WARNING: This post contains a birth story. Although I have tried to refrain from providing "too much information," it is what it is, so consider yourself warned.

Now for the much-anticipated story of our latest arrival. This should have been posted last week, but I will clarify now why it has taken me a while to get back to the blogging world.

On Sunday, January 24, my mom flew in from Utah. Ben and the girls picked her up from the airport, and we were able to spend a nice afternoon and evening with her getting settled in for the week.

At 6:00 a.m. on Monday, January 25, I checked in to Western Missouri Medical Center for a scheduled induction. The nurse got me all ready and my doctor came by at about 8:15 to get things started. The pitocin started working around 9:00 a.m., and we were on our way.

I expected to have a labor much like with Zachary and welcome the baby by lunch time. However, things progressed more slowly than we anticipated and lunch came and went. Things started getting fairly painful so I got the epidural and settled back in to wait things out. Shortly before 2:00 p.m., the nurse checked me and found that I was complete and ready to push, except that my water hadn't broken. They called the doctor to come break my water and broke down the bed so I could deliver the baby. This is when things went BAD.

Once my water was broken, the doctor checked for the position of the baby's head. She told the nurse that I wasn't ready and that I couldn't be more than six centimeters dilated. Her face suddenly became very serious, and she said, "That is not a head." I was in shock. People were suddenly rushing everywhere and an ultrasound machine was brought in. The doctor quickly ran it over my belly to discover that when they had broken my water, the baby had pulled back and put his head on my left hip. The doctor was feeling his hand, which was now in the birth canal. Then she uttered that word I dreaded more than anything in this situation: c-section.

Things got even crazier. More people appeared in my room. The bed was quickly reassembled. Ben disappeared. I was on my out of my comfortable labor and delivery room to a bright and forbidding operating room. I managed to hold it together until the added medication made me numb to my armpits and they strapped my arms to the table. Finally, Ben came in dressed in scrubs. I cried through the entire process. They kept trying to get me to take deep breaths, and Ben kept reassuring me that everything was okay. All I could think about was the fact that there was now a huge hole in my belly. I couldn't even process that the sound I was hearing was my baby's cry. Although I was allowed to see the baby before he and Ben left, I didn't get to hold him. I felt completely devastated by what had happened.

Once the doctor had gotten things sewn up, it was off to recovery for two hours. I was shaking so hard I felt like I was going to fall off of the bed at times. My blood pressure was so low (80-90s over 30-40s) they wouldn't let me sit up at all. Once my blood pressure stablized, I was moved to my recovery room where Ben was waiting with the baby. I was still shaking a lot, so the nurse propped a bunch of pillows around me while I fed the baby so I wouldn't drop him.

That was my first real meeting with my son, Tyler Christopher Abshire. He was 7 lbs. 5 oz. and 19 1/4 inches long. He was born at 2:30 p.m. Since he was sideways and they couldn't get him turned, the doctor had to make an extra incision perpendicular to the first one to just get him out. The initial attempts to get him out resulted in the bruising you can see on his chest in this picture.

Despite my desire to go home as quickly as possible after the baby was born, I was obligated to stay until Wednesday night. Shortly before I left the hospital, I started having some problems with anxiety. I assumed this was because I was nervous about caring for a new baby and three other small children right after having major abdominal surgery. The doctor approved a dose of anti-anxiety medication, and once that kicked in, I was on my way.

However, it quickly became clear that the anxiety was not a single episode. I started having horribly debilitating attacks that would leave me curled up on the couch for hours unable to even talk to people. My doctor ordered some medication for me, and I have been doing really well on it. I have even been able to back off it a bit at this point.

The night I left the hospital, I also started having stomachaches and nausea that kept me from eating for several days. After five days of nothing but toast, Coke, and the occasional chicken broth, I went to see my doctor. The next day, I spent seven hours in doctor's offices or at the hospital in Sedalia. My blood work indicated that there may be a problem with my pancreas. I had to have a CT scan, which meant I had to drink a lot of barium. Nasty stuff. The CT came back fine, and I started feeling better, so the theory on this is that my hormones caused a crazy reaction in my pancreas that calmed down when the hormones started regulating themselves.

On top of all of that, we discovered I had a UTI. Sure, why not. In the midst of all of this madness, my mom was scheduled to fly out on Saturday, January 30. On Friday night, we were still working to get the right medications to control my anxiety and eating next to nothing. She agreed to stay for four more days to help out and make sure I was really okay. I was finally able to eat just a few hours before she left on Wednesday. Not a moment too soon. She did so much to help me. Not only did she take care of the house and kids, she also took Tyler at night and only brought him to me when he needed to eat. The last night she was here, I wasn't allowed to nurse him because of the barium so she kept him all night. It did wonders to help me heal. I'm so glad I got a picture of her with Tyler before she left.

Ben returned to work on Friday. Since I'm still not allowed to drive or pick up the other kids, a neighbor took Sydney to school. Tomorrow will be the first time I have taken her since before Christmas break. I'm wondering if I will even remember how to drive after all this time.

The dizziness seems to have disappeared, but because I am still trying to recover from everything, I have had to continue to depend heavily on Ben. He is such an amazing and patient man. I'm really hoping to be back up to full speed next month.

The kids love the baby and are adjusting really well. They are naturally having trouble waiting for me to finish caring for Tyler before I can help them, but overall things are going well. It's nice to feel that our little family is complete. That is what helps me from getting too discouraged about the complications I have had. I know we needed Tyler to complete our family, and I am so glad he is here, healthy and happy.

I have finally gotten the Christmas pictures loaded! I tried to get a good picture of the kids in their festive outfits on Christmas Eve, but this is the best I got. Tansy kept insisting on putting her arm around Zack, and he would usually throw himself on the floor before I could get a shot.

Santa came to our house!

Tansy loved her new tricycle.

Zack got a baseball game that talks which he loved at first sight.

And Sydney is practicing her putt with her new Gator Golf.

But according to Sydney, the best present of all was the snow. We went to bed that night with freezing rain and not a flake in sight, but woke up to this. So nicely piled on top of the ice coating from the night before. Good thing we were staying in.

It was fun to have all of the kids old enough to open their own presents and be excited about what was inside.

Once all of the gifts had been opened, the girls just had to go outside.

Ben took them out for a snowball fight while I stayed inside with Zack. I figured the combination of the ice-coated stairs that I had already slipped on the night before, my precarious balance while eight months pregnant, and the fact that I can't zip up my coat right now pretty much ruled out playing outside.

Zack was less than thrilled with this arrangement. And, no, he isn't crying about the fuzzy, blinking tiara he is wearing. He wore it for quite a while that morning. He had been watching Dad and his sisters play in the backyard.

The fun didn't last long since the temperatures were in the single digits and the girls got really cold.

Here is my favorite Christmas gift! Ben surprised me with a KitchenAid! However, all of my pregnancy complications started the day after Christmas, so this is still sitting on my counter in pristine condition. Sigh.

I am going in tomorrow morning for an induction. We are hoping and praying that whatever has been causing my dizziness will be resolved by having this baby. My mom is flying out today so she will be here to take care of the kids. We have to be at the hospital at 6:00 a.m. so it will be nice not to have to disturb anybody so early in the morning. Check back later this week for pictures and news of our newest arrival!

Yes, we are still here. We seem to have settled into our new way of life. Ben is absolutely amazing. He works all day then comes home and makes dinner, takes care of the kids, and does the housework. He has not ONCE complained about the ridiculous workload, which makes me feel bad about all of the housewife whining I have done over the years.

I also have wonderful friends helping out. I have had people drive Sydney to and from school, take me to doctor appointments (I figure that since I'm suffering from dizziness, having me operate a vehicle wouldn't be good for anybody), bring dinner, and drop off a supply of chocolate. I've been so blessed to be in such a wonderful place with caring people who allow me to take care of myself for these few weeks without completely stressing out.

But the end is in sight! I am scheduled for induction on January 25. My mom flies in the afternoon before and will stay with the kids. She'll be here for a week to help us welcome this new little guy to the family. It will be so great to have her here again, especially since we planned this visit in advance.

I have Christmas pictures and other stuff to post, but I haven't been able to sit at my desktop computer to get it done because I get sick and dizzy when I don't have my feet propped up. I'll try to get Ben to help me with it when he has some time. However, he is now back to work and trying to keep everything together here at home while I am on bedrest.

To keep things short, Ben and I were watching a movie Saturday night when I suddenly felt very dizzy and on the verge of passing out. I called my doctor and she said to eat something and go to bed. If things weren't better on Monday, she wanted me to call her office even though she would be out. Of course, she told me to head to the ER if things got worse. I was able to rest and make it through the weekend, but Monday morning I was still struggling with the dizziness so another doctor mine works with had me come in for some tests. It looked like I might be developing preeclampsia so I am on bedrest this week and have an appointment with my doctor on Monday to see how things are going. This little guy might be coming sooner than we expected. We'll keep you posted.

I wasn't able to do my regular Sunday afternoon post because Zack wasn't feeling well and needed A LOT of attention. I also neglected to post our family's pictures with Santa. We went to see him at the Airman and Family Readiness Center the day after Ben got home. I forgot the camera (again), but they had a camera there. They printed out and emailed the pictures they took for us. It was great. There were two little boys there before us, but Tansy charged right up. We had to make her wait her turn.
Sydney was not sure about this at all. She isn't happy that Ben stepped back two feet to let her have a picture with Santa.

Tansy, however, thought this was great. As soon as the boys were finished, Tansy ran right up to Santa with open arms. She gave him a huge hug, stroked his beard, and told him he was silly. She didn't ask for anything, but she sure loved being with him.

And we had to get the classic baby crying on Santa's lap picture. Are we terrible parents for laughing during this?

The kids have loved having Ben home, they just can't get enough of him, even when he is trying to look at stuff on the computer.

And everyone in this house loves to color. Tansy doesn't police the markers as well as Sydney does, so Zack got to create his sofa masterpiece. Notice how happy he is? I'm grateful we chose the microfiber with the scotch guard. Whew.

On Monday, the 21st, Zack had his surgery to put tubes in his ears. This is the only picture I got. It was when I handed him over to the nurse. He was not happy to be abandoned by his mom.

Everything went great. He had a lot of fluid in his ears, and they said that should help him feel a lot better. Since he had already had three antibiotics for this ear infection alone (making nine in the past year, and, yes, they were still infected) they just gave him drops and will check up on him at his follow-up appointment. We were only at the surgery center for an hour and 20 minutes. I couldn't believe how fast it was. He bounced back really fast and has been a much happier baby, bouncing around and laughing. It's nice to see him feeling so much better.

I finally have a good news week to report on for all of you who have stuck with me through the madness of the last few weeks.

Sydney started basketball this week. She did really well at her first practice. Much better than I expected. We bought a junior-sized basketball so that she can practice in the basement. She is really excited for something new to do since dance is over for a while. I am the team parent (with Ben as my backup). Practices are after Ben gets off work so he will be able to go participate with her. We are all excited about that since they need the parents to help out and I won't have to try to do that with the two other kids (soon to be three other kids) in tow.

Tansy is being a typical 2-year-old. She suddenly talks a lot more clearly, wants to be involved in everything I do, and has to do everything by herself. I have simply learned to start getting ready to leave the house earlier. She is having a hard time watching Sydney participate in all of her activities, but they don't have anything for her until she's 3. We're going to let her do the Start Smart Baseball this summer.

Zack probably had the busiest week. On Tuesday at physical therapy, he finally started cruising. He has been able to stand and even recently pull himself up, but those little feet stayed pretty firmly planted. I was really excited about that, but then yesterday, he got on all fours and started crawling across the living room! Crawling is something that we have still been working on, but the therapist wasn't sure that he ever would. We got him to do it a couple of times, but he still prefers scooting on his bum since he can do that faster.

On Thursday, he had his appointment with the ENT. Despite three rounds of antibiotics, his ears still look bad. He is scheduled to have tubes put in on December 21. This is such a relief for us after seeing him in so much pain again and again. He has been on nine rounds on antibiotics in a year just for ear infections. This should really help him to feel better.

Ben took leave for this entire week. It was nice to not only have him home, but to be able to relax. I was able to rest more than I would have and try to fully recover from being so sick. We even hired a sitter and went on a date yesterday. It was our second time since we moved here in May. Long overdue, and the fastest three hours I've spent lately.

We had a great sacrament meeting today. The bishopric spoke about Christmas and the Savior. I had to keep reminding myself that it wasn't a fast Sunday so I couldn't go up there. I just felt so strongly about my testimony of the Savior that I wanted to share as well. I love this season where we are reminded and talk about Him so much more. I am so grateful He came to earth to make it possible for me to return to my Heavenly Father. Merry Christmas!

Just when we thought things couldn't get any worse, they did. On Monday, I had to drag my drugged, bronchitis-ridden body to the clinic for Zack. He was still wheezing after three days of breathing treatments and steroids. They had ordered a chest x-ray before I even got there so that saved a lot of time. Turned out that he had pneumonia and both of his ears were badly infected. Since he needed antibiotics for the pneumonia, the doctor chose one that would also treat his ears, although this meant round three for the same infection. Fortunately, his ENT appointment is this week.

I had an OB/GYN appointment on Tuesday. The baby is still doing great, and I still didn't have pneumonia. Whew. Some of my numbers were off, and we're hoping that is just because I was sick and not because I am developing any complications with the pregnancy. That's all we need.

We spent the week resting and basking in Grandma radiance. My mom took care of all cooking, cleaning, kids, and me. There really is nothing like having your mom when your sick. I felt so strangely relaxed and didn't have to worry about a thing.

I was finally feeling like I could move again Friday morning, which was good since my mom left shortly before 5:00 that evening. My friend, Roxanne, so kindly drove her to the airport. I'm still on some medication that would make my driving hazardous to everyone.

We expected Ben to be home late Saturday afternoon, but he got an earlier start than planned on Friday, and when he programmed the GPS to go home, it gave him a route that shaved three hours off of his drive. Praise Garmin and down with internet maps! He decided to just push through and arrived home at 10:00 Friday night. We surprised the kids the next morning when Dad was already home! Our home feels so good now that our family is all together again. Ben is on leave for the next week and not planning on going anywhere for quite some time.

We put him right to work getting the Christmas decorations out. Our tree is about six inches too tall for our topper, so Ben cleverly rigged it with a rubber band and some fancy branch-bending.

Last night Sydney had her dance recital. The first video is to the tune of Jingle Bell Rock and the second is Billie Jean. I brought the regular camera and didn't even think about doing video until we got there. The sound on our regular camera is nearly non-existent. Too bad, but still cute.