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Monday, August 26, 2013

Introducing Miss Rachel!!!


Rachel Kathleen, 8lb10oz, 21.5", Aug 9 2013
Our beautiful little girl Rachel Kathleen has joined the family!

Rachel was due August 23rd. Because I started my school semester on the 21st I really hoped she would make her entrance a few weeks sooner. Not only that but I had gestational diabetes this pregnancy and they don't like you going overdue if you have that. So my midwife agreed to try doing a membrane sweep at my appointment when I was 37w5d. It made me have some contractions and feel very crampy but that was it, so I went back the next day for another sweep, which also gave me crampy sporadic contractions. The cramping and contractions died down by bedtime that day and when I woke up on Friday the 9th at 38 wks, there was nothing at all going. I really felt that labor was not going to happen that day.

37w2d
That afternoon I had to go pick up one of my foster sisters so she could stay at our house for the weekend while my mom was out of town. A few minutes after I got home with her I headed up to the bathroom and suddenly had a few small gushes of fluid. At first I thought I just took too long getting to the bathroom, but after I finished up my business and got changed and headed downstairs I had a few more gushes and started to believe my water had broken. It was about 2:15pm. This was a surprise to me as I've never had my water break until well into active labor/transition. I let Hubby know and told him that I wasn't having contractions yet so he could finish up at work and not to hurry. I also let my family know so that my mom and birth mom could head here from out of town and told Hubby to call my midwife (my phone had been dunked in the toilet a few days before and was dead, nice timing right?!) and to let his mom know too. 

My sister Kelsey showed up with her husband and son around 4pm. I finished grabbing a few things for my hospital bag that was already packed and then they watched my kids while I hopped in the shower around 4:30 to see if I could get some consistent contractions. By the time I got out of the shower around 5 I was having contractions 4-5 mins apart. My brother and his wife had showed up by then (they were going to help watch the kids while I was in labor) and Hubby got home around 5:15. I ate a granola bar and grabbed my hospital bag and everything I was taking and we (me, Hubby, sister) left for the hospital around 6pm.

In triage
Around 6:20 we got there, my midwife was already there for another birth and was excited to see me, and they put me in a triage room to check me and monitor contractions. I was 4cm and 80% and my water had definitely broken and contractions were about 4 mins apart. They finally moved me to a L&D room around 7:30 where I got hooked up to the monitors again and got my IV port (but no IV) put in. I sat in bed for a while, the contractions weren't too bad yet. 

Passing the time
My mom showed up soon after and we just talked and waited. Around 9 I asked to get up and walk around. I was 5cm and 90%. They hooked up the mobile monitors, but the contraction monitor would not pick up my contractions and I had to keep moving and holding the heartrate monitor because it would move out of place. I was very annoyed at the contraction monitor not working because I wanted to show them proof of how much I was hurting lol. Around 9:30pm we got out the birth ball to sit on and I was hooked back up to the regular machine so at least I was able to stop holding the heartrate monitor in place, even though the contractions were still not showing up.

Sweet nurse Brooke on the left, awesome midwife Julie on the right
Near 10pm I could feel that I was getting close to transition. I was getting shaky and no longer wanted to go natural. I told them I wanted an epidural. I've had natural births and didn't need to prove myself to anyway, so I decided I wanted to enjoy the end of my labor instead of dreading each contractions. My nurse, Brooke, checked me and I was 6cm and 90%. She called for anesthesia and hooked up my IV to get some fluids in quickly. When the anesthesiologist came in I was in the middle of a contraction. He was asking me if I wanted the epidural strong or light. I held up a finger for him to wait a minute as I felt baby move down and my body started to push a little. I almost asked Brooke to check me again because I knew I was complete or close to it, but I decided I wanted my epidural anyway so I said nothing cuz I didn't want them to refuse for being too far along lol. Having to sit completely still while the anesthesiologist did the epidural and my body wanted to push was torture, but luckily he was very quick and the epidural took effect quickly. Each contraction got less intense until about 5 contractions in I could no longer feel them. Unfortunately I really couldn't feel anything, he had made it way stronger than I'd wanted. But I was happy to be out of pain. He put it in around 10:30 and my midwife came in around 10:45 to put in an internal monitor and found out I was ready to push.

Feeling good after the epidural
We decided to wait to push for a little bit because we were still waiting for my birth mom and mother-in-law to show up. Around 11pm my midwife said we should start pushing because Rachel's heartrate was dropping so we needed to get her out. Pushing is so much harder when you can't feel anything! Much easier to push effectively without the epidural. But they brought in a mirror so I was able to watch everything. Birth mom and mother-in-law were able to make it there while I was pushing. I finally was able to see her head and dark hair and slowly she made her way out. 

Daddy assisting in the delivery
Hubby was gowned up and able to help deliver the baby with help from the midwife. Her shoulders got stuck a little so they had to push my knees way up by my head but she got unstuck quickly and at 11:30pm Hubby laid Rachel on me. 

First cries and lots of vernix
She didn't cry much, was covered in thick vernix, and had a full head of hair. I helped rub her down with the nurse and talked to her as we waited for the cord to stop pulsing. 

Daddy cutting the cord
Hubby was able to cut the cord and then Rachel was laid skin to skin on my chest. 

Holding her skin to skin
Thrilled mommy and daddy
Her breathing was a little wet so we had to get her to cry so she could clear out her lungs, and she gave us some loud screams and sounded much better. I just held her while the placenta was delivered (which I didn't even notice) and I was cleaned up. I asked my midwife if I had any tears, and I didn't which was awesome since I tore with my other deliveries.

Getting weighed, 8lb10oz, 21.5"
I let the nurses take her for a few minutes to weight and measure. She was 8lb 10oz and 21.5"! I was shocked at her size. Not only had I measured right on track this whole time (always measured 2wks ahead with my boys) but she was 2 weeks early too. I was thinking 7.5-8lbs tops, but she surprised us. If she'd gone to her due date she would have been my biggest baby! She was brought right back to me in a few minutes and I held her and attempted nursing. It took a few minutes to get her to latch on and then she nursed for a while. 

Daddy getting some cuddles in
I finally let Hubby take her around 12:20am and he held and cuddled her for about 15 mins until they took her to be checked out at the warmer for a few minutes. 

Checked out perfect, Apgars 8/9
They moved us to a mom and baby room around 1am and after letting the moms and my sister hold her for a while we settled in for a short night of little rest.

Brothers meeting her for the 1st time
Because of my gestational diabetes they had to check Rachel's blood sugar levels every 6 hrs the first day, and luckily they were always fine. She was also Coombs positive, which means we have different blood types that had gotten mixed during the birth which increased her chance of getting jaundice, so they had to test her bilirubin every 8 hrs during the stay. Again, luckily they were always at the low-intermediate risk level. With all those checks plus the normal vital checks for me and her, we really were not given much time to rest lol. 

Daddy's already wrapped around her little finger
But Hubby and I enjoyed the time in the hospital to just hold her and do nothing else. Anytime I wasn't nursing she was in daddy's arms, it was so sweet. 

Cute bow hospital cap a sweet nurse made for her
My milk started coming in the first day and she was eating really well, except for some trouble latching on my left side. She only got down to 8lb4oz by the time we left the hospital Sunday. At her 4 day checkup to get her bilirubin tested again she was already back to 8lb7oz, and by her 2 week checkup she was 9lb3oz. So she is a great eater.

Just home from the hospital
I have been loving having her here, cuddling, dressing her up in cute outfits, and kissing her adorable face. I don't think it's just bias that she is completely adorable, a beautiful little baby girl. The boys love her so much, always wanting to hold her and give her kisses. Here are some more pictures of her from the last 2 weeks (there's a lot!):














Tuesday, August 06, 2013

Family updates

It has been way too long since I've posted anything on here! This pregnancy has just flown by and we will be meeting our baby girl sometime in the next few weeks (hopefully soon!). I have pretty much everything ready and just really wish every day to go into labor. I'm exhausted and my body is ready to not be pregnant for a while lol.




Jason started 3rd grade this year. So far he is enjoying it. He had some problems last school year with crying and throwing fits in class. He is a bit immature for his age. So we had him on a smiley chart that his teacher would mark every day and that seemed to help. So far his teacher this year hasn't mentioned any issues, so I'm hoping that it will go better. I'm planning to take him in to get his eyes checked soon. Hubby and I both have bad eyesight and I've wondered if maybe part of Jason not paying attention very well has to do with not being able to see the front of the classroom clearly. So after the baby is born I want to get him in to check.


Jacob started 2nd grade and is also enjoying it. I was sad he didn't get Jason's teacher from last year, but she moved to another class so he got a new teacher but she is really nice. He is such a smarty pants and I hope he'll keep doing well and liking school.
Nathan will be continuing preschool at the developmental preschool for the 3rd year. I'm glad he still qualified because it's helped him a ton and because it's free and he gets bussed there. His speech delay is only minor now, he has improved so much and would probably do fine in a regular preschool, but I'm glad he'll continue to get help for this year. He starts back in a few weeks and is so excited. He has been sad that the older boys get to go to school and he doesn't.

Isaac. Oh boy, this little guy is such a troublemaker! The majority of the messes in our house are because of him. He is so active and into everything. He makes up for it by being too dang adorable to stay mad at. I love his curly hair. He loves to give hugs and kisses. He's also talking a ton lately and getting more understandable. Such a sweet boy.


Caleb is the little follower. If he makes a mess it's usually because he is watching Isaac lol. He smiles a ton with his huge smile and adorable dimples. He also gets quite the temper when he doesn't get his way, stomping around and yelling gibberish. He talks a lot too but most of it is not very understandable. He thinks my phone is his personal Netflix device and gets mad and yells, "Mine!" when I try to use it.

 Nate is doing great at work. He recently got promoted to a manager position which he likes, though it means he's working longer hours. It's hard on me when he doesn't get home until 7pm or later and I've had a long day with the kids, but I'm proud of how hard he works to support us.

A few months ago we upgraded our kitchen. It was crazy and messy for a month not having a working kitchen, but it looks so nice! We refaced the cabinets, got new quartz countertops, and new laminate wood floors. My school semester starts 2 weeks from tomorrow. I'm nervous to be going to school with just having a newborn right before, but it's the last 2 classes to get my Associate's Degree. I am so happy to finally have accomplished that! I plan to take a break for a year or two before continuing with my Bachelor's, because I've gotten burnt out with school and kids and all.
I am 37.5 weeks pregnant. Just ready to be done! And also scared that I've got to have a baby come out of me some time in the near future lol. But really excited to hold her and see what she looks like and have fun dressing her in the adorable girl clothes I finally get to use.


There's a lot more that has gone on this year that I need to catch up on, but I figured I should at least get a little update in about everyone. :) Hopefully at some point I can do a monthly recap with more pictures.