Happy Birth Day Levi Dale Clarkson

Levi Dale Clarkson
Born: 05-05-2009
At: 10:10 am
Weighing in at: 9 lbs. 5 oz
Length: 20 3/4 inches long

Natural birth without complications. Mom and baby doing great! Here he is! Less than 2 hours old!
Here is his first smile! (okay, I know it was gas, but I like to think it was because he was so happy to see his mommy!)

Levi was so quiet and alert for 2 hours after he was born! He was just looking around at everybody and he is super strong! He only cried once, right when he was born, and then not again until the middle of last night when he decided he didn't like having a dirty diaper.
Proud Papa! Tim actually delivered the baby and cut the umbilical cord! So, so cool!

Tired, but happy, mom. I am just sooooo glad to not be pregnant! Woo-hoo! I slept on my stomach last night, and it felt awesome! Also, Levi is great at nursing already, and I love nursing, so I got to snuggle him and nurse last night. Ahhhh, life is sweet.

Above is the birth team that brought Levi into this world. From the left is Lisa, a R.N. who works in the NICU here in St. George. She was the birth assistant who was in charge of the baby once he was born and assisting the midwife. And she took some great pics. Next is Tim, who was Superman in doing everything I asked and being the perfect husband, as always. He delivered the baby, moved furniture that was in the way, rubbed my back, got me drinks of water and food to eat afterward, told me how awesome I am, etc, etc. What a great best friend. Next is me, who delivered the baby. :) And then Levi, who turned to exactly the right position at the last minute. We were afraid he was going to be delivered posterior, but he turned and made labor much easier for his momma. On the far right is Cyndi who is the midwife. She is so amazing! She is a certified midwife (CNM) and RN who has delivered over 1000 babies and knew just what to do to make this delivery the best ever for me. What a great team!


So, here are some more details about the birth:

The day before, Monday, my midwife called me and asked if I wanted her to "stretch and sweep" my membranes that day, instead of waiting until Thursday (the day of my 41 week appointment). Of course I said "YES"!! So, she came right over, we had the appointment and all the rest of that day I felt pretty crappy. I had chores I needed to do, but just wanted to lie down and rest all day. So, I did. Tuesday morning, I woke up around 2 in the morning, so tired of being pregnant, and I couldn't get back to sleep. So I took a hot shower, felt much better, went back to bed and suddenly had a contraction! After 2-3 of them, I started timing them, and they became much more regular and stronger. I hurried and cleaned the bathroom and did a few other things, then at 5:30 I woke Tim up and told him to call his mom to come get the kids because it was "time". I also wrote him a list of things to run to the store and get (I was supposed to go grocery shopping on Monday, but felt too tired, so we didn't have any food). I called the midwife and she said to keep timing and call her back in an hour.
Tim and I got the room ready for the delivery (the kids were still sleeping), he ran to the store, and at 7:30am, Tim's mom arrived from Kanab to pick up the kids and watch them for the day. By this time, the Midwife arrived, I was starting to feel more intense contractions, Tim got back with the groceries, we said good-bye to the kids and labor really started.

When the midwife arrived, I was kneeling beside my bed, as that was the most comfortable position during contractions. She started filling out some paperwork, taking my blood pressure, listening to the baby's heart beat, etc. She also set up the room, set out supplies we'd need, and so on. But, the cool thing about her was that each time a contraction would start, she would stop what she was doing and put pressure on my hips or rub down my back to relieve the pain of the contraction!! It was the coolest thing ever, because what would have been painful contractions turned into painless contractions! It was so cool, and I was thinking, "Why has no one ever done this for me before??" I labored like that for probably an hour, and then my legs were getting tired of kneeling. I thought "maybe I should move to the bed and get some rest in between contractions." Tim was Mr. Incredible with his super strength and moved me to the bed, only to have the pain super intensified as I was lying on my back now. I rolled to my side, but it's like I could feel the labor slowing down. So, after about a half an hour of lots of pain (I was trying to rest - yeah, that plan backfired), I stood by the side of the bed and ended up kneeling again. At 9:45, I got the urge to push (Woo-hoo! My favorite part of labor because I can do something instead of just sit around and try to relax during a contraction) and at 10:10 Levi was born! :) Tim really did deliver him, head, shoulders and all, even though the midwife was right there. The baby had the cord wrapped once around his neck, but his heart rate never went down, so that's good. Tim cut the cord and I got to nurse him right away. He was born with a perfectly shaped head and in perfect health and I feel really happy that all went so well. Total labor time was counted from 6:30am-10:10am, so 3 hours and 40 minutes!

I really had a great experience and feel so lucky to have had the opportunity to have this baby at home. Everything exceeded my expectations! I even enjoy the hospital (I actually like the hospital food and people checking in on me to see if I'm doing okay), but having the baby at home was 10 times better. I was never cold, my king-size bed is WAY more comfy than the narrow hospital beds, Tim didn't have to sleep in a chair, I slept so good (no beeps or strange lights or janitors coming in to change the trash), no I.V., no suitcase or forgetting something, I could go on and on. Everything was so great - I actually feel like I'm on vacation!

Here is Levi with his Grandma Clarkson, only a few hours old. We owe a lot to Tim's mom, Patsy, who took our kids away during the labor and after, so we could nap and rest. The kids came to see the baby and they were all super excited and soooo cute! Then Patsy took our boys to Kanab for 2 days so Tim, Levi and I could rest. I love my big boys, but it has been heaven having some alone time with this baby (and my awesome hubby).

I'm recovering well and feel really happy. I know this "high" will end once I get back into real life, but I'm enjoying every moment of the next few days.

Overdue!!!

That's right, no baby yet! I'm doing surprisingly well, mentally and physically, since the two girls due the same week as me have already had their babies. I didn't tell too many people, but 2 1/2 weeks ago, I went into false labor. I was so excited to think that I was going to have my baby early! Tim was supposed to work a shift at the Temple that night, so he got a substitute. I canceled watching my friend's kids and told her I was in labor. And we packed up the kids and took them to my bro-in-law's house to spend the night while I supposedly had a baby.

The contractions were light, but a consistant 9 minutes apart, which shortly moved to 6 minutes apart for about an hour. Then, the contractions were stronger and only 5 minutes apart for longer than an hour (which was as close as they ever got with Matthew, the only pregnancy I wasn't induced until this one).

Then, around 9 pm, everything just stopped! We went for a drive, a walk, called my bro-in-law who decided to keep the kids in case I went back into labor, but nothing happened all night, or the next day or the next. I did get a restful night while my bro and sis-in-law dealt with my kids wandering around the house crying for "mom" and Isaac even threw up on their leather couches (nice! and embarrassing for me!)

The whole next week I was pretty depressed and didn't want to do anything, still hoping the baby would come, contractions would start up again. But now, I've realized that maybe I am one of those lucky few who always go overdue a couple of weeks. So, we'll see what happens! We'll post a picture for sure when the baby arrives!

Every kid has their "make-up" picture...

...here is Isaac's! He thought he was really funny!He's a little more serious after getting in trouble... Maybe switching mom's lip gloss applicator and mascara applicator wasn't such a great idea...

He obviously had no clue where mascara is supposed to go, but he did know what he wanted - to be a man!! Look at that beard! He knew what he was doing!


Isaac often surprises me with what he can do. Here he built this tall tower all by himself! This was a good thing, but he has also figured out how to open doors, unlock doors and even unlock the deadbolt on our front door! He also has figured out how to use a barstool to reach things he wants (all the bandaids, pantry snacks, his brother's special toys, etc.) and even can open the van door all by himself (Andrew just barely figured this out) and lock everyone out so he can push the buttons and laugh at me through the window (when he's finished, he unlocks the door and lets himself out!) Yes, he is super busy but he is so much fun too!

Check out this cowboy below!Here he is just out of the bath! He decided it was his turn to go to Matthew's school, so he put on Matthew's jacket-vest and backpack and tried running out the door! It seems he thinks he is as big as the older boys, but he doesn't turn 2 until next month!

Back in my comfort zone

When we went to Vacaville a month ago for my brother's baptism, we celebrated Andrew's 4th birthday again, among other things. One of those things was going to our favorite Dentist and getting our teeth worked on. Okay, he's my dad!

Below is a picture of Matthew getting an exam done on his teeth by his Grandpa! We found 9 cavities! (He definitely has Tim's teeth!) My dad looked at me and asked, "Do you remember how to do fillings?" Since it had been 8 years since I had done anything like this, I was nervous to dental assist again, but after the first filling, it was like riding a bike! Matthew had to get shots, and was really freaking out. It was so sad to see him so upset. My dad asked if I wanted to give him a sedative, and I felt like I was the one who needed it! So, my dad gave him something to relax him a little, and it totally worked, but he was so goofy! He started doing weird things like a person on drugs! It was hard not to laugh! Here is a picture of his goofy face, all numb.
Here's Andrew getting his teeth "counted". No cavities!
That afternoon and evening was supposed to be Andrew's birthday party, but Matthew's fillings took so long and he was so loopy, that it wasn't the party my mom planned, but Andrew still had SO much fun!

This poster was stuck to our door when we arrived at my Mom's house in the middle of the night. Andrew was so surprised and loved it!
Do you see why Andrew calls my mom his "Candy-girl"? They are so sweet together and have very similar personalities. I love this picture below.
Here Andrew is getting ready to blow the candles out on his cake! Look at that deep breath!
Does the birthday boy look happy or what??? I love his grin!
My little bro Tyler and Andrew playing at the park. This park is special because it is called "Andrew's Park" so we have to go play at it every time we visit!
Here's my big 4-year-old! He has sure been awesome lately! No more meltdowns (almost), super obedient and helpful, loves learning and playing with friends. He has been so easy and wonderful since he has turned 4 - there is something wonderful about this age!

My Brother's Baptism and a real Pregnant picture!

I have a brother, Tyler, who just turned 8 years old! (My mom was pregnant at my wedding!!) We drove all night, 11 hours, to spend 3 days in CA visiting my family and attending his baptism. My awesome Grandma Thomas flew from Provo, so I got to see her, as well as my Uncle Brandon and his cute family. I also got to see my Aunt Lori and my Grandpa Bosler.
The Baptism was wonderful. My family sang a song and I was a little bit nervous about that because my 2 boys were supposed to sing the first verse as a duet! They had it memorized, but weren't really ever on tune while practicing. However, when it was "show time" they totally nailed it and sounded awesome! It was so cute, I wish we had it on video!


Here are my 3 cute boys with their G'pa and G'ma Bosler.Four Generation picture:
G'ma Thomas, my mom, me and Isaac.
Three generation pic with the boys:
G'pa Bosler, my dad, (my brother Tyler), and my 3 boys. My boys love their Uncle Tyler!
Me and my Aunt Jennilyn, both due on April 30th with boys! She married my Uncle Brandon who is 4.5 years older than me and our kids are the same ages. This is her first boy, though. Isn't she so cute?

Finally!

I have 4 new posts below, all are Andrew's 4th birthday. He was so spoiled and got 4 birthday parties! Mom, you need to send me the pics from when we were at your house so I can post them!

We love the Andersons!

Betsy and Richard Anderson came from Kanab to celebrate Andrew's Birthday! They brought us our favorite lunch "El Pollo Loco" (our kids love eating "Crazy Chicken") and super yummy cupcakes!
Andrew loves his presents! Spiderman!!!
I think this is his 4th cupcake??....
Family picture! The cupcakes were so yummy the boys had a hard time looking at the camera for one second!
I included this pic so you could see how big I'm getting. I need to take a "pregnant belly" pic, but they are so depressing I keep putting it off! :)


Thank you Richard and Betsy! You guys are awesome! Andrew wears his Dinosaur shirt almost every day!