Ezra's Big Day

I never thought March 5th was going to come. But the day finally came and went and it was such a special day for our famiy. The day of the surgery I was full of mixed emotions. The surgery was scheduled for 1:00pm so we were supposed to be at the hospital by 11:00 for all the prep work. My plan was to keep myself busy that morning by showering and doing my hair and then packing the boys' bags. Well, as soon as I was finished with my hair it was 10:00 and the hospital called and asked if we could come in right away to do the surgery early. I panicked, not only had I not packed the boys yet, but I was not mentally prepared for that. So I threw a few things together for the boys and we headed off. My wonderful sister-in-law, Anne Marie was kind enough to meet us at the hospital and she took Gavin and Wade until my parents got back (they were still 1 hour away driving home from Utah). Thanks a million Anne Marie! We went into the hospital ready to have the baby. I had received a priesthood blessing from Spencer that morning and felt more comforted. We got in our hospital attire and they monitored the baby for a bit, took some blood work, and hooked up an I.V. After about an hour it was finally time. I got in a wheelchair and they wheeled me down to the surgery room. My doctor was on his was so we sat right outside the surgery room for awhile... just enough time to get nervous again. Nurses would come in and out of the surgery room and I would catch glimpses of the room and the people getting things ready. I just wanted to get things over with! They finally took me in by myself, Spencer has to wait outside until I'm ready. They put in the epidural (painful) and then helped me lay back on the bed. While the epidural was taking effect they pulled the sheet up near my head. The doctor was in the room at this point and he seemed very serious, which made me even more nervous. Spencer got to come in the room and it was time. We were both so nervous, for me and for the baby. I heard them say, "First cut is made." and the time which it was made. For some reason this time I could feel them making the cuts and some ripping, not the pain of it just the sensation. Part of me kept waiting for them to say "She's losing too much blood!" or something but they never did. Phew! (Although when all was said and done, I did lose a lot of blood. Way more than normal.) There was lots of tugging and pulling which made me grunt a lot. I heard the doctor say "The baby has a lot of hair." Then he asked for a vacuum (I guess because of my scarring it wasn't stretchy so they had to use the vacuum a little to get him out). They let Spencer stand up and take pictures of the baby coming out, which he had never been allowed to do before. The minute I heard that little cry I started crying too. Spencer sat back down by me, we were so happy to hear that cry. Spencer was then allowed to go over by the baby. When the baby was finally cleaned up, Spencer brought him over to me. He was so cute! We both agreed that he looked a lot like Wade. Then Spencer was off with the baby to the nursery. The doctor was still working on me so I asked him about my scarring. He said, "Well, you must have been saying your prayers because there was actually a lot less scarring this time and I have no explanation for that." I just smiled to myself and was grateful for the priesthood blessing I had received. When I was done, they wheeled me off to the recovery room where I had to stay for 2 hours. I just wanted to see Spencer and the baby so bad. But Spencer got some great shots of the baby in the nursery. I finally got to go to my room and Spencer came in with the baby. I got to hold him for the first time and I was in love. A little while later my mom and dad brought the boys to meet little Ezra. I was holding the baby when they walked in the room. Chase and Gavin were both wide-eyed with a big smile on their face, then Wade came barreling up to the bed and said, "Mommy, is that what your baby is going to look like?" I laughed and then infomed him that this was our baby. The boys just wanted to touch him and hold him and love him. My dad got some cute pictures for us. After awhile it got pretty chaotic so my parents took the boys home. My parents were so kind to keep the boys while we were in the hospital, they also brought them each day to visit us. It has been a whirlwind since we've been home, but we are trying to enjoy every minute of it!

Being monitered and getting ready.

Outside the surgery room, feeling anxious and a little nervous.

1st moments in the surgery room

Spencer brought Ezra to me so I could see him for the first time.

Getting checked out in the nursery while mommy is in the recovery room

Daddy loves you...

Meeting your brothers for the first time.

My 1st day

Big brother Chase

Big brother Gavin

Big brother Wade

More love from daddy

Grandpa and Grandma Lauritzen

Wade just needed some 'mommy time'

Chase was showing us what he would look like if he were pregnant while I entertained Wade with the 'nose sucker'

We just can't get enough of this guy!

All dressed up and ready to go home

Let's go!