Cali Rene is here!

Hello Everyone! Well we now have our second little miracle! Some people view nothing as a miracle and some view everything as a miracle. . . . I would consider myself part of the second group. It's easy to see God in everything and the miracles that he blesses us with everyday - from a sunset to the birth of a child.

This experience has been difficult to say the least with alot of unknowns, unexpected occurrences, and a couple scary moments.

So here is how everything played out: There was a planned induction - I was scheduled to go in Tuesday night and then induced Wed morning. Well I went into labor on my own Tuesday afternoon/night and around 10pm my contractions were 3 minutes apart. They gave me an epidural so I could sleep comfortably through the night and just pick up in the morning.

Next morning we started up around 8am and the nurse was hoping and optimistic that we would have a baby by 1:30pm. I started pushing around 1pm and things were progressing good... I ended up pushing off and on until 5:30pm This was very discouraging because earlier in the afternoon they were able to see baby's head so we were thinking it would be close. I was pushing off and on to take a break and relax to get more energy for the pushing, get a bolas for the epidural etc. The doctor thought that although I was narrow that baby had plenty of room to make her way out.

Well, around 5:30pm he suggested that either we use the vacuum to help the baby get out or go to a c-section. He came back a few minutes later and said that he didn't think we should even consider the vacuum ( he thought it would cause alot of damage and then may not even work) and just go straight for the c-section.

I was prepped for the c-section but there was an issue with the epidural they gave me and I was able to feel more than should have - not the cut thank the Lord! but other stuff going on... it felt like my insides were being torn out of my body. I later found out that I had a ligament attached to my uterus that was torn in the operation (in a rush to get baby out) which often causes perfuse bleeding and can sometimes cause an emergency hysterectomy during the c-section. Thankfully this didn't happen - I consider this a miracle :-)

Then, they got in there during the c-section and they saw that there was maconium the baby had ingested. She was fairly far down and had twisted her body (head and shoulder) in a way that it was difficult for them to get her out. They also saw as they were trying to get her out that the cord was wrapped twice around her neck. Seeing the maconium and the cord they rushed to get her out. I was pretty out of it when they pulled her out and she was taken right away for them to make sure that she was going to be okay.

The toughest part is that I had no idea that anything unusual happened with the baby until I was back to my bed an hour later when Kyle asked if I wanted to know what happened even though it was "scary". He told me what had happened and said that the doctor told him that the reason the baby wouldn't come out during labor was because of the cord wrapped twice around her neck... also ...that if they had decided to go with the vacuum to pull her out, the result to the baby would have been devastating.

That night all I could do was cry... cry tears of thankfulness that Jesus had watched over my baby .... tears that God gave my doctor wisdom to go with what he thought would be best.... tears that my baby is here with us, alive and healthy.

I don't know how some people don't see the birth of a child as a miracle. The conception, development and birth of a child - made in the image of God. We have two beautiful daughters and God has such a great plan for each of them. We are so excited about this new addition to our family!

Love you all!

-crystal, kyle, kinsey and cali

(Cali is pronounced like Cal-ee...not Cay-lee)

Cali Rene
Born on Wed., 10-29-08, at 6:37pm
7 lbs. 9 oz.
21 1/2 inches long

How she got her name:
We just liked the name Cali - it means "beautiful"
and Rene is after Kyle's mom (her middle name is Rene)

Kinsey giving Cali a kiss!

Cousin Craziness :-)

Have you ever seen 5 kids under 7 all smile at the same time???

Not an easy task (thanks for making it happen aunt kelli and aunt kassi!)

So these past few days have been quite exciting! There are five (almost 6!!!) little grandkids belonging to Kyle's parents and this week the five of them were all together (two live in OKlahoma)... it makes for an eventful time and non stop action :-) Here they are last year & this year.... its amazing how much they change in one year!This one of the girls cracks me up :-)
Kinsey & Kate were born two months apart, they are little buddies :-) Its so much fun seeing them play together :-)

Kinsey Shots