Desh Michael Beutler

Surprise!  Our sweet Baby Desh decided to make an early entrance to the world!  Let me tell you how it all went down...

Josh has been training for a half marathon this spring.  We specifically chose the Ogden half marathon because it was early enough that it wouldn't interfere with our baby time.  My due date was June 16th and Dr. Twelves told me she would induce me a week early on June 9th.  His race was on Saturday May 21st (my birthday!) so we figured it was a good 4 weeks before our due date and he should be fine.  Friday night before the race, Josh and Andy headed up to Ogden to stay over and be all prepped for their 4:00 am bus to get to the starting line.  I was so proud of Josh and his hard training (even though he really doesn't love running) and we were all excited to see him the next morning at the finish line.  We had been watching the weather for the weekend and it looked like rain was in the forecast but not until later on Saturday afternoon - with some luck he may be able to make it through the race without getting soaked!  I talked to Josh late Friday night after the kids were in bed and I was just lounging around the house.  I wished him good luck in the race and told him we'd see him in the morning.  

Turns out the morning came earlier than I expected.  I don't always sleep great when Josh is gone and that night was no different.  I was up and down for bathroom breaks and kids coming in and out of my room all night.  Around 3:30 I got up again to go to the bathroom and was just dozing off again when I felt my water break.  It wasn't a new feeling since this is now the 3rd of 6 pregnancies that I've had my water break.  But it sure is a weird feeling.  Kind of like a balloon popping inside me then all of a sudden I'm all wet.  I jumped out of bed and got to the bathroom with my phone and immediately called Josh.  It was almost 4:00 am and of course he was up already getting ready to leave for the starting line.  He answered the phone and asked, "What are you doing up this time of morning?"  Then he started singing Happy Birthday to me (thoughtful husband that he is, always thinks of me first).  After he stopped singing I told him that it looks like I'll be sharing a birthday with the baby.  I think he didn't quite know how to respond and wondered if I was kidding.  After I told him my water had broken and I was headed to the hospital he knew I was serious.  And he was excited!  Mostly excited for the baby but also excited that he was going to get out of his run that morning!  It was not something either of us expected that day since I was still 4 weeks early.  But I guess baby couldn't wait!  So I got on the phone and started making some phone calls - I called my friend Melissa to take me to the hospital, called my dad to see if he could come stay with the kids and talked to my mom about meeting us at the hospital.  It was an early morning for everyone!

Josh and Andy immediately got in their car and left to meet us too.  Josh sent me this picture on his way down.  The storm was making it's way across the valley and looked like it was going to hit Ogden area just in time for the marathon to start.  He was more than relieved to not have to run in the rain.  Thank you baby Desh!  

We got to the hospital about 4:30 and we had a party with us.  My mom, my sister Hayley, Melissa and Rease and Rhen all showed up at the same time.  Not too much later Josh and Andy showed up and brought breakfast from McDonald's with them.  It was quite a morning.  

We had talked to the girls about being in the room when the baby was born.  They have been excited about it for months and I was so glad to have them there with me!

Hayley and I have been saying for weeks that we needed to get a picture of our bellies before one of us had our baby.  She is due just two weeks after me so our bellies look about the same size!  She is due June 23rd and having a baby boy too!  Looks like our kids will be best cousins!

As soon as we got all settled I asked my nurse if I could have my epidural.  I wasn't having too many contractions yet but I was not wanting to feel anything so opted to just have it done earlier than later.  It's always so nice to look at the monitor after the epidural and see the contractions coming and not really feel anything!  I had my epidural then after an hour or two when I hadn't dilated much more my nurse put me on a small dose of pitocin.  That did the trick and my contractions started coming faster and the progress started!  I went from a 4 at about 8:30 to a 6 then a 7 within the next hour.  About 9:30 our nurse, Gail, came back in and said she wanted to put an internal heart monitor on the baby.  His heart rate was going up and down and she wanted to be able to monitor it more closely.  She said it's normal to have the heart rate fluctuate with contractions but she wanted to keep a closer eye on him.  I was a little worried but she was so calm and soothing that I just trusted her and what she said.  

Gail checked me again and I was at an 8 around 9:45 so I knew it was getting close.  She told me that the baby was posterior though and that we had to get him turned before I could deliver.  I've never had a posterior baby so I hadn't been through that before.  Gail was great though and she had me flip from side to side every 10 minutes to get the baby to turn.  Then when the baby was almost turned she had me flip over one more time and put my top foot into the stirrup on that side.  She said that was to open up my pelvis just a little bit more to get the baby to settle all the way in.  It did the trick.  at 10:20 I was complete and the baby had flipped.  She called for the doctor and then her and the other nurses started getting everything ready for baby. 

 Since it was a weekend, my doctor wasn't in so the doctor on call would deliver the baby.  I was a little bummed to not have Dr. Twelves there but Dr. Empey was the doctor who came and he was awesome.  While we were waiting for the doctor, Gail told me not to push.  That's harder than it seems like it would be.  Once I was to that point, that's all my body wanted to do was push the baby out.  Luckily we didn't have to wait long.  Dr. Empey showed up just after 10:30.

The girls were so cute waiting and watching.  Once it was actually time for the birth they were very interested and ready to have this baby here!  

The next contraction I had, Dr. Empey told me I could push.  I pushed for that one contraction and baby Desh was born at 10:38 am!  When his head came out the cord was wrapped pretty tight around his neck and the doctor had to do some maneuvering to get it unwrapped.  The head nursery nurse was in there at the time and she kept telling him, "Get it off!  Get it off!"  After a few seconds that seemed really long, Desh let out his first cry and we all breathed a little easier.  He was here safe and sound and healthy!

The girls were so cute and proud sisters!  They loved being there and seeing their baby brother for the first time.  

It's always nice to hear a healthy cry and see that little bundle being handed over to mom.  I love this moment to just look and realize what a miracle it is to have a new baby in your arms.  He was perfect.

Since he was 4 weeks early there were a few more nurses in there to monitor and do some tests on him.  But at 36 weeks he was big and healthy - 7 lbs 5 oz!  Smaller than any of my other babies have been so to me he was tiny, but he was a good size for what they considered a "premie."

This is our nurse Gail.  She was amazing.  She has been a nurse for 42 years and you can tell she loves her job.  She was at our side almost the whole time I was there from 4:30-10:30 when the baby was born.  She kept us informed on everything that was going on and what she was going to do next.  She never left the room without telling us when she would be back and what she would be doing.  She was so awesome.  

My sweet baby boy.  Desh Michael Beutler.  I am so lucky to be a mama again and feel very blessed that he came when he did.  We will always have a little bond because we now share a birthday for the rest of our lives!  My little birthday miracle and I love him so much already!