Showing posts with label Pregnancy. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Pregnancy. Show all posts

October 19, 2016

Maxton's Birth Story

 On Tuesday May 17th at about 3:30am I woke up with some pain. I thought I just needed to pee so I got up and went to the bathroom and then got back in bed. The pain went away, but a while later it came back. This happened for about an hour before I started keeping track on my phone. At 5am I woke up Mike because I noticed the pain was occuring about every 5-15 minutes. Mike was supposed to leave for work at 5:45am, but I asked him to call off since I was in a bit of pain by this point. I continued to keep track and called my mom to tell her that I might be in labor so stay by the phone. (She would be watching the kids) By 7am when we took Marley to school, the pain, which I now realized was contractions, was about 5-10 minutes apart and lasting about a minute. We took Marley to school and came home to rest. I took a nap around 11am and the contractions let up a bit, but once I got up and moving they picked back up again. Around 1pm we went to lunch at Culver's and while there we decided we would head to the hospital since the baby wasn't moving as much after I had some food in me like it normally does.  We dropped Mason off at my moms and headed to the hospital. We arrived at 2:30pm and I was dilated to 4. They didn't admit me, but kept me for a few hours to see if I made any progress. The nurse basically said she didn't think I was going anywhere since I was having regular contractions and was dilated.  At 7pm they checked me again and I was dilated 4 1/2 cm. They said I could stay or I could go home and get some rest and come back when the pain increases.  We decided to leave, go to my moms to see the kids, and go let the dog out and get some rest. By the time we got to my moms (about 5 minutes from the hospital) I was in a lot more pain. It was almost as if the contractions picked up as soon as I walked out the hospital door. We stayed at my moms for a little bit to tell the kids good night and ate some dinner. We then headed towards home to let the dog out. We weren't even halfway home when the contractions became even stronger. Mike was ready to just head right back to the hospital, but I talked him into coming home. We got home and I headed upstairs and into the shower. That helped a little bit, but not enough. I tried to lay down in bed, but that didn't help either and we both decided to quickly head to the hospital which is a 30 minute drive from our house.  Mike was driving about 90mph the entire way and by 10:30pm we were back at the hospital. I really think he thought I was going to have a baby in the van. From the parking lot to the 4th floor of the hospital I had to stop 4 times because of contractions. At 11pm I was back in labor and delivery and was dilated to 7cm! It was official, I was having a baby! Since I was going for a VBAC my doctor and midwife arrived and had to stay there the entire time until I delivered.  I asked for an epidural and the nurses said several times they didn't know if I would have enough time to get one because they had to take blood and wait for the results before I could get one. HOLY COW! Was it happening that quickly?!  They did my labs and must of rushed them because by midnight I was getting my epidural.
Wednesday the 18th at 12am I got my epidural and fell asleep. At 2am in my sleep my water broke. I must of been dreaming there was a nurse in the room with us because I yelled out 'my water broke!', but it was just Mike and I in there so he went to get a nurse to let them know.  She came in and checked me and I was dilated to 9cm at this point. I fell back asleep for a bit until I woke up feeling some pressure. It was about 5am now and the nurse had me start pushing while waiting for my dr to come in the room. Pushing on my back wasn't making much progress so we decided to take a half hour break and let my body and the contractions do their thing. At 5:30ish I started pushing again, this time on my side. I was making progress with each contraction but the midwife said she thought the babies head was stuck on my pelvic bone.  At about 6:30 my doctor came in to use the vacuum. Again, since I was going for a VBAC, they only allow the vacuum to be used for 6 contractions before I would have to go for a c-section. Yah, that wasn't going to happen. I was determined to get this baby out!  At 6:45am on Wednesday May 18th, Maxton Randall was born. He weighed 9lb and 9 oz and was 22 inches. He was placed directly on my chest and stayed there for the next 2 hours. It was awesome! I can not believe I had a VBAC and I can't believe that I went into labor on my own just 1 day after my due date. This labor and delivery was everything I wanted it to be and I am so happy with everything!
By 3pm on the 19th we were all packed up and leaving the hospital with our new baby and starting our life as a family of FIVE!! 

June 2, 2016

Baby Belly 38-40 weeks

I never got the chance to post these before Max was born so I'm backtracking a bit, but wanted to get them up.


40 weeks

That's my last belly picture. Still in shock that I went into labor just 1 day after my due date.

April 29, 2016

31-37 weeks with Baby #3

It's been a while since I did a baby update. I only have a few weeks left and they are flying by.



At 31 weeks I had gained 23 pounds. Babies heart rate was 160 bpm. Everything looked good!


32 weeks

33 weeks



At my 36 week appointment I was up 26 lbs. Babies heart was 154 bpm. Everything still going good. Just very hard time falling asleep at night.



37 weeks started my every week appointments. I'm up 28 lbs. Babies heart rate was lower at 132 bpm but still good. I'm also dilated 1 cm and 50% effaced.  I've had random contractions almost daily, but nothing crazy.

Could be tomorrow or could still be another 5 weeks.



March 11, 2016

Almost done! Baby #3 Update

I can't believe I'm already 30 weeks. The time is just flying by. I am now into the every other week doctor appointments. And the weather is getting warmer so we're doing more stuff so I'm sure the next 10 weeks will go by even faster.

I had my glucose test almost 2 weeks ago, and I passed that! I was super nervous about not passing because since Mason was so big we all thought for sure I had gestational diabetes but it just wasn't picked up on the test with him.

As of my appointment last night I have gained 20 pounds so far. Baby's heartbeat was 140 bpm and everything was looking good. This baby is super active, especially at bed time.

We still don't know gender, but the kids are having fun guessing and coming up with names. Mason is pretty set on naming the baby Minecraft. I have a feeling he's going to be upset when we don't pick that.

I'll update again after my 32 weeks appointment.




February 23, 2016

Baby 3 Belly Bump Weeks 24-28

Getting so close to meeting this little baby! Time is flying by and I'm almost at the point of every other week doctor appointments.  So far I have gained 18 pounds (as of 28 weeks along).  I haven't had any cravings or sickness at all this pregnancy. Baby M is moving around like crazy and growing right on track. Next appointment is at 30 weeks so I'll update more then =)

24 weeks
26 weeks
28 weeks

February 4, 2016

Baby 3 Belly Bumps 14-22 weeks

I've been slacking on some weeks for pictures, but here's my growing baby belly.


14 weeks
17 weeks
18 weeks
20 weeks
21 weeks
22 weeks



February 1, 2016

Top 7 Must Have Items for Baby #3

Baby #3 will be here in less than 17 weeks so I wanted to share my top 7 must have items.  This is my list of items that I knew I needed for sure before the baby came. There are, of course, other items you may need/want and some of these you may not want, but this is what I felt was most essential before welcoming our little one into the world. 



First up was a carrier. I was not a babywearer with my first two kiddos and have heard so many of my friends talk about how easy it was to get things done while holding the baby and having both your hands free that I decided I wanted to try it out this time. I picked up a black Moby brand wrap at my local Once Upon a Child for $25. 



Next, was a baby monitor. Our house is a two story and we have 6 acres of land, so I know it's not feasible to always be right next to the baby, whether it's nap time or just being downstairs with the big kids. I picked up the Samsung SEW-2002W monitors for $12 at Once Upon a Child too. 



My third item was a crib. The baby will be in our room with us since I'll be nursing and we only have 3 bedrooms, but our room is plenty big for him/her to have it's own little space. Luckily for us, my sister is giving us my niece's crib so money saved there! 



The fourth and probably most important item on my list was a car seat. We like the infant carrier car seats more than convertible ones so we can just carry the whole seat instead of getting the baby in and out of the seat in the rain or cold. I found the Cosco Light 'N Comfy DX for $40 on clearance at Meijer. I like the design because it can be for a girl or boy since we don't know gender.



The next thing I wanted was a rock n play sleeper. With my first two I had swings, bouncers, rockers, and every other seat contraption there is, but really, how many places to set a baby do you need? I've heard other moms swear that the rock n play is a life saver so I knew I wanted to get one this time around. I bought a new one off EBay for $30. 




To go along with the car seat I wanted one of those seat mirrors so you can see the baby while in the car. We have a minivan now so Marley will probably be in the back and Mason and the baby will be in the middle. I picked up one at Once Upon a Child for $4. 



And my final item was a reclining rocker/glider chair. When Marley was born I had a wooden glider chair, but it wasn't really that comfortable so it didn't get a lot of use. I didn't have a special chair with Mason because our love seat rocked so I just used that.  Our room is upstairs so I knew if the baby was up at night I wouldn't want to come downstairs to the couch and Mike is a CRAZY sleeper so having the baby sleep in our bed probably won't be happening, so I wanted to get a comfortable chair for our room for those late night nursing/non sleeping nights. Luckily, I got one for free because my brother had a lazy boy chair he wasn't using. 



So, there it is. My top 7 must haves for baby #3.  I've picked up a few onesies and hats for girls and boys that were on clearance when I was out shopping, and of course I've picked up a few boxes of diapers, but until the baby comes that's all I plan on getting. It definitely gets cheaper with each child because you realize what you like and don't like or what is essential and what isn't. With your first child it's so easy to go over board and this time around I have the 'as long as we have a car seat and diapers we're good' mentality. 

What were some of your must have items? 




January 11, 2016

Growing to FIVE!?

Another big memory from 2015 for us what finding out that I am pregnant!!  Baby M #3 will be here in May 2016!


I found out when I was just 4 weeks! Crazy early compared to my first two pregnancies. Mike and I are very excited, the kids on the other hand...



Since I had a c-section with Mason I am going to hopefully VBAC (vaginal birth after cesarean) this time. I've found a great, super supportive doctors office that is known for their VBAC success.  As of today I am 23 weeks and have been feeling really good. The baby has been kicking and moving around for the last 6 or so weeks and loves to get really active at bedtime. We had our anatomy ultrasound the other day, but we've decided not to find out the gender for real this time. (That was the plan with Mason, but I couldn't wait)  I've gained about 10 lbs so far which is less than with the first two, but I also wasn't taking care of 2 kids those times, so I'm more active this time around. Ultrasound tech says baby weighs about a pound and is a foot long (made me want subway when she said that)



I'll share my belly pics in another post and keep updating as we get closer to welcoming Baby M. 





August 11, 2014

The Birth Plan I Wish I Never Had

I shared my kids birth stories on the blog back in 2012 (here and here), but I've never shared my emotions about those experiences.

When Marley was born in 2008, I was 23 years old, the first one of my friends to be pregnant, and not very informed on the whole child birth process. I read a few books and did some online research and was fine with what I knew.  I didn't have a plan besides to have my baby and if I needed pain meds that was fine with me. She was born and everything went well and I was happy.  I poorly tried to breastfeed for a few months but stopped because we were going on vacation when she was 3 months old and again, I was happy with that decision. I have no regrets about how anything went then or now.

Fast forward to 2011 when I got pregnant with Mason.  I knew he would probably be my last baby so I wanted to have a plan on what I wanted to happen in delivery and with breastfeeding. I read tons of books, tons of online articles, and I even created a breastfeeding group on Facebook. I had it in my head that I would hold off on pain meds for as long as possible since I now knew what the pain felt like and I would try to manage it better.  I also visioned him being born, laid on my chest and being so in love.  I wanted to breastfeed him for at least a year, if not more.  I knew what I wanted and had my perfect labor experience all planned out in my head.

 Then the day came, April 5th, 2012. I was 41 weeks pregnant and being induced.  I was okay with being induced, I was with Marley and had no problem with it.  I labored for about 10 hours before the doctor said the words no mom really wants to hear "you need a c-section"  I was crushed. This wasn't part of my plan.  Mason was born just a few minutes after they wheeled me into the OR.  They cleaned him up, brought him over for me to see and then took him and Mike to the nursery while I was stitched back up and taken to recovery.  I was there for a few hours before they brought Mason in.  When the nurse brought him in she also said something else that no mom wants to hear "he needs to go to the NICU for low blood sugar"  This was horrible and again not part of my plan.  I was taken to my room a few hours later, Mike went home, and Mason was in the NICU. I was all alone.  

I was in the hospital for a few days and was able to go down and see Mason, but wasn't allowed to hold him as much as I would of liked since he was hooked up to monitors and I was in some pain from the c-section.  I was discharged from the hospital, but Mason had to stay. It was awful. Luckily, we went home and dropped Marley off at her grandpas and then headed back up to the hospital to be with Mason so that was good that I was able to still go up there and see him.  He was in the NICU for a whole week.

Since I had wanted to nurse, but was unable to, I started pumping. They did bottle feed him in the NICU but also gave him formula too to help raise his blood sugar levels.  Once he came home, since I hadn't ever nursed him I continued to pump for 3 months all while also trying to get him to latch.  I'll never forget the day when he actually latched and had his first real nursing session. I loved every minute of it.  I slowly quit pumping and nursing him more.

When he was six months old he still wasn't on the growth chart and nursing was becoming painful. I had over 800 ounces of milk in the freezer that I started giving him and I decided I would nurse him, then offer a bottle. Once all the milk in the freezer was gone I would stop nursing him and start him on formula.  Remember my plan to nurse for a year or more? Yah, that didn't happen.  At that time, I was okay with everything that had happened and was just happy to have a healthy growing baby boy.

Fast forward again to October 2013, Mason is now 18 months old.  For some reason it's taken 18 months for me to come to terms with what happened and how unhappy I am about it all.  I am in tears every time I think about it or talk about it.  I can't help but feel like I failed. I couldn't birth my child and I couldn't nurse him either.  I talk with Mike about it, but he doesn't understand and says as long as Mason is healthy why does it matter how he got here, or what he ate.  Don't get me wrong, I am SO happy that he is healthy and growing and I know it definitely could of been much worse, but that doesn't help me deal with the sadness I am feeling about what happened back in April of 2012.

Just last week (Mason is now 26 months old) I think I realized why I was so upset about everything. It's because of that darn plan I had.  A friend of ours had a baby and had a scheduled c-section because her baby was breech.  Mike had mentioned that she was happy and excited about having her baby and wasn't upset about the c-section as long as her baby was healthy.  That was my epiphany moment.  I had this big plan to deliver him a certain way, to feed him a certain way, and had all the other little moments planned out.  I never once really thought, I just want a healthy happy baby because that's just a given, who doesn't want that. I didn't have that as part of my plan like I did when I delivered Marley. I was too worried about everything else being perfectly planned out.  Looking back now, I wish I didn't have a plan, I wish I would of gone into it thinking I just want to have a baby.  How happy would I of been then, cause that's the only thing that would of gone according to my plan.





April 9, 2012

It's baby day!!

41 weeks 3 days pregnant. 
Above is me at 6am on Thursday April 5th. My last belly picture before heading off to the hospital to be induced!

Overdue...

On the 27th I had my 40 weeks appt. Since I was now at this point overdue they scheduled me for a nonstress test at the hospital. Basically this test is to see if his heart rate rises or falls when he moves to see if his stressed. All I had to do was lay there and push a button when he moved.  We were supposed to go on Monday the 2nd at 2pm. They couldn't fit me in so I ended up going on the morning of the 3rd.  Everything looked good. His heart rate was good when he was moving around and nothing came up abnormal.  Once we left there I had my doctors appointment.  Since I was at this point 7 days late and he showed no sign of coming on his own we set up a time for me to be induced. We were to be at the hospital at 7am on Thursday the 5th... (this is the last time I was weighed, and all together I gained 40lbs)

41 weeks

40 weeks! - Again?!

The 26th is what I'll call my doctor office due date.  At my appoint that week the doctor asked how long I wanted to keep him in.  Since I was induced with Marley I really didn't want to be induced again. I said I would like to wait one more week and see what happens.  My dr. said they usually only let you go 10 days over and then they will induce. I was fine with that, because much more than that and I would be HUGE!

40 weeks!

March 21st was my original due date. After the first ultrasound they changed it to the 26th. I, however, kept using the 21st as my "due date"

February 29, 2012

Fast forward

It's been over a month since I last posted anything. Oops. I guess I am too busy vacuuming and getting everything all ready. I only have THREE weeks left!  Marley's 4th birthday is coming up and I'm busy planning her party too. Not much else to share except some belly pictures!

34 weeks

35 weeks
36 weeks (scary Zeus)

January 19, 2012

31 weeks- WHAT!?!

I seriously cannot believe I only have 9 weeks until my due date. Time has flown by. On Monday I had to go in for the 3 hour glucose tolerance test. My regular appt was scheduled for today, but I figured since I was there for 3 hours I would see if I could get my appt then. They squeezed me in luckily.  Baby's heart rate is still good, as well as everything else.  I've gained 29 lbs so far... I think I'll be over the recommended 25-35 lbs.  With Marley I gained 37 total.  Here's my belly.

Yah I took this myself which is why I have no head. Oh well. I'm sure I'm not "glowing" anymore anyways. 

January 11, 2012

30 weeks

Since we started doing house work I have been slacking on the belly pictures and time has been flying by. At the most I only have 12 weeks left- that's crazy!!  I now have to go to the dr. every two weeks until the last month then it's every week. I have gained 24 lbs so far which is right on track.  Everything is still good. I have a lot of rib pain but it's just from constant kicking- little brat!

December 27, 2011

Christmas and 28 weeks

This post is going to mostly be all pictures. I'm currently 28 weeks! It's going by so fast!

Marley and all her "Santa" presents

JJ, Marley, Mallarie, and Maliyah

Add caption
My 28 week belly.

December 15, 2011

26 weeks and emergency rooms

This week marks 26 weeks. I'm having a hard time getting comfortable at night, but otherwise everything is going good.


Yesterday we got to spend 3 hours in the emergency room.  I was at home with Marley. She was playing and I was watching tv.  All of a sudden my vision got really blurry and I could only see straight ahead.  The cat jumped up next to me, but I couldn't see her. I called Mike and he came home from work and we went to the er.  My temperature was fine. My blood pressure was fine. Heart rate was fine (mine and Corn's)  We basically sat there for three hours, then a nurse came in and said we could go home. So not sure why my vision messed up, and they didn't say either. They just said to make a follow up appointment with my dr.  Glad I only have 14-16 weeks left...

Oh and here's one just because-

December 10, 2011

25 weeks and the first snow

I had a dr. appt this week. Nothing really new to report. Everything looks good still. Can't believe how fast time is going.

Marley has been asking if it's Christmas yet and when it's going to snow and why it hasn't snowed yet.  I found a chocolate calendar to help her see when it's almost Christmas. She loves it!



That day was a trumpet. 
We finally had our first snow last night. Not a lot at all, but Marley absolutely freaked when she saw it.