Blessed.

Kanyon has been such a good boy. He literally eat, sleeps and poops. Yesterday we went on our first outing as a family of five. We were gone from 10:30-4:00. He slept most of the time. I nursed him and changed him in the car twice. We had his first checkup. He weighed 7lbs 7.5oz. She said he was perfect. His cord and circumcision are healing nicely. The pediatrician confirmed that he was "larger than normal". LOL He peed all over her, me and the floor. Kinnison and Kimber were also fantastic. They were well behaved and were very patient while we ran around all over the place. They have been wonderful big sisters. They help us a lot. And, they love Kanyon so much. He is lucky to have such wonderful big sisters!

Luke goes back to work tomorrow. I cried when he went back to work after I had Kimber. Kinnison was two and potty training and Kimber had colic. I dreaded being alone. I have no worries about being alone with them tomorrow. Kanyon is such a good boy and I know I will have a lot of help! I am so incredibly blessed!

Birth Story

Luke and I arrived at Mercy Medical Center at 8 a.m. on Sunday, June 19th. We were greeted by some wonderful nurses. I knew one of them! It was so nice to see a familiar face! They got me hooked up to the machines and realized that I was having contractions every 3 minutes. I had felt a few contractions before we left the house, but didn't feel any of the ones showing up on the monitor. We started Pitocin a little after 9. They weren't real aggressive with the Pitocin because were waiting for the anesthesiologist to give me an epidural. The first time they checked me I was dilated 2 cm. The week before I was 1 and 1/2 cm. I started feeling some of the contractions. The anesthesiologist finally made it. The epidural hurt worse than the ones I had in the past and I felt a more numbing on my right side than my left. But, it eased the contractions, so I was happy! They increased my Pitocin dosage and the contractions started coming fast and hard. They checked me again and I was only dilated to a 4. I was feeling a lot of pain, so the anesthesiologist increased the epidural and told me to push the button every 15 minutes. I did that for an hour. The contractions were about a minute apart and very intense. I could feel everything in my stomach, but couldn't feel my bottom or legs. The nurse checked me and said I was between a 5 and 6. The next hour was excruciating. I breathed through every contraction. We called the anesthesiologist again and he told me to continue to push the button every 15 minutes. My mom went and got the nurse because I was in so much pain. She decided to check me again. We were shocked when she said I was a 10! We were ready to push! Once they got my legs in the stirrups I said, "If we have this baby in the next 10 minutes he will be born at the same time Kimber was." He was born 3 minutes before! I pushed for about 7 minutes! I pushed thru two contractions. Kanyon James was born at 4:45 p.m. He was definitely my quickest delivery! I pushed for 34 minutes with Kinnison and 48 minutes with Kimber. I was so relieved when he came out screaming! We are so thankful that we had no complications! I had no tearing. Apparently all the epidural went to my right leg. I could move my left leg shortly after they removed the catheter, but couldn't move my right leg until sometime in the middle of the night. Luke had to walk me to the bathroom and help me stand up. It was still tingling the next day! We had to wait until Kanyon was 24 hours old before they would do the bloodwork and release us. Kinnison's T-Ball Party was at 7. We knew it would be a rush. Thank goodness my mom went to our house and got everything we needed. She brought it to the hospital so the kiddos could get ready there. We waited all day for the doctor to perform Kanyon's circumcision. She came in and told us there was a problem. Apparently Kanyon was larger than most newborn boys. They normally used a 1.2 or 1.3 tool to circumsize them, but she needed a 1.5 to do Kanyon. They had to have a larger tool brought over from the pediatric clinic! She said he was "well endowed". Luke had a hay day with this. We all had lots of laughs. This will be a great story for Kanyon to tell when he is older.

I am so thankful for Dr. Pickhardt and the staff at Mercy. We had a wonderful experience. They took terrific care of us while we were there.

I am SO thankful for my parents who watched the girls, took care of the dogs and brought us dinner. They brought us more food today! We are so lucky!

I am so grateful to have my wonderful husband who encouraged me and took care of me. He spent his Father's Day watching his son enter the world. Pretty amazing! He has been a huge help to me and Kanyon. The girls have been dying for some attention, so he took them fishing tonight. I am so lucky to have such a wonderful daddy for my children. And, I am so thankful that I don't have to worry about going back to work. I get to stay home with my children because Luke works hard to make it happen. He is such a blessing to us.

Last but not least I am so unbelievably thankful to God. I have three beautiful, sweet, smart, precious little miracles. I don't know why he chose me to be their mama, but he did. For that I will forever be grateful. I am truly blessed!

Kanyon James Hamilton

June 19, 2011 at 4:45 p.m.

7lbs 11.5 oz

19 3/4"

Tomorrow!

I can't believe it is finally here! We get to meet Kanyon tomorrow! I can't wait!

Miserable is an understatement. I have decided that God makes pregnant women miserable at the end so they will actually be excited about the idea of labor. This isn't my first rodeo. It will be my third. I know what to expect and it isn't pleasant. But, I am so stinkin miserable right now I can't wait until tomorrow! And, of course the end result is totally worth it. Every night I have crazy dreams. I usually start a new dream each time I get up to go to the bathroom...which is approximately every hour. If I am lucky, every two hours. My dreams are normally strange or cause anxiety. I normally wake up and can't turn my brain off. I lay in bed thinking of things...which only makes my night more miserable. But, two nights ago I dreamed about Kanyon. I was holding him. I could smell him and kiss him and it was fabulous. It was just what I needed.

Please say a prayer that our labor and delivery goes quickly and without complications. Kinnison was a week late, had meconium in her water and the cord around her neck twice. She wasn't breathing and Luke didn't get to cut the cord. Kimber had to be suctioned and turned and twisted because she was so large. She was difficult to get out and had to be on oxygen. A normal delivery without any scary stuff would be nice!

I'll post an update tomorrow!

Love,

Loyal Companion

Tator has been a member of our family since December of 2009. We wanted a small inside dog that the girls could grow up with. And, we wanted a dog that would protect them. I also wanted a dog that didn't shed. When he was a puppy he bit the girls a few times. (I probably would have too) We were afraid we would have to get rid of him. I am so thankful we didn't. He has turned out to be one of the best dogs we have ever owned! (We also tried getting rid of Lolly as a puppy. And, she has been one of the best dogs we have ever owned!)

Tator is a loyal companion to everyone in the family, but he is especially protective of the girls. A couple weeks ago we took the girls to the creek to fish. Luke carried the girls through the creek to get to a little gravel island. Tator didn't like it one bit. He had never been swimming so he stood on the bank and barked and whined.

He finally found a path that got him closer. He ran along the bank and then just bailed into the water.

He was so happy that he was with them again.

Tator swam back to the bank and ran as fast as he could to meet the girls when they got out of the water.

This week he has been sick. He is on his first antibiotic. We think he ate something and it upset his tummy. He was vomiting and had diarrhea. Tuesday we couldn't find him. We looked for him for an hour. Luke finally found him hiding in a hole under a lawn mower. We were all very scared that he disappeared like Mag. We had Jackie out doing some work and were afraid he might have gotten under one of the trees when it fell. It was very scary. I think Luke and I were more upset than the girls were.

He has turned out to be the perfect pet for our family. He is obedient, smart, sweet, and protective. I love that he is potty trained and doesn't run off.

I also love that he sleeps like this every night.

Seriously. I am up every hour to go to the bathroom. At night he sleeps in the chair though. Everytime I get up to go to the bathroom and see him sleeping like this I laugh out loud.

We love our Tator!

We Set A Date!

We will be meeting Kanyon James on June 19th. I was really hoping Dr. Pickhardt would be able to induce me on June 16th or 17th, but he couldn't. He is on call Sunday the 19th. I am not excited about waiting longer, the number 19 or having a baby on Father's Day. I am also going to miss Kinnison's end of year T-Ball Party. Luke worked really hard to raise money so they could have a party at the aquatic park! I am sad I am going to miss it. But, I am excited we finally have a date. And, I am extremely anxious to meet my little man. I have had a pity party all day because things didn't go the way I planned. I'm just being selfish. I am so blessed to have this little baby boy inside me. This will be my last pregnancy(that is the plan anyway). I am thankful I got to experience this miracle one more time. And, the most important thing is that Kanyon is healthy. I don't mind being miserable as long as he is healthy! Please remember us in your prayers on the 19th (OR that he decides to come early on his own) :) I'll be posting pictures soon!

Family of Four Fun Day!

We wanted to take the girls to do something special before Kanyon's arrival. It was our last big outing as a family of four. We started Monday night with a trip to the Aquatic Park. Tuesday morning we had donuts for breakfast and then went to Academy Outdoors. Each girl got a new camping chair and got to pick out a new fishing lure. They were so excited! Next, we went to Build A Bear. The girls both picked out dogs instead of bears. They had so much fun creating their new friends and picking out their clothes. I did this with Kinnison when Kimber was born and we had a lot of fun. She slept with her bear everynight and even slept with it in the hospital. I was hoping they would both enjoy it and they have! They have taken their dogs with them everywhere! After Build A Bear we went to Fast Lanes. We bowled first. We had a lot of fun. They both did great! Kimber won her age division and I won mine. :) After bowling Luke took each girl for a ride on the go karts. Kinnison was big enough to drive one by herself and decided she wanted to after riding with Luke. After Fast Lanes we went to Bariolas for pizza and spaghetti. We ended the day with a slice of cookie and a couple dinky doozies from Great American Cookie Company. It was a great day. We laughed a lot and made some great memories. We were all completely exhausted! We slept in 'til 8 this morning!

I go to the doctor for my 38 week check tomorrow. We should find out when Kanyon will be arriving. I can't wait!