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WOW, January 2013 is the last time I wrote anything! Whoops. Well quick recap of the last year and a half.

We got settled in our new house. Michael switched to the part-time MBA program at Westminster and started working full time for Zion's Bancorp. I had another hip surgery. I started a new job at CHG Healthcare. We worked hard, we played hard. Michael graduated. And we had a baby.

Now that brings us up to the present. We had the most perfect little boy that you can ever imagine on June 3, 2014 at 7:58am. It has taken me more than two weeks to announce his birth because I have been WAY to busy just staring and cuddling with my new baby.

hydeedavisphotography.com

Michael Val Florence

June 3, 2014, 7:58am

7lbs 9 oz, 20 in long

Now I am going to go ahead and record his birth story. Feel free to read, or you can just scroll to the bottom and look at the pictures of how dang cute he is!

Overall, pregnancy and I did not get along really well. It was pretty uneventful and "normal" for the most part, but think of a pregnancy symptom, and I had it in full force. I have a hard time complaining about it now because it lead to such a beautiful little boy, but I just want to say thank you to everyone who has continued to talk to me after knowing me as a pregnant person.

At my 36 week appointment my midwife noticed that the baby was breech, even though we had been pretty confident that he had been head down for quite some time. We then went to do an ultrasound to confirm, and noticed that my amniotic fluid level looked pretty low, so she then sent me down to the maternal fetal medicine department to have it measured, and then see if we would be able to flip the baby. Somehow I talked Michael into coming to this appointment with me, which was great because I don't know that I would have been able to handle/remember everything that they were telling me.

When we got to MFM they strapped me up to some monitors and then the nurse performed an ultrasound. She was alarmed at how low my fluid level was and ran to get the doctor. She said that if the doctor was not able to find more fluid on a fancier ultrasound machine, then they would likely deliver the baby right then. The doctor was then able to find a little bit more fluid, but it was borderline dangerous. They told me to comeback the next day for the same testing to see if the levels have changed. We went back the next day, and nothing had changed. So I went in again two day later, and again, nothing had changed. It was just appointment after appointment of knowing less than we did when we walked in. And the doctors would say every time "Make sure to fast, just incase we have to take you in for a c-section." Needless to say, Michael and I were getting pretty exhausted and frustrated not knowing if our baby was safe and healthy staying inside. And with him being breech, a c-section was inevitable.

Finally, after two weeks of consistent monitoring we finally got the call with the scheduled c-section. We were so excited and relieved to be having our baby!

June 3:

We arrived at the hospital bright and early (6am) on June 3. We both got all dressed up our hospital gear, and met with a few different nurses and doctors, who gave us the run down on what to expect. At about 7:30am we walked back into the operating room. Things moved very quickly after that! The anesthesiologist administered my spinal, and about two minutes after that I was completely numb and they began the surgery. I felt a couple of tugs, and a huge weight lifted off of my spine, then heard my baby cry! They then held him up over the sheet for us to get a quick peak, before they whisked him away. Michael then went back with the baby, and the doctor's did their thing with me.

I noticed that it was taking a little longer than I thought it would, and could see worry on Michael's face. No one really told me what was going on, but they just went ahead and wheeled me back to the recovery room. I was pretty drugged, and had a peaceful feeling that everything would be alright. After about a half an hour Michael came in to give me an update. What had happened is a little bit of amniotic fluid had been caught in MJ's little lungs, and their was an air bubble pressing on his lungs making it difficult for him to breathe. This is something I heard was somewhat common with C-Sections, but I was still fairly heartbroken that I hadn't seen my baby. Michael said it would still be several hours from that point as to when I would be able to see him. I was also feeling so sad for Michael, his first couple of hours were full of stress, being his wife and baby were in different parts of the hospital. What a GREAT guy/dad he is.

It ended up not being much longer after Michael wheeled my brand new baby in to see me. I was so relieved and excited to have my whole family together! And this baby! He was the most beautiful thing I had ever seen! I got to hold him as they wheeled us to the maternity ward, and I stared at his beautiful little face the whole entire time.

Honestly, the rest of the hospital stay is a bit of a blur. I know that feeling eventually came back to my legs. The narcotics made me just as sick and itchy as I had expected. We had lots of visitors, and MJ was shown a lot of love. It took us until the day we left to decide on a name, and Michael wasn't even on our original list of names. Most importantly, watching the love of my life grow into a father has been the most treasured experience that I could have ever asked for. My heart melts every time I see my husband and my son interact. I know that they will forever be the best of friends. I also know that my testimony of the plan of salvation has grown immensely, and I know now more than ever, that families are forever. What a grand and glorious plan our Heavenly Father has for us.

Now for the PICTURES: (I am still the worst picture taker ever. Thanks to everyone that came to visit, and I didn't take a picture, which is mostly everyone...) (Also, I still have some pictures to steal from Michael's phone.)