Truman- The Birth Story

(Truman's Very First Picture On Earth)

As announced by Corey a couple of days ago: Our little Truman is here!
He is a tiny package of perfection.

For everyone in the family it was complete and total love-at-first-sight.

There is oh-so-much to say already about our new little-man, and I suppose I better start with the birth story.

For those of you who don't want the full details, here are the highlights:

He was born at 4:19pm on June 17, 2011.
I had a completely un-medicated birth.
(including the fact that I didn't end up needing to be induced after all! My Aunt Nat commented: "Oh! You went into labor all on your own like a big girl!")

It hurt way worse and was much harder than I thought it would be, but overall it was an amazing and priceless experience, and I would do it again-- but let's not think about that for a while alright?
His full name is Truman Matthew Larsen Burton.
He was 8 Pounds 1 Ounce and 22 1/4 Inches long.
(And since most everyone always asks: Jack was 8,3 and 21 inches, Alaster was 7,1 and 21 inches)
He is not a baldie. He has lots of dark brown hair much to Alaster and Grandma Burton's delight.
Corey and I go back and forth between which brother he looks more like... he really has characteristics of both. One thing is for sure: He is a Burton Boy!
And as previously stated: He. Is. Perfect.
Now, if you choose to skip the full version- just be sure to scroll down to the bottom for the Truman-Collage! All pictures were taken at just about an hour or two old- before he had even had his first bath! So cute!

For those of you who want the unabridged version Read On...
Be Ye Warned: I am recording the full story here people. This is my only record of it, and I want it complete. Are you catching my drift? I use the word "cervix," and other details that may make a few of you squirmy...

Officially at 41 weeks and miserable, I was scheduled to be induced on Friday morning. I had an appointment the previous day complete with ultrasound, stress-test, and cervical exam to check for any progress and to determine if I would need a cervix-softening medicine put in place the night before being induced. Things Thursday looked fantastic. Baby and I were both healthy as could be, and miracle of miracles my body was actually starting to do things! Never happened with Jack and Aly, but this time my cervix was softening and I was even dilated a bit! Yahoo! No cervix-softener necessary, I was in a good place for having my membranes stripped. The midwife did a thorough job of it, and told me it might be enough to get things going without any other help.

Corey and I had both been working extremely hard to get the house in order and to prepare in every way for baby... so come Thursday we were both pooped. I had a few more items on my to-do list which I intended to conquer after my appointment, but we skipped them and just enjoyed the last day of being the 4 of us. I took the boys to the pool while Corey slept, and when he woke up we got a little lunch and went to the park. In the evening I made a yummy dinner and we got the boys ready to spend the night with Grampa. (They were hoping to start an induction at around 6:30am the next day). See how cute they were on the way out, all bathed and ready for bed?

See the bottom left-hand picture? That is Alaster turning around to shout "Bye Truman! I love you forever Truman!"

I wanted to cry seeing them go. All week those little boys have been so sweet to their mama. Jack asked in every single prayer to "Please help mommy feel better, and please bless Truman to come out soon." They have been so patient and so forgiving when I have had to tell them "no I can't..." to running, wrestling, and all other kinds of things I just plain old didn't have the energy for. They gave Truman and me so much love. Jack, who is normally not very affectionate, was lovey-dovey all week long. There were extra hugs and kisses, assurances that I was such a good mommy etc. etc. Perhaps they took their cues from Corey who also treated me like a queen. Have I told you lately how blessed I am?

Anyway, back to the story... Corey and I attempted going to bed early on Thursday. Ha! That was silly. Corey's body is incapable of going to bed early with the schedule he keeps, and I started having contractions that kept me pretty uncomfortable and awake. I hoped so, so much that meant that labor had started, but it was hard to tell having never had the typical early labor stuff happen before.

We called Labor and Deliver at 5:30am. They were busy- no room for me yet- and said call back at 8:00. I went downstairs because I couldn't sleep and read online about what early labor feels like. I was definitely still contracting but wasn't confident enough to say that I was in labor for sure. At 6:00 I lost my mucus plug. Another good sign... At 8:00 labor and delivery said to call back at 10:00. At 10:00 they said "don't call us, we'll call you,"-- Labor and Delivery terms for "Don't hold your breath Sister... it's not gonna happen today." Rats! But there was still the hope of going into labor on my own in which case they would make room of course.

At that point I was feeling really crampy, sick, and restless. I couldn't stay in the house and do nothing. I had updated L and D with how I was feeling and they said to walk around a bit, and if my contractions got consistently 5-10 minutes apart that I should go to my midwives for a labor check. I got Corey up, and we got ready to go.

Before we left the house I asked Corey to give me a blessing. He was so obviously concerned about how I was feeling, and wanted so much to help me feel better. He has been so sweet and sympathetic during my whole pregnancy, and of course that extended right to the very end. As he layed his hands on my head I could feel his love and desire to help and support me in every way. The blessing was beautiful. The words he said were inspired and I recalled them quite clearly over and over during the rough parts of labor. They brought me strength and peace to carry me through. I am so grateful for Corey and for how he honors his priesthood!

After the blessing we went to Gram and Grandpa's house to get a CD player and some love fromt them and the boys. Then it was off to Barnes and Noble where we walked around a bit. Then to Bed Bath and Beyond. Then to Target. All the while Corey was timing contractions and we just waited and waited for them to become consistent. They never did! They were all over the place. 3 minutes apart, 12 minutes, 20 minutes, back to 5 minutes. Because of that fact I was getting more and more frustrated thinking that it was probably false labor, and that was so not cool! It really was starting to hurt, and I so very much didn't want to be going through all of that for nothing!

At Target I made a quick call to my Whitney. I needed to hear her voice. When I am frustrated and feeling low a call to Whit usually does the trick. She is always so sweet and upbeat, and she knows the right thing to say to turn my mood around. We end up laughing or crying together- whatever the case calls for. That day it was laughing. I updated her on the situation... she gave me love, and then she told me her Grandma's birth story when her mom was born, and the story of how her sister Audrey was born. It was perfect. I needed to hear Whit's voice, and I was so glad that she answered and talked with me for a minute.

I could hardly walk back to the car after our brief Target trip so even though the contractions still weren't consistent we decided to go in for a labor check anyway. I just needed to know. We got to the office and I was checked at 12:45. The same midwife who checked me the day before checked me again to see if I had progressed at all. I had! I was an "easy 3." They called L and D and told them I was on my way!

By the time we got there and got all checked in etc. etc. it had been about an hour. Ray, my calming, Brittish Mid-Man came to talk with me and check again to see about breaking my water etc. etc. In only that one hour I had progressed from a 3 to a 7. Another blessing: I was sent to deliver on the coveted 4th floor! It's a special floor on the hospital where things are much more laid back, where the nurses prefer to work with un-medicated births, and the experience is just a lot different-- we certainly enjoyed our time there from start to finish. It was wonderful. Corey's middle/high school friend Rebecca was our main nurse throughout and she was great! She got the tub ready for me straight away, and in I went.

Life in the tub was good. Really good. I felt very in control of my body and the pain was greatly minimized as I breathed deeply and felt the warm water all around me. Corey fed me ice chips and let me rest my head on his shoulder. When a contraction came I did my very best to welcome it, picture my new baby, and breathe. I held tight to Corey's hand and remembered the words from his blessing. I was totally silent and kept my eyes closed in concentration. I could have stayed in that tub for a long, long, time and been okay. As it was I was there for about an hour and a half.

I started to wonder about whether my water needed to be broken or not...? Corey asked Ray about it, and he said we would need to do that at some point- sooner would be better than later. I trust Ray, so I reluctantly gave up my sweet life in the tub, all with the intention of getting back in soon. Not to be. Once he broke my water things got IN-TENSE. Holy cow. That "transition," business is no joke! I started to feel a bit out of control. I was out of the water and knew that I did not have the gumption to leave the bed and get back in. I just got as comfortable as I could. I felt the best laying on my left side and curling into myself in a fetal position when the contractions came. I had one hand with Corey, the other with Rebecca and I am sure I hurt them pretty badly each time a contraction came.

When Ray broke my water I was at an 8. I think he could tell I was starting to lose it a bit, and he suggested that I start pushing even though I wasn't fully dilated. My cervix is apparently set very, very far back, and it wasn't coming forward the way it ought to, to allow the baby to come out. Ray thought with it being my third baby, if he helped guide the cervix forward as I pushed that we could have ourselves a baby! He asked what I thought and I said "let's do it!" It felt so very, very good to push! There was such a sense of relief in the contractions to work with them to bring the baby down. Well, I should say it felt good in my abdomen/back etc. I couldn't believe how badly it hurt when the baby started crowning. I absolutely experienced "the ring of fire," and all I can say is that it hurt like hell. There is just no other way of saying it. I was shaking all over and really didn't think I was going to be able to finish. Everyone was being so sweet and telling me that I was almost done. They helped me know when and how to push, they held me and cheered me along. Once the baby's head came out I immediately felt better. The final push for the rest of his body was no big deal and then I was done!

They set Truman on my chest and I felt a huge surge of relief. I was still tender as could be but the work was done. I really had not expected the final part of delivering to be that hard. I think because my epidurals had been SO effective (once they finally got them in) that I just had no clue what had really been happening with them. Still... I made it through. The after birth wasn't exactly "fun," but it certainly wasn't like giving birth. Poor Ray had to talk to me like I was a three year old to convince me that I needed two little stitches. I just wanted to be done and hold my new little miracle.

He was worth it. In every single way this baby was worth it. The recovery was of course a million times better than when I had an epidural, and not just because I avoided the spinal headache. It was just better all the way around... as was the experience of midwife vs. OB. I love how they approached everything - from start to finish. I felt very blessed by how it all went. I am blessed with a healthy body and beautiful, healthy babies. It is a blessing I will never take for granted.

All in all I can't believe that I was able to deliver without meds. Seriously. And my experience was really mild compared to so many! For Pete's sake, I went from a 3 to baby's here! in under 4 hours! I only had to push for about 10 minutes! AND, I had all of the modern conveniences a girl could possibly desire. It could have been so much harder. It gives me serious respect for the women who did this on the trail etc. I am not that strong. I would have died for sure.

Well folks, there you have it. After much tribulation came the greatest blessing.

Can't wait to tell you more about him!