Love at First Sight: Part II

I was lucky to get the video of my first view of Ashton up, but I am having a hard time with the video of me first holding him.  I keep getting some kind of error.  I hope I can figure that out and get it posted.  In the mean time, here are the photos from that lovely event.

Welcome to the World / Little Prints

Here are some of the first photos of Ashton when he entered this world.  Thank you daddy for capturing these photos while I was still in recovery waking up.  I will thank Marcus as well for the rest of my life capturing his feet getting printed.

Love at First Sight

My Little One

Oh Boy!  What an entrance. There were all kinds of ups and downs.  It all started a ways back. It was in August of 2012 when Marcus and I decided it was time for an addition to our little family.  I had felt it earlier but of course these things are done as a team and I waited to Marcus to feel the longing I had felt.  I remember the tears of joy welling up as he told me he felt it was time.

 It took a while.  Things had to be put on hold when I got Kidney Stones in September.  The medications I was on were not safe plus I had surgery.  That was one hold up.  The next hold up was the fact that I had my whole calendar off.  I was worried that I might have an issue with getting pregnant, until a friend suggested an ovulation kit.  I bought a 7 day kit and started the testing.  The days I thought I should be ovulating the test showed being negative.  I continued the testing.  Well Happy Birthday to me!  Around my birthday (April 2013) I finally got a positive ovulation result.

May 7th 2013 Was the day I received my positive pregnancy result.  I had a feeling.  I felt it was finally going to be time.  I almost knew it before I had actually saw the test result.  I sat and prayed that I would see that plus sign.  I took a deep breath and looked.  My breath was taken away.  Tears of joy streamed down my cheeks as I thanked my Heavenly Father for answering my prayers.  A very clear, very distinct plus sign was looking up at me.  I shook as I took the picture. I had to preserve this moment.

Marcus was out of town on business.  There was no way that I was going to just send him the picture.  I wanted to tel him in person and see his face.  It was the hardest thing to wait those 3 days until I saw him.  I ran out and bought a onesie that said, "Me + Daddy = Love"  I laid it on the dinner table and placed the positive pregnancy test just below those words.  I chuckled as Marcus took a double take and smiled at the special message.  We were going to have a baby.

That first trimester I was sick as a dog.  Who knew something so small could make me so ill.  It was all worth it though. Especially seeing him for the first time.  I couldn't help crying more tears of joy as I watched a small flicker of light the doctor indicated being his heart beat.  We were given a due date of January 18th 2014.

I was convinced this little guy was a girl up until the morning I would find out his gender.  As I got ready that morning I couldn't help but feel they were going to tell me it was a boy.  There was no mistaking that I was going to have a little boy.  For the first time EVER, the Crofts heard, It's a boy. I did always have to be different.

After much speculation of an arrival around Christmas, a very stressful Tuesday Nigh on the 14th, and jokes about going into labor Wednesday Night, finally came 4:00 a.m. Thursday, January 16th.  I woke up to go to the bathroom.  As I sat up, I felt what I thought might be my water breaking. What I saw confirmed to me my water broke.  I woke up Marcus and made my preparations to go to the hospital.  I took a shower put on some make up and a T-shirt I got for Christmas.  Because of the saying on the shirt, I dubbed it my labor shirt. The hospital confirmed my water had broke at 6:50 that morning and told me I was going to have a baby.  I was...."about to do something awesome".  

I was checked out again and was dilated to only 1 CM.  The doctor confirmed my baby boy was head down and I was started on pitocin.  I was a trooper all morning, all day, and into the night.  I may have been handling labor pains like a boss, but I was not dilating.  I was still at a 1 CM.  I was put on penicillin and taken off pitocin to be put on medication that would help me dilate and continue contractions.  I had to have a dose at 7 and ll that night.  The 3rd dose came at 3 the morning of Friday, January 17th.  By then I had finally dilated to 3 CM.  I was put back on pitocin and began labor again.  Pain got more intense and I finally asked for IV pain meds to help me through.  Boy did that demurral make me loopy and out of it.  I was actually able to fall asleep through the pain.  All meds need to eventually ware off and around 8:00 a.m. Friday mine surely did and labor pains returned. They returned with vengeance.  I was in so much pain.  I tried to let the contraction roll over me like I had been advised.  It was just so painful.  It was incredibly intense all over again.  I was told I was still only at 3 CM and I wouldn't be able to have another dose of meds for another 2 hours.  I was trying so hard to be brave and to be a trooper but it was just too much.  The doctor came in and said I still had a lot farther to go and the pain was so intense that it was just best to do a C section.  We all had an agreement that this was a last resort and we all wanted to avoid this but my body seemed to say different.  Because of my back surgery I would have to go under general anesthesia.  I would be out at the arrival of my baby boy.  Getting him out was only a half hour.  It was 2 hours before I would come out of it and see my bundle of joy.  The first thing I thought and said when I awoke, "Where is my baby? Is he okay?"  He was okay.  A little bit later I taken out of recover and saw my little one through the nursery window.  He was the most perfect thing I had ever seen.  He was perfect, and he is mine.  Little Ashton Lewis Winn arrived into this world at 10:32 a.m. at 8 Lbs 11 Oz 20 Inches Long and looking like his Mommy.  My world has been been made brighter and better.  You light up my life little one.

Let's get started

So my sister Kimberly suggested I started a blog to keep her updated on the growth of my new baby boy, Ashton. At first I was hesitant.  I am not a writer and I didn't know where to begin.  As I thought more about it, it just made sense.  She lives in Utah and I live here in Texas.  Living so far apart it is hard to get your fix for loved ones.  It gets even harder when there are beautiful children involved.  I remember when she herself had a blog.  I remember hanging on every word and checking everyday just to get a little tid-bit on my beautiful nieces and what they were up to.  Now that Kimberly is in my shoes, I can't deny her the fun of seeing and hearing how the little ones grow.  Plus this will be a great journal for me and help me remember all the amazing things about my little boy.  So here goes nothing.