INTRODUCING.......

Brooklyn Ann Bingham. Born 6/19/08 at 3:25 p.m 7lbs 6oz 20 inches


sweet cheeks


l'il mama


lou-lou's a big sister! (laughing her head off!)


with auntie cari


snuggling with daddy

After a short 4 hour labor start to finish, we are so blessed and so happy that she's here safe and sound. For those who care about the birth story- I went in at 10:30 and was hooked up to the pitocin by 11:30- I was able to get an epidural after only a few hard contractions, so I was one content girl. Brooklyn's heart rate kept going lower than it should have, for longer than it should have, so after an hour or so of that, they came in and did an amnio-infusion. (The way they explained it was, when they broke my water, that took away all the cushioning and so her cord was getting compressed. So they basically had to put water back to see if her heart rate would come back up--and it did.) But when Brooklyn came out, the cord was around her neck twice, which explained everything. Gratefully, all was well :)
As a side note, interestingly enough, my cousin's wife , Anita, delivered their baby girl on the same day, within 9 minutes! So they're twins!! sort of.

I'm always amazed with the miracle of birth, but sometimes I think I've taken for granted the fact that we have 4 healthy children and that I've been able to get through deliveries without any serious complications. That said, I know that it's not just coincidence; that it's absolutely a blessing from Heavenly Father, and that it's the direct result of many prayers and priesthood blessings. I just heard that my Grandma literally prayed for 6 hours straight that both babies would get here safely and that the mothers would be protected as well. (Yes, 6 hours. People would call her and she'd say, "I can't talk right now. We've got babies coming", and hang up!) I LOVE that!!

Anyway- we're all doing well and are loving this new addition :)

NEWS FLASH to myself...I am NOT in control!!!!

If I didn't know it before, I sure do now! Since the beginning of this pregnancy I've maintained that this little girl would make her appearance between 37 and 38 weeks. (Natty was born at 39, Dallin at 38, Madison at 37; so it made sense). Well, 37 weeks came and went. I was disappointed because I'm just flat-out-tired. But within that week, Madison came down with a nasty stomach bug that lasted a full 5 days. Then I got it. (Luckily it only lasted 1 day for me...I'm still so grateful for that!!!!) So I decided maybe Heavenly Father knew something I didn't and that's why our baby wasn't here yet.

So I thought- well, maybe she'll come at 38 weeks. That's perfect! 38 weeks came and went, but my Dr. asked if I wanted to be induced on the 19th. (today). Of course I said yes!! Well, yesterday morning I was getting ready for the day, and was going to get my labor-pedicure and 30 minutes before I was to leave, Madison tripped, hit her mouth and knocked a chunk off one of her front teeth. So pedicure got rescheduled and we took a trip into the dentist. Luckily they were able to just smooth it down because the nerve wasn't exposed (still so grateful for that, too!!!) Fast forward to the night before our 6 a.m. induction: all the bags are packed, kids are ready for the trip to the farm, we're getting ready for family prayer and I get a phone call from the hospital. All their labor beds are full and they need to postpone the induction until at least 10 a.m. the next morning, possibly later. So of course, I was completely deflated. But after I had a mini-hissy, it occurred to me that the sooner I realize and accept (that's the hard part) that I'm truly NOT in control, but Heavenly Father is, the better off I'll be. It sure takes the stress off :)

Pictures to come someday. My camera's packed in my hospital bag and I'm too lazy to unpack and repack it....

Finally....an update......

Due to popular demand (okay, so only 2 people have asked), I'm posting an update after almost 3 weeks... I'm pregnant, people. Give me a break. And yes, I intend to use that excuse for the next 1-3 weeks. After that, I just gave birth, and *that* will be my excuse for the next 10 years. So there.
Anyway- the past 3 weeks have been busy- soccer season for Natty and Dallin finally wrapped up; Dallin cut his own hair and "graduated" from preschool and I've finished the majority of my To Do list before our little girl arrives.
Here are a few pics to entertain; and sorry for the blurry soccer shots. My camera is pathetic (although I'm grateful to own one!)

Also, not to brag, but just to document, I finished my mega-cooking session. It took a solid 5 days, but I have at least a month worth of dinners stored in my freezer, so it was worth it. I made meatloaf, spaghetti sauce, baked spaghetti, lasagna, chicken noodle casserole, Southwestern Chicken roll-ups, chicken pot pie, eggrolls, and chocolate chip cookie dough balls. It's killing me to not use them yet, especially when I get so tired and sore by the end of the day...but I will resist!

About Dallin's haircut- it was very quiet in the house (very abnormal), and when I found him and asked what in the heck he was doing, he was smiling and said he was tired of his hair being in his eyes. After I stopped crying from seeing his cute, long hair trimmed to the scalp, I told him I'd just have to give him a buzz cut to "fix" his hack-job, and THAT is what caused all the tears- he didn't trust my skills as a barber. So I told him Daddy could do it and then he was happy as a clam. Luckily, I didn't take it personally.

Tim won 6 tickets to the Louisville Bats game a couple of weeks ago, so even though it was kind of drizzling before the game, we braved it, took natty out of school for half a day (educational field trip), and took one of dallin's buddies with us. They had a blast and the seats were right along the first baseline, 3 rows up. So we had a great view- It was no St. Louis Cards game, but it was fun all the same!

And as embarrassing as it is, I had to include a recent pic of myself in all my pregnant glory:
Every pregnant gal gets comments from friends, strangers, etc. And for a couple of posts, I'd paste a pic of a whale every time someone commented on the size of my belly. But then I decided my whole blog would end up a series of whales, so I gave up. So here are some of my favorite comments this go around....names have been omitted. And truly, I'm not torqued. I just thought they were pretty funny....


1) Man: Are you pregnant? (he knew I was!- I was 7 months along and it was painfully obvious)
Me: Yep. A little bit.
Man: HOLY smokes!

2) Woman: Girl, we need to get you a four-legged walker to put under your belly!

3) Woman: When are you due?
Me: June 28th.
Woman: WOW. You are HUGE!
Me: Thank you.

Needless to say- that pic explains *why* people would say such things- and Weight Watchers will know me very well in about 6 weeks.... and that's all I have to say about that.