Caden Michael- a baby story.

We now have a new member of the family, Caden Michael Haueter! I am sorry it has taken me so long to post, but he was born September 8th. 7lbs 11 ounces. 20 inches long.  We love having him in our family. He is the perfect baby. I am so thankful he is healthy and happy. He sleeps great at night and hardly ever cries. We couldn't be more blessed! 

My actual due date was September 9th and I was SO ready for him to arrive. Since I was so tired of being HUGELY pregnant... On the 6th I spent the evening at the gym. I went on the bike for awhile, then the stairstepper, then walked around the track for over an hour. I was determined to do everything possible to bring little Caden to earth as quickly as possible. On the 7th I worked all day (9:45 am to 9:30 pm). At around 10:00pm I was pulling into our parking lot, just getting home from work and I noticed a moth in the car. I was totally freaked out about the moth in my car and it made me jump! I then drove over one of the three obnoxious speed bumps and felt a pop. I didn't think much of it. (I was on the phone with Brenden at the time and he was at work). 

When I stood up to get out of the car, my water broke... lots of "water" everywhere. Ahh! I was so scared. I knew that meant within 24 hours I was going to be a mom and... really soon I was going to start feeling lots of pain. :( I just really wanted Brenden to get home asap. He was at work in Idaho Falls, which is a 30 minute drive! I  just didn't want to be alone when I started feeling the contractions. 

I rushed around the house, making sure we had everything we needed in the hospital bag. Then, I gathered all the trash, started the dish washer, did a load of laundry, and took a bath. When Brenden came home, he took a shower, changed and we drove to the hospital. As we drove to the hospital, contractions started getting a little more painful. 

We arrived at the hospital at 11:00pm. I answered lots of questions. The rest of the night was just lots of pain, mixed with lots of waiting. 

Once I got my epidural I was much happier! They gave me a warm blanket and I fell asleep. :) Poor Brenden was SO tired and had no way of getting comfortable. 

We just waited and waited... for hours! Started pushing at 9:00am. Turns out Caden's head was acenclytic (titled to the side), which made pushing almost impossible. The doctor said most first time mom's end up having to get a C-section when their babies are acenclytic. That made me feel much better about how long it took me to push. :( Brenden, Dr. Meredith, and my nurses were so patient! After 3 long, horrible and ridiculously tiring hours of pushing... Caden had finally arrived!!! He wasn't crying and was pretty blue for awhile, which was scary. But... for some reason I felt at peace that he was going to be okay. He scored a 4 on his first apgar test and they had to help him breathe for awhile. 

Then, I held Caden for three or four hours... till his color came in and he stabilized a little more. Then, Brenden held Caden and gave him his first bath, while I showered and freshened up. :) I was so thirsty. The nurse called me a camel. Hah! I just wanted to eat and drink lots! I was so hungry and thirsty the whole time I was in labor. 

After I freshened up my mom and brother Paul arrived. :) My mom caught the very first flight she could from AZ and my brother drove her up from SLC. 

 We had a few visitors, then we were ready for bed. There is my comfortable bed and poor Brenden's little chair "bed". Caden was in our room for much of the night, but the nurse did take him for a few hours. 

 We only ended up staying one night and around 6 or 7pm the next day. I could have stayed a second night, but I really wanted to sleep in our own bed. I wanted Brenden to actually sleep in a real bed, but didn't want to be in the hospital alone. Caden didn't sleep very well the first two nights, but he sleeps great now! I am so lucky to have a really really good baby. I hope it stays this way and pray I get ultra lucky and all my babies are this happy and content. :) 

My mom was able to stay in Rexburg to help for just over a week. I loved having her here and was very thankful for her help. :)