I had the baby!

Wow! It has been over a month since I have written. So much has happened. I guess I will break it down in sections....

1. YES I HAD THE BABY! He is wonderful. We named him Tytus Shae. He is beautiful and very well mannered. He sleeps well and hardly fusses, thank goodness, since we live in a camper right now! I'll share his birth story with you.

Those of you who know me know that I do not like hospitals or really care for doctor's care. Shae and I have had some very bad experiences in hospitals and just prefer not to go near them. I had my first two children in hospitals, the first at a teaching Navy hospital in San Diego, and the next child in Key West. It was in 94' and there was the Haitian Crisis and scores of boat people were landing on the beaches of Key West. They were quarantined in the local hospital. I went into labor but there was no room for me in the hospital. They put me in a back room where brooms and mops were! Hanna always said she was like Jesus, no room in the inn! Well, there are many more stories of why I do not like to go to hospitals, that I will not bore you with. I had my next three children at home with a state certified midwife. Her name is Lori Link and she works out of Mt Vernon Missouri. She is incredible. My 3rd child weighed 10 pounds and I delivered her naturally at home! Yikes! That was a tough one. I am so glad I had her at home, though. I will tell that whole story another time. My 4th child was a beautiful birth at home. My 5th child was a little tougher than the 4th, but still great at home. No hospital for me, no way! Epidurals, no way! So, when family heard I was having this baby at a hospital, they thought I had gone off the deep end! Sheri in a hospital, what has happened to her? Most family was thrilled I was not having this one at home, but thought it curious and wondered what made me change my mind on home birth. If you have read my earlier posts, you know I possibly had Pregnancy Induced Asthma. I don't know for sure that was it, but the doctor thinks that is what it probably was. I had such a hard pregnancy. It was my hardest. I had two horrible asthma/bronchitis attacks that lasted weeks. After the horrible cough went away, I still couldn't get my breath. It wasn't just the weight of the baby, it was up higher in my chest. I would get a lot of phlegm and have to clear my throat a lot. We decided to go ahead and come back to the Springfield Missouri area, where we are from, to have the baby. We are comfortable here, know the people, and had lots of paperwork and sorting to do anyways. We came back and got settled in with Dr. Brown and Cox Monett Hospital in Monett Missouri. We had to drive 1hr and 20 minutes to the hospital for every appointment. I could not have the baby at a big, unloving, cold hospital. We checked out Monett hospital. I remember walking into it the first time. I was by myself. I just kept thinking, I can't do this, I can not do this! It was so white, unwelcoming, just yuck! I made myself go to the 3rd floor to check out the OB ward. It was nice. The rooms were pretty good. There is a bathtub in each room, with jets, to labor in. You can't deliver in it, though. The equipment was hidden in big brown cabinets. There was a TV with cable. I would labor, deliver, and recover in the same room. The nurses seemed nice enough. I thought, maybe I can do it. I am going to publish this post now, and will write more in the next.....