Korver Baldwin Smith

 Korver Baldwin Smith

born March 1, 2012 at 6:35 pm

in the Madison Memorial Hospital

8 lbs. 9 oz. and 20 inches long

Mom and Dad's first glimpse of their fifth child! 



The poor little guy was a little purple so they had to give him some extra oxygen. (out of the littlest mask I've ever seen!)

Our dang camera is blurry a lot of the time, but it says 8 lbs. 9 oz. for his birth weight

Tired but happy mommy!  This was probably my easiest and most enjoyable pregnancy and delivery!

Birth Story:
All along I had planned to be induced on March 7, eight days after my due date.  On February 29th, I woke up with lots of energy and lots of projects to get done.  I gathered the dirty clothes, sorted it, and started the wash.  I had receiving blankets to sew and burp clothes to make, so I broke out my sewing machine and began on those. In between switching laundry, making sure Eden went on the potty, and answering Addison's many questions, I felt lots of contractions.  Since I've always been induced, I've never really timed contractions and basically ignored them.  I had too much to do and get ready before this little guy could come!  At about 1:00 pm though, I was really feeling them, and felt like I better give Damien a head's up about what was going on with me.  I called him and told him that I was fine but was feeling a little bit (lot of bit, actually) of contractions but not to worry.  I was supposed to go in to my scheduled midwife's appointment at 4:00 pm, but thought I would call them and see if they could see me sooner.  While one the phone with them, Damien surprised me and walked in the door.  He could tell by my voice that I was really feeling something and wasn't about to have me go into labor by myself!  The midwife's office didn't even connect me to the midwife, but just asked me lots of questions, and after answering them, insisted I head to the hospital.  I had NOTHING ready, no bag, hadn't gotten dressed really, so I immediately went into a mad dash to prepare a bag and get things ready.  We called Tammie, who was in Rigby, and asked her to come get the girls.  There was a huge blizzard going on outside so it took her a little while to get here safely.  We loaded up the girls, said good bye, and headed to Rexburg.  On the drive there, the contractions slowed a bit, much to my disappointment!  We got checked in and put into a exam room where the hooked me up to all those super fun monitors.  I was dilated to a four and about 60% effaced, so I was sure things would move along and we would have this baby on Leap Year!  After a couple hours of little contractions and not much progress, they had me walk around the halls for two hours, after which they would check me again and decide what to do.  So I walked and walked the halls, then I'd go in the stair wells and JOG down the stairs, high kneein' it like you've never seen, then I'd get to the bottom and JOG in place, arms just a pumpin', with eyes on the little window in the door, ready to stop all ridiculous movement immediately if a passerby was spotted.  I'd count to thirty, then stop my jogging in place and book it back up the stairs to start it all over again.  Yes, I did this for two hours, and yes, I was starting to sweat by the time I was done, and yes, I was feeling contractions AND PAIN by the time I was done, and yes, I was sure I was moving right along in the labor department.  So you can imagine my disappointment when the nurse checked me and I was still a 4 and only 80% effaced now.  A measly 20%???  Grrr!!!  The midwife wanted me at a 4 and 85% effaced before admitting me, so they gave me two options.  I could stay through the night, walking and trying to get the contractions to start, or I could go home and come back at 11:00 am the next day to be induced.  It was already almost 8:00 pm, I hadn't eaten seen my bowl of Frosted Mini Wheat's that morning, and I was tired!  So I opted to go home, but not before me and Damien stopped into Gringo's to eat our favorite food!  We then went and got the kids at Mike and Tammie's, put them to bed and slept great in my own bed!  I was glad I decided to go home. The next morning, I was able to get prepared a little more, and get things cleaned up around the house.  My mom was going to come to our house and watch the girls and finish some of my sewing (OK, let's be honest-she did 95% of my sewing).  We were supposed to call the hospital at about ten to see if we were still good to come at 11, but at about 9:30 the phone rang and it was them, telling us to call back around 1 and they would tell us what time to come up.  So now I had more time on my hands to get things ready-yeah! ):  But we got lucky and they called back about an hour later and they told us to head on up!  We grabbed a burger and a giant Dr. Pepper ( I have a giant weakness) on our way up because I hadn't eaten, again, and didn't want to be STARVING even more.  They didn't tell me NOT to eat, so I did!  We got into our room at about 1:00 pm and got settled.  They got me all hooked up, IVs in, and started the pitocin at 1:35 pm.  I was slow moving, just like the other four babies, but when I was at a 5 I felt the tears poling in my eyes during every contraction and knew it was time to call for the epidural.  That is seriously, like the best thing in the world!  At first it was only working on my left side, but after a while of laying on my right, I couldn't feel a thing!  Yeah! :)  I was able to relax and even almost caught some zzzz's, and that is just what I needed to do, because when they checked me again I was already at an 8!  I hurried to call my mom, since she was planning to be there when he was born, and learned she was almost to the exit.  She told me to hold on!  :)  (Tammie had come over to grab the girls from her and would bring the kids up later.)  Mom did make it up to the room in time.  After three pushes, he was still not quite out, so my midwife had me turn on my side and try pushing that way.  He came right out (wish I had tried the sideways laying and pushing thing five kids ago-it was WAY easier!) and there he was, our little baby #5, born at 6:35 pm!  I couldn't believe how tiny he looked, and thought for sure he'd be a small seven pounder, so I couldn't believe it when they said 8 lbs. 9 oz.  Our biggest one!  He did look a little purple and so they supplemented his oxygen for a few minutes until his color was better.  He was born tounged-tied, and we opted to get that clipped the same time we had his circumcision done.  He has huge hands and long fingers, lots of dark hair, and has a little darker coloring than the rest of our babies did.  He was able to nurse with no problems (to his mom's relief!) and is pretty much content to sleep, eat, fill diapers, and stare at his mommy's face.


The Name...
Throughout this pregnancy, we tossed around names all the time, but never found one we loved. My favorites were Archer, Finn, Thacker, Graham, and Quade. Damien liked Kasen, Korver, and Cannon. Addison really wanted to name him Jospeh, after the prophet. For a middle name, we were either going to use Baldwin or Michael, but when he came out tounged-tied, giant hands, and dark, he looked so much like a Baldwin baby we knew that was it. The month or so before he was born, Damien mentioned he thought the name Korver was cool, and I put it on my "maybe" list I had made in my mind.  There is a NBA player named Kyle Korver, and that's where Damien had heard it.  I wanted a name that no one else had, and when I typed Korver into the baby name search engine and found no results, I knew I liked it. :)  We weren't 100% sure we would use it, but when we met the little guy and spent some time with him, we felt good about naming him KORVER BALDWIN SMITH.


Feeling Blessed and Loved...
 I don't know how Damien and I have been so blessed!  Each of our kids are so precious, and you'd think it would get "routine" to do this each time.  But it doesn't.  Having children is a miracle every time and I am amazed at the feeling of love a parent can have.  It already feels like Korver's just always been here-even though he is only a few weeks old, but I am grateful, every day, that he was sent to our family.  He has two big brothers that will be his prptectors and examples, and two big sisters that will be his comforters and helpers.  He is a lucky little boy, for sure!