Labor and Delivery of the Woman Child Gwen.

We have just been blessed with a beautiful baby girl, and we are so full of joy and gratitude!



Autumn Gwen Asbell was born on Saturday, June 7, 2008. She was 7 pounds 11 ounces and 20 1/2 inches long. Oh, and abstolutely gorgeous, but I could be a little partial. :) It is pretty fun because she is exactly the same size as Geoffrey was in about every way, except 1/2 in longer!

Just a warning, the rest of this post is pretty detailed and a bit long - no pics.

Our adventure started at home on Saturday morning at 4am. I had just been up for a couple minutes and was going back to bed. I decided to put down a pad on my bed because I had forgotten when I first went to sleep, plus I was feeling like maybe my labor would start soon . . . I thought that was possibly wishful thinking though . . . Well, I went back to bed and almost immediately my water broke! Thank goodness I had woken up a bit earlier!



Nathan woke up almost immediately and we knew what was ahead of us. We got up and started to get ourselves ready to go to the hospital. Geoffrey woke up with all the bustle, and we eventually got him over to his Aunt Kim and Uncle Frank's house so that he could go back to sleep and have a fun vacation with them for a couple of days.



We we finally were ready to go and left for the hospital. Nathan always loves going to the hospital to have a baby because it gives him a good reason to be able to speed on the highway! Within safety's reason of course! There happens to be a lot of construction on the intersate going to Idaho Falls right now, so it wasn't exactly a quick trip, but it was exciting! We arrived at the hospital and were getting settled into our room around 5:45am. My contractions were making progress so they just let me rest as I could and started my IV. They called the doctor just before 7am and he came by and decided that I needed some pitocin to get my contractions closer together more quickly. So around 8:30am they started me on the dreaded pit. I had been really wanting to go natural with this labor because of a few things in Geoffrey's delivery, and I was afraid I possibly couldn't if I had the oxytocin. It took me a few minutes, but I finally got my attitude adjusted. I decided I would do my best and look at the situation positively instead of let it overwhelm me.



It didn't seem like I was progressing very fast because of different judgements of what I was dialated to, and I believe when Gwen's head came down it tightened things up, which is good, but it also made it seem like I wasn't dialated as far. Previously, they had been turning my pitossin levels up by 2 until my contractions were at a rate of 5 in 10 minutes, or 2 minutes apart. They stopped raising it at 10 and I thought that was fitting since 10cm was my goal.



Around 11:15am the nurse checked my cervix and decided that I was around 5cm. Then, the real fun began! The next contraction was quite a bit harder and there was not anymore dancing and laughing through "pressure waves" like there had been previously. The nurse decided at 11:45am to check my cervix again because of the pattern of labor I was having. She then had another nurse come and check to give her a second opinion on the matter. Both decided that I was at a 5-6 cm range. Then, because of my pattern and pain level they decided to call the doctor in. I was relieved to a point and amazed that they thought the rest of my dialation would go so quickly. I am thankful that they were right! By the time the doctor came in and got dressed I was ready to be finished! He let me start pushing at about 12:2opm. Some people say they like pushing. Well, it is not my favorite, but it has to be done and I made it through!:) Gwen was born at 12:27pm; she was adorable! Her coloring was great and she looked very healthy. Nathan cut the cord and they took her to clean her up for me. Then, she was ready to eat! I am very grateful that she had been a good eater so far. It has helped her to avoid some complications with our blood types, and I hope she continues to do well. She has redish blonde hair, deep blue eyes, and a button nose. She's been a really sweet baby.

P.S. This is Nathan. Erica wrote this post. I was in charge of putting up a title for it. It was going to be titled [All the "Juicy" details]. Erica thought it was a little too gross and graphic. Therefore you have the current title in place. Thank you and goodnight.

Geoffrey "The Godfather" Asbell made me an offer I couldn't refuse. He told me to get on the blog and update or else! So here I am writing to all of his adoring fans. In this picture Geoffrey was immitating one of Nathan's looks of impending doom. Today at church I taught him how to give others the fist of furry. Funny how much his personality has changed over the last few months. He is still the sweet boy we all love, but now also has quite a bit of his own quirks and charecter mixed in. He is so funny!

For an FHE we went to Mile's and Bethany's house. Miles told us that the sheep had just given birth to cute little baby lambs. He thought Geoffrey would love to see them. So we made the arrangement. First on the tour came these pregnant goats. This one was curious and approached me. And then promptly pooped little pellets of fertilizer goodness. But take a look at how pregnant this goat is.

Next we went to see all the baby lambs. Here is a baby lamb that almost looks like it is smiling. Creepy and entertaining all at the same time. Miles went in and grabbed a pair of lambs. Geoffrey ran up to them and put an arm around them. It was as if they were old friends. He really enjoyed chasing the little guys around the yard. The mama sheep kept stomping their feet trying to ward him off. But he just kept on. They realized quickly that there was no stopping him after that and they just ran out of his way.

Next Geoffrey and Miles went up into the big tractor. There was a midget sized seat right beside the driver's seat. So Geoffrey plopped right down and hung out for a while. I think Geofrey wanted to drive the thing much like how sometimes daddy lets him sit on his lap in the driveway and pretend to steer. He also likes to make vrooom vrooom noises when driving.

Afterwards Geoffrey went and saw his first mule. He grabbed it's big funny ear and tugged. Luckily the mule was really calm. The mule was so calm that on one occasion a young man who was an instructor at the lab did a backflip off of this particular mule at the end of a semester. So I wasn't too worried about him.

This horse was really quite friendly. He just wante to check out Geoffrey and see who this new addition to the herd was. So he came over. Geoffrey really enjoyed petting the horses and even reached down and gave one a kiss. The horses were really friendly and didn't mind at all. This horse in particular enjoyed having Geoffrey around.

In this movie we were inside the sheep compound. Here you can see Miles having a blast spooking the pregnant sheep. We were joking that Miles was going to put them into labor if he wasn't careful! That would have been a riot if one of those sheep had broken water and lambed on the spot!

Later on that Friday, Miles and I decided to get out and enjoy some fresh air. We packed up some backpacks and walked about two football fields off the beaten path. We dug out a fire pit and set up camp. Frank joined us out there later on and we fished for an hour or two in the Snake River. The water was too fast, murky, and unsettled. We didn't catch any fish, but we had a good time relaxing by the water. During the time we were out there I saw a beaver. It swam up and down river checking me out. He actually got quite close to me at one point. This video is of him and his antics. Then I pan to let you see how beautiful the area we were in was.


Here is a picture of Miles by the campfire. This is classic Miles. Actually I think if there was a horse in the background, this would be his theme photo for his life. He loves being out there in the great outdoors. He is cooking bacon right now. It was in the morning after we woke up. The songbirds were singing and the sound of nature was incredible. You can hear the sounds we heard when you watch the video of the beaver.

Here is a close up of Miles cooking bacon. You can tell he is a true man by the way he is flipping the bacon with his knife. We slept out under the stars in sleeping bags and on a tarp. It was such a beautiful night. The stars were bright. The moon really illuminated the whole area. When I walked Frank out to his car the night before, we didn't need any other light other than the moon to navigate in the area to get him back to his car. All night I could hear animals walking around our camp. It was one of the most beautiful things I have ever heard. I love being in the outdoors. Even though I didn't sleep the best, I felt really rested being out there in the woods.







Well that is the end of my tale for this blog update. You could say it is the honest to goodness truth. You heard it right out of the horse's mouth.

Geoffrey Is TWO OLD!

On April 12th Geoffrey turned two years old! Shortly before, March 28th - April 4th, he and I went to Missouri to visit his Grandma and Papa. Of course, we had to have a get together with the fam, so we had an early birthday party! It was a lot of fun! We had cupcakes, some with fruit punch icing, and ice cream and just enjoyed eachothers company. The fruit punch icing did have a PUNCH; Geoffrey liked it!

Geoffrey also enjoyed opening the gifts that he was given. He recieved some really fun toys! Cars and trucks of all different sizes, a bus, and an awesome quilt from his grandma with airplanes on it for his big-boy bed!

We moved him to a twin size bed recently, and he loves it! He transitioned a lot faster than we thought! Like most things with Geoffrey when he wants to do something he just does it!

To explain the TWO OLD, we taught Geoffrey to say "Two" when he was asked how old he was. Shortly after we started this, he would come into the room and say that he was "Two old!" instead of "I'm two years old." It was too cute.

Spring a Ling

Remember the days when you would ask your father and mother to take you to the local park to play on your plastic fortress? Well here is Geoffrey enjoying a good taste of Spring on the slippery slope of the slide. He went over and over again. I think Maresa lost 8 pounds running up and down the stairs with him. Good job Maresa!

We all had a fun time at the park. Besides we had to pay Geoffrey somehow. He spent hours and hours in the field picking wheat for our food storage. Man he had a hard time sealing those buckets until his dad gave him a rubber mallet. Worst mistake of my life. There are holes everywhere. Ok maybe I am making this up a little bit. We Asbells are known for a little embellishment. But seriously we are trying to follow the Lord's admonitions through modern day prophets to prepare against a time of need. So we bought 150 lbs of red wheat this month to get us started.

Erica quickly went out and spent some dough (haha wheat...dough...haha) on a wheat grinder to allow us to make yummy homemade bread. It is healthier for us anyway. A might bit tastier too. We also started a garden of sorts in a tray. We have tomatoes, spices, herbs, peppers, lettuce, and brocolli to name a few. It's fun to watch them grow. Kinda like watching paint dry. But a lot tastier than those paint chips.

So as you can see by the following comparison photos that Spring has deffinately sprung. Two bears have left the cave and can be seen around town. Both seem rather fuzzy.

Our little girl is growing and growing!

We are so excited to have another addition to our family soon. After three months of ultrasounds, in spite our little one's modesty, we finally found out in March that we will be having a little sister for Geoffrey to love, cuddle, tickle and pick on.

Geoffrey has been able to be around his cousin Jessica, who is now four months old, a lot since we moved back to Idaho, and he is so good to her! He loves her and it shows through his actions and concern for her well-being. We hope that he loves his sister just as much! Only time will tell. And speaking of time . . . just about five more weeks until she is due! We are trying to get everything together for her arrival! Thank goodness for handme downs and wonderful family members who are very thoughtful!

My pregnancy has been great so far, and we hope that it will continue to go well. It truly has been a blessing with working, moving and taking care of Geoffrey to have had such good health these past few months. She is definately an active baby, and it will be fun to see her personality evolve.

Puttin the Hizzy in the Hood. Whatever that means.

Here is a shot of our new pad. Oh yeah the sweet goodness of the ubiquitous condo. I think this place has a good deal of room, even if I can't hold a camera strait when taking a photo. It feels a little weird to be back in Rexburg Idaho. For the first time in my life I will have a garage. I just can't wait to use that little clicker and open and close the giant door. So sweetie you can see what you are getting yourself in to when you get here on Wednesday. Have fun!

Don't worry about the hole in the floor. It is supposed to be there. It goes to our crawl space. There is quite a bit of storage space under there! I was thouroughly suprised.