Christensen's

I can't begin to tell you how good it feels not to be pregnant anymore. This pregnancy about killed me, I swear. The nausea was about the same as the others but the lower back/hip/pelvic pain almost had me in a wheelchair. Except that it hurt just as bad to sit as it did to walk, or lay or blink.

I would have bet a million dollars that Berlin would have arrived in the 37th week like Boston and Berkeley did, and I had it in my head that my due date was like December 14th instead of January 1st. So when I went in for my 36 week OB appointment and found out that baby girl was still high and I wasn't dilated AT ALL I was bummed to say the least. 37 weeks. Pretty much the same thing... I was "maybe a 1" but baby was still high. Later that week I was having really bad back pain and mild contractions pretty regularly. After about a day and a half of that I decided I should go to L&D to get checked to make sure I wasn't progressing. When the nurse checked me and told me I was still a 1, I literally burst into tears.

Two days later at my 38 week appointment I was a 2... A flippin' 2. (Mind you I was a 4 at 36 weeks with Berkeley.) Dr. Moore dangled a cookie in front of a pregnant lady and told me that I was induce-able, and if I wanted, she would induce me the day after Christmas. I toyed with the idea for a few days... very nervous that if I did get induced that it would ruin my streak of miracle labors. My nerves were about fried wondering if I'd wake up in the middle of the night in transition and have a freeway birth. Looking back I really do feel very lucky everything worked out for all of my deliveries. I just don't register being in extreme enough pain until I go through transition, so it's always a guessing game whether or not I'm actually in labor. After weighing my options I decided to schedule the induction.

1pm on December 26th was my scheduled time. As we were literally headed out the door, L&D called and asked if they could push me back to 3pm. Sure. Braden and I decided to head over by the hospital and walked around Ammo Brothers for a bit. 2:30 rolled around and L&D called again to tell me that they'd have to push me until the next morning. Talk about disappointment. So we got one more date night in and went to the movies and dinner before heading home. Linda spent the night and we went back to the hospital at 6:30am, December 27th.

My mom had been asking for a belly shot, so I took this for her in the Lucille's bathroom. I'm cool like that.

I tested positive for Strep B this pregnancy so they told me I had to be on the antibiotic for at least 4 hours before they'd want to deliver the baby. They checked me and I was a 4. I was so happy that I had progressed in that week. It made me feel a lot more confident about my induction choice. The IV went in and they started the antibiotic along with the lowest dose of pitocin at about 7am. I could feel contractions every 5 minutes. Nothing painful, just there. We watched a movie thanks to Braden rigging the TV so we could watch stuff from his phone. 11:15, I was still a 4. Waa, waaaaa. But now they could at least bump up the pitocin and hopefully get things moving along.

Contractions were now painful enough for me to have to close my eyes and breathe through them. Standing definitely helped, so I stayed standing by my bed for the most part. Dr. Moore came in and checked me around 12:30 and I was a 6. She told me she'd prefer to break my water rather than keeping me on pitocin for who knows how long. I was so nervous because that's when crap gets real. The labor I had dreamed about all pregnancy was supposed to go just like Berkeley's, except that I wasn't going to let them break my water. Even with the induction, I was still planning on a no pain-meds birth. But the thought of my water breaking at a 6 made me super nervous so I decided to sign the form for the epidural just in case I changed my mind. Dr. Moore broke my water at about 1:15 and the very next contraction was significantly more painful. She was like, "Already?" and I said, "Ya, I told you!" I dealt with a couple more contractions sitting in the bed and then told the nurse I HAD to stand. She agreed to it and helped me up... Probably 4 more contractions and I snapped my fingers at Braden to get by my side. I hung on him moaning through a couple more contractions and then told him I just couldn't do it med free this time. If I knew that the baby would be out in a few minutes I could handle it, but figuring I hadn't progressed much in the 20ish minutes I was going to get the epidural. The nurse left the room to get the anesthesiologist and the very next contraction I said, "Either I'm going to crap my pants or this baby is coming out!" Braden ran after the nurse and I sat on the edge of the bed. Dr. Moore and a couple of nurses came rushing in. From that point, it was a lot like Brighton's birth. No time for that epidural! (No one really believes how fast my babies come. I make sure to tell everyone that will listen and when it comes down to it, they're always so surprised.) Dr Moore yelled at me, "Get on the bed!" The nurses hustled to get things set up. I told them I was pushing and Dr. Moore looked at me very sternly and said, "Do NOT push". She was still across the room getting her gown on. I swatted at Braden and grabbed a hold of his arm and tried to breathe as calmly as I could. (Side note: The nurse kept adjusting the heart rate monitor which was super annoyingly painful.) My body pushed pretty hard through 2 contractions while I tried not to let it and then Dr. Moore finally said the magic words, "Push!" and I pushed that girl out in one long push, beating my record of 2. (at 1:44pm)

My nurse Veronica said, "Man, you know what you're doing!" What can I say, I'm blessed with some mad birthing skills. And both of the nurses and Dr. Moore commended me on my high pain tolerance. I must do it for the compliments.

Because she came out in one push, they had to suction her nose and stuff on my belly, so she didn't cry right away, which at the time made me really nervous. All my girls have been laid on me screaming their lungs out. Now I realize it's just because they didn't suction her nose after her head was out. The first thing I noticed was how much hair she had! While not much, it was still way more than her sisters' and it was dark! I kept her skin to skin for the first hour and then the nurse came in to bathe and weigh her. Berlin was a whopping 6 pounds 11 ounces and 19 1/2 inches long.

While the nurse was bathing her I said to Braden, "Are you taking pictures!" He obviously couldn't be trusted so I took over ;) My nurse kept asking if I was okay to be standing and if I was dizzy. Nope! Adrenalin is an amazing thing.

Thanks to Braden for this awesome picture. Not sure what my face is doing!

I pushed Berlin over to our recovery room and we got settled in for our 2 day stay. She was really alert, and like Brighton, screamed at me almost all night the first night. The second night was much better and thankfully our nights have only gotten better since. She wasn't a sleepy newborn, but since I actually know what I'm doing this time... kind of... I'm careful not to let her stay awake for too long and get overstimulated. She definitely prefers to lay on my chest to sleep, but we've compromised to sleeping on her side in the pack-n-play in our room. Her sisters LOVE to hold her and ask to take turns all day, everyday. They're all great little mommies, running to get her pacifier or a diaper or whatever is needed. Braden has been amazing to occupy the other 3 as much as he can so I can nap or just nurse in peace.

My pelvis and hips took about a week to stop hurting, which had me nervous that it was never going to stop, but I can finally sit in a chair and stand up without almost dying. Coughing and sneezing still hurt at 5 weeks postpartum, but hopefully I'll get these muscles strengthened enough to feel 100% soon.

My mom was also a huge help for the week she was here. We were able to get all of the closets and cupboards downstairs cleaned out and organized. I love me an organized closet. She also helped ease me into our morning routine of getting the kids out the door at 7:30am. I had some major anxiety about being able to do that once she was gone and Braden was back to work. But, surprisingly I have survived. Four kids is no joke, I tell ya, but we're all adjusting to our new favorite person and couldn't love her any more.

My other birth stories

On to November.

We got sick a lot this month. Lots of napping and cuddles.

Silly faces too.

"Please bless us that we won't get sick anymore."

Still no crawling. Just scooting, rolling and smiling!

And swinging. She was obsessed with her shadow.

Homework for days. She was smart enough to use both hands and get it done quicker. Boston wanted to do her "homework" too.

Date night! Empty movie theaters are the best.

This month I finally started bathing all 3 girls together. Such a time saver!

Thanksgiving break movie with friends.

Scooting backwards under the couch, and still happy as can be!

GNO with friends! Bruxie's is the best!

A little 10 month comparison.

These girls... Getting crazy while out to dinner at Paul's Place with Aunt Bonnie.(The filter from instagram makes Braden's arm look kind of crazy hairy... sorry)

Yogurtland too! "What is this amazing coldness!?" - Berkeley

Brighton lost her first tooth! She even pulled it out herself.

I was feeding Berekely and thought, "Hmmm, maybe she doesn't feel well."

So napping with mom it was.

And then to Urgent Care (which was surprisingly empty) for double ear infections.

Thanksgiving Feast at Funco! How cute are those bonnets and collars? It was such a cute production.

Brighton's class did a Thanksgiving program after school one day. She was a "turkey". It was cute to see her performing with all of her little school friends. I was proud that she actually did it!