Our little miracle

On December 31st at 12:39 a.m., we welcomed Knox Van Tengberg into the world and into our lives.  He nearly broke the scales at a hefty 6 lbs 7 oz 18 inches long.  He is perfect in every way.  He has already changed our lives more than we thought possible and I already love him more than I ever dreamed.  He is the sweetest, most calm, and relaxed baby and I feel privileged to be his mama.

After a long (8 week) labor of sorts, I was more than ready to have our little boy join us.  Once finals ended for both Blake and I we felt content knowing that if our baby came we would be ready.  As soon as I reached 37 weeks I was ready to do everything in my power to get him OUT!  Unfortunately, nothing seemed to be working.  Ironic right? I went to the doctors on the 28th of December and I was dilated to a 3.  The doctor worked his magic and said he hoped we would be back within the next 12-24 hours because I would be in labor.  NOPE.  I woke up at 2:00 that night sobbing because I wasn't in labor and I was pretty sure I was going to die if I had to walk around for one more day with our baby inside me.  Blake hugged me and talked to me and told me it was OK to be sad then but once morning came we just had to be happy and know that our baby just needed a little more time to cook.  (I seriously have the best husband.) So, cry I did, and then when I woke up we moved on.  We packed up all the Brostrom boys and headed to the zoo for a wonderful day.  I walked and walked and walked and I had so many contractions I wanted to tip over at times but still no baby.

The next day I woke up and I felt like perhaps my water had broke.  I called the doctors office and talked to a nurse and she said to go into the hospital to have them check and to monitor the baby because it sounded like I was going into labor.  Blake and I had heard this so many times that we weren't overly concerned.  We packed a few things up and drove down to American Fork.  It was the least stressful drive to the hospital we'd ever had.  I wasn't expecting any miracles because every time I did I just got let down.  I went in and got all hooked up to monitors and the nurse checked to make sure my water hadn't broken.  It hadn't broken but the baby was already at a 1 station and I was dilated to a 4.  The doctor said they could release me but the nurse was certain that I would be back before the end of her shift in labor and ready to have our sweet baby.  So, Blake and I drove to the mall and walked from one end to the other a thousand times and when we got tired of that we walked around the outside of it a few more times.  Then we went to our house where I sat on our exercise ball and bounced for a while.  I couldn't tell if I was in labor or not so we decided to stop by the hospital one more time on our way back to Farmington to have them check.

Finally, the news I had been waiting for....I was dilated to a 5 and they could check me in!  It felt like a dream.  I remember walking down the hall to our room feeling like this couldn't be real.  After everything we had been through, we were going to get to hold our baby boy that night!!  They got me in, hooked me up to an IV, started me on pitocin, and broke my water.  After a few hours and a few too many painful contractions I felt ready for an epidural.  Once I received the epidural the night was as peaceful as could be.  Blake and I just laid in our room and talked and soaked up our last few minutes as a family of two.  We both talked about how peaceful it felt.  I had always heard horror stories about labor and this couldn't have been any more different.  I have the best memories of that night. My sweet husband rubbed my back (which I could only moderately feel), rubbed my head, rubbed my feet, talked to me, got me lots of jello and popsicles, and let me squeeze his hand so tight when I had big contractions.  He couldn't have treated me any better.  We had the best nurse who was so sweet and so attentive.  The doctor that I had been seeing since 30 weeks wasn't the on call doctor that day but he was so sweet and said he would come in anyway and deliver my baby. I was SO grateful. It took me forever to get from a 5 to a 6 but only about 20 minutes to go from a 6 to a 10.  Finally around 12:20 on December 31st, they decided I was ready to push.  Everything went as perfect as could be and 19 minutes later I was holding my angel in my arms.  He came out screaming and peeing EVERYWHERE.  Literally, the kid came out peeing.  My doctor thought that was hilarious and quickly flipped him so that he could pee all over Blake.  The nurses were dying saying they had never seen that before.  He was so healthy and got a 10 APGAR score.

It was a long night with very little sleep but one that I will remember forever and will always be one of my greatest memories.  After a lot of stress and sleepless nights, I finally had my two sweet, happy, and healthy boys right next to me and I could not have been happier.  I feel so blessed to be a mom and I love every second of it.  So, without further ado, meet Knox.

In labor and so ready to have the little man!!

6 lbs 7 oz and so healthy

Meeting my sweet boy for the first time.

Just a few minutes old

Perfect feet

Burrito baby

He loves his dad SO much

Such a sweet angel baby.