Can I have a bAby Plz?

First let me explain that as much as I hate pregnancy  . . . giving birth is my favorite thing on earth.

Blame it on the beauty that is the epidural or getting to be the center of attention, but the entire experience from the moment we know that “it’s time,” to the scary day they kick me out into the cold world with no nursery nor mediocre - yet delicious room service, is completely spiritual and wonderful to me.

I am a maniac about my sacred birth stories.

Even looking at these pictures again makes me wanna have like 95 babies.

So, if picture overload and too much detail is not your cup of tea, this may not be the post that wins you over and makes u a certified “Fondue” blog follower.

Feel free to skip over this one.

 

At 36 weeks, I had my strep test and my doc said he’d go ahead and check me since I was undressed anyway.

He apologized when he told me I was almost at a 1.

I responded with a smile that that’s why we have Pitocin. 

( = one drug that is very necessary for me to have babies.)

He also said she measured right at 36 weeks, no longer big like he had thought.

I reminded him my last doctor predicted a 7. 6 baby and I got one that was 9.3!

He told me he is usually within a pound, and while her torso measured big, her head and legs measured small.

Therefore, the formula averaged her to be right on track.

I hoped he was right!

 

I started having vivid dreams about my baby girl.

I pictured her tiny with dark hair and blue eyes and in one dream, we had to wake her to eat every 6 hours. . . :)

I could not WAIT to actually see and hold her. 

It seemed to good to be true.

 

At 37 weeks, my doctor asked if I wanted to be checked again.

I said, “Sure, why not?”

To both of our surprise, I was at a 3!

This was major for me because with previous labors I didn’t reach 3 til I’d been on Pitocin for several hours.

This was a whole new ballgame for me!

Although I tried not to get too hopeful given my past, I floated home in excitement.

 

 

 

 

 

 

That week I participated in my last and final vball game and my teammate told me that with her her baby, she was at a 3 for 2 weeks.  Dang!

 

That weekend was Mother’s Day, and my sister from Tennessee popped in for a semi-surprise visit.

I was sincerely hoping the baby would make her grand entrance on Mother’s Day so my sister and everyone else could be here for the birth.

That would have shot her straight to the top of the Favorite Kid list fo sho!

My ankles swelled again and on Sunday night I was contracting so much that I was nervous to let my mom go back to Idaho because I thought things were definitely getting serious.

But alas, the contractions subsided and I knew it was a false alarm.

And Crystal went back to Tennessee.

 

At 38 weeks, I knew for sure my doctor was going to tell me I was at least a 5 because I was often kept awake with contractions.

I was wrong and lucky if I was even a 3+!

I was beginning to wonder if I even knew what a contraction was.. .

He was also starting to doubt himself on her measurement, because of her large torso size.

I told him I vaguely remembered my last doctor always commenting on Emaki’s stomach size and so maybe that was a clue this baby was big too.

Then I asked if they ever induced earlier than usual when a big baby was predicted.

He told me “no,” because too many premature babies were going to the NICU on false pretenses, especially since these later sonograms were the most inaccurate.

The most they would do in that case was a scheduled C-section.

But not for me (not that I wanted one) because I had a “proven pelvis” (AKA I delivered a 9 pound baby and walked away without a stitch).

So I returned home a little downtrodden.

 

I pretty much decided this baby was just going to be born on my induction due date I’d been telling everyone since the beginning, May 24th.

I began scheduling my week accordingly.

 

That Sunday, it started looking like I was losing the plug.

I skipped out on a 2 hour stake conference on hard chairs and gave E a nap (and myself:) and then my sweet sister Lindsay invited us over for a lasagna dinner.

We hung out over there before heading home and preparing for a busy week.

I had a pedicure planned and a shellac nail appointment.  I’d also scheduled to have my house cleaned, I planned on mowing the lawn and I intended to use my free spray tan.

(Hey, I wanted to look somewhat cute for my induction Thursday!)

 

The kids had a zoo field trip, a someone special picnic, dance carpool and pictures, ride your bike to school day, preschool graduation and a jogathon.

And as I stayed up past midnight on the computer feeling like I could be no further from labor, I decided that I would at least be well distracted til Thursday!

Although I had woke up that morning with a strange feeling that today felt like the day I should have a baby . . .

I turned off the lights and went to bed.

 

The first contraction hit at 3 o clock and my first thought was “I’m having a baby.  For reals.”

I calmly looked over at the clock and started timing.

They were serious and consistent, that was for sure.

But I remained strangely composed (though giddy) and even debated trying to go back to sleep (between contractions of course.)

The next 45 minutes flew by as I tried to decide how to wake D and what exactly I should say.

I wanted to wait until it had been at least an hour and I knew for sure.

But at 3:50 he rolled over and so I said to him softly, “Um just so you know, I have been having contractions pretty regularly since 3 and I’m thinking it’s serious.”

For some reason I feared he wouldn’t believe me.  (I’d had contractions in the night before so I thought he’d think I had no idea what serious meant).

But he gulped and said “You have??!!”

I said, “Yes.  I’m going to wait til about 4:15 and then I’m thinking I’m gonna get up and start packing.”

“You are??!!  Okay.”

He gave me a nervous/ excited smile and said “Are you having one right now?'”
”Yup.”

“And what, you think I’m just going to roll over and go back to sleep for 20 more minutes like it’s nothing?”
We both kind of laughed and agreed after just a couple of minutes to go ahead and get up.

He went right to work, changing our sheets and starting the laundry like a champ.

I had little butterflies in my stomach as I began packing things up and putting on makeup. (understatement)

Between each contraction I questioned whether I was qualified to make the call on this being actual labor.

And the wheels in my head were spinning furiously as I tried to plan out what to do with the kids.

I knew I was going to call Lindsay, but I didn’t know when or what she would do with her kids.

So I determined I would let her sleep a little longer and then she could run over, wake up my kids and get them ready, drop M off at my sister in law’s and then coordinate with someone else for C’s dance.

And of course I would need to call my mom to start driving from Poky . . .

 

When I began to think of all the people this would affect, I began to doubt myself all over again.

And when I began to doubt myself, I began crawling back in bed.

And when I began crawling back in bed,  D began walking in and asking what in the world I was doing.

I responded that I simply did not want to be sent home from the hospital and if I was right about being in labor well, then this was actually a pretty comfy place to ride out the contractions.

He told me I was for sure in labor and he really didn’t want to have to deliver this baby at home. (Mal’s story of giving birth 1 hour after contractions still fresh in his memory)

And then he went and got me a hot rice bag.

 

At around 6 and after some more close contractions, I called my mother.

She was already up, preparing food for a BBQ that night for 50 people.

She smiled through the phone and volunteered to cancel.

 

It was a kind of new and spiritual thing for me to labor at home.

After awhile, I jumped into the bath tub and just hung out.

D walked in and again shook his head. 

He was still a little worried.

The bath actually made my contractions subside completely and I decided it was time to get out.

 

I called Lindsay and got no answer.

So then I called Dan on his way to work and his first question was “Are you headed to the hospital?”

He promised to relay the message and a few minutes later my phone rang and she sleepily asked what I needed her to do.

I explained my plan and she agreed to it.

She came right over and as we were heading out the door, C woke up.

D told her where we were going and she lit right up.

 

In the car, I called my mom again to tell her we were on our way to the hospital.

She told me to hold on for 2 more hours because she was packed and ready to leave.

D asked how quickly he needed to drive and my answer varied according to my contractions.

It was such a fun drive to make as a couple under such fun circumstances and my cute little hubby was already tearing up.

 

I felt quite dumb when the lady at the check-in desk asked, “Can I help you?”

I suddenly wondered “Am I even pregnant, what is happening here, what do I say???”

I said quietly, “Um, yes I wanted to have a baby please?”

Luckily, she told me I could and then gathered the necessary information with the same calm as her introductory question and throughout the entire process, I didn’t have a single contraction.

 

Then we were told to take a seat for awhile.

Before long, a contraction hit and I began pacing a little.

I felt just like a woman in the movies.

 

In what seemed like an eternity, I was led by a nurse to my first room.

On the way, I realized I forgot once again to get the “on the way to the hospital” picture.

So after she handed me my gown I grabbed my phone and snapped a few of my final prego pictures in the bathroom like a dork, still experiencing serious butterflies.

This whole experience is just way too fun for me!!

 

 

 

My super funny Triage nurse then came in and kept me a giggling.

As she interrogated me on my life’s history, she kept commenting on how boring I was.

I always say I’m healthy as a horse!

She teased D about being on release from jail to be there at the birth.

 

When it came time to check me, I got super nervous that I hadn’t progressed enough- but to my excitement, I was a 6+.

Yay, they were gonna keep me!!

My new friend/nurse then led us to our actual room where I would deliver.

D did a great job keeping friends and family updated by forming a group on his phone and giving them a play by play.  Literally.

And he got to cancel all my upcoming appointments I would no longer be keeping. 

AND he was determined to give me my own birth story, taking a million pictures.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

As we laughed and talked and they got me situated, they commented that they couldn’t believe how good I was acting for how far along I was.

I assumed this was because my water was still intact, but I did tell D that I had contemplated going natural since I’d made it this far.

He got very uneasy at that announcement.

Especially when I winced, thrashed and groaned every time a contraction hit.

They were really getting serious.

The nurse told me it was up to me but explained that they were completely full, so if I didn’t order my epidural soon, I might miss my window.

After a few more of those very serious contractions, I decided I definitely wanted it.

 

 

I had my first female nurse anesthetist and she was great and super nice as she worked to give me relief.

D was way involved with everything, from the large amount of fluid they pumped into me, to the epidural, to the catheter- he wanted to watch it all (like a weirdo.)

Once I had it in, I felt so fantastic that I wondered why I would even consider fighting such a beautiful thing.

And it took just perfectly, cuz I could still totally move my legs.

I really just wanted to lay back and take a nap because I was so relaxed, but my nurse kept jabbering and I really had to force myself to focus on her words because I was fading quickly and feeling a little loopy.

When I finally got some peace and quiet and started to doze, my mom walked through the door.

I was so glad she had made it!

 

 

 

Getting sleepy

 

 

Submitting to the double chin.

 

 

I was checked again later and had finally reached a 7, where I stayed for a very long time.

I thought I felt my water start to leak.

And a little while later when someone from my clinic announced that she was here to break my water, she questioned whether or not there was much fluid left too.

But she broke what she thought was a small bulge.

We hoped that after that things would start rolling, but the next time I was checked I was only maybe a 7+ and was not really contracting.

My nurse gave me the option to jumpstart things with a little Pitocin or else wait it out.

Since I am not a patient pregnant person, especially when it comes to meeting my sweet little babies, I told her to go ahead hook me up.

Plus I knew my own history way too well and I didn’t want to still be in labor next week.

 

I explained how sensitive I was to the drug and so she started me at a 1.

A short while later I felt serious pain.

This is how I knew in the past that it was time to push and when she checked me, I was at a 10!

Worked like a charm!

 

Time to Push!!

 

 

When they paged my doctor, it turned out there was a woman down the hall also at a 10 with her fourth child, only her baby was not doing so hot.

I was glad to wait a little while longer, as my baby was completely happy.

 

Just kidding! - waiting for a bit

 

 

When Doctor Wes came in, we went right to work.

 

 

 

 

The first couple of contractions, it seemed I had forgotten how to push correctly.

I was making no progress and Wes commented that I was way too flexible and he wasn’t exactly sure what I was doing!

But once I remembered how the heck to have a baby, she came in about 4 or 5 pushes, doing a 180’ twirl on her way out.

And my hubby just bawled.

She was 7 lbs, 13 oz and 21 inches long.

We’d had her name picked for the last 3 months.

Well, except her middle name; that was still up in the air.

She had fantastic color.

She had dark hair just like my others (only slightly less).

I took one look at the small amount of it on top and thought “hmm I know that’s not gonna cut it for very long, especially once your head grows!”

I knew we were in for some serious “old man hair.”

And I also joked that she forgot to get eyelashes.

Her puffy, swollen cheeks that made her eyes look super squinty (also like my others) greatly resembled the last ultrasound picture we had,  sorta Asian-ish!

And one of her eyes had a broken blood vessel from the trauma of birth.

Dang was she cute!!

At first we thought she had her own individual look.

But that didn’t last long!

A few short hours later, she was her big sister’s little clone.

 

My goofy nurse who hung around because she wanted to “play with our baby.”

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

One proud Dada!

 

I did it!!

“Without a scratch” as Doc Wes said.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

My sweet baby . . .who was still screaming

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The resemblance to C was uncanny!

 

She took awhile to get the hang of nursing and in the meantime,  layed on my bracelet and got a scratch across her cheek:(

But once she got the hang of it, I struggled to get her to stop.

And she was immediately awesome at burping!

 

D and Nana got me my Subway sandwich not long after labor because I was starving and I did my usual –take one bite, barf, and then feel great enough to finish eating.

Nana went home to get the crew shortly after, while I attempted rest.

 

 

Unfortunately, I had some issues because the post labor contractions from the last baby caused me to go straight for the hard stuff this time around. (Percocet)

After getting all settled and sufficiently drugged, I began to doze.

And then one of the many distractions characteristic of a hospital room awoke me.

As I attempted to fall back asleep,  I had the darndest time keeping all the bugs off my face.

That’s right, I was hallucinating.

It was the strangest thing to experience and made me a little gun-shy when it came to that drug.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Big brothers and big sister had been waiting for her arrival for sooo long!

They had it all worked out:

He would change the messy diapers, and she would change the wet ones.

And they could hold her whenever they wanted.

And feed her and clothe her.

They were in for a few surprises I think.

 

 

Meeting baby sister

 

 

 

These guys were in absolute Awe.

Especially this one.

She deemed her the cutest baby in the world!

 

 

And she cried and cried when she had to put her down.

 

 

 

He was pretty dang excited about her too!

This little sensitive guy was pretty concerned about me as well.

And they both asked a gazillion and a half questions!

 

 

 

 

I love these family photos.

They kinda foreshadow the upcoming chaos that will be our lives.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

‘Specially this one.

 

The flowers my cute hubby got me and the gift my momma got me from the gift shop.

That night, we got visits from Aunt Melissa and Cousin Parker, Aunt Stacy and Uncle Tom.

We also watched some of Dancing With the Stars and The Bachelorette.

And that night, the nurses had to wake my baby after six hours to make her come eat. 

No joke.

Wow what a day.  Part 2 coming later.