLY NOT in any sort of pain or labor. We wait about another 15 minutes and they call me back into the triage. The nurse starts asking me all kinds of questions. The best question of all was, "So, what brings you here today?" Andy, thinking she was joking says, "uh.....a haircut." She gives him a dirty look and looks at me to answer her question. I say, "My water broke (clearly lady...can you not see the amount of pain I'm in) and I'm contracting every couple of minutes. Nurse: "How sure are you that your water has broken?" I'm thinking, "LADY! You're about to get your head ripped off! Were you not the one who cleared the drenched towels from the wheelchair two seconds ago???" Andy and I play nice. We answer all of her questions. Finally she puts in my IV and checks me. I'm only at a five. And I think, "Oh sweet. There's still plenty of time to get the epidural (which is what I was MOST concerned about with them taking their sweet time with everything). I was in a lot of pain, but not panicked anymore. She leaves the room to see about the epidural and getting me into a delivery room. I have no idea how much time has passed now. All I know is that I am sobbing because I'm in so much pain. Andy tries to find her to demand I get my epidural. Finally she comes back and wheels me to the delivery room.

THE DELIVERY ROOM: I'm wheeled in. They tell me to climb onto the other bed. I am in so much pain I can't even move. Andy gets me into the other bed as they summon the anathesiologist. I am screaming for him at this point. He comes in and starts to unwrap all the needles and such. He tells me to sit up. Again, I'm not too proud to admit here that I am screaming at this point, literally. I had no idea something could be so painful. Maybe I'm a wuss. I'll take it. I have a low pain tolerance, hence the need for a STINKING EPIDURAL. Right after my best friend, the anathesiologist, comes in my doctor enters the room. She takes one look at me and says, "You can go now," to my best friend. I look at her all wide eyed and start screaming like a little two year old, "Noooooo! I want my epidural! I want my epidural!" She kindly gets right up in my face and says, "Well, you're not getting it and you need to lay down and push." I am stupified. But I do what I'm told. Four pushes later at 2:55 p.m. and out comes my little Ashten. Literally. He is only 8 lbs. 1 oz. 20.5 inches. He is my smallest... =tender mercy from the Lord. I did not even tear! It's amazing how you can be in the worst pain of your life one second and toally comfortable the next. Once my sweet Ashten was out, it was all good. :)

We were at the hospital a total of an HOUR AND A HALF before Ashten came. It was a whirlwind with a HUGE blessing at the end of the road. Ashten has been the most laid back, calm, sweet baby so far. We know that we are so lucky to have him!