Britton Knox Danner

He's here! Our baby BOY is finally here. 

Britton Knox was born on a beautiful fall day, September 20th, 2015 at 12:34 pm. He weighed 9 lbs, 4 oz and was 21 inches long.

The night before Britton was born, Matt, the kids and I had dinner with my parents who were in town for a pickle ball tournament. I was two days over due. We talked about how we didn't think this baby would ever come and how praying for patience is never a good idea. My parents headed back up to Colorado that night not knowing that they would be headed back down the next morning. 

Feeling a little bit discouraged that I still didn't have a baby in my arms and not wanting to face another round of "no baby yet?" and "praying we don't see you next Sunday"s, (all from very loving people who were just as anxious for me to have a baby as I was), we opted to skip church the next morning. We planned on having a relaxing Sunday where we would gear up for another week. 

Around 6 O'Clock Sunday morning, I woke up to go to the bathroom. When I laid back down my back started to hurt. And then it stopped. And then it started again. And then it stopped. And then it started again….You get the idea, labor had begun! 

I started timing the contractions, woke Matt up and got dressed. The contractions were starting to get more painful and a little more consistent. We woke up the kids, dropped them off at their aunt's house and headed down town to the hospital. Strangely, the freeway was closed at 6:30 on a Sunday morning. We managed to get there anyway and when we arrived at Triage the nurse said: "What brings you in today?"

I was 3 cm when they checked me. The nurse and the midwife kept saying things like: "If this is labor…." I was pretty sure it was but I guess the baby wasn't responding to the contractions like they wanted him too, something about an old placenta. (?) The plan was to get the baby to respond and then send me for a walk. Well by the time they wanted me to walk, I could barely move and the contractions were killing me. I guess I was screaming pretty loud because every nurse in triage found their way to my room to see what was going on. When they checked me again, I was 6 cm. Things were moving fast and I was beginning to panic because it hurt and I wanted the drugs. 

The nurses (there were like 5 in the room at this point) began poking me for an IV so I could get the epidural as soon as they moved me into labor and delivery. Apparently, I have bad veins because they tried in 4 different places before calling the anesthesiologist, in to get the job done. (I'm pretty sure I was freaking out at this point). When that was finally over with, they raced me into another room at Labor and Delivery. I had my eyes closed the whole time but it seemed like we were flying down the hall. 

Once we got to our room, everyone got hats and masks for the epidural and Matt got a special chair directly in front of me. (Have I mentioned how great Matt was? He deserved that special chair) I was 8 cm at this point and they didn't think it would work. Thankfully it did. In fact, it worked so well that at one point I couldn't feel my chest and had a hard time breathing. And then I started to freak out again. They put me on oxygen and lowered the dosage. 

At this point, things slowed down. I couldn't feel the contractions anymore, I was still on oxygen but able to relax. Matt and I both closed our eyes for a little while and some where in there my parents finally checked their phone and started to head back down to Albuquerque. 

Somewhere around 11 O'Clock or so, as they began to lower the dosage of the epidural, I felt the need to push, like really felt it. I didn't remember this feeling with my other two deliveries and I started to panic. Again. Thankfully, Matt was a great coach and talked me out of panic mode for what must have been the third time that day. 

I didn't have to push for very long before we had a baby. According to Matt, he came out "spread eagle" so announcing the sex was much easier this time. It was a boy! We were thrilled and so so surprised. Another little boy.

They placed him on my chest right away without even cutting the cord. I held him for an hour after he was born. A whole hour before they even touched him! I'm tearing up as I type this. I had never gotten to do that with my other babies and I was so thankful. The midwife said right away that he wouldn't have to go the NICU and Matt and I were both praising the Lord for answering our prayers. He had given us a healthy baby boy. 

When they did finally take him from me to measure and weigh him, Matt looked out the window and said "Its a beautiful fall day to have a baby." And it was. 

Turns out, Britton was another big boy, like his brother. He weighed in at 9 lbs and 4 oz, after having just pooped and peed.

My sweet parents arrived probably about 5 minutes after Britton was born and they were so patient, hanging out in the waiting room until they could come in and see him. 

Addy and Remi got to meet Britton that night. We were a little worried about Addy since she wanted a sister so bad but she was in love at first sight. 

Sweet Remi might have been a little confused but he was excited to sit in my lap and hold the baby. He also learned his name right away. 

Holy cow, we have 3 kids!

All my babies together at last.

Matt and I spent the night in the hospital with Britton, our first time having a baby in the room with us and it felt so much more normal. The next day, a little over 24 hours later we were able to go home. It felt a little surreal but we were so thankful. 

What a blessing it has been to be recovering at home with all of our kids under one roof. 

We give thanks to the Lord, for he is good.