Edyn's Birth Story

Let me start off by saying my hopes and dreams for this birth. I was induced with Autumn and "kind of" induced with Kaelyn (I labored on my own, had pitocin for 5 minutes before she reacted poorly and they stopped it). I really, really wanted to try a natural birth. Meaning, no epidural. Am I crazy? Probably. Haha. But I wanted to try. Women do it all the time. I hear amazing things (and horror stories as well) about birthing without drugs. If this was going to be our last pregnancy, I wanted to go out with a bang. I loaded my iPod with Josh Groban music and practice relaxing/focusing on my breathing. I was prepared!!! So now that you know what my "plans" were for this birth, let's continue onto the pregnancy...

We're gonna jump ahead to 35 weeks of pregnancy... I chose not to share a lot of information on facebook about this pregnancy for certain reasons. Being now that she's here, I don't mind sharing with you about this incredible journey and the difficult decisions I had to make.

35 weeks was an abnormal milestone for both Autumn and Kaelyn. We found out that I had low amniotic fluid with Autumn at 35 weeks and that Kaelyn wasn't growing properly at 35 weeks as well. So, of course, when the 35 week mark came, I was a nervous wreck. Thinking of a million scenarios of what could be wrong with Edyn. Praying, praying, praying, that nothing was actually wrong! Needless to say, I was literally in and out of my 35 week checkup in less than 15 minutes. It was a shock for me. A healthy baby. Nothing wrong. Uterus was measuring right on. Her head was down. Nothing out of the ordinary. Even Jordan was surprised at how soon I called him after my Dr appointment. He thought for sure something was going to be wrong as well. I felt a huge weight lifted off my shoulders and thought, for sure, "this was the pregnancy that I had hoped for!", or so I thought...

Two weeks later I had some spotting. Not a huge deal. I wasn't super concerned, especially since I was considered full term at that time. However, I figured that the Dr should know, just in case. I actually saw the Nurse Practioner that day and mentioned that I had some spotting. She suggested to check and see if I was dilated at all or to see if I have had any damage or tears up there. Everything was normal looking, but she couldn't feel if I was really dilated or not. I do know that my cervix is positioned very high and a lot of women have a hard time telling (early on) if I'm dilated or not. She tried pushing Edyn down from the top of my uterus to see if she could tell that way and was unsuccessful. She then mentioned that Edyn might even be breech! :-/ Definitely something I did NOT want to hear!!! I immediately starting having an internal panic attack because I knew what the outcome of a breech baby (this late in the pregnancy) was going to be... C-Section... I was able to have a quick ultrasound to confirm, yes, she was breech. What a little stinker! Two weeks prior she was head down! Do I remember her flipping? No. She must have done it in my sleep or slowly flipped throughout the day without me noticing. Either way, I was not looking forward to my next conversation with the NP...

The NP came back into the room and immediately told me that she was super bummed that her suspicions were confirmed. Also that St. Mary's also does not deliver breech babies (which I kind of figured). So I was given 2 options. I could have an external cephalic version (click the link if you would like to learn more about it) or I could schedule a C-Section. I honestly laughed and told her neither. Ha! But I had to choose. I opted to go home and talk it over with Jordan. This was a Friday morning and I had until Monday morning to decide. I left in tears. This is not what I had hoped for. I kind of knew about ECVs, but didn't know much more than the horror stories I've heard from a couple of my friends. I feared C-Sections. I know technology is amazing and women have them all the time, but I did not want to choose this for myself. I wanted to avoid it unless it was an emergency. I do not handle surgery very well. Not to mention having an incision that I could possibly SEE with my own eyes. Yeah, that just screams "I'm gonna pass out"!

I went home and immediately plugged myself into the computer. Trying to find out as much research as possible about ECVs. What I came across was not appealing to me what-so-ever. I was not comfortable with anything that I was seeing. Not to mention watching a video of the actual procedure made me want to vomit! Again, I was in tears. I was not prepared for this. Never in a million years did I think that any of my babies would be breech. I was breech for my mom and she had a C-Section when delivering me. She survived :-) Speaking of my mom, I was able to call her that afternoon and talk to her as well. My mom, being a nurse, was not comfortable with the ECV and even my dad chimed in and said "absolutely not!" I even mentally wrote out pros and cons of having an ECV done or scheduling a C-Section. Again, neither of them appealed to me, but I had to choose. Jordan was able to make the decision easy for me and said "if I wasn't comfortable with an ECV, then why move forward with it?" So we agreed. Scheduled C-Section it was, under 1 condition... If she flipped on her own before then. I was canceling the C-Section!

So now we had to wait until Monday to schedule. The surgery scheduler apparently leaves early on Friday afternoons (who wouldn't?) and so I had all weekend to be a nervous wreck. Monday morning came and we scheduled the C-Section for the following Tuesday, April 9th at 7:30am. So I would be 39 weeks pregnant at that time. They didn't want to go any earlier than 39 weeks and no later than 40 weeks. Why? I honestly don't really remember anymore. I just know that's what they said. Here's where I go into panic mode again. I was late with both Autumn and Kaelyn. So mentally, I prepared myself for going late again with Edyn. Now that we had the scheduled C-Section, I was "losing" a week of pregnancy, or, losing a week of getting the house ready and food preparations ready (I planned on making frozen meals for our family). I struggled a lot with comments from friends and family about our decision. There was a reason why I kept this off of facebook too. I know a lot of people have their own opinions about situations like this, but in all honesty, it was between Jordan and myself. What I felt was right for Edyn and my body. We didn't need other people to convince us right from wrong. Because there is not right or wrong in a situation like this. Unfortunately there were people with strong opinions and tried to sway me one way or another. It was so frustrating in an already stressful situation! I still feel that our decision was best suited for us (even though we didn't have to follow through).

Now let me back track a second... During my research on ECVs, I came across this amazing website. Spinningbabies.com. This website is super informative and even has several natural ways on flipping your baby in the comfort of your home. I was up for ANYTHING!!! So I tried it. Couldn't hurt, right? I did the inversion exercise, cold pack on top/warm pad on bottom, praying, talking to her, trying to CONVINCE her. ANYTHING!!!! I've even had over 7 people recommend this website to me as well (after I told them my situation). So you know it's good when other people (and midwives) are recommending this site.

A couple of days before my 39 week checkup I noticed that Edyn felt differently. Just something about the way she was moving felt differently. I tried not to get my hopes up. I didn't want to set myself up for disappointment. So I patiently waited for my next Dr appointment.

Sure enough, my suspicions were confirmed... Edyn had FLIPPED!!!! Pretty sure all those silly exercises (and praying) I was doing paid off! One of the first things that came out of my mouth was "cancel my C-Section!!!" Haha. I wanted that GONE!!!!!! I was so incredibly happy, I could barely contain myself. I don't think I could call people fast enough to tell them the news! Pretty sure I was in tears (happy tears) when I called Jordan as well. He was a little bummed that his "vacation" was being pushed, but he completely understood why I didn't want to proceed with the C-Section ;-)  So now came the waiting game...

My due date came and went. Just as I had expected. At my 40 week checkup, we scheduled for an induction (which would be at 41 weeks). Again, not ideal for me. But way better than a C-Section. My Dr was also super hopeful that I would labor on my own. So she scheduled me for a Non-Stress Test the next day (so I'm 40 weeks and 3 days pregnant at this point). No big deal. I've had them probably 1000 times before with the older girls.

That evening I start having stronger contractions. I've been having off and on Braxton Hicks for months at that point. Some were stronger than others. These actually prevented me from sleeping for a while. So I texted a few people to warn them in case I went into labor that night. Of course, nothing happened that night...

The next morning (Thursday the 18th) is like any other morning. I'm awake and downstairs eating my breakfast by 5am because I can't sleep; due to the carpal tunnel pain I have from swelling in my arms/hands. Just before 6am I start feeling those contractions again. I'm trying not to get excited because, let's face it, I've had them off and on for a while. I take note of the time each one of them starts. By the time Jordan wakes up (6:30ish), I've had a few around 10-15 minutes apart. I mention something to Jordan and we decide that he should just go to work because, again, it could be nothing. I should also mention he has a 45 minute drive to work this particular day. So we really didn't want to jump to any conclusions if we didn't have to. An hour later the contractions haven't stopped. The girls are starting to wake up and I notice that the more I'm up and moving around, the closer and stronger they get. At this point they're around 10 minutes apart when I'm sitting and 7 minutes apart when I'm up and moving around. Let's face it, by this time, I'm 99.9% sure I'm in labor. I already had a babysitter coming over at this point because I had a NST scheduled for 9am at the hospital. So it worked out perfectly anyways. I texted Jordan before I called my Dr office to let him know that I was pretty sure I was in labor. He decides to come home and go with me to my NST in case I was really in labor. I tried calling my Dr office, but I was put on hold for too long and figured, since I'm going to the hospital anyways, I might as well just point out while I'm there that I could be in labor.

We get to the hospital, contractions still going strong. I can't talk through them, but I can comprehend what's going on around me during them. There was a mix up at the front desk. Apparently my NST was not scheduled with them (who knows what happened), but I told them I figured I was in labor anyways, so they put me in Triage to monitor me for a while. I was checked in at 9:30am and was told that I was dilated 1-2cm and 80% effaced (I was 50% effaced the day before). After about an hour I sneezed and thought that my water may have broke. So they sent someone in to check. My water actually had not broke at this time (they figured it was the lube they had used to see if I was dilated). But since I had been there for an hour, they checked to see if I had made any progress to determine if I should stay or go home. Sure enough, I had. I was dilated to 4cm!!! Before I went to my labor and delivery room, they had someone come in and do a quick ultrasound because Edyn was breech not 3 weeks prior. Sure enough, still head down (that'a girl). So off to my room I went!

One of the biggest things I had always wanted to do while in labor was use the jacuzzi tub. And guess what? I was able to use it!!! Totally worth it :-D The jets were dumb and we couldn't figure out how to put them on low instead of "so fricken high - let's soak the entire bathroom". Haha. But it was nice to just sit in warm water with my Josh Groban playing in my ear and letting my body labor naturally. At this point, I was pretty certain I was going all natural! Until they stuck me in the bed :-( Apparently they won't let you in the jacuzzi for longer than an hour. Lame. But again, totally worth it.

I was doing pretty good laboring on my back (sigh), but then Edyn had other plans. She stuck her butt right under my right rib cage. Making it very hard for me to take deep breaths. Then she starting moving during each contraction. I'm not talking about a little arm movement here or there. I'm talking full-blown "you're squishing me" movements! It was so ridiculously painful on top of the painful contractions I was already having! I was honestly, doing SO well breathing and relaxing during each contraction. Quite proud of myself if I may add. Haha. I'm horrible with any pain what-so-ever. So around 2:30pm when I was told that I was only dilated to 5-6cm, I had had enough. I decided it was time for the epidural. What's nice was my epidural was in within 15 minutes of deciding that I wanted it. They were definitely on top of things, maybe a little too much. LOL. It's amazing how each epidural I had had was different. With Autumn I felt a little contractions in a tiny part of my uterus. With Kaelyn I felt nothing (which I actually didn't like) and with Edyn I felt the whole left side of just my uterus. The contractions were actually still pretty painful, but they were nothing compared to what I was just going through. And in all honesty, I didn't mind one bit. I enjoy the fact that I can still feel what's going on with my body.

Around 3:30pm - I was laying on my side and I needed a drink of water. So I grabbed a sip but started choking on it. Drinking while laying down is no easy task. But in the process of coughing, my water had actually broke. There was no doubt about it this time. When I told my nurse she laughed and said from the monitor she either thought I was puking or that my water had broke. Haha. The things those nurses have seen ;-)

4:45pm - I started feeling a lot of pressure down below. I called my nurse in to let her know and it seemed like she was taking her sweet time coming in. Jordan and I joked around saying that we didn't need our Dr to deliver this time around. We've done it twice already and could probably do it all on our own. Haha. I even suggested that Jordan stand on one side of the room and I would fire Edyn out so he could catch her for me ;-) Anyways, I told my nurse that I felt like they were pushing contractions. She was skeptical, but checked to see how far I was dilated just in case. Sure enough, I was fully dilated!!! Edyn wasn't quite all the way down yet. So we decided to let my body labor her down some more until I was feeling tons of pressure during each contraction.

5:20pm - We decide that it's time to start pushing. The Dr's and nurse start setting things up. I am sat up in an upright postion. My legs are ready to go, but then I start feeling funny. I get this massive wave of nausea come over me. Then everything starts going fuzzy and then a ringing in my ears so loud I can really hear anybody talking. Seriously? I'm about to pass out just minutes before I start pushing?!?! So I let them know... "I feel like I'm gonna pass out!" Everyone looks like a "deer in the headlights" look. I start taking really slow, deep breaths to see if I can calm myself down. Sure enough, I was able to get out of it without passing out. Phew!

5:25pm - Time to start pushing! Jordan mentioned to me later that he took a peek while everyone was setting up and my "parts" were all exposed. He said that it looked like Edyn was ready to come out! Haha. Watch out world! She's coming full force!!! First push and I'm getting praise like I just won the lottery. Apparently she was sliding down just nicely. 2 more pushes and my contraction is over. So then we wait for the next contraction. We wait, and wait, and wait. Nothing. The nurse couldn't find her heartbeat either. Not because she was having any issues. Only because her heart was directly beneath my pubic bone at this point. The whole time I'm laughing at jokes and talking like any other day. The Dr and everyone else thinks it's funny that I was able to do that while Edyn's head was already halfway out and holding. I was even able to see that she has hair at this point. Amazing! The Dr then suggests that I try pushing without a contraction. Since Edyn did fine during the last one and it was obvious that I wasn't getting another contraction anytime soon. Four more pushes and out comes our little baby girl.

5:35pm - This was the first birth where I was able to really see what happens while our baby is being born. The transition from purple/blue to pink with just one breath... Honestly cannot find the words to describe how simply amazing that is. It's beautiful and simply breath-taking. Watching our baby that started off as 2 separate cells, grown for 9 months inside me, take her first breath...Watching her cry as she continues to take those breaths. All I can do is praise God for this precious miracle. Then thank Him for the 2 precious miracles I already have at home. It's amazing... How a mother is capable of so much love for each child. I wasn't sure it was even possible. It sounds silly, really, but I could feel an empty space in my heart just fill up when I looked at Edyn for the first time. A space I didn't even know was there until I held her in my arms. God is so good!

I will say this... I was not a fan of the Resident that was assisting my Dr during the birth. I'm not sure how many births he had done prior to this one, but I felt like he was probably pretty new. No, he didn't drop Edyn after she came out. Haha. But he did have to have the Dr do step by step of how to hold her while she was coming out. Then he somehow had twisted her while putting her on my belly and her cord started wrapping around her neck. Definitely a sight I did not want to or need to see. I was trying to help get her cord up over her head before they put her all the way down on my belly. It was pretty stuck and I seriously contemplated ripping it off with my teeth. You may laugh, but that thought did cross my mind. Nobody was getting that cord off her neck fast enough!!! Jordan said that he almost looked like he fumbled around with her before he put her on my belly as well. Ugh. So nervous racking! Needless to say, nothing serious happened with her. Just a little scary looking and definitely was not even remotely serious.

This was by far the easiest birth of all 3 of my girls. Even though I was not able to do "all natural" like I had hoped, I am still proud of myself for how far I was able to go unassisted. Not to mention letting my body labor on its own was a better experience than being induced. Totally worth it and so glad I was able to experience it! Not to mention, I didn't tear one bit during the pushing! Not even 10 minutes after Edyn was born I told everyone that I could do it over again. That's how good I felt! And that's how great I feel now. Edyn isn't even 2 weeks old yet and I feel amazing!!! I'm not 100%. I'm still taking it easy. But I've been doing haircuts for the past week and somewhat keeping up on laundry/housework. It's great! I would totally do it over again (wink wink, Jordan)! :-)

Horrible Blogger

Let's face it... When does a mother of two have time to blog these days? I really, really want to get back into the blogging world. I promise! I think I'm having a hard time getting motivation because I can't post pictures. My laptop has completely taken a dump. It's just collecting dust as we speak. So now I'm waiting for tax returns to come and THEN I will start posting pictures!!!

I don't want to overwhelm you with too much, so let's just do a 3 month review...

December

Christmas was a lot harder for us this year because this was our first year alone, in our own home. We really wanted to create our own family traditions, but couldn't do exactly what we wanted this year because we had to accommodate all of our extended families and their schedules. Kaelyn took it the hardest. She was really good for the first event, but by event number 5, she was done for. Wouldn't even nap and just got all around fussy. We wouldn't get home until after 9pm most nights and Autumn goes to bed around 7:30 (8 at the latest). Next year I think we're going to have to say "no" to some things. We just really want to establish our own traditions and really emphasize family time and not crazy time.

We all ended up getting colds right after this. It was no fun for anyone, especially Kaelyn. Autumn wasn't nearly as sick as Kaelyn has been this winter. However, the more Autumn get sick, the more likely Kaelyn will now get sick :-/ It happens. That's life. We just make it the best that we can. Which means mommy gets more cuddle time with Kaelyn :-)

January

Kaelyn officially moved into her crib, in her own room, for the first time in the beginning of January. I was really trying to get the best video baby monitor that worked well with Autumn's for Kaelyn's room. I love, love, LOVE being able to see both the girls at night. Makes for a lot less trips getting out of bed to see what's the matter. Also, Kaelyn is a super quiet sleeper, so I didn't mind having her in our room for as long as she was. Autumn, was out by 5 weeks. Haha. Kaelyn also tricked me by "rolling" over, twice, but it was a fluke. She didn't do it again for another month. Kaelyn goes to her 4 month checkup this month. She's still outgrowing Autumn in comparison (which is still strange to me, since she was so much smaller). Kaelyn's stats were: Weight - 15 lbs 6 oz (80th), Height - 25 3/4" (96th), and Head Circumference - 42cm (85th) Jordan and I think that Kaelyn will eventually be taller than Autumn. She is just growing so long and yet she's still super chunky! We LOVE her double chin (or I call it her double neck). She smiles at anyone and everyone. She also took her first bottle from Jordan. I had to run and errand and she woke up from a nap early and wanted to nurse. So Jordan grabbed some breastmilk, warmed it up and gave her a bottle. She took it like a champ!!! That makes for some nice date nights ahead!

Autumn is really starting to show interest in Kaelyn. She won't share her toys, but she will acknowledge that Kaelyn is there and will talk to her every now and then. I made it a point to make sure that I spend time, daily, playing with Autumn. One on one. Making our play time more purposeful and a learning experience for her. I also start working out on a daily (or every other day, hehe) basis. Brings my energy level up more so that I can spend more time with Autumn and less time on the couch. Autumn also loves working out with me. She tries, so hard, to do everything that I'm doing. It's hilarious and a lot of fun for both of us. When I'm all done and super exhausted, she wants to do more. Best motivation coach ever!

I get super motivated to work on my salon. I get it all cleaned out, primed the walls and ceiling (I loathe painting ceilings). Then I paint all the walls!! Now I'm waiting for the floors to be done so that I can move everything in and start working in my salon :-) I'm super excited to get my business at home up and running!!! Jordan left for Tennessee for 2 weeks at the end of January. It was really hard for him and especially us. Kaelyn has no idea, but she's growing so fast at this age and Jordan feels like he misses out on so much. Autumn isn't really sure what's going on and asks for daddy on a daily basis. She eventually started crying for him by the end of the 2 weeks because he wasn't going to be home. However, this time was definitely a marriage builder for us. We were really able to work on our communication skills during this time and was definitely a huge turn around for us :-) He, however, won't be leaving that long for a LONG time ;-)

February

Kaelyn masters her bouncy seat!!! She can kick her legs just right where she can bounce herself and boy, can she BOUNCE!!! It's hilarious and sometimes makes Jordan a little nauseous. Hehe. We put her in an exersaucer to see how she would handle that. She tried bouncing, but it was too hard for her. So I sold that and invested in a jumperoo. She can she get going and bounce like crazy in that! She loves all the music that comes with it. She especially loves that Autumn's jealous and will stand there and play with the toys in hopes that Kaelyn will get out so she can get in ;-) Kaelyn is now officially rolling over, from tummy to back that is. The funny thing is... She's only done it in her crib. Several times already! Even today for nap time, I had to put her back on her tummy twice before she fell asleep. She's cooing like crazy. Loves to have a "conversation" with you. Just started using her Ms recently. "Mama" won't be too far around the corner ;-) She LOVES watching Autumn play. Autumn will read her books from time to time. Kaelyn also loves our kitties. They like coming by her and she'll pet them and pull their ears. They sure do tolerate our girls very well.

Autumn's talking is getting clearer and clearer and she's saying some of the funniest things lately. I really have to start watching what I say around her these days too. I make sure that I don't swear around our girls (I'm working on just not swearing in general... yikes). But that doesn't mean "Oh my gosh" won't slip my mouth every now and then... Well, apparently Autumn caught on and the first time I heard her say "UGH!!!!! OH..... MY..... GOSH!!!!!!", I couldn't help but laugh because she said it the exact same way I do, even the tone was down. So I paid attention to what I say and apparently I say it more often than I would like. Now I'm trying to work on Autumn not saying that and saying something else. Temper tantrums are a quite large and often right now. I couldn't figure out what was different and why she was doing that so much, until I looked in her mouth... 2 of her two year molars are coming in. That would definitely explain her acting out! So I ordered her a new Baltic Amber necklace to hopefully help her out a little bit. Not to mention that we all got another cold and just got over it the past week or so. Autumn even ended up with a slight fever for a day. Yuck! Potty training.... Oh how I loathe those 2 words. Haha. I keep trying to start, but something keeps coming up. I especially didn't want to try during her cold. So, now I gotta start back up again. I swear it's potty training the parents and not the kids. Now I know why everyone dreads this stage in life. The first day I tried, I had to change my socks 3 times before lunch time. Haha. Oh dear. I'll get there. I'll buckle down. I have the tools I want to help me. Now if only Kaelyn would get on a consistent schedule to help me out ;-)

Jordan took his Journeyman's Exam to become a licensed electrician a couple of weeks ago. He worked so hard at studying for that exam. I am so proud of him! I know he did really well! Now we're just waiting for his results in the mail. It could be up to 30 days after he took the test. Crazy, I know!!! Jordan also decided to take down the walls to the "man cave" in our basement to open it up. It looks so great and he did a really nice job cleaning up ;-) I can't wait til everything's finished down there!! Jordan has worked so hard on our house so far, and there's still so much to do. He's basically overall amazing <3

Well, I hope you enjoyed a recap of the past 3 months of our life. I'm sure I missed a few things, but basically emphasized on the highlights of it. I'm looking forward to getting into the blogging world again. I do miss it and I miss all the encouraging words and comments from everyone. Know that anything and everything you post is important to me and I love to share my journey in life with you guys!

2 months old... what?!

I feel like I have a pattern... Not blogging as much with a newborn around the house. Definitely different this time around as well... I have even less time to blog! Not to mention that I feel bad for not being able to post pictures either. I so desperately need a new laptop!!! :-(

Kaelyn is officially 2 months old now. My, where has the time gone? She's starting to get on a schedule. Usually wakes up around 6:30-7. Likes to stay awake for 30 min and then goes back to sleep for 2 hours. Awake for an hour, back down for 2. She cluster feeds from 5ish-7ish. So basically she's attached to my hip or boobs that whole time. Of course, right during dinner. Then she's down for the night. Waking every 4 hours to nurse.

Speaking of nursing. Definitely having more difficulty this time around. Kaelyn is an "indecisive nurser". She thinks she wants to nurse, my milk lets down, she decides she didn't really want to nurse and leaves it at that. Or she decides that she really wanted the other side instead and will nurse that side dry. Well, that's been a little problem for me. It first started off as a clogged duct. I woke up one morning and my left breast was a little sore. Thought nothing of it. Autumn likes to jump on us sometimes and I figured she might have hurt me more than I thought she did. The next day, however, I started getting really achy, chills, almost like I was getting the flu. I got suspicious of mastitis (an infection from a clogged duct in the breast), so I called my mom and asked the symptoms. The only one I didn't have was a high fever, but everything else fit. So I was told to pump, pump, and pump! Warm compress on my sore breast and make sure it was empty all the time. Kaelyn evened helped (which was a shock: most babies don't like the infected breast because the milk might taste funny). She was really good at nursing only that side and emptying it out pretty well. I still pumped, only less than 1/4 oz came out. It wasn't enough to store and I didn't want to throw it away... So I gave it to our cats. Who LOVED it!!! :-) It's now their special treat if I don't have enough to store. They now come flying from wherever they are if they hear my pump turn on. Haha! Anyways. The clogged duct cleared up and I prevented mastitis from even coming.

The next week came and I again, woke up with a sore breast. I knew what to do this time so I started right away. However, by 12pm that same day it hit me. I was on the couch the rest of the day. High fever (102.8), achy, chills, pounding headache and just all over weak. I have never felt so sick in my life!. It is absolutely amazing how something so small can affect me so much! I then went on a 10 day antibiotic to help clear it up. Jordan came home early from work to help out. He was amazing.

The day after my 10 day antibiotic period I started getting a sore breast and fever again. It didn't get as high (99.9), but still starting to feel the symptoms of mastitis again. So I called my Dr. and she thinks that the first round of antibiotics didn't kill off the infection completely. So she prescribed another 7 day antibiotic instead. This one, honestly, was annoying. LOL. I had to take it every 6 hours on an empty stomach. 1 hour before eating or 2-3 hours after eating. So it was hard to try and coordinate meals around the antibiotics. I am happy to say that I am done with those and mastitis free! Now only if Kaelyn will cooperate with nursing more often ;-)

I'm not sure what it is with Kaelyn and nursing. She's super picky on her position and which side. Sometimes I can get her to nurse normally (across my body). Other times I have to lay on the couch or bed with her. Again, this is so different for me. Autumn was a "nurse one side, burp; nurse the otherside, burp and done". End of discussion. Oh well. I'm still thankful that Kaelyn wants to keep nursing and I hope she wants to continue as long as Autumn did.

Kaelyn is starting to coo on a regular basis. She loves talking to her daddy. She imitates him so well! I love watching those 2 together. She smiles all the time. Recognizes so many people already (my family and parents) and is just in general an overall happy baby. She loves watching Autumn play. She's still sleeping in our room at night. I ordered a video baby monitor for her room that I'm not super impressed with. So it's in our room (that way she can nap upstairs) but then I don't have to worry about not hearing her at night. She's a quiet sleeper. Autumn wasn't (she was in her own room by 5 weeks). Eventually she'll make it into her own room. But for now, I don't mind having her in our room.

Well, this was quite the update about Kaelyn. I fall in love more and more everyday with this little girl. Watching her personality come alive and noticing how different my 2 amazing girls are. I plan on updating about Autumn tomorrow. Maybe pictures even? :-)

Family of 4!

It's definitely hard to sit down and have time to blog these days. Any mother who has 2 or more children know exactly what I mean ;-) I'm absolutely loving being a mother of 2 now. It is a lot harder, but I am blessed with 2 amazing girls who definitely keep me on my toes! A recap of the past couple of weeks...

We took Kaelyn in a last week for her 2 week check-up. I was completely shocked by her weight. My mom and I were guessing what we thought she would be at... Definitely not 8lbs 1oz!!! Such a big girl :-) She also grew an inch from the previous week. She is not 21 1/4" long. She is going to be SO tall!!! She's still growing like a weed. Her double chin has probably tripled since she was born (hehe). My mom and I looked her over while giving her the first bath at home. We've determined that the reason why her tummy looked so small in the ultrasound is because it's so LONG! She's got such a long torso. So right now she doesn't have a buddha belly... She has a very wide (sideways) belly and a super skinny waist. Very different than what Autumn was. I also learned yesterday that I can't have broccoli when nursing. Ugh, yesterday was awful. I was in tears almost all day. Kaelyn was super gassy, very uncomfortable and woke herself up screaming during her naps. So she didn't sleep much during the day and just wanted to cuddle. But then she would get uncomfortable and didn't want to cuddle anymore. Like I said, it was a long day... Thankfully she got it out of her system during the day and slept great at night! Next week she'll be a month old... I can't believe how fast time has gone already. I can't wait to find out how much she weighs now!!

Autumn is, well, Autumn. Haha. She's her own person and wants to do everything herself. Even if it means throwing a tantrum (something I can't wait to work on once I get a book I ordered). She doesn't really care about Kaelyn. Could honestly go an entire day without even looking at her if she wanted to. She loves Dora and Deigo and honestly, we probably watch them a little too much right now. However, it's so hard with Kaelyn unpredictable schedule to actually do anything with Autumn right now. That'll change soon :-) Other than that, Autumn decided that she wanted to wake up earlier in the morning now. Anywhere from 6:30-7 instead of the normal 7:30-8. So that's quite a change for me. But Kaelyn's been also waking up at the same time so it's not horrible. Just harder to get things going with breakfast in the morning. Not like I can tell Kaelyn to wait a couple of minutes while I make Autumn toast... LOL

As far as I go... I feel great!!! I actually started doing hair 3 weeks earlier than expected. It's crazy how much better I feel this time around. I could pop out another baby if I wanted to ;-) With Autumn I was bed-ridden for 2 weeks and then barely moving around by the 6 week mark. This time around I was able to walk around and take a shower while in the hospital. We actually left a day early because I felt so great. I've even taken 3 walks already with the girls! I can't wait to start exercising because I wanna lose 30-40lbs before my best friend's wedding in April. I actually ordered a work-out system made by a mother for breastfeeding mothers. That way I won't have to worry about losing my milk supply while working out.

Jade could care less that we've added another baby to the house. We didn't really introduce Kaelyn to Jade like we did with Autumn. Jade just kind of looked at us like "oh, another one of those" and moved on. LOL. Our cats, however, are driving me crazy!!! They're so noisey and nosey. They get into everything and I even found Libby sleeping in Kaelyn's bassinet one morning, while Kaelyn was in there. Yeah, she went flying (Libby, not Kaelyn, hehe). The cats are always going into her room and stealing her socks. Getting hair on all of her swings and bouncy seats. Even try to climb on Kaelyn while I'm nursing her. Yeah, they're still kittens, but sometimes I want to throw them on the streets... UGH!

I wish I could post some pictures on here. I've taken some super cute ones over the past few weeks. However, my laptop absolutely will not turn on. And Jordan's laptop doesn't have a slot for the SD card... And I can't find my cord to my camera. So, I'm stuck only posting phone pictures on facebook for now :-( I hope I can post pics soon. It's crazy how much Kaelyn has grown!

Another beautiful beginning!

I've always loved reading these (and writing my own)... Birth stories. The miracle of life. Bringing another human being into this world. Absolutely amazing and truly a gift from God. No other way of explaining it. I'm also amazed and touched by how different my 2 experiences have been. I thought, for sure, that they would be somewhat similar. Since I was induced with Autumn and scheduled to be induced with Kaelyn. However, I learned very quickly that no 2 births, or pregnancies for that matter, are the same.

If you've been regularly following my blog, you've learned that Kaelyn was having some minor issues right around 35 weeks. My uterus starting measuring smaller than it was supposed to be, right around "2 weeks" smaller. My doctor's don't like to go any smaller than that and after 1 month of being that much smaller, they decided to have an ultrasound to make sure Kaelyn was growing. Everything looked normal in my first ultrasound until my Dr. looked at the numbers more closely. They realized that Kaelyn's tummy was measuring smaller than the rest of her body. So then my Dr. sent me to an OB specialist. I went to the OB specialist 3 times to monitor her growth, my placenta and the umbilical cord. He told me that the number one reason why her tummy wouldn't be growing is because of placenta failure. Every ultrasound looked great. Nothing wrong with the placenta and umbilical cord. She was growing, just not as quickly as hoped. However, she was growing. Towards the end of my pregnancy the OB specialist decided that it was best not to go past my due date. Because the risk of placenta failure is even higher and in my situation he didn't want anything to happen to Kaelyn. Totally fine by me.

I was scheduled for an induction on my due date (Thursday, Sept 22nd) at 8pm. I had to call the hospital at 6pm to confirm if they had a room ready for me. Just because I was "scheduled" did not mean that I was getting in right away. I understood that, but I was still hopeful. So I called... and they were busy. So I was asked to call back at 9pm. And I did. They will still busy. Apparently every woman in Grand Rapids went into labor that night. So they asked me to call back the next morning at 6am. Then at 8:30. Again at 11. And again at 1. Did I mention that I had to call back at 4? Things were starting to look up around that time. One woman actually delivered and another one was about to as well. So they told me to call back at 6. I did and they said they would be ready for me around 7:30-8ish :-D YAY!!! Finally. Only 24 hours after I was supposed to be in. It was definitely a rough 24 hours for Jordan and myself. We were on edge, anxious and a little grouchy that whole time. We couldn't really plan anything because we had only a 3 hour period of time in between each phone call. So after a tearful goodbye to Autumn, we were on our way to the hospital.

Let me back track a bit here a second. I started having my own contractions Wednesday before my due date. They weren't regular, but they were painful. Enough for me to notice and even breathe through some of them. I was still talking through them and they weren't consistent, not even for an hour, so I never called my Dr. to let them know. Thursday night I had my first bloody show. It was exciting for me because that meant my cervix was moving. So maybe they didn't have to ripen my cervix at all when I had to be induced. Friday morning my contractions went away. Disappointing. Friday evening they started back up again and I got my next bloody show. So again, hopeful.

Now we're in the hospital. Friday evening (the 23rd). Getting checked in, excited that Kaelyn's arriving soon. Anxious that I'm about to be induced, again. My nurse (who is absolutely amazing) checked to see if I was dilated. She noted that my cervix was a little high and she wasn't quite sure if she could reach it (she had short fingers). So she took the safe route and said that my cervix was closed. Very disappointing. After 2 bloody shows, you'd think that something was happening up there. After a while my Dr. comes in and checks herself. She was able to reach and said that I was already 4cm! NO WAY!!! I couldn't believe it. 2cm maybe, but not 4cm already! By myself. And the contractions weren't even that bad. I was super excited. That meant that we didn't have to ripen my cervix at all. Which meant that Kaelyn was coming that much sooner!

I was starting to contract on my own. They were getting a little more regular so they figured they would watch me for an hour and see what happens then. An hour later I was dilated to 5cm. Woo hoo! Keep 'em coming. My Dr. decided to break my water because my contractions were slowing down a bit. She figured this would speed things up for me. Which it did! Not only that, but they got THAT much stronger. The doctor also wanted to do an internal monitor on Kaelyn since it's easier to really calculate the contractions. And since she was already "down there" breaking my water, she figured to put it in as well. I already knew I was going to have an epidural if I was going to be induced. And since I stayed at 5cm for another hour, I went ahead and got the epidural knowing that pitocin was next.

This is where I finally broke down. Waiting for the epidural. I was on the edge of the bed, and I broke down in tears. At first I wasn't sure why. Jordan was great at comforting me and not pushing me for answers. But once I calmed down and thought about it, it hit me. The stress and anxiousness of the 24 hours before, the fact that I was about to get an epidural (I hate needles) and the realization that Kaelyn was coming, soon, just flooded right through me. It was so overwhelming. Now mix those emotions during a contraction, while getting an epidural that was WAY more painful than I remember (apparently it was hitting a nerve before the medicine went in) and ugh, I was a wreck. Jordan even had a hard time calming me down. As much as I love the epidural, that was definitely not what I remembered.

So now the waiting game. I got my epidural around 12:30am Saturday (24th). I figured another 6 hours before we got to meet Kaelyn. We we really hoping to have her before the shift change (at 7am) because again, our nurse was wonderful and she really wanted to be there for us.

Around 2am Kaelyn started having some difficulties. After almost every contraction, her heart rate would drop. Sometimes dangerously low. We did a lot of turning from side to side on my part. Trying to make things comfortable for her. Each time I turned it would work for a while. But eventually she fell back into that pattern again. My Dr. first suggested stopping pitocin all together. They wanted to give Kaelyn a break from the intense contractions. Not that it mattered to me, because I wasn't feeling them at this time ;-) However, shortly after that my Dr. decided to replace some of the fluids back into my uterus to make her environment more comfortable for her. This definitely made an improvement. However I did not end up getting much sleep at all. I was constantly looking at the monitor to see if Kaelyn's heart rate would drop. I was so nervous for her and even more nervous that I would have to have an emergency c-section to get her out (definitely wasn't part of my birth plan). However, my nurse reassured me that it's not a constant pattern and only if her heart rate didn't come up would they have to do an emergency c-section.

They actually ended up not giving me pitocin again after that. My uterus was contracting on its own at a very steady rate again. Around 3:45am I was checked to see how far dilated I was. 6cm and 100% effaced. I was now getting more excited that things were moving again, but what happens next was a complete shock to me...

Right around 4:05am I was again, watching the monitors and noticed that Kaelyn's heart rate dropped really really low. I tried turning to my side as much as possible. The next contraction it happened again, only with a lot of pressure down there for me. I didn't think twice about it. I was more concerned for Kaelyn. The nurse quickly came in and suggested checking to see how far dilated I was... 10cm... I couldn't believe it. Completely dilated and her head was in the +2 position. She asked me if I was feeling the urge to push and I told her that I was. So my nurse called the Dr's while I'm fighting with all my might not to push. Once they're starting to set things up they have me give a practice push. Next thing I know I hear my nurse yell "STOP!" and Kaelyn's head was already half way out. So now I have to wait again, for them to finish setting up while Kaelyn's head is chillin' there. This to me was insane. I told my nurse that my goal was to push Kaelyn out within an hour. Since I pushed for almost 3 with Autumn. I definitely did not expect to have her head halfway out with only one push. This was at 4:15am.

Several pushes later (even one where I rubbed her head, hehe) out came her head. Not to mention all of the fluid that they were giving to her came out too. It literally sprayed up the left side of my face, over my pillow and onto the wall. Like someone took an 8-10oz glass and threw it at me. Haha. Everyone in the room said that they've never seen that before. It definitely threw me off guard and I forgot that I had to push the rest of her body out...

4:36am. My world stops. No words in the world can describe this feeling. You think you don't have enough room in your heart for more love once you've had your first child. But somehow, there's a way. Kaelyn is now laying on my tummy, crying her sweet little cry and I just melt. Nothing else matters. She's here, she's crying, she's healthy and I love her. Jordan's and my world has changed. We couldn't be happier. Here we are seeing our second baby girl for the first time. We are in love.

She's not much different than Autumn. Doesn't cry much. Once she's placed on the table she stops crying and starts looking around. So sweet. She's a tiny 6lbs 7oz and 19.5 inches long. I'm honestly in shock. I couldn't believe that she was there within 15 minutes of me pushing. Not to mention that I was only dilated to 6cm less than an hour ago. It took me quite some time to actually grasp the idea that she was actually there. Even when I was holding her. It all happened so fast! We did our skin to skin time and she was rooting like crazy! Nursing came without a problem once again and she's growing wonderfully.

We were able to go home a day early. I felt absolutely wonderful (even though I did tear my cervix really bad and had a 1st degree tear as well), but I felt like I almost didn't give birth at all. Minus the numb butt from the hospital bed. Kaelyn was doing great as well and both my Dr. and the pediatrician on call was comfortable with us going home early.

Now we are here. Family of 4 and we couldn't be happier. Autumn is adjusting, as any 2 year old can. She gets mostly jealous at night when it's mommy and her time (bath time and bed time). But within a couple of weeks, I'm sure it won't even matter any more. I didn't get much pictures in the hospital. Because I left my camera at home. But enjoy (for now) a few of my favorite pictures from the day we came home.

Side-by-Side

Had my 39 week check-up today. Along with one of my many, many non-stress tests. Kaelyn did amazing today. Moving right away and constantly. She wanted to get in and out, that's my girl :-) Met with one of my doctors (first time meeting her, she's new but I like her) and she mentioned that it's up to my OB specialist that I've been seeing to determine how far he wants me to go in this pregnancy. If she's not growing enough, then they'll induce me. If she is, then they might let me go as far as 42 weeks. UGH! I pray they don't let me go THAT long :-/ She also checked to see if I was dilated at all... NOPE!!! But I am "soft" and things could move. I was kind of disappointed. Ha. I was already dilated with Autumn at this point. But that usually doesn't mean anything. I'm also measuring even smaller than I have before. I'm measuring at 36 weeks right now. My other doctor's don't like patients to go above or below 2 cm and I'm 3 cm below. So it's a good thing I have an ultrasound tomorrow. As much as I want to have Kaelyn this weekend, I do pray that everything is okay in there.

So, I'm sure I will update you after my ultrasound tomorrow. For now, enjoy a side-by-side survey (Kaelyn's pregnancy is in bold and Autumn's pregnancy isn't) and also enjoy a side-by-side photo. Boy do I look HUGE with Autumn!!!



How far along? 39 weeks (39 weeks)
Total weight gain/loss: Ugh! I was doing so well. Now I've gained a total of 33 lbs... Blah :-( (You're gonna laugh... Gained 49 lbs (UGH) It's sad, I weigh more than my husband!!!)
Maternity clothes? Like there's anything else to wear... LOL (Definitely about to wear my Dad's clothes now (and he's a big guy).)
Stretch marks? Adding a few more on my sides this time... Oh, and my belly button too. Weird... (Oh yes :-) Starting to get a few on my sides.)
Sleep: It's interesting to read my sleep schedule that I had with Autumn because it's totally different now! I am SO glad we spent the extra money and got a tempurpedic bed!!! Now I usually go to the bathroom once within 10 minutes after climbing in bed. Then I wake up around 2:30-3ish and go again. Then I'm fine until the morning. Sigh, so much better than what I was doing with Autumn! (Sleep is over-rated. HA! Here's my schedule. In bed around 10pm. Get up and go to the bathroom every half hour until around midnight. Up around 2:30am to pee. Back to sleep til around 4:30/5ish to pee again. Up at 6am to make Jordan's lunch then FINALLY able to sleep til around 10:30am. SIGH!!!)
Best moment this week: That I didn't have to have 3 non-stress tests this week. WOO HOO!!! (That I'm dilated! WOO HOO!!!!)
Movement: Kaelyn is a moving machine still. She likes to push my uterus sides all around. Looks funny and Jordan thought it even looked painful (which it can be sometimes). (Autumn's finally maturing in there so her movements aren't so jerky anymore. I feel like she's in slow motion right now.)
Food cravings: Not really craving anything right now... Weird huh? (Pickles and ice cream (but not together))
Gender: Haha, again, still a girl! (Still a girl :-) Confirmed it in 3 ultra sounds!!!)
Labor Signs: Had a lot of Braxton Hicks contractions last week that I was hoping would progress into labor, but it stopped after a couple of days. Very disappointing :-( (A few contractions here and there, but nothing too serious.)
Belly Button in or out? OUTIE!!! (Definitely an outie!)
What I miss: Being able to move in general without being in pain. Oh, and I miss wearing my cute clothes! (Being able to get in and out of bed without being in so much pain!!!)
What I am looking forward to: Same thing, being able to hold Kaelyn and introduce her to Autumn!!! (Holding Autumn in my arms and giving her lots and lots of kisses!!!)
Weekly Wisdom: I guess I don't have any... Ha... lame... (Walking is your friend! I feel so much better since I've started walking again!)
Milestones: SO CLOSE!!!!!!!!!!!!! COME OUT KAELYN!!!!! (SO CLOSE!!!!!!!!!!!!!)
Realization of the week: It all comes down to what my OB specialist says at tomorrow's ultrasound. I could have Kaelyn this weekend or I could have her as far as 3 weeks from now. My regular doctors wouldn't mind letting me go to 42 weeks. Wow... :-( (Seriously will have Autumn in no longer than 2 weeks (my doctor won't let me go more than 7-10 days past my due date). AHHHHHHHHHHHH :-D)

Happy (almost) Birthday Autumn!

I've always said that I would never do a character themed party... But if you've ever met Autumn, you'll know that her FAVORITE character is Dora! She would live, breathe and sleep Dora if she could. And since she's about to become a big sister (any day now), how could I not give her the party of her dreams?! :-) I decorated the house with a bunch of Dora stuff, Jordan filled up pink and orange balloons for her to play with and a friend of mine even made Autumn a Dora cake. It was amazing! Autumn had a BLAST!!! I got a video of her seeing the decorations for the first time. Priceless. I had to hold back the tears. I absolutely love my "almost" 2 year old to death and it was so great to have family over to celebrate her! So please enjoy some pictures from her special night!