Our Birth Stories

I was tagged to do this fun survey about your first baby, by my sis-in-law Babs. Since I plan on publishing our blog for our family history, I'm going to go ahead and tell about both our boys, Kaleb & Dylan. Thoughts about my little guys today... there's something grand about falling asleep nose to nose, forehead to forehead, with your son playing in your hair that just melts the frustrations of the day away. Kaleb is still a cuddle bug & I love it! I love Dylan's dimple in his left cheek when he smiles really big. He loves to be held, and I love to hold him! There's this part ofme that doesn't care if I get a thing done all day long, but hold and love my baby. If he's my last (who knows with our history) I want to hold, cuddle, smell, tickle, kiss, and squeeze him every minute of every day!

Dylan and Daddy

I'll answer in blue for Kaleb, & green for Dylan.

1. Were you married at the time? Yes. We were married for 3 1/2 years before we were able to get pregnant with baby K and almost 6 years before we were able to get pregnant with Dylan.
2. What were your reactions when you found out you were pregnant? Ecstatic with both!!! Just the best news ever!

3. How old were you? When I was pregnant with Kaleb, 27...28 when he was born. I was 29 for a few weeks when we found out we were pregnant with Dylan, 30 when I had him.
Sweet baby D holding hands and bonding with Kaleb hours after being born.

4. How did you find out you were pregnant? After trying for years to conceive, we finally found ourselves an infertility specialist. After a month of many unpleasant tests, the cause of our infertility was inconclusive. We ended up doing 2 rounds of Interuterine Insemination, and so know exactly when we got pregnant...Aug. 17, 2004. We still had to wait a few weeks to find out, but I ended up calling the Sonora Quest Lab direct at about 9 pm because I couldn't wait any
longer! It was a long shot, but we were connected to someone who gave us the news we'd been hoping and praying for for so long! After getting pregnant all on our own, and miscarrying very early on, we waited until Dec. of 2006 to visit our specialist. At that point I was just so ready to start the IUI treatment again, since it worked the first time. Our doctor had developed a new program based on his research, and wanted us to try these vitamin supplements to build our immune systems and then really try to get pregnant in 3 months. We were told if we got pregnant while on his "super vitamins" we had a huge chance of miscarrying. We decided to give it a try since it could possibly solve our problem for future pregnancies. After following his instructions to the tee, we found out we were pregnant the day after Christmas! I remember being extremely tired, but also late, and trying not to get too excited. I made myself wait until
the day after Christmas before taking the p. test, so I wouldn't ruin the holidays for us, just in case we weren't. It was the BEST Christmas miracle ever!
5. Who did you tell first? Ben was with me both times when I found out... once over the phone, and once the good ol' pee on the stick test which we confirmed the next day with a blood test & ultrasound at our i. specialist.
6. Did you want to find out the sex? Of course... I'm such a planner, I have to know as soon as possible!

Our first glimpse of Kaleb Benjamin

7. Due date? May 7 or 11, 2005. The doctor said one, the ultrasound the other. August 24, 2007, I think! It kept changing, because I didn't keep very good track of my last period..
8.Did you deliver early or late? With Kaleb, I was a week and a half early. Dylan only a few days...this was not in my plans, since I was early with K, I was expecting to be even earlier with D. No such luck!

9. Did you have morning sickness? Nope

Dad & I being silly... this is a tradition we started when I was first pregnant with Kaleb to see who had the biggest belly. In this pic, I'm in my last tri- with Dylan. (June 2007)

10. What did you crave? I never really liked potatoes until I was prego w/ Kaleb, but I occasionally craved the fatty-funeral type potato casserole. With Dylan, not sure... I remember getting a milkshake or two! Really I had more food aversions than cravings during both
pregnancies: water, guacamole, and chicken...all things I normally love!

11. Who irritated you the most? Not sure. Being on bedrest with Dylan at the beginning was difficult, but I'm not sure it could be called irritating. I did get irritated with both my doctors in the end! Dr. Starkey really got on the nurses minutes after Kaleb was born... really kind of
ruined the moment for me, although I know she was looking out for my best interest. Dr. Kells
was a little on the forgetful side and gave me conflicting instructions on my blood work about gestational diabetes. I loved my midwife, Janice, who delivered Dylan though!
12. What was your first child's sex? Both male

13. How many pounds did you gain throughout the pregnancy? With Kaleb, not really sure. With Dylan, it was frightening. I gained 10 pounds early on from being on bedrest, so I think it was
around 45 pounds..YIKES!

Here I am showing off my baby bump in my dream nursery that Ben worked so hard on. Wish you could see the cloud ceiling... it was amazing! This is near the end of my pregnancy with Kaleb and I'm wearing the moo-moo my mama passed on to me...sentimental.

14.Did you have any complications during your pregnancy? I had one "episode" when I fainted in the shower...that was a little scary! I also had to give myself shots several times throughout the day in my first tri-. Unfortunately within days of finding out I was pregnant with Dylan, I started bleeding. It was probably the worst thing we've ever had to go through. It also happened to be
on New Year's Eve, so the doctor's office was unavailable for 2 days. I honestly thought I had
miscarried... it was just so much blood, I couldn't believe I was still pregnant. We went in on Jan. 2nd, expecting the worst, but found a heartbeat!!! Our little guy was still alive and kickin'! I had to be on bedrest and continued to spot for 2 months, but after that everything was fine.
15.Where did you give birth? Chandler Regional Hospital, AZ
16. How many hours were you in labor? 16-17 hours total, but I had an epidural after the first 8 hours or so. I had my membranes stripped around 11 am, and started labor around 4:30 pm. I didn't realize I was in labor for an hour or so, and had Dylan at 9:20 pm.

17. Who drove you to the hospital? Ben both times. With Kaleb, we only lived 5 minutes away... no big deal. With Dylan he made it from 'copa to Chandler in a record 15-20 min. through
construction and all! I made him run red lights at the end and have NO idea how fast he was going. Once my labor got going, it went really fast and I was in a lot of pain.

18. Who watched? Just Ben... that's the way we like it.

Proud papa bear! Ben holding Kaleb for the very first time...the Murdock name continues. This is one of my all-time favorite pictures of Ben!

19. Was it natural or c-section? Natural for both.

20. Did you take medicine to ease the pain? I had epidurals with both. With Kaleb I was so numbed, I couldn't feel a thing! My doctor thought I was so numb I wouldn't be able to push. I didn't get my epidural with Dylan until the very end and could feel everything. It did help calm me down though and I was very thankful! Next time I will be driving to the hospital the minute I know I'm in labor and will ask to be hooked up immediately. There's really no need to feel that writhing pain again!

21.How much did your child weigh? Kaleb was 7 pounds 15 ounces, Dylan was 8 pounds 11
ounces.

22.Did your child have any complications? Kaleb had his umbilical cord wrapped around his shoulder and neck, so when I would lay a certain way, his heart rate would drop and the alarms would come on. They ended up taking him before I was fully dialated and it got a little scary, with orders for forceps and a vaccuum. I ended up pushing him out within a few minutes and
only 3 tries... w/out the forceps or the vaccuum!

Beautiful baby boys... Kaleb (top) and Dylan (bottom) both ready to go home for the first time. We ran out of the hospital doors 24 hours after Dylan was born!

23. What did you name him/her? Kaleb Benjamin Murdock & Dylan Michael Murdock

24. How old is your first born today? Kaleb is almost 3 years now...35 months! Dylan is 7 1/2 months.... it goes by way too fast!

And baby makes 3... we are a happy family! We don't have any good shots of the four of us with newborn Dylan...bummer!

I tag any & all who want take a walk down memory lane!