Finally the wait is over...

Brayden James Shuldberg
Born Tuesday, November 8, 2011 at 5:12pm
7lbs, 13oz and 20.5 inches long
6.25 hours of labor

We showed up at the hospital at 9:30am for the induction. Then found I was already 4-5cm dilated so they got right to work breaking my water. It was supposed to be an easy, quick procedure...it wasn't. It was the worst part of labor for me. It took them a good 15 minutes of trying to get that stupid thing to burst open. If you know what this procedure requires, you know IT HURT!!!! There are some things that just don't belong in certain places of your body....and it hurts a lot when someone tries to get them there...:-{....anyway....they finally broke my water and got me hooked up to the oxytocin by 11:00. From that point everything went pretty fast. I was at 9 1/2 centimeters by 2 o'clock. I put off the epidural for a little while because my stupid curiosity wanted to know what a contraction actually felt like. It was nothing like what I thought - so I found out I had actually felt them before. For me, a contraction was all in the back. A lot of lower back pain for a period of time. From the very beginning my contractions were about 1 1/2 minutes apart. After an hour of pain, I decided it was time for the epidural. Of course by that time, the doctor was caught up with someone else so I had to wait another half hour. :-{ He finally got in and got the epidural with a lot less pain than the doctor breaking my water and I stopped feeling the contractions within 15 minutes. It was heaven! I didn't feel a thing through the rest of the time.
I was so numb I didn't even feel the "pressure" I was supposed to feel when I needed to push. That made it more difficult but I pushed for about an hour starting at 4 o'clock and Brayden was here at 5:12 pm. The doctor was there for about 1/2 hour of it and was wonderful. He was very encouraging the whole time. I did have to get an episiotomy but the way it all happened, I understood why and he explained it all before he did it.
I was blessed to only be in labor for 6 1/2 hours. My little boy is strong and healthy and sweet. He is super hungry right now, so I need to go feed him. We are excited to have him here! Enjoy the cute pictures of our little one.

This is right before we went home. We were all very excited to get out of there (Roy more than either myself or Brayden)...although I am going to miss the great food....*sigh*

Because I have nothing else to do but wait.......

One week past my due date and I feel no different, no closer, still huge, and still grumpy. *sigh* I think the most depressing part is having to tell everyone who asks how I'm doing or if he's here that he's not. I feel like I'm letting everyone down somehow, even though I know I have no control over any of it. Maybe that's the most depressing part....ZERO control! I can't say come now and suddenly have a baby in my arms. It is totally in God's hands. Roy gave me a blessing Wednesday night that told me he would come when he was ready and of his own accord...basically God said, "Stop freaking out. I'm in charge here." I have been humbled and that blessing really is the only thing keeping me sane now. It is still not easy to be patient, but maybe I am supposed to learn more of that too. I just have to keep telling myself that I am waiting on the Lord's time...no better time to be waiting for right?

Anyway....as a diversion from all of the sitting around and waiting.....
I decided to post some pictures of the various projects I have undertaken for the baby. For some crazy reason, I decided I should start sewing. My mom taught me quite a lot of the basics but I never paid as much attention as I should have. Now I am learning mostly by trial and error and the internet. Sorry Mom. :( I must say though, these projects have turned out much better than I expected.
This first one is a 14-year-old infant swing that a friend in the ward gave to us. It was a hand-me-down for her too but it still works great - and brand new swings cost at least $80! The only things wrong with this swing were the outdated fabric and some staining on the seat cover. So....I used the old cover as a pattern and made a brand new one. I chose to use flannel because I already had it lying around and why not use something soft and warm? The hardest part of this project was the binding around the edge. I had never done it before - and to any other beginners, I would recommend NOT starting with trying to bind curves. It was so frustrating but when it was finished, I was very proud. It's not perfect by any means but it looks good and it is functional. :) I am very proud.
BEFORE

AFTER

Yay for pirates!

The next project:
A "Boppy" pillow (breastfeeding pillow)
Anyone who has looked to buy one of these pillows knows they cost about $30. It just was not in my budget to spend that much on a pillow. BUT - I have been told they are a God-send when it comes to feeding your baby so I really really wanted one...Enter: my sister-in-law, Kaytie. While we were visiting her in Washington, she showed me the one she had MADE!! Yay! She let me borrow the pattern and I was able to put this whole thing together in about 2 hours for less $10. Now that is what I call AWESOME!

And finally:
 A carseat cover.
This pattern I kind of made up based on others I had seen, specifically the one that is currently for sale at Costco (that is expensive and is only sold in girly patterns :-P ). I decided to use fleece on one side and flannel on the other so that the baby would stay nice and warm through the winter. It was super easy and fast to make but I think next time I will just use cotton. The fleece was kind of hard to work with and after only two washes (one to shrink them before sewing and one to fray the edges of the flannel after) it looks a little ragged and old. I think cotton would hold up better. Oh well. I love the puppy pattern on the fleece and it matches the carseat really well.

Finally, the nursery is completely assembled, wall hangings and glider included. Here is the final picture of the remodeling project for that. (PS - we do have a changing pad that fits now, I just hadn't put it in when I took this picture)

And the final item of business:
This is a picture of me at exactly 40 weeks pregnant - October 31, 2011.

 (the chickens were following me where ever I chose to stand for the pictures so they get to be part of this memory :))
I am now 41 weeks pregnant. Roy says I look even bigger now than a week ago and that I'm "sagging", which I guess is a good thing (though it never sounds good coming from your husband). The doctor will not let me get to 42 weeks so I will be induced this week if he does not come of his own accord soon. Please come soon baby!!!