New Baby Arrival

Temple had her baby boy on Saturday, October 18 at 11:14 PM. He weighed 7 lbs. 4 oz.

On Saturday morning, Martha gave a Relief Society lesson in Concho. She asked me to give part of the lesson, so I went along.

Afterwards, someone asked Temple, "So are you having any contractions?"

Temple asnwered confidently, "I'm in labor."

She was calm and collected. So much so that I really didn't believe her.

In the afternoon, I took a nap. When I woke up, Temple was flitting around the kitchen, cleaning and a bit angry. "Am I supposed to cook while I am in labor?" she demanded. I told her that she didn't have to cook. But not before she texted to her family that I am an ass. (Which I am.)

At 6:30PM, she told Martha and me that she was pretty sure that she was in labor. But she said that she wanted a ginger bath. So I drove her to my mom's house. My mom (who has training as a midwife) checked her and told her that she was about 50% effaced. I was worried about getting to the hospital on time, but Temple insisted that she wanted a ginger bath. She had a few contractions just on her way to the bathroom!

Then I began to insist that we needed to go to the hospital.

"My contractions are only 30 seconds long!" she snapped. "They tell you not to even come in to the hospital until they are least a minute long."

"But none of them live in Concho, honey," I said. (The hospital is 35 miles from our home.)

So we left. The 5 miles of dirt road seemed extra bumpy, and I winced everytime the car shook.

On the way, I told Martha, "When you are dealing with the nurses, remember: a little honey goes further than vinegar."

Martha has a tendency to get protective of her sisterwife. She is usually sweet and unassuming. But whenever Temple goes into a labor, a different side of Martha comes out.

We checked into the hospital, and my mother arrived. Our nurse was this big woman with a butch haircut.

"Oh my God," she groaned when she saw everyone in the room. "We are not even sure if she is in labor yet!"

Martha growled. I put a hand on her knee and whispered, "Honey, not vinegar."

Begrudgingly, she calmed down.

That was the only negative incident. The nurses were kind and professional. While they monitored Temple, Martha and my mother rubbed lavender essential oils on Temple's feet, and my mother put hot compresses on Temple's back. The nurse later remarked that my mother could come assist whenever she wanted.

It was a tough labor, but he is finally here. Both mother and child are healthy. And I am about as proud a dad as a man can be.

We are naming him Avery Jackson Jessop, but we won'r have the Naming & Blessing ceremony until next Saturday.

He is my tenth child.

That number is significant to me, because when people would gasp with shock when I told them how many kids I have, I would say something like, "Seven of ten."