The arrival of Clayton William

 Baby Clayton was born on August 4, 2021 at 2:44am. He weighed 8 lbs, 8.5 oz and was 20.5 inches long.

We were playing outside the evening of the 3rd, just a few hours before my water broke. I was surprised that my water broke at home since it had always broken at the hospital while in active labor. I was also surprised to have him come before his due date since all the other kids were at least four days late. Clayton obviously was ready to join us!

His arrival was a little more harried than I would have liked, but I am so thankful for modern medicine and that we were being watched over. After I received an epidural and was ready to push, the midwife discovered that Clay was trying to come out forehead/brow first. We tried different positions for nearly an hour but he would not turn, so we needed to do a c-section. During the c-section, I hemorrhaged and lost 2.5 liters of blood. Mercifully, the doctors and nurses were able to deliver him safely and sew me up, which took about an hour. 

I was able to hold him briefly while they were completing the surgery.

Happy Daddy.

We were concerned he would have quite a bit of bruising from the pushing, but it was not bad. Beautiful boy.

I was super weak but also super grateful.

Back in recovery, Clayton was so alert and nursed well. Another blessing. I ended up receiving two transfusions of blood because my blood numbers weren't recovering quickly enough, and after that I started feeling better. 

The family was eager to come and see their new baby brother.

I was pretty swollen from all the saline they pumped into me. Look at all that hair!

Clayton received some phototherapy to help with jaundice and got to wear this sweet eye protection.

Pushing Clayton down the hall from the nursery.

Our complete family. Yay!

I'm very thankful that my parents have been here to help, especially since the c-section has prevented me from driving and doing things I would normally do after delivery.

Love.

More love.

We are home and settling in. Clayton was almost back at his birthweight five days after delivery, which is great and makes me feel good. Even though a c-section was my biggest fear, Heavenly Father knew that what I wanted most was to have a safe and healthy delivery. I am thankful that He heard our prayers.

Summer birthdays

With four boys' birthdays in the summer, we get to do a lot of celebrating.

Henry turned six in June.

Robbie turned nine in July.

Benjy turned three!

And Clayton celebrated his arrival and Birth Day on August 4th. Wow. Lots of summer celebrations to be had for the foreseeable future.

Summer fun

 I tried to find a good balance of structure and freedom this summer, but it was a little busier than I anticipated. Still, we had a lot of fun:

We went boating with the Zopp family at Smith Mountain Lake. The thunder storm we got caught in was pretty scary, but we were safe and grateful that nothing happened.

Benjy and Jake.

Noah, Robbie, and Henry had a blast on the raft.

Henry and Luke.

We have done some table time activities like painting, and the boys have worked some on their summer books.

Robbie's birthday slip 'n slide was a hit as usual.

I put the bassinet out for baby Clayton and Benjy wanted to climb in. He has been doing great with potty training--a serious tender mercy--and also enjoyed talking like a baby and wrapping himself up in his old baby blankets. 

Other fun times:

Swim team for Robbie.

Henry hugs.

A week of Girl's Camp where Clara stayed in a platform tent and was a YCS (Youth Camp Staffer).

A fun camping/rafting trip for Michael and Robbie and Henry (along with friends Christian and his dad Spenser Briggs) in West Virginia. The boys climbed these nearly 900 steps all by themselves.

This outdoor water park was super fun. They got to raft down the New River and had an awesome time--Robbie told Michael it was more fun than Disney World. 

We bought a quarter of a cow earlier this summer, which Michael informed me made amazing hamburgers on their trip.