Showing posts with label pregnancy. Show all posts
Showing posts with label pregnancy. Show all posts

Friday, September 26, 2014

Birth Story: Aurelia

If you'd read my previous pregnancy updates you'd know that we were getting pretty anxious for little sister to arrive. I was also getting nervous about the possibilities of facing a medical induction if the ultrasound showed she needed to come out or I made it to 42 weeks pregnant.

Thankfully, our fears were not long lasting as labor started the very next day at 40 weeks and 1 day. I had been having pre-labor for weeks and braxton-hicks contractions for months. I was discouraged that by my 40 week appointment the contractions hadn't made any progress since 38 weeks. I knew labor could start at any time and I don't usually put much merit into the weekly "progress" because I was used to it being actual progress! 

We were told the entire pregnancy that because of how early (39 weeks) and quickly my last delivery was (6 hours) that this one would likely be earlier, just as quick and possibly faster. So image our surprise when we saw 40 weeks for the first time in 3 pregnancies. It surely made us feel like she was overdue. Although our house has never been more clean and organized (and recleaned and reorganized). 

So back to laboring...last Friday I had tried to take a nap after dropping off Malakai at school and getting Desmond to down but I just couldn't sleep. Once it was time to go pick up Kai I crouched down on the floor to change Desmond and had a pretty intense cramping in my belly. I didn't think too much of it as I'd been having similar pains for a while, I just figured it was ligaments stretching because of my heavy belly. 

When we got to school Desmond announced that I had an "owie on the floor" to a friend of ours and I had to explain what happened. As I got the boys back in the car I had another one, but figured it was just the same cramping from bending over to get into the car. 

When we got home the boys settled into snack time and ironically I was texting with a friend of mine who happens to be a doula, asking her advice for how to get through an induced labor in case that was what the future held. While chatting with her I had a more intense cramping with back pain that made me realize I was having a contraction...or at least I had hoped. It was 3pm and Ben was going to be home in an hour, so I called him and asked if he could come home now but discreetly if possible. He was able to nonchalantly head home early. I didn't call my mom to come watch the boys right away because I hadn't had very many of these cramping/contraction episodes to absolutely convince me that it was time to go. However, it quickly picked up to every 10 minutes so I gave her a call and started to get our bag and the house ready. 

The whole thing felt off as the top of my belly wasn't really contracting, I was feeling all the pressure and cramping in my lower belly and back. I had back labor with Desmond, as he was turned incorrectly, but this felt considerably different. Still, I tried some pelvic rocking in hopes she needed to turn and the back pain would lighten up. I tried laying on my side as well but that just felt terrible. I was doing so when Ben got home and thankfully he was able to explain to the boys what was happening because my groaning was confusing them. Desmond pouted, shoving his hands in his pockets and shrugging his shoulders saying "I'm scared" which was sad and pretty adorable. They were both fine when we explained that I'm ok and this was good. 

When my mom arrived Malakai didn't want me to leave. I hadn't seen him all day between him being at Ben's mom's that morning and school that afternoon. When I explained that we'd be bringing baby sister home soon he asked if it could be tomorrow instead. Bittersweet for sure. I distracted him with an activity with Mima and we were off. 

Ben teased me to be quiet so the neighbor lady who has told us she's been on "labor watch" didn't come running out. I despise laboring in the car but the drive wasn't too terribly long, and while I said "this is the worst part!" I had no idea what I was in for. 

When we got to the hospital we were offered a wheel chair several times but I just wanted to move. Sitting was the last thing I wanted to do during a contraction. They were coming about ever 5 minutes and I'd only been laboring an hour by then, it was a little after 4pm when they put us straight into a delivery room. We asked why we skipped triage but the lady who checked us in just said "they must think you're ready". After she got our info and left we waited a while for a nurse to come get us settled and check my progress but it was taking too long so I just told Ben, get me in the tub! Which ended up being kind of funny because when the nurse came in she said were weren't even checked in all the way yet! They were good sports about it, and I knew I'd be staying anyway so they rolled with it. They were persistent about putting in a "hep-lock" IV, making sure I knew I'd be at increased risk of bleeding with this being my 3rd child but I stayed my ground and got my way. 

When we finally got checked in closer to 5pm I had progressed from 3cm and 50% effaced the day before to 4cm and 80% effaced. Finally, progress! When I was out of the tub I was mostly up and on my feet, leaning over a counter or the bed. I'd get intense shivers and when I was standing my knees would tremble through contractions. I did a lot of side lunges through contractions in additional efforts to decrease the back labor, but nothing was working. I spent a little time on the birth ball, but because the contractions were so low it hurt to be seated at all. 

When I got checked again, maybe around 6:30 pm I was 8cm and 100% effaced. They rolled in the carts and the Dr. and labor nurse were at my side. I was having contractions on top of each other and moving around as much as I could to get through them. They were more intense than either of my previous labors and I kept thinking that we had to be close to pushing if it was progressing this fast. Unfortunately I stuck around at 9cm for a very long time. The Dr. broke my water to speed things up but I barely noticed that she did it, no gush at all. I labored for longer but no real progress so the Dr. had to leave but the nurse stayed in case things picked up again. 

The entire time Ben was at my side to push on my back through every single contraction. He didn't complain once, even though I knew his wrists were aching. I could not have made it through a drug-free labor with out his love and encouragement and his physical support. I also prayed a lot, through each contraction and especially the harder ones I found myself asking God to be my strength in my time of weakness. As things got harder and I got more exhausted I kept asking him to strengthen me, and He did. Although I felt exhausted and discouraged when progress slowed but labor stayed difficult, I had a peace knowing that I could get through it and we'd soon be on the other side. 

By 8pm the nurse checked and there was still a small amount I needed to progress, which she was able to manually move out of the way to get things going. She declared me "complete" and called the Dr back in. When she called I overheard her say something technical that I didn't understand but that it meant I could have a lot of pushing ahead of me. 

As I got to pushing, the Dr. came in and was getting her scrubs on when I felt baby begin to crown. I let them know that it was happening and she rushed over. As I pushed Dr. K said "Oh, there's still membrane here!" meaning, my water wasn't completely broken. Then I felt a terrible pain as I was pushing and she was poking to break the water. I let out the most horrific scream, it was an odd out of body experience for a moment and then she was coming. 

The entire labor Aurelia was moving like crazy. It hurt a LOT when she moved and Dr. K even mentioned that she'd never seen a baby move that much during delivery. She was moving through her entire birth. 

As I delivered her head Dr. K discovered the reason for my back labor, it wasn't that her position was turned, she was actually faced the right way, it was that her hand was at her head, so I delivered her head and right hand/arm at the same time. One more push and then the rest of her was out at 8:27pm. I pushed for a total of 5 minutes. 

I reached for her and she was up on my chest and still wiggling wildly as the nurses looked her over and wiped her down a bit. She let out a scream and I asked "is she still a girl?" because no one had mentioned her gender and I could only see the top of her head at that point. They laughed and Ben helped me flip her over to confirm that we had a daughter.  Ben cut the cord and she settled against me under the warm blankets as we marveled over our little girl as the nurses and doctors worked around me.



A few moments later the room went from loud and crazy to calm and quiet, just the three of us and our labor nurse. Around 9pm I attempted to nurse for a bit, she latched but didn't nurse at first. She got frustrated a few times so I gave her a break until trying again and she got it soon afterwards. Meanwhile Ben called up family to announce her arrival and let them know we'd be taking visitors the next morning after the boys got a chance to meet their sister. 

After 9:30 Ben + our nurse took her stats, footprints, and bathed her. Aurelia was born at 7 lbs, 15.2 ouches, 21 inches long, 14 inch head (plus that fist!). She screamed through most of the bath, but then settled once she had some skin to skin time with daddy while I got to take a shower and get ready to move to our room for the night. 

We moved just after 11pm and were settled in just before 1am when Ben went to sleep. Aurelia nursed often and in between I couldn't really quiet my mind to sleep. I was having a lot of contractions while nursing and the adrenaline rush of childbirth kept me wide awake. Nurses were in and out of our room all night for stats and labs and such, so it was probably a good thing I wasn't asleep anyway. I took a small nap somewhere between 5-6am and then I was wide awake again.

I handed Aurelia over to Ben and they took a little snooze together. I texted my mom that we were ready for the boys to come see us whenever they woke up that morning. A little while later I texted our news to some friends + family, but waited to share her name until Malakai + Desmond and our immediate families had come to meet her. 

Later that morning my mom came with the boys and waited with the rest of my family while Ben brought Kai + Des to meet Aurelia for the first time. They walked in with such excitement, this picture of Desmond's anticipation at the chance to hold her perfectly portrays their feelings. 


Malakai got right down to business and wanted to know her name. He wasn't sure about it at first but he's grown to like it. They marveled at her tiny hands + feet and then quickly asked for a snack. 



Shortly after the rest of my family came in and then Ben's family. It was crowded and noisy but that room was so full of love for our sweet baby girl. A lot of photos were taken and the nurses did tests all around us to prepare us to go home. We were in the car by 1:45 Saturday afternoon, less than 24 hours since we had arrived to labor and delivery the evening before. 


That night, at the boys' request, Ben's mom had them over for the night. It was almost luxurious to be able to focus on just caring for her and getting some rest for ourselves that first night home. Ben made dinner, we watched the football game and even had some evening visitors before crashing hard. 

Ben had a week off of work, which was so wonderful while settling in and recovering from delivery. The boys loved having him home so much that the following Monday was ROUGH when they had to say goodbye. Such a bittersweet moment. 

It's been 3 weeks since our little sweetheart was born and we are falling more in love with her every day. I have felt an overwhelming feeling of completeness since her arrival, especially once our boys were back home with us and settled in. We are getting into some sort of routine with taking Malakai to school in the afternoons, although Desmond has decided this week that he doesn't want to nap. I'm hoping it's a phase but being that he's nearly 3, we could be seeing the end of his naps around here. Malakai has loved helping out, he'll bring me anything I need while I'm nursing or changing a diaper and while it took him 3 days to be ready, he now wants to hold her all the time. 

Thanks for all the well wishes, to those of you who brought meals or are signed up to bring them in the coming weeks, the gifts for baby girl and all the love on social media. We feel so supported and blessed by our community of family and friends. 






Tuesday, September 9, 2014

Introducing Baby P #3...

Well it's all over Facebook and Instagram by now so it's likely not news to anyone that our sweet baby girl was born this past week. Still, here is the official blog announcement with photos that we haven't yet posted anywhere else.

Our 3rd child and our first girl was born on Friday September 5th at 8:27pm. She weighed in at 7lbs 15.2 ounces, is 21 inches long with a 14 inch head circumference. She has plenty of fuzzy hair that is a light brown/dirty blonde sort of color, and big grey blue eyes. 

Aurelia Ann 




Aurelia is pronounced aw-rey-lee-uh and means golden in latin. Ann means grace and  is a family middle name. It's my mom's middle name and is part of the name's of all the girls on that side of the family (mine is LeAnn, my sister's is LouAnn, etc). 

My mom submitted her birthday to the local news and the anchor pronounced her name correctly so for those of you wanting to hear it pronounced watch this little snippet. (The other birthday is her uncle Cody! )






We were so surprised at how much she resembles Desmond when he was brand new and joked that her name was Desmond 2.0 when the family came to meet her. She is developing her own look as the days go by but is still very reminiscent of her big brothers. 


We came home Saturday afternoon and have been enjoying our time as a family of 5. I feel so complete.  I'll be sure to post more about labor and delivery soon. 

Thursday, September 4, 2014

Baby P#3: Due Date



How far along:  40 weeks 

How big is baby: hopefully not too big! I've started to lose weight. 

What have you been up to: getting Malakai ready and off to school
Maternity clothes: I only have a few tops that are long enough anymore!
  
Sleep: I'm convinced it'll get better with a newborn than what little sleep I'm getting now. 
Milestones:  reaching our due date, I've never been pregnant this long! Malakai was born at 39 weeks, 5 days and Desmond was born at 39 weeks. 

Best Moments: Being able to see Malakai off to his first day of school. 
Worst Moment: False labor, I'm so ready for sister to be here!

Food cravings: I don't have much of an appetite lately. 
Food aversions: none
Symptoms: lots of varied discomfort, false labor on the daily

Movement: normal

Gender: girl
What I’m looking forward to: finding out her birth day!
What I’m nervous about/praying for: Facing an induction if we go too far overdue. 

What I miss: sleep. I can't even get comfy enough to take a nap to catch up these days.

Next appointment: I had my 40 week appointment this morning and a non-stress test. Everything looks good. Scheduled an appointment for next week with an ultrasound to check on her growth and fluid levels. 

Weekly wisdom: Trying not to let the constant check-ins from everyone get on my nerves!



Thursday, August 28, 2014

Baby P#3: 39 weeks

{Visiting Kai's classroom}


How far along:  39 weeks 

How big is baby: we shall see soon I hope!

What have you been up to: "nesting" and waiting...
Maternity clothes: all day, every day
  
Sleep: I wake up at about 2-3am every morning and don't get back to sleep til 5-6am. It's so much fun!
Milestones:  reaching the point in pregnancy I was when I went into labor with Desmond nearly 3 years ago. 

Best Moments: snuggling with my boys and enjoying our last moments just the 4 of us before school and baby change everything, in really good ways. 
Worst Moment: anxiety over her arrival colliding with Malakai's first day of school.

Food cravings: chinese food, brownies
Food aversions: none
Symptoms: increased heartburn, breathlessness, contractions all the time

Movement: a little slower, she's running out of room!

Gender: girl
What I’m looking forward to: Meeting our girl, and Malakai's first day of school
What I’m nervous about/praying for: That I don't miss Kai's first day!

What I miss: being able to move at a regular speed, I feel so slow these days.

Next appointment: 39 week appointment was yesterday, I'm hoping not to make it to my due date appointment!
Weekly Wisdom: "Don't fret or worry. Instead of worrying, pray. Let petitions and praises shape your worries into prayers, letting God know your concerns. Before you know it, a sense of God's wholeness, everything coming together for good, will come and settle you down. It's wonderful what happens when Christ displaces worry at the center of your life."  -Philippians 4:6-7, The Message.

Thursday, August 21, 2014

Baby P #3: 38 weeks...



How far along:  38 weeks. The point where I always look tired and am never thrilled with photos taken of me. This may be the last update that includes a picture! 

How big is baby: heavy. at least that's how she feels these days!

What have you been up to: I'm still going crazy getting things ready over here. We've reached the point where we are ready, now it's just maintenance and other side projects that aren't "musts" but would be nice to have done sooner rather than later. I have the hardest time sitting down because I keep thinking of things to do, Ben mandated some rest time for me today and Amy took the kids for a couple hours making it possible. Thanks for taking care of me!
Maternity clothes: not in this picture actually, which is odd because there are very few non-maternity things that I can get to fit this growing belly. 
  
Sleep: has been surprisingly better the last few nights
Milestones: the nursery is done! I will post about that soon. 

Best Moments: Having an impromptu date night last night thanks to my in-laws!
Worst Moment: false labor last weekend. Sunday morning I was up at 3am with contractions and never got back to sleep. That was a rough day and made me more ready than ever to meet our little girl. 

Food cravings: fruit and salads.
Food aversions: none.
Symptoms: lots of contractions and cramping, but nothing consistent or painful. 

Movement: same as usual, lot of big movements. 
Gender: girlie
What I’m looking forward to: I'm just ready to meet my daughter, to be done wondering when she'll be born.
What I’m nervous about/praying for: I'm constantly worrying over (and praying about) her arrival date. I really don't want to miss Malakai's first day of school which is in less than 2 weeks. I'm hoping that she will arrive this weekend or some time this next week.

What I miss: being able to move with ease. Getting up from the floor or sometimes the bed/couch is quite the effort.  

Next appointment: tomorrow morning. 
Weekly Wisdom: everything to God in prayer. 

Saturday, August 16, 2014

family + maternity photo shoot

We haven't been great about documenting this pregnancy in photos, especially consistently posed and timed ones. Also, in an ideal world we would have done some updated family photos at least a year ago, and then some maternity photos much earlier in this pregnancy when I wasn't feeling so swollen...but all those things aside I really love the photos we got today.

My mom came out to our place to take photos this afternoon. We simply went down the street a few blocks to an orchard right next to our favorite park. The lighting was perfect, the weather was comfortable and the boys were cooperative. It was some kind of blessed event!

So here are pictures of my sweet family; Malakai at 5 years old, Desmond at nearly 3 (in October), and baby sister at 37 weeks 2 days. 











Thursday, August 14, 2014

Baby P #3: 37 weeks

{9pm is not the best time to get a good photo...}


How far along:  37 weeks

How big is baby: approximately 18.-9-20.9 inches and 6.2-9.2lbs (quite the range!)

What have you been up to: nesting like crazy. Today alone I cleaned up the boys' toy storage in the garage, added a bedskirt to the crib, made a carseat canopy, had a play date and made a Target run, organized my entire craft cart, rearranged some storage in the garage and the baby's room, set up all her headbands + clips, Ben + I arranged the poms in the photo above and did some other decor brainstorming, plus the usual chores of dishes and laundry and kid wrangling. Ben is currently setting up the co-sleeper in our room. 
Maternity clothes: maternity tanks and maxi skirts during the heat, but thankfully we've had a reprieve and I've been able to wear T's and jeans a couple days. 
  
Sleep: lots of tossing and turning. 
Milestones: full term!

Best Moments: watching my boys play with dolls and stuffed animals, pretending to take care of baby sister. They are so excited to meet her!
Worst Moment: injuring my back last weekend. I was out for a few days and it was super stiff and painful. I can't exactly pinpoint what I did but it was different and worse than my previous injury...and I was JUST discharged from PT for that one! Thankfully I'm doing better, I was so worried I'd go into labor with my back messed up!

Food cravings: chocolate.
Food aversions: none.
Symptoms: aches and pains. 

Movement: lots of kicks and bumps to the ribs. 
Gender: sweet little sister.
What I’m looking forward to: finishing up projects so we can relax and wait for baby girl's arrival.
What I’m nervous about/praying for: I can't help but constantly wonder when she'll be here!

What I miss: being able to bend down without involuntarily holding my breath. 

Next appointment: Last week started weekly visits, so I'll see my doc again end of next week. 
Weekly Wisdom: listen to your body and slow down before you overdo it...I've NOT been doing this!

Monday, July 28, 2014

Baby P #3: 34 weeks




How far along:  34 weeks, 4 days today

How big is baby: comparable to a butternut squash, 17.2-18.7 inches, 4.2-5.8lbs

What have you been up to: we've been busy with our usual July celebrations; 4th of July, our anniversary (7 years married!), and Malakai's 5th Birthday. Now that those have passed we are scheduling out some projects that need done. 
Maternity clothes: always. 
  
Sleep: I've been waking up and unable to fall asleep again for a few hours if at all. Not my favorite new development. It surely makes for long days. 
Milestones: daily contractions. 

Best Moments:  Ben + I went on a mini-getaway this past weekend. It was quiet and very relaxing.

Worst Moment: not feeling baby girl move for nearly half a day, which landed us a quick non-stress test. Thankfully she bopped around with a healthy heart rate just fine for the monitors and we were sent on our way. 

Food cravings:  blueberry cobbler, frozen yogurt.  
Food aversions: anything acidic, heartburn is really cramping my style.
Symptoms: contractions, muscle pains/stretching, sleeplessness, oh the joys!  

Movement: usually a lot, but this past week she's been a bit slower, hence the scare we had. 
Gender: girl
What I’m looking forward to: finishing up some MUST-do's before her arrival. 
What I’m nervous about/praying for: I'm more nervous about the after pains I experienced with Desmond than I am about actual labor! Dr says they get worse with each child and they were horrendous last time around. 

What I miss: not feeling swollen all over. 

Next appointment: in 2 weeks. 
Weekly Wisdom: let others dote on you. I have a hard time asking for or accepting help, but when I do it always turns out well. Shout out to my neighborhood favorite for taking the boys for an hour earlier last week so I could relax and get a few low key things done. 



Thursday, July 10, 2014

Baby P #3: 32 weeks



How far along:  32 weeks

How big is baby: comparable  to a squash, 15.2-16.7 inches, 2.5-3.8lbs

What have you been up to: nesting. we completed our registry at Target save a few online items, and the nursery is s-l-o-w-l-y coming together. 
Maternity clothes: yes, and despite borrowing a ton, I don't seem to have enough of the right types of clothing for how hot it has been.  
Sleep: never enough.
Milestones: baby girl has already "dropped" she is very low and I've still got 2 months to carry her around this way, oy! 

Best Moments:  my nephew Luke was born last Thursday! Kristi + I had prenatal appointments on the same day, July 3rd, so we ended up running into each other briefly. Her husband Nick was sick so she joked that of course Luke would be born that night, and he was! I already love being Auntie Shan so much! 

Then on the 7th Ben took the day off and we celebrated our 7th wedding anniversary all day!
Worst Moment: not having the energy and the stamina to keep up with my boys has taken its toll on me. 

Food cravings:  chocolate and frozen yogurt. 
Food aversions: same as usual, nothing spicy or greasy. Even mild spice these days is inducing heartburn. 
Symptoms: growing pains, tons of braxton hicks and near constant heartburn.  

Movement: quite a lot these days. It seems like she has really started getting more wiggly during the day. 
Gender: little sister!
What I’m looking forward to: getting our glider and completing the nursery.
What I’m nervous about/praying for: being able to juggle 3 children once sister is born. Just thinking about it is a little overwhelming. I'm praying for peace over that on a regular basis.

What I miss: breathing in deeply. little one is crowding my lungs and I'm still struggling with a sinus infection. 

Next appointment: I have 2 more PT appointments. I see Dr. M, my OB again in 2 weeks. 

Weekly Wisdom: pray more. I find myself worrying, or stressing and my first inclination is to vent to my husband instead of taking it to God in prayer. 


{PS check back here soon for a post featuring SwimZip!}
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