"We must be willing to let go of the life we have planned to have the life that is waiting for us." -Jason Campbell

This quote perfectly sums up the past four days in the Green family. The best place to start is the beginning, but if you are not interested in the birth story, scroll down to the first picture of baby and start reading there. You won't be sorry you did!

On Friday, I mentioned to my Dr. that I felt a little leaking to which he did the pH test to see if it was amniotic fluid. Sure enough it was, which means that my water was broken. So, Dr. Nielson sent me straight to labor and delivery since it had been leaking for about 2 days, with no contractions, which is not very good since chance for infection to me and the baby increases when the water is broken. I arrived at St. Mark's 2 minutes later since Dr. Nielson's office right across the street, labor and delivery admitted me and started me on pitocin so that we could get that baby out. I was a little scared since it was two weeks early and was all happening so quickly. However, once Dallin arrived assuring me Luke was taken care thanks to an amazing neighbor and friends for the next day or two, I felt all would be okay.

The next nine hours were spent rocking, walking, swaying, great music and an amazing hubby and nurse helping me through contractions. Around 11PM, I asked the nurse to check me since they were leaving it up to me to ask since they didn't want to increase the chance for infections by constantly checking my dilation. I was 6cm, to which she said she was going to call Dr.  Nielson because she believed I would be ready to push within 45 minutes. Just as she went to call him, he called her to see what my progress was and then scurried right over.

He got to the hospital about 20 minutes after calling and I was dilated to an 8. He broke a second little sack of water that had formed from the first which really progressed things. Within 20 minutes, I was a 10 and ready to push. However, little man had decided in those last 2 cm to switch from the back of his head coming out first, like he is supposed to, to his face coming out first. Most Drs go straight to a c-section at that point, but mine was calm and decided that since I was pretty much pushing, and he was face up, we would deliver the baby safely. So, I started pushing, pretty much involuntarily. I have no clue how women can hold back the urge to push when they give birth unmedicated. I honestly felt like my body just took complete control and I just had to give into whatever it needed to do. Dallin and my nurse, Bonnie, were phenomonal and kept me focused as I felt like I had been posessed by an amazon woman whose main purpose in life was to get the baby out.  Dr. Nielson was amazing at staying calm and thinking on his toes. I honestly will ask him to move wherever we go so that he can stay my OB/GYN. A few intense pushes and the 7lb 6oz babe was out, safe and sound and amazing.

After his initial examination right after birth, he was cleared as healthy and we got a few hours with little man before nursery came to do some more testing on him. While he was with them, they discovered that he was not able to maintain his oxygen levels which put him in the NICU. Not the news we wanted, but we figured with such a traumatic birth, it would all clear up when his swelling went down. During this time, we decided on a name for the little man. We decided his name would be Caleb Thomas.

The next day, we went down to NICU and got the rundown from the Dr. As she talked to us, she informed us that he had many physical and behavior indicators of Down Syndrome and that they had sent his work in to be tested to confirm their suspicions. With this news, I was oddly at complete peace and surprisingly didn't feel surprised. Dallin had a little bit of a hard time mainly because he thought of all the things Caleb would not be able to do, as well he thought that he would pass away at a young age. All of which we now know are myths.

As we discussed the news that night, we came to the realization that Caleb was not sent to our family by mistake. God is in control and he knows what he is doing. Sure it may be hard at times, but we also know that God will give us strength. We also realized that all of the worries we had for him are earthly worries. We strongly believe that the spirits that are in "disabled" bodies are so special and protected from the evils of the world. Caleb is perfect. He has an automatic ticket to heaven, which is our main goal as parents. Having this perspective has brought so much peace. He is perfect and perfect for our family. 

Two days later, it was confirmed that he does indeed have Trisomy 21 aka Down Syndrome. At this point, we would have been surprised if the test came back saying otherwise. We also were at complete peace with this and were actually excited for this completely unexpected twist our lives had just taken. We are so filled with love for this little boy already. We know to some this news is a little rattling and may make some feel awkward around us and Caleb. This is one of the main reasons we wanted to write this blog. To let everyone know how we are feeling, what's going on and how we are completely fine with people asking us questions, expressing concerns they may have, etc.

We don't see this as a burden or bad thing at all. We want people to know that as well. My good friend sent me this quote and it is perfect for what we are trying to convey about how we feel:
"I've always felt that God puts people with Down syndrome on this Earth to show us how to love. Jesus loves people regardless of size, color, or wealth and I think that people with Down Syndrome exude that love down here on Earth."

Caleb is going to help teach all he comes in contact with how to love deeper. In just the first four days of his life, he has already taught us so much. My eyes well with tears as I think about him and the joy he has already brought into our lives as well as the people who have met him. Right now the hardest part is not being together as a family since Caleb is still in the NICU, figuring out how to eat and breath. We really have NO idea how long he will be in there, but are hopeful it won't be too long so that we can all be together longer than an hour here or there. We miss our Lukey boy like crazy and are so grateful for such a great family and friends who have been rockstars in helping us out and making sure Luke is okay while we stay with Caleb.

Pray for Caleb's health and that we all will be home soon. And as we said, feel free to ask us anything and celebrate with us this amazing addition to our family. We are so excited to start this new, unpredictable, tough at times journey.

Poor Lukey is too young to go into the NICU so he kept himself entertained while grandma and grandpa visited

We have a little swimmer foot!