The Ashworths

Just a couple of owls hanging out in trees. :)

Thanks to my sis, Melinda, these costumes were pretty simple. She made the super cute owl hats, I just sewed/made the rest of the outfits. Just cut out and stitched like 200 leaves and feathers...no big deal, right? :)

But seriously, I am very happy with how the costumes turned out, and I couldnt be happier with the 2 cutest owls ever! We had a blast this Halloween. We went to a couple of parties, 2 trunk-or-treats, Owlia - er Alia - led the costume parade at her preschool, and of course we went trick-or-treating. It really was fun going with her this year. She was so excited and practically ran from house to house. Dax was a total trooper too! And the best part? While trick-or-treating and collecting TONS of candy, the only thing Alia requested to eat was the bag of pretzels she got from one house. I am totally patting myself on the back there. :)

And when we got home and put the little uns to bed, Jared and I put on a movie and grabbed the bucket of candy...yup, we are THOSE kind of parents...

My 2 cute owls

Trunk-or-treating at the preschool

Dax is pooped, but still oh-so-cute

Ready for preschool. Alia LOVED that she matched her bag

Leading the preschool parade

Playing at the park on Halloween night, check out the bird nest! :)

Trick-or-Treating

Happy H-owl-oween!!!

So, 3 1/2 weeks later, I'm FINALLY getting back to a little "normal" and thought I'd post...

He's here!

Daxton Blaine Ashworth

Born: 9-19-13 at 3:45pm

7 lbs 12 oz, 19.5 in

So for those of you who want the short version: I came, I pushed, he's here. :) And for those that want the LONG one, enjoy:

I prayed long and hard this whole pregnancy for this little guy to come "on time" so I could attempt a VBAC. So as my due date was rapidly approaching, I was getting more and more nervous, and a little desperate. I scheduled a massage on 9/18 as a sort of last ditch effort to try and naturally "induce" labor. I went into my massage, and promised my massage therapist that I would double her tip if she managed to get me into labor.

Well, halfway through the massage, just that happened. I started having contractions. Nothing too severe, but they were consistent and actually felt like a bit more than a Braxton Hicks - or Daxton Kicks as we liked to call it. So, I finished my massage - of course - gave the biggest tip of my life, and drove back home. I called Jared on the way and told him that I thought my water might have broke - not fully, but at least was trickling, and that we needed to probably head out to the hospital soon. He and Alia were at home FINALLY setting up the crib.

Around 8:30 or so that night, we dropped Alia off with our friends and headed over to the hospital. Once we got there, we were rushed through the ER and taken up to the maternity ward. Apparently it was a full moon and they were having a crazy night up there - I later found out a friend had just had her baby about an hour before we came in - and after waiting for quite a while, they finally checked to see if my water had broken...it hadn't. :( And since they were pretty crazy, and I was not in any real pain, they chalked my contractions up as "Early Labor" and sent me home. They said that it could be a few hours or a few days.

Well, needless to say, I was pretty mad and embarrassed and just frustrated. So, we went back to our friends' house and picked up Alia and put her back to bed. I got out the ice cream and started to drown my sorrow. I never wanted to be one of those ladies that got sent home. Eventually we headed to bed around 11:30 or so. My contractions were getting worse, but still bearable.

I actually managed to get some sleep, but woke up about 1:30 AM. At this point the contractions were still regular - about 4-6 minutes apart - and getting stronger. I tried going back to sleep, but just couldn't. So I headed down stairs to maybe not keep Jared up. But he being a good husband, came down with me. I didn't want to go back to the hospital only to get sent home again and I had an appointment scheduled at 9 the next morning. I thought I could just tough it out. But by about 3:00, things were getting real. I called the Doctor and actually had a contraction on the phone with her. She said it was up to me, but I could probably come back in. I decided to tough it out another hour or so and see from there. I tried sending Jared to bed, but practically collapsed on my hands and knees from pain while he was heading to bed. He wasn't going anywhere. At about 4 or so, we knew we needed to go back in.

So, we took Alia BACK to our friends' house - poor girl! - and headed BACK to the hospital. They FINALLY admitted me at about 7:00 - shift change. From that point on, I really don't have any complaints. The nurse was fantastic, and my doctor was stellar. Everything progressed as it should and having a VBAC was actually looking like a real possibility.

At about noon or so I decided I'd had enough and wanted my epidural. I kept hitting the nurse's call button but didn't get a response. She eventually came in and we discovered that the button was unplugged! Anyhoo, of course the anesthesiologists were busy, and we had to wait. About an hour or two later, they FINALLY came. I could barely sit up for the epidural, but hey I got it!

And shortly after, at about 3:45, Baby Dax was born. I'm told I pushed for only 9 minutes. :) And let me just say that the VBAC experience was AWESOME! I am so grateful for the opportunity and would tell anyone thinking about it, to at least attempt. The recovery has been SOOOO much better.

And in Jared's words, the C-Section was freakin' awesome, but the natural delivery was transcendent.

Pretty much my only preggy shot, courtesy of my sis-in-law, Emily. I'm about 8 mths here.