Well, in the morning on Sunday I lost my mucous plug, or a part of it. I was like, "Oh No", with Julie that meant that labor was not too far away. So anyway, we all got ready and went to church, I was taking it a little easy, because I was already starting to feel something different going on. It was Ward Conference.
Everyone at church was asking me when I was due and when this baby was going to come. I just kept saying anytime, possibly tonight.
So after church, we got ready to go to Robs parents house for dinner. I was noticing a little back pain with my BH contractions(although they were probably actual contractions now), I was still optimistic that I would make until Wednesday when my doctor would be able to deliver me. We relaxed a bit and then headed over to Robs parents. We had a delicious dinner and then I sat down and used Robs phone to time my contractions. They were around 6-7 minutes apart, and 60 seconds long with back pain. We left so that we could get Julie to bed and I could finish packing my bag and getting everything ready, knowing that this was really actual labor.
So, we got Julie to bed, and while getting her to bed my contractions didn't seem to be as bad, and they felt longer apart. So, then once she was asleep, I finished getting things put in my bag and Julie's bag. While doing this I noticed that I had to stop and hold my back during each contraction and also noticed that I would do one thing, have a contraction, and then go do something else, and then have another contraction. I think this is when I started timing them again, and they were around 1 and a half minutes apart to 3 minutes apart, but the actual contraction only lasted around 30 seconds. I set all our bags by the door and remembered I needed to print Julie's schedule off to give to my mom while she watched Julie for us. I went downstairs to the printer and Rob also took something down and then went back upstairs. I had several contractions down there, and it took me a little while to get back upstairs, Rob was starting down the stairs after me since I was taking so long. So, at this point we were like, so do we go to the hospital or not. My contractions were still kind of sporadic, but still kind of short. And the back pain was getting pretty intense. It kind of happened just like Julie's birth did, as in we both got ready for bed, and I was going to lie down to see if I could sleep through the contractions. Well, I couldn't, so we were still debating so we finally called the hospital and the on call doctor and they basically said to just come in and they can check me out. So, I told Rob, we might as well, just in case. Rob gave me a blessing at this point, love getting blessings.
I called my mom at 12:35, and told her that we needed her to come over because we were going to go to the hospital. We get all dressed again, and Rob went and put everything in the car. My mom got here about 12:50, and I explained a few things to her and just before leaving I had to sit down from a contraction. Then, once that was over, I hugged my mom and we headed out. We got to the hospital and just before getting out, I had another contraction. We finally made it up to the second floor, and got checked in. I told them my contractions were about a minute and a half apart. We got into our room about 1:10, and I got in my gown, which took a while also in between all the contractions. The contractions were getting painful enough that I almost felt like throwing up a few times, but never did. I got on the hospital bed and I was told my nurse was going to be Jolene. I thought, I think I know her, but she lives in Price, so it couldn't be the one I am thinking of. Well, Jolene came in and it was the Jolene that I knew, her and her family moved back up in September and so it was kind of fun to see her and have someone there that I knew. As they were getting everything ready, I got an IV. She first did it in my right arm, and it didn't work so she moved over to my left arm. She got it in that time. After this, I got checked out and was told that I was 8.5 cm dilated. Rob and I both looked at each other and were shocked. I still can't believe I was that far dilated upon arriving. I didn't feel like I was in that much pain to be dilated to an 8.5. So, I kept looking at the clock during contractions and I don't remember the next time she checked me, it was probably like 10 minutes later, and I was a 9. After that, we started seeing more nurses come in, wheeling the baby stuff in. Again, Rob and I looked at each other and were like, "Really, already, we just got here!" So, Rob got the camera out and started taking some pictures, the nurses just kept mentioning how happy I looked and couldn't believe I was almost ready to have a baby and without an epidural.
At this point, the contractions were getting stronger and I also had very strong urges to push. My water had not broken yet, and since my doctor was not in town, I had a doctor that I had never seen before. Not what I wanted, but I knew everything would be fine and that I didn't need to worry. It is just hard when you go through your whole nine months of pregnancy, and the big final outcome, he is not even there. I mean, that is why you choose a doctor, for the delivery, right! Anyways, once the contractions were coming stronger, I really had to focus and breath through them. The doctor came in, and she told me she was going to break my water and that I could push the next time I felt I needed to. I remember asking her, "If you have to cut me, can you numb me first" to which she said "I don't usually cut at all", so then I was like, oh man, I am going to tear. So, I really didn't feel anything when she broke my water except the warm gush of water. Then on my next contraction, I pushed as hard as I could for 10 seconds, since the baby was so low already, she was already really close and they could see her head. I then pushed again really hard and I could feel all the pressure and stretching, and remember saying in between breaths of air and just moaning a little, that "It hurts". I basically keep my eyes closed while pushing, but I do remember opening them and seeing Robs loving face looking at me and then I closed them again. I just wanted that baby to come out, and so I took some more breaths and pushed really hard again. I think this last push was when the baby finally came out. She slipped right out, and I did have my eyes open for this part, as she came out a gush of fluid came squirting out and I think Rob got some on his shoe. What a relief, they placed the baby on my belly and I just remember thinking that the baby was so clean, slippery looking, and smooth. I didn't see any blood on her at all. She definitely was not a gooey baby.
She was born at 1:57am, about 5 minutes after breaking my water. The nurses told me that if my water would have broken at home, that I would not have made it to the hospital. Whoa, scary! With how fast this went, I am seriously thinking that being induced(as much as I don't like it) is looking a lot better and better. For one, my doctor would actually be there. Another natural birth, just the way I like to have it, although I don't think there would have been time for an epidural even if I had wanted one.
So, after having her on my belly for a little while, they took her to clean her off, and I got stitched up, I had a first degree tear. The doctor did numb me, but not all the way, there was a few stitches that I did feel. Ouch! They kept saying how perfect she was, she had good color, got an 8 and 9 on the apgar test. They got her all bundled up and brought her over to me.
So fun to just sit and hold her.
She was perfect, and so different from her sister, she had lighter hair, but still some of the same facial features, the more I look at her the more I can see some of her sister in her, but so different. She cried a lot after delivery. And I was shaky right after delivery and for a little while, so Rob held her for a little while, while my nerves and body calmed down. They brought me in a warm blanket and wrapped it around my shoulders which helped. Just felt like I was shivering from being cold. They finally calmed down. They left us in the room by ourselves for about an hour, before they wheeled us upstairs to our room. It is crazy how many memories came back from having Julie, so many details, seemed just like yesterday that I had Julie while being in the hospital.
Here is Daddy!
They brought me in a warm blanket to help the shivering.
When we got up to our room, they got Melanie ready for a bath. She was not happy, her temperature was a little low for a bath and so I got to do some skin to skin time with her before giving her the bath. She loved it and just fell asleep, so fun!
Screamed the whole time!
Since it was still way early morning, we tried to get some sleep, Melanie stayed in our room and was pretty quiet, Rob got some sleep, but I could not sleep. I don't sleep well on my back or right side. I only really fall asleep if I am on my left side, and well, after just having a baby, I didn't want to move my body around to much to get comfy. So, I tried to at least relax. I didn't get any swelling, since I was not on the IV for very long.
In the morning, I called my Mom and found out that Julie was still sleeping at 7:45, wow. Talked to my mom for a minute and then ordered some breakfast. They do meals differently than last time I was there, they have room service, where you call on the black phone and order your meal from the menu they give you. Kind of cool. You can order whenever and pick whatever you would like. Rob went home to have a shower and get breakfast and then he was going to bring Julie up for a little while to meet the baby. She did very well, and even sat and held the baby with Rob for awhile, until she decided that it would be more fun to explore the room. I sure missed her!
She still won't say Melanie, just "Mama's Baby" or "Baby".
A few pictures of this sweet face, I can see some of Julie in her.
So happy!
So tired, but she is so precious and just love how tiny and cuddly newborns are.
Melanie doesn't open her eyes very often, and they are just little slits when they are open, she definitely has a different look to her, but so many things look the same as well.
I was able to go home Tuesday night, and so we got Melanie all ready and then she had a diaper explosion. We had already packed everything in the car, so we had to ask for another diaper and wipes. We left around 8:30, and stopped at the pharmacy and then went and picked up Julie and headed home. Here she is in her going home outfit.
We set Melanie in Julie's arms on the chair and she just kept talking and talking. She would say, "Baby came out", as in baby came out of moms tummy. It was funny!
From these pictures you can see her talking to the baby.
She has done pretty well, she is a bit more whinny, but for the most part has handled it pretty well. She likes to steal her binky and stick it in her mouth.
Long day and we are all tired, but Julie is not! Haha!
And once we were home, my sister came by to see the baby.
So there you have it, it was short, but took me forever to finish writing it down. I will probably end up updating it if I think of something I forgot to add.
It has been a bit of a struggle nursing her, she has a high palate(or a high arch in her mouth), that makes it so that she doesn't know to suck because the roof of her mouth is so high. So, I have been pumping and pumping and pumping. I met with the lactation specialist at my pediatricians office and she gave me a NUK pacifier and a NUK nipple for a bottle to use. Helps her to actually suck rather than just let the milk spill into her mouth. She also gave me some tips to try out, so far she is doing a lot better. Hopefully it won't take too much longer. I have to do the football hold which is just so awkward to me, but once she gets it down I will be able to hold her however I want.
Everyone at church was asking me when I was due and when this baby was going to come. I just kept saying anytime, possibly tonight.
So after church, we got ready to go to Robs parents house for dinner. I was noticing a little back pain with my BH contractions(although they were probably actual contractions now), I was still optimistic that I would make until Wednesday when my doctor would be able to deliver me. We relaxed a bit and then headed over to Robs parents. We had a delicious dinner and then I sat down and used Robs phone to time my contractions. They were around 6-7 minutes apart, and 60 seconds long with back pain. We left so that we could get Julie to bed and I could finish packing my bag and getting everything ready, knowing that this was really actual labor.
So, we got Julie to bed, and while getting her to bed my contractions didn't seem to be as bad, and they felt longer apart. So, then once she was asleep, I finished getting things put in my bag and Julie's bag. While doing this I noticed that I had to stop and hold my back during each contraction and also noticed that I would do one thing, have a contraction, and then go do something else, and then have another contraction. I think this is when I started timing them again, and they were around 1 and a half minutes apart to 3 minutes apart, but the actual contraction only lasted around 30 seconds. I set all our bags by the door and remembered I needed to print Julie's schedule off to give to my mom while she watched Julie for us. I went downstairs to the printer and Rob also took something down and then went back upstairs. I had several contractions down there, and it took me a little while to get back upstairs, Rob was starting down the stairs after me since I was taking so long. So, at this point we were like, so do we go to the hospital or not. My contractions were still kind of sporadic, but still kind of short. And the back pain was getting pretty intense. It kind of happened just like Julie's birth did, as in we both got ready for bed, and I was going to lie down to see if I could sleep through the contractions. Well, I couldn't, so we were still debating so we finally called the hospital and the on call doctor and they basically said to just come in and they can check me out. So, I told Rob, we might as well, just in case. Rob gave me a blessing at this point, love getting blessings.
I called my mom at 12:35, and told her that we needed her to come over because we were going to go to the hospital. We get all dressed again, and Rob went and put everything in the car. My mom got here about 12:50, and I explained a few things to her and just before leaving I had to sit down from a contraction. Then, once that was over, I hugged my mom and we headed out. We got to the hospital and just before getting out, I had another contraction. We finally made it up to the second floor, and got checked in. I told them my contractions were about a minute and a half apart. We got into our room about 1:10, and I got in my gown, which took a while also in between all the contractions. The contractions were getting painful enough that I almost felt like throwing up a few times, but never did. I got on the hospital bed and I was told my nurse was going to be Jolene. I thought, I think I know her, but she lives in Price, so it couldn't be the one I am thinking of. Well, Jolene came in and it was the Jolene that I knew, her and her family moved back up in September and so it was kind of fun to see her and have someone there that I knew. As they were getting everything ready, I got an IV. She first did it in my right arm, and it didn't work so she moved over to my left arm. She got it in that time. After this, I got checked out and was told that I was 8.5 cm dilated. Rob and I both looked at each other and were shocked. I still can't believe I was that far dilated upon arriving. I didn't feel like I was in that much pain to be dilated to an 8.5. So, I kept looking at the clock during contractions and I don't remember the next time she checked me, it was probably like 10 minutes later, and I was a 9. After that, we started seeing more nurses come in, wheeling the baby stuff in. Again, Rob and I looked at each other and were like, "Really, already, we just got here!" So, Rob got the camera out and started taking some pictures, the nurses just kept mentioning how happy I looked and couldn't believe I was almost ready to have a baby and without an epidural.
So, after having her on my belly for a little while, they took her to clean her off, and I got stitched up, I had a first degree tear. The doctor did numb me, but not all the way, there was a few stitches that I did feel. Ouch! They kept saying how perfect she was, she had good color, got an 8 and 9 on the apgar test. They got her all bundled up and brought her over to me.
So fun to just sit and hold her.
In the morning, I called my Mom and found out that Julie was still sleeping at 7:45, wow. Talked to my mom for a minute and then ordered some breakfast. They do meals differently than last time I was there, they have room service, where you call on the black phone and order your meal from the menu they give you. Kind of cool. You can order whenever and pick whatever you would like. Rob went home to have a shower and get breakfast and then he was going to bring Julie up for a little while to meet the baby. She did very well, and even sat and held the baby with Rob for awhile, until she decided that it would be more fun to explore the room. I sure missed her!
While Julie was here, my sister and her husband came to visit. My sister told me I had to have the baby while they were here visiting, so glad I did so that she could be here to meet the baby before they headed back home. Although, I forgot to get some pictures of them.
After they left, I ordered some lunch and Rob took Julie home, and then came back afterwords. Robs parents came to visit, his Dad was getting over a cold so he didn't get to hold Melanie. Grandma sure looks happy, doesn't she!
My parents also came!
And my brother came too!
It has been a bit of a struggle nursing her, she has a high palate(or a high arch in her mouth), that makes it so that she doesn't know to suck because the roof of her mouth is so high. So, I have been pumping and pumping and pumping. I met with the lactation specialist at my pediatricians office and she gave me a NUK pacifier and a NUK nipple for a bottle to use. Helps her to actually suck rather than just let the milk spill into her mouth. She also gave me some tips to try out, so far she is doing a lot better. Hopefully it won't take too much longer. I have to do the football hold which is just so awkward to me, but once she gets it down I will be able to hold her however I want.
