Kingston Knox

I decided I needed to write up my birth story with Kingston before I forget many details.

My due date was September 30. That day came and I had no signs of labor starting anytime soon. We went to our community group that night, and I was sure I would be back the next week still pregnant.

The next morning, October 1st, I woke up at 6:30. I noticed a little bleeding and was feeling crampy. Bryan was getting ready for work and he travels a lot for work. I told him he should work close to home, just in case labor was starting. He ended up just working from home. We ran some errands and went to lunch. I was still having contractions and cramping. I decided to take a shower at 4:30 to see if contractions would get worse or stop. During that time, I started cramping pretty badly. I tested positive for GBS, so I knew I would need antibiotics before he was born. We decided to go to my midwife's place where I would be having him. We got there at 8:30. I was at 3.5 cm at that point. We decided to stay the night in hopes that he would be born early the next morning.

I had contractions all night and was able to get some sleep in between contractions. I was checked the next morning and was still at 3.5. I wanted to cry! Bryan and I decided to go for a walk at the park and that helped me have stronger contractions. My parents had come up to keep Beckham (the other boys were at their dad's house). We went to lunch with them and then went back and tried to nap. I was checked later tat afternoon and I was at a 5. It was so slow and I was getting very discouraged. We went another day without him being born. Contractions were getting more intense and I didn't sleep well that night.

The next morning, at 6:00, I was checked again and I was at a 6. My midwife asked if we wanted to break my water. YES!! I was exhausted and ready to get him here. She prayed with us first and then broke my water. It's such a great thing that she did because I had a TON of fluid and it was stopping him from being able to come down and dilate me more. Contractions got pretty intense at that point. I got in the tub and that helped so much. Bryan let me squeeze his hands during contractions and my midwife's helper poured warm water on my belly. It really helped me get through several contractions.

I eventually got out of the tub and contractions were so bad. I couldn't get comfortable. Before long, they were coming so close together I felt like I couldn't get a break. Bryan let them know I was really having a lot of contractions and pain now and then the room was a flurry of activity. It was almost time to meet our boy! I was really feeling the need to push, so she let me do some small pushes, but I wasn't quite ready to fully push yet. It's very hard to stop your body from pushing when that's all you want to do! I was finally ready to start really pushing. The pain of that is so intense, I can't even begin to describe it. They told me to feel his head. I think my response was "No! Just get him out!!" It's crazy how intense that pain is and then just a few seconds later, he was put on my stomach and I was overjoyed...partly because he was here and partly because the pain was over :) Kingston was born after over 48 hours of labor on October 3rd at 1:45 PM. He weighed 9 lbs 7 oz and was 21 1/2 inches long.

I had a lot of bleeding afterwards, so I had to be given a shot of Pitocin to stop it. Having Pitocin after many hours of contractions was not fun! We came home around 5 that evening and have been adjusting to our little guy ever since! I am so thankful he is here and healthy and all went well with labor and delivery. I'm so thankful for our precious Rainbow Baby!

I guess it's time for an update :)

Well, it's been a year since my last post, so I guess I should update and maybe actually continue to post :)

A lot has happened since my last post! Bryan's job relocated us to Hot Springs in July. It has been a rough transition, honestly. I think we are all a little lonely here and praying for some good friends for all of us. Hot Springs is a really pretty area and it's been fun getting to know our new town that will most likely be our home for many, many more years!

Last October we found out we were expecting another baby. What a wonderful surprise that was! In November, I started having some problems and went to the ER. After a very long ultrasound, and lots of waiting, we were told our sweet baby had no heartbeat. I was 9 weeks pregnant at that point, but our baby measured only 6 weeks and 5 days. It was a very devastating day. It was a very painful time, physically and emotionally. I feel very strongly that this baby was our baby girl. God has given me much peace on that, and I'm so thankful for that. We named her Evelyn. I miss her everyday and get sad knowing that she should be joining our family in just 9 short weeks. I very much look forward to the day I get to meet my daughter in Heaven. I will never hold her in my arms, but I love her as much as my other children and am thankful for even just the very short life she had with us.

Something good has come from that...after 3 months of sadness, we found out in February that we are expecting again! So far, everything is healthy. I am 16 weeks and in 3 days we will find out if we are having a boy or girl. I'm strongly leaning toward a boy :) Many think it is time for us to have a girl, but I have no preference. I'm just so thankful for a healthy baby that I cannot wait to hold!

The other boys are growing so much! We are 2 weeks away from finishing our 2nd year of homeschooling. I am so thankful God led us to this path. Homeschooling has been such a blessing to our family. I love seeing my kids learn and teaching them knew things. Some days, I could really use some quiet time, but overall I LOVE spending my days with!

Cade will be 8 in just 2 1/2 months. How has that happened?? I can't believe he will be starting 3rd grade! He was able to take an art class towards the end of last year. He loved that and I'm looking forward to getting him into another one soon! He has improved so much in school this year. He loves reading. He has started going through more chapter books than we get at the library, so he's always asking to go back because head ran out of books to read. He loves grammar and history and science and anything to do with animals! He can tell you more about bears than you would ever want to know. We're still working on gaining a love for math with him, though ;)

Liam is finishing up Kindergarten. He is reading so well now. I remember at the first of the year I was worried he would never even remember his letters. He has really taken off now! He is so good with Beckham. He and Beckham run around the living room being crazy, which usually ends in one of them getting hurt :) I love seeing him he such a great big brother.

Speaking of Beckham..he has grown so much! He's talking a lot and is as cute as ever. He's very attached to mama and is still nursing..more than when he was a newborn, it seems! I'm not sure how to even begin weaning him..I may be nursing 2 babies when this one is born! He brings so much joy to our family...always ready to laugh and play and give lots of hugs and kisses. All I have to do is look at him and he makes me smile. I'm so thankful for him! What a blessing he is!

I have much more to write, but I will save it for next time. And hopefully next time will not be another year!