Asher Scott Boyce

Asher Scott Boyce made his debut August 21 weighing in at 7 lbs. 14 oz and was 20 inches long. 

Pretty soon after having Wyatt, I got the sense that we were not done having kids and that the next one didn't want to wait to long to come to our family. It was actually stressing me out a little bit because I don't enjoy being pregnant. My sickness and grouchiness affect everyone around me. but in August, right before Wyatt's 1st birthday, I got the strongest confirmation that one more baby was excitedly waiting to come to us. I looked at Aaron and he said, "We are having another baby, huh?" Yes, sir, we are. 

Ella that year for Christmas had asked Santa for a baby sister. I thought it kind of amazing that she would ask for a baby. I don't think that she had heard our discussions about having another one. And timing was great, since I already knew that we were pregnant. So Santa sent her a note letting her know that we were expecting, but that we didn't know if it was a girl or a boy.

                                         

Needless to say, she was not happy to find out we were having a boy.

So far, I have had all my babies on a Friday. I figured this baby would be no different. I went into labor around midnight on Friday August 21st. I had a new OB this time around and he told me to call him as soon as I thought I was in labor. I had been having a lot of braxton hicks with this pregnancy, but I had a feeling that these contractions were legit. I called the Dr. around 4 in the morning. He told me to go ahead and get down to the hospital. I was in labor, but hadn't really progressed in the allotted hour they give you. The Dr. was already at the hospital, so I got to stay. They got me all settled into my room and it was go time. 

 My last hospital experience with Wyatt was not the best, so I was little nervous that we would have a repeat of that, even though I changed Dr.s and hospitals. Thankfully everything went pretty smoothly. It took a little longer to start really dilating this time. I always end up getting pitocin so they started me on that. I was able to get an epidural before things started getting too painful. And my epidural was fantastic this time. 

At about 11:30 the nurse came in to check me and I was still at about 5. She left, and all of a sudden I started to feel a lot of pain/pressure. I called her back in and she gave me the epidural button to push that allows you an extra dose of medicine every 15 minutes. Everything was already pretty numb, so I am pretty sure that the epidural was working, but I still felt a lot of pain. And then I hit a big contraction and my water broke. I have never had my water break on its own before. The Dr.s have always done if for me. And then the pain/pressure got a lot worse. I called the nurse back in to let her know that my water had broken and that the pain was still there. She wasn't all the concerned about it. I asked when she planned to check me again, and she said she would be back around 1:30 to check. I also asked her when she planned to call the Dr. his office is about 20 minutes away, so she said we would try and time it just right and HOPEFULLY he would make it...umm...hopefully? 

So we are about an hour away from her coming back to check on me. As she was walking out the door, I got the strongest feeling that she needed to come right back and check me. I was feeling every contraction and even with the epidural they were intense. 

And as she walked out the door, it was like a heavenly light lit up the very spot where the Dr. had just walked in. It may have been the fact that I hadn't slept all night, but I promise you, he was wearing a halo. He walked right in, asked how I was doing, and upon hearing that I was feeling a lot of pressure, proceeded to check me. And would you know, it was at a 10! So in a matter of 45 min, I went from a 5 to a 10. After everything was set up, I pushed a few times and the baby was out. 12:58 pm was his official delivery time. And to think the nurse still had another 32 minutes before she was going to check me. 

We thought for sure this would be another big baby for us. His head and belly were measuring big, so the Dr. had me expecting another 9 lb baby. But my little pipsqueak came in a 7 lbs 14 oz. 

I really felt this baby's spirit so strong this time around. I knew that he was happy and joyful and so excited to be a part of our crazy family. So as I was researching names, I came across the name Asher. It means happy and blessed. I couldn't think of a better name for this one. He truly has been a blessing to us and he really is so happy. We are completely in love with this kid.

I also need to give a huge shout out to this amazing woman.

                                            
Kim and my dad flew in two days after I got home from the hospital. The night that Kim arrived, I started to have a fever and didn't feel very well. I always get UTI's after I have babies and knew this was what was going on. My Dr. called in a prescription and Kim ran to the store to pick it up. She did all my grocery shopping, laundry, cooking, all while I laid on the couch for 4 days trying to recuperate. This was by far my worst UTI. And then on top of that, I was having terrible migraines. One more medicine for that, and I was good. It is amazing how getting rid of a terrible headache can make you feel so much better. I seriously would not have survived those days without her! So thanks, Kim!!! My kids have the best grandmas!
                                   Not my baby, but that is my daughter. A picture of Aaron's mom who always comes and helps us a ton too!! I am so grateful to have such an amazing mother-in-law.