My over achiever

On Thursday I had to take Owen to get his weight checked since he had been loosing weight since he had left the hospital. He was 8 lbs. 8 oz. at birth, 8 lbs. 3 oz. two days later, and 8 lbs. 3 days after he was born. Then, exactly one week later, he weighed in at 9 lbs. 3 oz. Wow! Dylan did something pretty similar to this, but it still amazes me that someone so little can gain so much in such a little time! They say that they like to see babies reach their birth weight by the time they reach 2 weeks, and Owen cleared that by a healthy 11 oz.

In other news, Dylan has been funny about having a baby in the house. Most of the time, he pays him no attention. But, some of the time, he will talk to him in his high pitched baby voice saying, "Baby Owend," or "little fingers". He also includes him in prayers (sometimes several times in the prayer) when we are saying what we are thankful for. He hasn't been too jealous either, although, sometimes when I am feeding Owen he hands me a car and wants me to play with him. All in all it has been a pretty smooth transition.



Owen has still been a pretty good baby for me. Last night he only woke me up twice for feedings and after changing and burping him, he went right back to sleep. I think Heavenly Father knew that I really could not handle another Dylan in my life right now!



Owen is fairly decent in not trying to break out of his swaddle, but he's so precious when he does manage to wiggle his arms out.

As promised:

Owen's Arrival

So, our story begins on Monday. I had been running around doing a bunch of errands that morning and was getting ready to put Dylan down for his nap. I was holding him and as I sat down to read him a story I felt a tiny little pop and a small amount of water come out. I stood up and went to the bathroom expecting a massive gush to follow (which is what happened when my water broke with Dylan). But, no gush followed. How odd! So, I changed and sat down to read to Dylan again, and guess what happened? Another small gush. Hmmm. I called Isaac and told him that I thought that my water could have broken but I still wasn't convinced and was in denial. He started telling me all of the things that I already knew, i.e amniotic fluid has a sweet smell etc. But I still wasn't ready to say that it was definitely that. So, I changed again and for the third time the same thing happened. I think by this point I was finally sure that my membranes had in fact ruptured.

This all started around 2:00 in the afternoon. I quickly put Dylan down for his nap and started to call around and make preparations for going to the hospital. It was so funny because instead of hurrying to grab my bag and run to the hospital, instead I was just straightening up around the house and doing silly little things like packing snacks for our stay in the hospital. I wasn't really feeling any contractions so it all felt a little surreal.

By the time we finally left for the hospital it was about 4:45. By this time I was finally starting to feel some small contractions that didn't seem entirely regular.

This part is kind of funny to me because the next several events were entirely different from my experience with Dylan. When we got to the hospital, we walked in together, instead of being dropped off at the door. When we signed in, they sent us to the waiting room (for 1 hour and where I walked laps around the waiting room the entire time) instead of being automatically put into my own room. When they finally called my name they sent us to finish our paper work in contrast to having them do it in my room. And then to top it all off, once I got done filling out my paper work they put me in a triage room.

When I arrived in triage, around 6 PM my contractions were finally coming on a bit stronger and more regular. When the nurse checked me I was 80% effaced and only 2 1/2 cm dilated. I was sad when they hooked me up to the fetal monitoring because I wanted to continue walking but I was told that I had to wait until I talked to the doctor before they would allow intermittent monitoring. I made do with either standing around by my bed or laying on my side while I waited there. Then, at about 9:30 I left triage and was in my room. Which happened to be the room next door to where I labored with Dylan.

I loved my nurse which is VERY important. She was super supportive and had given birth to 4 kids herself. My doctor was also really awesome and although he did end up telling me the things I didn't want to hear (no walking and no labor pool) he did it in a way that was not as harsh as the way some others in the practice had put it.

They did not check me again for awhile because the more you check, the chances of an infection go up. But some time around 11:30 I asked to be checked again just to try to lift my spirits that all of that pain was doable and that I was making progress. She consented and told me that I was at 4 1/2 cm dilated and was just about completely effaced. Which kept me content in my decision to not have the epidural for a while longer. Although, if I didn't have my super hot heating bag for my back pain, I am not so sure I would have kept going.

The next part was crazy intense. I kept on shifting positions through the intense contractions. I tried to be as vertical as possible but felt so light headed that I laid on my side some too. I also threw up during this time. I was sitting backwards in a chair using the back of the seat for support when I swore I couldn't go on any longer. When the contraction would hit it would come on so strong that it took my breath away and then I'd try to make up for the lack of oxygen but would end up hyperventilating. A nurse came in to find Owen's heart beat because my monitor had shifted. And while she was there, I had gotten up on the bed when all of the sudden my contractions started to change and I felt the urge to push. I was so hoping that I had experienced transition and it was time to push and then, the nurse checked me. I was indeed fully dilated and effaced.

That happened around 12:45 AM. So, in a little over an hour I dilated 5 1/2 cm! They pretty much left the pushing up to me. I was laying on my right side because that was the best place that they could find to get Owen's heart beat. Each time I'd feel a contration, I'd push while Isaac supported and pushed back on my thigh. The nurses made me feel so good when they said that I was so quiet and made less of a fuss than a lot of women who get epidurals. They said that women who don't have an epidual have an amazing sense of control and that is why they pretty much let them call the shots. Mom's job was to dab my face down with a wash cloth that was full of ice. I felt like I could fry an egg on my forehead and when it was all said and done, I had been drenched in ice water and Mom's poor hands were numb.

I expected to never progress but when they told me his head was coming and that my pushes were actually effective I was so excited and could hardly believe it. Isaac said that somewhere around 1:35 to 1:40 you could really see the head coming. And Owen finally came out at 1:52 AM.

I kept on saying, "I did it!" I had wanted it SO bad and I DID it! It was such a gratifying experience. I was so proud of myself that not only did I achieve my VBAC, but I did it without drugs. All 12 hours of it!

Owen was rushed over to be worked on because he had a bunch of fluid in his lungs. Just like his Mommy and older brother, he did not cry when he came out. Although, those would have actually helped him out so he could clear out his lungs. He didn't even cry when they stuck a tube down his throat to suction out some of the fluid. This is true to his character as he is so easy going and hardly makes a fuss over anything. This is TOTALLY different from how Dylan behaved as a baby.

We feel so blessed to have this handsome addition to our family and that he is so healthy


Here they are cleaning out his lungs.


8 lbs. 8 oz.



Mommy before.


Proud Mommy after. Notice how my hair is now curly from being soaked from all the ice I insisted on having on my forehead. Also, notice how proud my Mom looks.


Owen's first picture with his Mommy and Daddy.


Isaac, my super supportive husband. Couldn't have done it without him!


Mommy and Owen.


If you want to get Owen to cry, just give him a bath!


Dylan and Owen get to meet for the first time! You can't see them too well but I made matching shirts for the boys that said Big Bro and Lil Bro.


Dylan doesn't know what to think and is not too interested.


What he is his more interested in is his big brother present we got for him. A fire truck. What a typical boy!

Baby Owen

After much anticipation, Owen Tyler Ashment has arrived. He was born on August 18, 2009 at 1:52 A.M.

Weight: 8 lbs 8 oz.
Length: 20 3/4 in. long

I hope to give more details soon, but since I made such a HUGE deal about it, I did successfully have a VBAC and without drugs (no Pitocin or Epidural). Wahoo! Thanks for all of the supportive comments (and let's not forget prayers) that I have received in the past, they really helped when I felt like I was crazy for trying!

No news is...

Good news? Whoever came up with that? I guess it really doesn't apply when you're waiting on your baby to arrive. Today is my due date and I am still feeling pretty comfortable; just feeling a little anxious as I know that something life changing is about to happen. Anyhow, I don't plan on dwelling too much over the whole due date thing for two reasons: Dylan was 5 days late, and I've been thinking about it, and my due date could be off an entire week (we moved it up a week from what I had thought the due date was after Owen's measurements from his first ultrasound).

So, this week we decided to let Dylan have a good treat, and I am not talking about something you eat. Two of Dylan's favorite things are watching TV (which I promise I try to limit), and cars. For the majority of his wakeful hours, Dylan is holding on to, or playing with at least two cars. When you combine these two loves, what do you get? Cars, the movie. Dylan was SO excited to see this movie and I think that it may have taken Finding Nemo out of the running for his favorite.


It's showtime and Dylan was sweet enough to flash a cute smile in his Mommy's direction.

I wanted to add to my post some of the funny things that Dylan has been saying lately.

Baby Owend. Baby soon. (He says this when he is looking at my belly. I guess me telling him that Owen will be here soon is sinking in.)

Uh oh. I stinky. (when he has a poopy diaper)

Get down now. (which is him mimicking me or Isaac when he is standing on something he knows he should not be on i.e. the arm of the couch, desk, etc)

Uh oh. I hurt (pause) Mommy. (he used to say just, "I hurt", but now he has figured out to add different words like Mommy)

Book of da Mornin' (the Book of Mormon) (or) Cat in Hat, Dr. Seuss. All books fall into one of these two categories (including books on labor).

Bye. See ya. Later. Dude. (which he got from Finding Nemo)

Dylan is very good at remembering his manners. Everytime we check out at the grocery store, he wants a sticker. He was making his wishes known to the bagger recently and after the bagger gave him his sticker he told him, "thank you" without being reminded. Then when we were walking out he told them all goodbye. He is also good about saying, "you're welcome". If you sneeze, Dylan will say, "Bless you". We are still working on perfecting "please". But when he does say it, he says it so cute that there is no way that I resist giving him pretty much whatever he is aking for. This heart melting technique also applies to "Sarwee" (sorry).

I've turned into such a hipppie

Sorry people. I am stepping onto my pregnancy soap box again. Hopefully Owen will come soon so I won't inflict my strong feelings on everyone all the time. Here it goes.

After my research, I've pretty much decided that I want my labor experience completely different from what I had with Dylan. But fist you must understand where I am coming from. With Dylan my water broke, but I figured why wait, let's speed this thing up with pitocin. Then I tried to go as long as possible on my own dealing with the more intense and powerful contractions that can come from being on pitocin until I gave in and had the epidural. The epidural seemed nice at the time but when it came time to push they pretty much had adjusted, let it wear off, whatever, and I was somewhat on my own again. Their reason for this was that I needed to feel my contractions in order to push properly. Then after pushing for forever, more like somewhere around an hour and a half, the doctor turns Dylan so that he could be in the more proper position (facing towards my back, instead of looking out the front). Throughout this time I begged them to let me try some other position to try and help me push Dylan out but because of the epidural that I pretty much no longer had, I wasn't allowed to do so. So to wrap up my little (or somewhat long) story, Dylan flipped pretty immediately to the same tough position, I tried for another hour and a half to avoid the cesarean, but in the end, gave in.

So, Kayleen's little mind has decided that she wants something completely different. I don't want the pitocin, it can also make the chances of having your uterus rupture from your previous cesarean slightly higher. I definitely don't want the epidural because I think I'll always wonder if I had been given the opportunity to try a more effective way of pushing, I just may have been able to push Dylan out. In order to deal with the pain, I really want to try to labor for a time in a labor pool. They have them at my hospital and I've read that they can really help when the going gets tough in dealing with the contractions.

But I am so frustrated about how you get labeled if you have had a prior c-section. The doctors in my group strongly suggested that I set up a date for surgery in case I haven't had Dylan by a certain amount of time. I eventually gave in, but I am in the works of having that appointment canceled. If this were my first delivery they wouldn't have me go ahead and set up a date for surgery, so why treat me any differently when I really want to at least be able to try regardless if I may be past my due date or I may have another large baby. In the end for me, I would have a hard time living with myself if I was never given the chance to just try.

I am frustrated that the doctor's seem to support you in trying for a VBAC, but when you ask them some trickier questions, they seem like their all to anxious to pull out their scalpels, or whatever they use.

The other thing that gets me is how they try to make you feel like you're doing something that is so radical. In the end, when you're looking at the numbers, your risks that are involved with a c-section are greater than the risks that come along with having a VBAC. Yet, so many women are scared into just opting for that repeat.

I am so nervous about this upcoming delivery but mostly because my future is so uncertain. What would I have given to not have my first one end up in surgery and now have this be my last shot at having a nonsurgical delivery. The size of my family depends on this. I can't wait for it to all be over with so that I can know how my crazy little story will end.