Welcome to the World, Little One

Yes, that's right. Baby #3 is here, healthy and perfect as can be. And, here is how it all went down...

Tuesday evening (5/5), I was in the hospital for some monitoring when contractions started up. They started up pretty strong, but they weren't lasting too long, or coming consistently. They were measuring on the monitors and gaining strength as the night went on though. We arrived home from the hospital around 7:30, had some dinner and got the girls settled in for bed. Christian and I watched "24" while I did some work on the computer, and the contractions just kept coming stronger and faster. I sent myself to bed around 10:00PM with things picking up, but I didn't see much sleep in my future.

As the night progressed, I started tracking my contractions with an app on my phone. They ranged from 7-10 minutes apart pretty much all night, lasting about 45-60 seconds each, probably about a 5 on the pain scale, and there was no sleep anywhere in sight. Christian woke up in the morning and hopped in the shower, not really aware of what had been going on all night (he was sleeping on the couch). When he finished showering, I told him I didn't think he'd be going to work today...that things were happening and I was pretty sure this was it. We got the girls ready and he dropped them off at school. I took a shower, walked around, making sure things didn't die down with activity. Just the opposite really...as I got more active, the contractions came faster and stronger; more like 4-5 minutes apart, and around a 7 on the pain scale. Christian made me some oatmeal and we called the hospital. Because if my previous c-section and the fact that this is my 3rd, they told me to come in. So, I quick packed my bag and we were off.

We arrived at the hospital around 10:00AM. They checked me into triage, got the monitors going and took down my information. The midwife eventually came in to check me and I was dilated to a 1.5, around 80% effaced and baby was starting to drop, but hadn't made a ton of progress yet. Just like with the girls, the monitors were showing that my contractions were pretty strong, even though things weren't progressing much. The midwife talked to the OB's to come up with a plan, and officially checked me into a room. I was staying, and this was happening, and I was getting VERY nervous!

Once I settled into my room, they hooked up the monitors, took some blood, got an IV going along with an antibiotic for my GBS. I couldn't believe things were actually happening. The first plan of action was to try to get my cervix to soften faster. Because of the c-section I'm limited in induction options, but they agreed to try a transvervical foley balloon. It's a catheter like decvice that is inserted and hooks to the cervical wall. Every 30 minutes or so the nurse pulls on it and the irritation is supposed to help soften the cervix, making the contractions more favorable. It was uncomfortable at first, but didn't take long to forget about. After about 45 minutes the nurse came to pull it, and the whole thing came out. She called the midwife in, unsure if it had just worked faster than expected, or if it wasn't inserted correctly. The midwife checked me and I was dilated to 3.5 now and around 85% effected, so, a little progress.

As time went on, the contractions were becoming pretty unbearable. They weren't "ready to deliver" strong yet, but they were coming non-stop, one after another, and I had quite a ways to go yet. At that point, I gave in and requested an epidural. I was hoping I would be able to avoid it, like with Amelia's labor, but things were just so different, and I was already in so much pain. So, around 2:00PM in came the anesthesiologist, and in went the epidural. I have to admit, it was pretty heavenly then for a while. I spent the rest of the afternoon/early evening relaxing, watching some TV and napping My mother in law came up a while later to bring Christian some dinner and hang out with him for a while since I was pretty out of it. At epidural time, and for quite some time after, I was dilated between a 5 & 5.5, just not going anywhere. It was getting very frustrating. My mom stopped up with the girls around 6:30PM. I was excited to see them, and we were hoping things would progress and maybe they would meet their new sibling before the night was over, but no such luck. They left around 7:45PM and headed home, and my mother in law wasn't far behind.

They checked me again around 8:00PM and I still wasn't going anywhere too fast. The midwife and OB talked again and decided to insert and internal monitor so they could get a good gauge on how strong the contractions really were. After about 30 minutes of monitoring, they agreed to start some pitocen. I expressed some concern over it, just because I know pitocen can be a big leading factor to c-sections, but they felt really comfortable with it, and thought at this point, it could only help things.

At about 9:00PM I was up to a 7/7.5, almost completely effaced and baby was moving down fast. We were finally feeling hopeful that things were progressing, and while the epidural was still keeping my contractions at bay, I started feeling a lot of pressure. The pressure got stronger and stronger, and before long it was almost constant, and I was almost in tears. We called the nurse in and she asked if I felt like I needed to push. In all honestly, at this point, I couldn't tell what was going on. It was so different that my labor with Amelia...with her, I KNEW that I needed to push, there was no question about it, but this time around, it just felt like pressure. At this point, the midwife team had changed, and my midwife, Ann, was actually on duty. That was pretty exciting, she was finally going to delivery my baby for me after seeing her for so many years. She came in, and while I was not quite at a 10, this baby was coming. They got everything set up, took the bed apart, and it was time.

The pain, the pressure, the exhaustion...everything was setting in. I had so many emotions running through me...fear, excitement, anxiety. Pretty much everything. I finally cleared my mine, beared down and pushed. After 9 minutes, I felt the baby come out and a huge relief fall over my body. I couldn't believe it was finally over. I had done it...all of my self doubt and worry didn't matter, I did it. I heard a tiny cry out, looked at Christian and asked him what it was, and with a slight laugh in his voice he said "It's a girl!".

Yes folks, at 9:59PM on May 7, 2014, we welcomed our 3rd baby girl into our family. Meet Eliza Jane, the final piece to our little family puzzle. 7lbs 14ozs, 20" long and perfect as can be!

They placed her on my chest, cleaned her off and I couldn't help but let out some tears of joy. I couldn't believe I was finally meeting this little person, and that I got to feel the joy of meeting our baby for the first time again. There really isn't anything like it. I was just in a daze, in complete admiration for a while. Pretty oblivious to anything going on around me really. Just staring at this new, perfect little person.

Meanwhile, I delivered the placenta and they started cleaning everything up. I did have a couple tears, including a 4th degree, but none of that mattered. I couldn't feel anything while focused on my new little girl. After holding her for a while, and nursing, they took her to take her measurements, footprints, weight...all that fun stuff. I FINALLY got to eat something, and man was I starving! And a short time later they wheeled us up to my postpartum room. The nurse got us settled in, helped Christian give her a bath and we settled in for the night. With that, our lives were completely changed. And we couldn't be more excited about it!

2014 - Week 18

This week didn’t start off too hot. I woke up Monday feeling a bit under the weather. I think too much work around the house this weekend, too much activity, left me feeling drained. I decided to work from home, just in case I started feeling worse. Luckily, I finally have that “gotomyPC” program installed, and seriously, it’s amazing! I can finally do ALL my work from home! It’s ridiculous how excited I am about it, but whatever, it’s awesome! Amidst working the day away, I was surprised with some awesome gifts in the mail from one of my online mom groups…over the weekend I received a couple packs of onesies from them, but it turns out that was just a start. Today I received a big box of diapers, AND the baby swing we registered for. I couldn’t believe it. I don’t know I got so lucky, making so many wonderful friends, but we couldn’t be more grateful for their generosity. The rest of the evening went pretty well. I picked the girls up, we had some dinner and played for a while, and it was bedtime before we knew it. I still wasn’t feeling great, but hoping for a better day tomorrow.

My surprises of the day...

Tuesday did not start out great at all, and took quite a crazy turn. First, the evening was pretty rough…I went to bed with my stomach turning, and it just got worst throughout the night, resulting in me waking up running for the bathroom in the middle of the night. There's nothing quite like a little stomach bug at 38 weeks pregnant, that’s for sure! Needless to say, I started the day working from home again, until I was off for my weekly check-up. At said check-up, I was surprised with a non-stress test (NST) to kick it off. This resulted in one hour of laying around, listening to baby’s heartbeat…always a welcomed sound, but delayed my arrival at work significantly, so I was getting a little anxious (not exactly optimal for a NST). After the NST, I was off to the lab for blood work for a new round of pre-e testing…another unexpected turn, since my blood pressure hasn’t been too crazy this time around. Finally, I met with Ann, my midwife. She checked me and there hasn’t been much progress…still just dilated to 1ish and slightly effaced. Baby is still measuring big, and Ann is still coming off a little pessimistic about my VBAC chances. In fact, she has me coming in on Friday to meet with one of the OB’s for a discussion…seeing that OB’s are not notoriously supportive of VBAC’s, that makes me a little nervous. And, icing on the cake, she has decided she doesn’t want me working anymore. Of course, that’s not really an option, but I compromised to work from home rather than going into the office. She’s not a huge fan, but she agreed. Seriously, an appointment full of surprises! After 2 hours in the clinic, I was finally off to work, to talk to my supervisor about the sudden change in plans, finish off my last day in the office and make sure everything is done and ready to go. It was very strange leaving work, knowing that I wouldn’t be back for three months. It sounds like such a long time, but it’s going to go so fast. I did feel quite a sense of relief pulling away though; it’s definitely less stressful being at home. To end the day, we were all off to Olivia’s kindergarten orientation. We met the kindergarten teachers, saw the classrooms and took a little tour of the school (note, we are still hoping she gets into the magnet school, but haven’t heard back yet regarding the state of the waiting list). Olivia was very nervous at first and wouldn’t really talk to the teachers, but she warmed up towards the end. Amelia on the other hand had no problem introducing herself…I’m pretty sure she thought we were there for her. I don’t think we’ll have any issues with her when it comes time for her to start school. I myself, could hardly keep it together, I can’t believe my baby is starting kindergarten in a few months! I’m so excited for her, but so overwhelmed at the same time. I can’t believe they’re growing up so fast! This day was definitely quite a rollercoaster!

Kindergarten Orientation...AHHHHH!

Wednesday was my first day officially working from home, and it was most definitely much more relaxing! No phone calls, nobody popping into my cubicle to chat or ask questions. I stay in my jammies, put my shows on in the background, settle in on the couch and work the day away. It is a little stressful, only because I’m trying so hard to get as much done as I can, but it’s still much more preferable. This week was supposed to be Olivia’s first week of baseball (Monday and today). Unfortunately, Mother Nature didn’t get the memo, because this week has been a complete washout, literally. It’s pretty expected in the spring, but I’m just a little bummed because she’s nervous about playing, and I’m afraid she won’t have much practice before their games start. I know the whole season is pretty much just a learning experience, but I wish she could get a little non-game learning under her belt before the games start. So, because of the rainout, we had another quiet evening at home.

My little "Littlest Pet Shop" game addict, takes after her mama!

Thursday marked the first day of May…MAY!!! It’s finally baby month. I guess I shouldn’t really say finally, Lord knows time has been flying by. I just can’t believe it’s actually here though. It’s May, and I’m SO ready to get this show on the road! I spent the day working from home again, and it’s still oh so wonderful. I also watched “The Business of Being Born” documentary today, and OH MY GOD, I can’t believe I had never watched it before. This documentary should seriously be mandatory for all expecting parents, it's very eye opening and has a lot of vital information that a lot of new parents should be aware of. I honestly can’t say enough about it. I followed it up by watching their special on VBAC’s, and it was so spot on. I could hear myself in almost everything they said, it actually made me really emotional. It’s a very empowering, and eye-opening, series all around, that’s for sure. And, that was pretty much the highlight of my day. The evening was another standard, fairly quiet one.

On my search for a good TBT picture for this week, I stumbled upon this treat. Our first official family photo, circa 2005. Had me cracking up..

Friday was my day off, but I had two doctor appointments to keep myself busy. First up, I was off for my 3^rd biophysical ultrasound. They didn’t take measurements this time, but they checked fluid levels, baby’s breathing and heartbeat, stuff like that. Again, s/he scored perfect, so there are definitely no worries there. Thankfully! My second appointment wasn’t for a few hours, so I picked my mom up and we headed to the mall to kill some time. We got some walking in, I bought a couple of dresses for Olivia and we had some lunch. We also stopped at Target to get a few things, mainly a helmet and glove for Olivia. I dropped her off back at home, and was back to the clinic for my meeting with the OB. Still nervous and unsure how it would go, they called me back. Surprisingly, the appointment was AMAZING. I LOVED the OB, he was super supportive and really easy to talk to. He doesn’t have any issues with the baby’s size, especially because I have had a successful VBAC, and based on the scans he doesn’t see the baby being ridiculously big anyway, which was reassuring. He didn’t bring up anything about setting a deadline or anything of that nature. Honestly, as much as I love Ann, my midwife, I wish he would’ve been my doctor all along. All in all, the meeting was a HUGE relief and made me feel so much better about everything, which I definitely wasn’t expecting. The rest of the afternoon and evening were pretty low key. I felt like I could finally relax after weeks of chaos and stress and not knowing what was going on. I’m reaching the end, and I finally feel like I can breathe a little easier. Yes, today was a good day!

Saturday was a pretty busy day. We had breakfast and were all off to swim class. After class, I decided it was high time I treat myself to a little pampering, and I decided to get a pedicure. So, I dropped the family off at home, and went on a search of a nail salon with an opening. It was over before I knew it, but it was such a nice, relaxing little escape. I really need to do that more often! Once I was home, it was back to reality and I was on Mom duty, while Christian started taking advantage of the first really nice day we’ve had so far this spring, and started on some yard work. He put out some of the lawn decorations, mowed the grass, fertilized and picked up the post-winter mess and trash. He gets exhausted, but he LOVES his yard, so I think he really looks forward to it. Meanwhile, the girls and I were off to Amelia’s first friend birthday party, for her little BFF Lizzie from school. Lizzie’s mom is one of the teachers at school, so a lot of the teachers were there, and all the kids were from school, even a couple of older ones, so both of the girls had some friends to play with. I got a chance to talk to a few of the other parents from school, which was nice since there really isn’t time for chatting when you pick up or drop off, so it was a pretty fun party for all of us. The girls were pretty exhausted by the time we got home, and lack of naps had them pretty crabby and acting up, bedtime couldn’t come soon enough. Christian headed out for a few drinks with a friend and I watched  few shows before I passed out for the night. Busy day for this super pregnant mama!

Amelia and the birthday girl, Lizzie. So sweet!

Rico is going to be very happy when I actually have a lap again...

Sunday was a pretty lazy day around the house. I did a little laundry, and a liiiiitle bit of picking up around the house, otherwise we really just took it easy, watched some movies, took some nice long naps and relaxed. I think knowing we’re severely limited on opportunities to do that kicked in, so we took advantage…

Christian was giving baby a little pep talk today...

…and, speaking of which, today marks 39 weeks! By this point, Olivia was already born. Amelia came at 39 weeks 5 days, so I have a good feeling this will be the week. I don’t really feel anything going on yet, or nothing too crazy yet. Of course, I’m about as uncomfortable as you can get…lacking sleep, going to the bathroom constantly and feeling like I’m lugging around a bowling ball everywhere I go. I have started to feel more and more pressure with each passing day, so I do think baby is starting to make his/her way down, little by little. I really don’t have much energy left at all at this point, so we’re most definitely in the home stretch. Reality of labor, and delivery, certainly starts to settle in around this time, and is starting to make me nervous. I feel more nervous about it this time around than I did with Amelia honestly…maybe because I actually know what’s coming this time around. But remembering that feeling when baby comes out, knowing that baby is finally here, and seeing baby for the first time pretty much takes over any feelings of fear I may have. So, here we are folks…39 weeks down, and hopefully only a matter of days before our family is finally complete. I CAN’T WAIT!!

Until Next Week! XOXO