Pictures of Zurishaddai

Looking at the new baby.

Checking out the new baby with big sister looking on.

The siblings meet Zuri for the first time.

Dressed and ready to go...to sleep.

The Birth of Zurishaddai Lawton

NOTE: This is a birth story, though I have not been overly graphic, it may not be suitable for some people. Birth is natural and a great time to see the hand of God as He allows a women to bring life into this world. It is amazing.

Zurishaddai was born at 6:04 AM or there abouts on October 21, 2011.

Yesterday I was tired and after morning Bible study I came home, feed the kids and went and took a nap from 2:20 to 4:30 in the afternoon. Thinking I would have this baby late, I was dreading the next two weeks of waiting. My due date was determined to be October 31, 2011. Last night for the first time I was miserable and ready to be done being pregnant. Usually I don't feel like that this early before my due date.

I have been feeling great in this pregnancy with lots of energy since changing our diet the first of September. I have also been doing 20 squats a day. So, for me to take a nap yesterday and feel tired like I did was a little unusually. Two things went through my mind as to why I needed a nap. 1) It was due to the fact that I ate a very expensive and "good for you" dark chocolate bar from the health food store on Wednesday afternoon. This was the first time in six weeks that I had any type of candy. 2) It did go through my mind that maybe my body was trying to get ready to have a baby and I needed a nap because I would be up all night. This thought was fleeting wish.

This morning at 2 AM I woke up and after getting a drink and using the restroom I could not get back to sleep. Then at 2:30 AM I had some twinges of pain. These fit the description of true contractions as they were low on my abdomen. However, having had Braxton-Hicks before I also know that if you change positions and they stop then it isn't true labor. So I started seeing how often they came. About every 10 minutes and they lasted for 15 seconds or so. I still thought they were Braxton-Hicks and would stop so around 3 AM I got up again went to the restroom because a full bladder has made me feel like I was in labor when I wasn't. I also got another drinking knowing that dehydration can also cause false labor pains. There was no bloody show, but there was mucus from the mucus plug at this time.

I went back and laid down again and tossed and turned trying to get comfortable and go back to sleep. I still didn't think I was in true labor. So I continued to see how often the contractions were and they now ranged from 10 to 6 minutes apart and I could not sleep through them only rest between them. At 5 AM I finally gave up trying to sleep and got up. Now I was thinking, I think I am going to have this baby. I estimate that I was 5 cm dilated at this point, but still no bloody show which has always been present with my other five births. The babies head was still floating above my pubic bone too. At 5:30 AM I told Gil he needed to get the birth tub set up and ready, I also called the midwife who lives 1.5 hours away. The midwife said he would be on his way. I then called the lady who is also a midwife who was assisting at the birth at 5:45. She lives less than 10 minutes away and needed to get dressed. She asked how the contractions were and I told her they were heating up...little did I know. I told her it would not be two hours before I had the baby and it would be good if she could be here in 20-30 minutes. I then squatted through a contraction which I think helped get the babies head in position. Gil was still setting up the birth tub. I tried to help but was in to much pain when I stood or moved.

He finally started filling the tub about five minutes before the baby came out so no birth tub for me this time. After having five I was very aware of my body and the fact that the signs were pointing to the fact that my body was going to want to start pushing any minute. At this point I told Gil to get the bags off the top of the dyer which had sterilized towels in them for the birth. He realized that it was time also and the tub was a total none issue. So he abandoned his tub efforts and helped get me the few things I asked for. I got off the couch and went and stood on the linoleum of the kitchen. I put the towel down, squatted and at the next contraction my water broke. I felt for a prolapsed cord (this occurs when the cord comes down the birth canal in front of the babies head. It is then pinched and cuts off the life support to the baby.) I said "There is not prolapsed cord, babies head is crowning..." then with the next contraction I gently pushed the baby's head out into my left hand and the rest of his body came out which I took with my right hand. I was holding him over the clean towel with his face towards the floor and his head slightly below the rest of his body to help any mucus in his airway flow out and not in. I asked Gil to get the bulb syringe from the birth kit and then we suctioned him a little, but he was already crying and looking pink and good. My guess for time of birth is 6:04 AM. The midwives and my husband were harassing me because I didn't look at the clock the moment he was born like I usually do. Gil said that I am always multitasking and I should have been able to do that too. We all had a good laugh about it. So I made the guess of 6:04 because that last time I looked at the clock before I started pushing it was 6:00 AM.

Side Note: (You may ask, "Why the kitchen of all places?" Our house is very small. The kitchen and living room are one room about 16' x 17'. The bathroom is not very large and we only have one. So the kitchen linoleum was only four feet away from the couch I had been sitting on and I didn't want to have the baby on the carpet. So while calculating in my head what needed done in those few minutes before I had him, I decided the kitchen floor would be the best place to be. Since towels were down it really wasn't that bad.)

I then stood up, Gil gave me a dry blanket to wrap Zuri in and I took the phone and called the midwife. I didn't want him to rush to get to the house when there was no need. He asked me if I had delivered the placenta and I said no but would after getting off the phone with him. I hung up with him, squatted once again and the placenta was ready to come out so I gently grabbed it and pulled it out into a bowl Gil put on the floor. We did not worry about the cord because we wait until the cord goes limp and white before we cut it so all the blood and stem cells from the placenta are transferred to the baby as a boost for the start of his life on the outside. It was a picture perfect birth. Aside from the pain, it could not have been better.

I then handed the baby off to Gil so I could take a quick shower to get cleaned up. The assistant showed up while I was showering. She walked in, looked at Gil and the baby and it took her a minute to realize that she had missed the birth. It was only 20 minutes after I called her that I gave birth to Zuri, and I didn't even have time during that 20 minutes to call her and tell her to hurry up, she would have missed it anyway. The only way she could have made it was if she had left the minute I called her and at that time I didn't realize I was as far along as I was.

It was not scary in any way, I have had all my children at home with a midwife and all my births have been wonderful experiences. This was another planned home birth, I just didn't call the midwife in time. All my babies have come easy and without any complications so at the point I realized it would just be Gil and me I started going through what needed to happen. Gil was great and did exactly what I asked. He was calm and a great support.

I have cut the time the midwives have had to arrive at my births with every birth, this obviously was the shortest, though not intentional. It would have been nice to be in the tub because it really does help with the pain of contractions. The only other bummer is that Gil wasn't able to take any pictures of the actual birth since we were both a little busy at the time.

Hershey Bars for Itchy Armpit

Azariah and I went to Wal-Mart this afternoon. I allowed him to pick out a candy bar and he chose a Hershey Bar. He ate it on the way home. A little after we left Wal-Mart I asked how his Candy Bar was and he said "It was good." I then asked if he already ate all of it, because it had only been a few minutes.

Azariah says "Yes, it was melting from being in my armpit and so I had to eat it fast."
Mom "What do you mean it was in your armpit?"
Azariah "My armpit itched so I put it under there because it was cool and I thought it would help it to stop itching, but then it made it melt so I had to eat it fast and then lick off my armpit."
Mom "Did you put it under your armpit with or without the wrapper on?"
Azariah "The wrapper was off."
Mom "Did your armpit stop itching?"
Azariah "Yes."

I was about ready to laugh my head off but with held my laughter. That child of mine does some of the craziest things.

Family Mission Trip to Broken Arrow Bible Ranch

All seven Lawton's went to Broken Arrow Bible Ranch on March 13 with 61 other people.We where on a mission trip with our church.We did a number of things. Here are some of the things we did: some people including my Daddy re-roofed a house, a shed and a play ground. Other people grated a go-cart track, Azariah helped work on the go-carts and fixed a truck. I,Tirzah, was able to paint a horse corral and spend a lot of time with a couple friends I made. I, made a sand castle in the sand at the play ground. I also had a sleep over with a couple of friends named Abby and her sister Hannah.

Tabby

Tirzah painting the corral bars.

The Sand Castle I Made

Azariah, David Ward and Daddy taking the shingles off the roof of the house.

Tabby

Today I put Tabby on the floor. I put her on her tummy and she rolled over to her back, then I watched her and she was arching her back and kicking her legs. After a couple of minutes she rolled herself back over to her tummy. I was excited.

Bumps, bruises and black eyes...

Last Monday Azariah was playing on the trampoline with some friends. He tripped over the friend and hit his eye on the metal edge of the tramp and this was the result. I was thankful that it happened last Monday since we have family pictures this Saturday.

Azariah's Black Eye

Later that day Tirzah was coming in side and pulled the door shut on her finger and mangled it pretty good.

Tirzah's finger

Then on Monday Caleb Lotze, our 27 year old nephew got back at us. Twenty-one years ago, Gil went to Washington to see his sister's family. They were on a hike and Gil dropped his five month old niece. It was an accident and she was fine.

Well yesterday, Caleb and Isaac, our nephews ages 27 and 25, took the four older children on a four wheeler ride. As they were coming back from the ride they had to go up a steep incline. Tirzah was on the front, then Zeb was first on the seat, Talitha was next followed by Caleb. Zeb popped the clutch and made the four wheeler jump forward. (Zeb was not the one driving he was just messing.) Talitha who had been half asleep the whole ride popped off the four wheeler and then her arm and leg her run over. She is fine, no broken bones or anything, just a little bruise on her face. Caleb was shaken up worse than Talitha I think. And now my daughter who seems to be the one to always have a bruise for pictures will have one for our pictures on Saturday. And Caleb got back at his uncle Gil for dropping his sister 21 years ago.

This is Talitha's bruise, not bad for being run over by a four wheeler.

"In it..."

Gil is holding Talitha and they are looking in to the fridge. Tally is pointing saying "In it, in it." Gil is getting her some milk and he can't figure out what she wants in it. So he holds her up to the fridge and she points to jam.

He says "No we aren't putting jam in your milk."

The funny thing is that it isn't unusual for Gil to put jam in his milk to flavor it.