Colton's First Valentine's Day

Colton Joshua

Resting peacefully!!!!

First time I was able to hold him, during his first feeding.

Dave getting scrubbed and ready to welcome Colton to the world.

Colton Joshua Slates

Welcome to our family-Colton Joshua Slates-5lbs 19oz. He arrived on Friday Feb 10th at 2:42 am.
He was a special surprise. On the day that he was born, I was in labor and didn't know. I had terrible back pain all day and was so focused on coaching the girls state playoff swim meet that I didn't have time to think about the possibility of being in labor. After the meet, which by the way, the girls swam great, despite a loss, we had some really good times, I was driving home and started to notice that the pain I was feeling was more than just Braxton Hicks. I got home and called Dave to let him know that I needed to call my doctor and go to the hospital. When we arrived at the hospital my contractions were 2 minutes apart. The nurses were shocked when I said I was going to wait until the next day. They settled down the time between contractions, however they became stronger. Dr. Minter came in and did an ultrasound scan and noticed that the fluid had disappeared, scary because it was a 9 the week before. They decided that they would deliver me!!!! So I slept for a few hours and got some much needed rest, knowing that it would be a long day ahead of us.
They finally took me back around 1:45 and by 2:42 Colton Joshua was here. I decided to have a tubal done so that process took a while and all the scar tissue from the other c-sections made the rest of the surgery go to 3:30. I went to recovery and by 4:30-5 was ready to go to my room. Dave went home to relieve my neighbor who had spent the night watching the kids. We were so blessed to have such great neighbors there to help us out at a last minute notice.
I got some rest, as hard as it was to relax after the excitemennt and nervousness of not knowing how Colton was going to be.
But around 11 am I was able to see him for the first time and it was the most precious thing ever. He was doing well. He scored a 8-9 on his apgar scale. He had to be placed on CPAP but other than regulating his breathing he was doing well.
Colton spent 2 days on CPAP and has been moved to a nasal canal getting oxygen that is room temperature. He also started on his feeds on Sunday at 5cc. He has to have his residuals checked after each feeding and as long as they are good he will increase by 2 cc's every other feeding. We continue to pray that he will get stronger and continue to grow. God has blessed us with this little miracle and each day is showing us how wonderful he is.

Carson's wrestling match

As promised here is the video of Carson's wrestling match, Dave and I are a little excited.

time to update!!!

So I know it has been a really, really long time since my last blog and my apologies to all of you. The kids have been doing well and we are getting ready to welcome Colton into the family soon. Peyton had a dance competition in November and her group placed 3rd. Carson started wrestling and last night had his first pin of the season. We had a great Christmas and enjoyed spending time with Bob and Barb in November for our "Slates Family" Christmas tradition. Barb and I braved the black friday madness and got some really good deals. Pregnant and all, however it was a little harder the next day. We enjoyed having Thanksgiving with them and going to my uncle carl's as well. We were blessed to do it all over again with my family a month later. Mom and Dad spent about 10 days up here visiting and Kelly put on a wonderful dinner for all. This year we started an adult pollyanna and it was a lot of fun. The kids are doing well in school Peyton enjoys 2nd grade and is reading so much. She is reading chapter books that are over 300 pgs, I guess she takes after her daddy. At her conference in November she had some of the highest grades in the class so we are very proud. We have to laugh because socially she is testing her boundaries, which shouldn't surprise any of us. Carson loves his preschool and has made many new friends. He gets to spend 3hours a day learning numbers, letters, writing and obeying rules to get him ready for kindergarten. I have been coaching and enjoying having Dave as my assistant. We are in the middle of our season and each week seems to get a little bit harder.
We go on Monday for another growth scan to see Colton and how he is doing. It is the first time the kids will get to see their brother on ultrasound so they are very excited. We will keep everyone posted and continue to ask for prayers as he grows and develops.