McKenna's BIRTH Story: Part 3

I really don’t have a lot of details from during this time because it all seemed like a blur.  Momma-to-be all hooked up:

My Mom, Dad, and Gramma K were able to come in to the Labor and Delivery room and make themselves at home while I struggled through the pain of contractions.

 

Even they said it didn’t seem like I was in much pain. But the stronger the contractions got the quieter I got and the more irritable I got… and I know it’s their job, but I don’t understand why the nurses have to ask questions during contractions. Can’t it wait 1-1.5 minutes?  

 

As contractions got closer and closer together I had a tough decision to make about whether to get an epidural.  While the nurses said an epidural can be given at any time up until 9 centimeters even, there’s no guarantee that an anesthesiologist will be ready and available to give you one at that moment.  That AND you can go from 4 centimeters to 10 in a matter of moments.  With these facts, Kevin and I had the quiet discussion.  It was really less of a discussion and more of him reading the look in my eyes.  He gave me the approval I needed to hear, “why don’t we go ahead and get it done.” I felt relief with his approval for some reason.  Last pictures of me before becoming a Mom:

 

With this, they checked my progress again, 7 centimeters accompanied with another comment about how low baby’s head was, and the call was put in for the anesthesiologist. Luckily we decided this when we did because the anesthesiologist had actually been called in on an emergency room procedure so I had to wait about 20-30 minutes or so before he was able to make it to my room.  This was a bit terrifying, I had made the decision to get one and what if the baby came before I got one??

 

By the time he got to the room, I was soo happy we made the decision to get one, even if I was petrified about the pain of the actual epidural. The contractions had gotten BAD. My family had to leave, and I was prepped for The NEEDLE.  Honestly, I didn’t even look at it. I don’t know if Kevin watched or not either.  I’ve heard they usually time placing it in between contractions because you are more likely to move. Well this guy didn’t do that. Contraction and Epidural simultaneously.  I actually think it helped distract me.  I was so focused on the contraction and squeezing Kevin’s hands to death that the Epidural just felt like the pinch of a blood draw.  It was swift and much less of an issue than I anticipated.

 

After the fam came back in, I was able to somewhat indulge in conversation (once the meds were adjusted accordingly that is…. I was actually still feeling pretty painful contractions when I first received the epidural…. That was fixed ;-).

 

So as I can remember, the timeframe between getting the epidural and the pushing phase was relatively short. But then again, your perception of time is greatly skewed while you’re in labor. I remember the sun going down through our window and that’s around the time **it got serious.  It was rather calm though. The nurse checked my cervix and goes, “yup, 10 centimeters, it’s time to start pushing. Family it’s time for you to step out.” It was time to pack away my “focal point” which was a picture of the Chiefs, though it hadn’t been used much.  It was time to turn off the Pandora station we had playing (which I believe was “Someone Like You” by Van Morrison… one of my favorite stations).  So the room was very quiet as they prepped for the pushing process.

 

I was a little disappointed, Kevin and I were hoping HE would coach me through the pushing, but the delivery nurse dubbed him the Mississippi counter. And while most of the day feels like a blur, the active pushing part still feels like dream, like it wasn’t real.  The bright interrogation-type light and staring faces felt like a movie (though not as dramatic, I HATED the silence!). Kevin was responsible for one leg, one of the nurses the other, and we got down to business.

 

As Kevin was directed to start counting, I grabbed my knees and pushed the best I could, but honestly had no clue…  I couldn’t feel what was going on down there except just a TON of pressure. Apparently my contractions started spacing out again, so any progress I made during one sequence of pushing was lost before the next.  I was given oxygen between contractions to help me recover for the next sequence. Eventually the Doc decided to assist the Baby out.  Kevin likely can recall more of this, I was rather surprised he elected to look “down there” through much of the delivery, and even tells people it wasn't as bad as he thought it would be. I was offered a mirror and adamantly refused.

 

After about 30 minutes of active pushing, our baby girl arrived.  Kevin said at first she wasn’t breathing and needed a little bit of encouragement.  But to hear that first cry was the most amazing experience. WE MADE IT. I SURVIVED AND our baby girl was finally here! She was immediately plopped on my chest and I just couldn’t believe I was holding our little human being in my arms. It was her. She was ours.

 

McKenna Elyse was born at 10:31PM on February 1^st, 2014. She was 7 pounds, 6 ounces and 20 inches of perfection. She had a full head of dark hair and big feet.

 

While I was being "re-assembled" (and everything else that goes on down there that’s irrelevant to My BABY!), I just observed and took in all of McKenna. I watched as Kevin watched her get her measurements taken. He was smitten.

I was looking at my family, the 2 loves of my life: my husband and my baby. The calmness and serenity in this moment of my life was one that I will carry with me forever.

 

Looking back there are a few things I wish I had more control over, and a few things I would have done differently.  But overall I had an incredible birthing experience. We were on our way to the hospital around 3PM and our baby girl graced us with her presence at 10:30. I was able to give birth to a healthy and beautiful baby girl that we were dreaming about for almost 10 months… and our entire lives.

McKenna's BIRTH Story: Part 2

Roughly 25 minutes away, we would be arriving at the hospital about 3:30PM. It was during the car ride I notice the tingling, burning sensation of contractions beginning to appear.  Since the moment my water broke, Kevin and I did have this hopeless optimism that somehow, some way my Doctor would magically appear to deliver our Baby even though he wasn’t “on call.” Reality really hadn’t set in that this wouldn’t be the case until we checked in at the Birthday Suites. “So our doctor isn’t even informed we’re in labor?” “No.” It hadn’t hit me yet. I have described how important this was to me previously, and the entire pregnancy my Doctor reiterated “Don’t worry about [this], Don’t worry about [that],” and I was comforted knowing that I could trust the decisions he would make during the delivery process.

Prior to getting strapped up to the machine, I was instructed to lay in bed in hopes to see a puddle under me… this was to confirm that my water had actually broken. In fact, I was encouraged to cough to promote fluid.  Every time I coughed I laughed because, yup, I was swimming.

 

It wasn’t until after the admitting nurse Terry strapped me up to the machines that reality set in…. and I began to cry.  Doc would not be present. I had already gone through the “make sure we get a picture of me, Doc, and Baby when she arrives,” discussions with Kevin. No matter how much I cried it wouldn’t change the situation.  This baby was coming, and he wouldn’t be there to deliver.

 

Thank goodness for Terry.  She walked in on my crying and I informed her why.  She went into a huge explanation of how unimportant it really would be.  “The nurses do everything. Literally, the doctor walks in, catches the baby, and walks out.”  In reality, the Doc did quite a bit more during my delivery but wow did she make me feel better.  I don’t know if it was her Talk or if it was the strengthening of the contractions but I quickly moved passed concentrating on this fact.  Kevin, all the while, was sitting in a chair at the end of the bed comforting me, doing his best to not have his phone out due to my strict instructions.

 

After 20 minutes of monitoring my contractions and sipping Ginger Ale, it was confirmed I would be moved up to Labor and Delivery.  Terry checked my progress, 4 centimeters dilated and 100% effaced.  I had already been 2 centimeters dilated a couple of weeks earlier at one of my appointments, and then the week prior with our false start I was 3 centimeters dilated.  The nurses could not believe I was 4 centimeters and really not reacting to my contractions.  Honestly, they did hurt like hell, but I feel really uncomfortable with people witnessing me in pain or drawing any sort of attention to myself.  So my reaction to contractions was relatively silent.  I handled them with slow, slow breathing in through my nose and out through my mouth.   It was after her checking my progress did she tell us how I was born to make babies, how my body was made to have a gajillion babies (HA! We'll see about that!). Progress was steady, and the baby’s head was low and in position and that she would be here before we knew it. “This baby is coming!”

 

Kevin made his calls informing family that she would in fact be gracing us with her presence either tonight or early tomorrow (the nurses in admitting saying surely tonight). My Mom, Dad, and Gramma K made their way out to the hospital. Kevin’s parents did their best to hit the road from Jacksonville as soon as they got word.  Interestingly, Kevin’s sister’s family was on a Disney Cruise while my oldest brother’s family was in Disney for the weekend. It’s a small, small world. Just had to.

 

It was about 5 PM (give or take) when we were sent upstairs. It felt so strange walking through the hospital halls in a hospital gown… luckily I only had one contraction during this trek because I had to pause and hold on to a wall (in the opened elevator) all the while Kevin and the nurse had to stop and wait. Awkward.
 

We began “settling” into our L&D room as much as one can “settle” into such a room.

McKenna's BIRTH Story: Part 1

In honor of McKenna's first birthday, I am FINALLY sharing her Birth story!!  I was never intending to withhold it, but as I wrote it last year I spent so much time re-reading it that I just never shared it. I am as detailed as I possibly could be, so this isn't your quick read. Here is Our Story, in all of its Glory.
________

As these sorts of stories always start out, it was just another Saturday. I was 38 weeks 6 days, just a week and a day from my due date, and my doctor was not on call this weekend so I wanted to at least make it to Monday. MY plan was to spend the weekend literally doing nothing, maybe some minor cleaning, in an effort to keep Baby incubating through the weekend.  Though Kevin had wanted me up and walking around because he wanted that baby out!

 

Kevin had just finished trimming and bathing Chief Osceola. He continued to coax me to go to Target to do laps, but all I wanted to do was lay down and take a nap. I am not a napper. I have an unquiet mind that requires a significant amount of time to turn off to sleep so when I actually want to lie down it means I’m super tired.  Kevin, on the other hand, can fall asleep anytime, anywhere, which actually gives me anxiety about getting to sleep because my brain for some reason makes it a race.  Lying in bed I told Kevin to join me, to which he replied, “but I’m not tired.”  He proceeded to lie down and pass out the moment his head hit the pillow.  Amusingly during this nap break, I was staring up at the pregnancy chalkboard on the wall wondering what fruit we would be drawing tomorrow for our week 39 update. This is the only picture on my phone from that day.  The boys were so pissed they were exiled to the patio that I guess I felt the need to document it??

 

 

This was about 2:15PM. Within moments of his snoring, a simultaneous reaction occurred.  With the Chiefs resting in the front room, Chief (Black Bear) went crazy barking at something (which was nothing, a rarity for him to bark at nothing). At that exact same moment there was an extremely strange sensation and noise that came from my belly. I jumped up and yelped, “Kevin, did you hear that?? Did you hear that cracking noise?” Suddenly awakening from a clearly deep sleep he replied, “huh?”  Using the word “cracking” to describe the noise freaked me out so I adjusted, “Did you hear that popping noise? It came from my belly.”  It sounded like when you crack your fingers.  We were both tongue-tied as we agreed I should try to use the bathroom (??? Not sure what that would do ???) as we anticipated what the significance of this sensation was. All I could think of is “not now, not now, not now, my Doctor is not on call.”

 

I went Pee and was certain that it was not just Pee, don’t ask me how I know. As I got up to go lay back down in bed our suspicions were confirmed. On the tile floor. Repeatedly. Yup, whatever that is wouldn’t stop no matter how hard I tried and it was persistent. My water broke. We were both in disbelief, “is this really happening?!” I was prepared to eventually start recognizing persistent and strengthening contractions, but was not prepared for my water to break, the sure sign that Labor is eminent.

 

Now, I may be crazy, but they say dogs sense things. Chief and I have that bond. I honestly couldn’t tell you what happened first, Chief barking or my water breaking.  Was he reacting to my water breaking or did his barking startle me enough to break my water? Interesting question to ponder.

Anyway. So the weekend before when we decided to go into OB Triage, Kevin was cool, calm, and collected as he gathered our things and packed up the car (You can read about the "False Start" here).  This was a bit different. Knowing for certain this was it changed things quite a bit. He was composed, but somehow still running around like a chicken with its head cut off.  The dogs were going crazy as he ran back and forth seemingly for no reason, since our bags were pretty much already prepared.

Here's a small, embarrassing video I shot of myself while Kevin got everything ready.  You can hear Chief going crazy on the porch in the background.
 

 

 

I think Kevin felt a bit more at ease when I decided I wanted to take a shower before we left. Since this moment was eminent, I knew this would be a final moment of peace.  I also had a gigantic bowl of cereal knowing that the hospital doesn’t allow you to eat after you have been admitted (I figured cereal was bland?).



 

 

Luckily my parents were able to come over and pick Chief and Chief Osceola up since they were visibly on edge feeding off of Kevin.  At this point I still hadn’t felt any major contractions, just Braxton Hicks-type contractions that I was able to talk through.  

With the car loaded up, we began the journey to the hospital.



 

Happy Valentine's Day!

We love Valentine's Day around these parts! Sure you should tell people you love them everyday, but this adds an element of fun to it!

I surprised Kevin with a couple's massage (and a couple mimosas ;) this morning while Grandma spoiled McKenna with some Valentine's presents.

McKenna is getting to an age of pulling headbands off, but she managed to be patient enough for us to get a couple of good shots in her Valentine's day outfit!

Big girl hates the grass, so if you put her out there standing, she sure to stand still!

Her skirt is LilLaineyBug on Etsy and her leggings were a kind gift from www.lilliesandlaceboutique.com.

Like I said, HATES grass.....

Baby Girl's Valentine to the rescue!!

She wasn't a fan of the blanket either..

Mommy to the rescue!

So far it's been a nice, relaxing day.  We plan to order takeout tonight, and enjoy a little family dinner at home! Happy Valentine's Day to you!!

McKenna's FIRST Birthday!

Saying the last few weeks have been crazy is an understatement. So I'm going to share some pictures from her birthday party and hopefully elaborate a little more when I get another free second... I promise one say in the near future I will get back into the blog swing of things!

We decided to just have a small party at our home to keep things intimate. I debated this for a long time, but ended up so happy we did things this way with everything we've had on our plate the last month or so.

Tried to get a few of the Birthday Girl outside, but she HATED the grass!!

She was a great sport with presents.... She actually wanted to look at the cards more than anything! But she gave every single present a little bit of attention and had no issues with me taking them away to move on to the next.

Our "big" gift to the little princess. She's obsessed. By the next day she taught herself to climb up to the top.

Getting "Happy Birthday" sang to her.

She was perfectly modest with her Smash Cake.  Almost as if she had practiced.... just the right amount of messy!  And managed to get just a little on her precious outfit!

We joked that she shrugged of the idea of a "smash cake" because baby-led weaning has already fine-tuned her fine motor skills.

What a perfect angel.

 

Motoring through her regular naptime barely batting an eyelash, she was finally able to get some shuteye around 3PM.

We finished off her birthday by watching the Super Bowl!! She stayed up super late since said nap was a solid couple of hours. 

I can't believe the day came and went so fast.  It feels just like Christmas... I'm sad it's over.  Now my baby is just a "One-year-old" no longer an "almost one-year-old".