And Again!

Keegan Jameson Hebert finally arrived on Thursday, August 13, 2009 at 12:59 am. He weighed in at 6 lb. 12 oz and was 19 1/2 inches long. I say "finally" arrived because we have been expecting him to arrive early for weeks. Shauna was taking medication for pre-term labor for weeks, and at her Dr. appointment last Wednesday, she was dilated to 3 cm and 75% effaced, causing us to expect him any minute! I have kept my phone with me every second and checked in with poor Shauna several times a day all week, or should I say stalked Shauna all week, lol. At this week's appointment, which we never thought we would get to, she was still dilated to 3 cm. She looked so disappointed when she came out to the waiting room and said she would be induced in another week.
But that evening at 6:10, while Kirk and I were eating at Applebee's, she texted me that she had lost her mucous plug. I was so excited and knew he was coming soon! At 8:56 she texted again that her contractions were 3 minutes apart and pretty uncomfortable, and they were "going to stick around another hour and see how it goes." We were picking the kids up at church, so we hurried home and got packed up for the hospital. She texted at 9:17 and said they were going to leave as soon as they got Coop packed up. Texted again at 9:45 that they had talked to the nurse and were going to go get checked, and were leaving soon... 9:56 "getting in car" and no need for us to rush, she wanted to make sure they would actually take her. Well, we were already on the road so we could get there first to take over care of Cooper for them (she had said they couldn't reach Teri). We arrived in the parking garage at 10:11 and they drove up shortly after us. (My cell phone kept great records for me!)
We all made our way in with sleeping Cooper, but left all our stuff in the car until we knew they would keep her (I knew they would!) Teri was inside waiting for us. Shauna got signed in and went back to be checked. Noah came out an hour or so later and said she had only been at 3 1/2 cm, but they were keeping her. She was getting into the hot bath to see if it helped and he asked Dustin to go get their bags from the car, then went back in to be with her. Cooper was still sleeping and Teri wasn't sure if she should stay or take him to her house, but we chatted and waited.
About 12:55 am, I said I wished we knew what was happening and Teri had Dustin check her phone. There was a text from 12:50 that said she was at 10 cm and they were just waiting for the doctor! Wow! That got us excited and wide awake! Then Dustin got a text that said "Keegan Jameson Hebert arrived at 1 am sharp! I'll send pics as soon as I can." We were just amazed that he was really here! Then a darling picture arrived on Kirk's phone, which he sent to his laptop so we could see it enlarged. He put pics of Caleb and Cooper, as a newborn, up too and put all three side by side. We just kept gazing at our three blessings while we waited to go in to see the newest one.
Around 1:07 we heard the "Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star" song play and we knew it was for him. They had wanted Cooper to press the button to play the song, but he was fast asleep. It seemed like we had to wait a very long time, until finally the security guard came out and said we could come back. We went to the room, and Shauna was sitting up in bed, smiling, but there was no baby in the room. They said he was having some trouble breathing and had been whisked off to the nursery after only 2 or 3 minutes. Noah said he could take us, two at a time, to see Keegan, so Teri said Kirk and I could go first while she held the still sleeping Cooper.
Keegan was so little! He was on a warming bed with lots of wires, but he looked good. His breathing was not labored like Cooper's was and his numbers looked great. I felt very relieved!
I got to touch his little toes and I said a little prayer to ask God to watch over him and heal him.
We left the hospital about 2:30 am and went home for a little sleep, although I got none. Later that morning, I picked up flowers and a Birth Day cake and arrived at the hospital around noon, but Keegan was still in the NICU. I got to go see him when Shauna fed him in the afternoon. He didn't come into the room until around 8 pm that night, so we saw him and toasted him, but didn't get to hold him.
Keegan came home the next day (15th) and when I took dinner over to them, I finally got to hold him! He seems SO small, but he is so sweet! Thank you Lord that he is doing well and home!

I'm a Grandma Again!

Caleb Joseph McAllister arrived at 4:24 am, August 3, 2009! He wasn't due until the 16th, so he surprised us all! We got a phone call at 3:30am from Matt saying they were at the hospital and Kelly was dilated to 7 cm, so "they are keeping us." Well, I certainly hope so! We got up, raced around getting ready and flew out the door. As we were driving, Matt texted us. Our text exchange:
4:02 am "9.5 now"
4:03 am "we r getting on 410 tell kelly we love her!"
4:05 am "They are telling her not to push but hes coming fast! Drive careful."
4:06 am "what entrance?"
4:08 am "Birth center in the garage up the elevator to level 6 you will see signs"

We parked and ran to the birth center, arriving at about 4:15 am. We went back into Labor and Delivery and the nurses said she was delivering! We went to the waiting room, paced around for a few minutes, then heard the "Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star" song and knew he had arrived! Text exchange:
4:32 am "8.2 she's doing the placenta now"
4:33 am "we heard the song! yay! congrats to all!
4:34 am "she is getting a few stitches"
4:35 am "ouch"
Just before 5 am, Matt came out to get us. After some big hugs, he took us back to see their son. Kelly was holding him and she said "I can't believe I'm a mom". I hugged her and she asked if I wanted to hold him. I said I had to take a few pictures first, then washed my hands and reached for my new little grandson. He is so precious! I just loved holding him and listening to them tell us their birth story. Kelly did an amazing job! There was no time for any medications, so she delivered him completely naturally. I am so proud of her! And Caleb is just a darling, who I have fallen in love with instantly.
Thank you God for bringing him safely into the world and for this wonderful blessing. Please bless Caleb and his parents, and watch over them always.

The Last Pregnant x3 Photos

These photos were taken July 18, 2009 at our "It A Boy" party for Megan and Ryan. This weekend is probably the last time all three girls will be together pregnant. The next time Megan and Ryan come over from Tri-Cities, it will be to see one of their new nephews. So it was important to me to record this moment in time, of all three of my older children expecting. This will probably not ever happen again in our family or in my lifetime. God has blessed us, times three, and that is abundantly! As one of my favorite songs says "and I could not ask for more."

These are the moments

I thank God that I'm alive

These are the moments

I'll remember all my life

I've found all I've waited for

And I could not ask for more.

These are the moments

I know Heaven must exist

These are the moments

I know all I need is this.

I've found all I've waited for

And I could not ask for more

I could not ask for more than this time together

I could not ask for more than this time with you

Every prayer has been answered

Every dream has come true

Yeah, right here in this moment

is right where I'm meant to be

Here with you, here with me.

Lyrics from These Are the Moments, sung by Sara Evans.

These words so describe how I feel these days about being with my family. The simple moments of listening to the girls compare notes about pregnancy and baby products and parenting, these are so precious to me. I am so grateful to be here to share in them. Getting to watch Kelly and Megan become moms, and seeing Shauna learn to be a mom to two, those are moments I thought I wouldn't get to experience. They are all the more sweet because of the tough times we went through. Like the rainbow after the rain. Thank you so much Lord.

Showering Caleb with Love

On Sunday, July 19th, Megan and Shauna hosted Kelly's baby shower at my house. We had a "King of the Jungle" theme to go with her "Jungle Babies" theme in Caleb's nursery. It was so much fun to have Kelly as the guest of honor this time, after all the showers she has helped plan for the other girls. She was so cute as the mom-to-be! I hope she enjoyed it as much as I did!

I remember when it was Christmastime and we were so excited about planning TWO baby showers in the summer. Now we have had the fun of the showers, and it is only a few weeks 'til the babies arrive! And as we anticipate the arrival of our little blessings, meanwhile, we have started plans for Megan's baby shower in November. Whew! These babies are keepin' us busy!

I just had to post a picture of Kelly and Matt on the porch after the shower, so I could have a picture of the proud daddy too. We are still so amazed that our first son is having his first son. It was just yesterday that we brought home our firstborn, wasn't it?

The Official Picture

Okay, here is the official picture taken with our crazy "It A Boy" banner. I now have photos of each couple with the banner we got for Shauna and Noah when they found out Cooper was a boy. The banner was made in China, probably by a little Chinese worker who doesn't speak English. I was originally going to take it back to the store, but we thought it was so funny that now it is a family joke and tradition. If I ever get to use my It's A Girl banner, I may have to remove the S, just to keep up the tradition!

Shauna's Baby Shower

What a fun weekend! Megan arrived early Friday afternoon and got to spend some time with Cooper and I. Friday night, Ryan arrived from the Academy and we went out for Teriyaki with Matt and Kelly and the Heberts. It was there that Megan and Ryan announced that Megan's ultrasound on Thursday (for a fall she took at Agility) had revealed some news a little early. News we thought we would have to wait for until her regular ultrasound July 22nd. Fortunately, all was fine with the baby, and..... (drumroll) It's A Boy! Three little grandsons! Imagine the fun, the mischief, and the adventures they will find together! With big brother (and cousin) Cooper along, it is going to be a wild ride for our family! We can hardly wait!
On Sunday, it was the first of three baby showers for our little grandsons. Even though Kelly is due first, Shauna delivered Cooper three weeks early, so we thought we better have hers first, just to be safe. We had a monkey theme for Keegan and it was just too cute! We held it at my house and a fun time was had by all. Shauna's friend Carla brought her two week old, Alexander, and we all got to ooohh and aaah over his incredible cuteness. He is so adorable, and made us more anxious for the day we get to get to hold our little ones! Next Sunday is Kelly's shower, also at my house. We are becoming excellent, and quite experienced party-planners! We could go into the baby shower business if we didn't have so many babies to keep us busy!

My Grandbabies!

Well here they are! Kelly carrying Caleb, Megan carrying Baby French, and Shauna carrying Keegan, taken July 3rd, 2009. Isn't that amazing? Shauna has been having so many contractions lately that I practically demanded that we all must get together for pictures before it is too late. Fortunately, things have calmed down a bit with some medication and more rest. Keegan is only 4 pounds and really needs to cook a bit longer! I did get to see my little grandson Keegan at his ultrasound on Thursday, July 2. It was very exciting, even though he is so squished in there now that we couldn't see a whole lot! He needs to stay put at least until his shower is over next weekend. And hopefully until after Auntie Kelly's shower too, which is the following weekend. Yes, lots of fun in store for us!