Kate's Birth Story - Part II

read part I first :)

The nurse slowly smiled and announced not only was I finally progressing, I was now a 6.5! I could've kissed her on the cheek! Cheers erupted from Vaughn and another nurse. I couldn't believe my ears. I have never been more relieved and thankful!

I quickly said a prayer of extreme gratitude as my mom, dad and grandma filed back into the room. More cheers, hugs and tears.

Progression continued slowly but surely from there.
Many episodes of "Say Yes to the Dress" were watched while waiting.

Another thing I was dreading this 2nd time around was throwing up. I got so sick after Ava was delivered, I was miserable. By now it was around 11:00 pm and I was feeling nauseous and just really yucky.I just sat super still, eyes closed, not speaking, just concentrating on trying not to vomit.

Around 11:45 pm I was ready to finally bring this baby into the world!

Oh I was so nervous! Due to the epidural, I couldn't slide down to get into position, heck, I couldn't move AT ALL from the waist down. I tried 3 times but it just wasn't happening. One of the nurses was tall and muscular built. She grabbed me under the legs and practically lifted me off the bed. Slid me right into position in one second flat. I heard a few chuckles in the room. It was a funny sight, I'm sure :)

 

With that, I started pushing with the contractions. I couldn't feel them but, the nauseousness was almost unbearable. I was trying hard not to vomit while holding my breath for 10 seconds every one minute while pushing during the contractions. Have you ever tried to hold your breath and push with all your might while you're about to throw up? .. not fun at all.

 

Vaughn, all the nurses (there were like 10 of them) and my midwife cheered me on as each second I was getting closer to meeting my sweet new baby. They were so nice.

20 minutes later, beautiful Kate Isabella with her cute button nose, plump lips and thick, dark curls arrived straight from heaven.

July 20th
12:30 am
8 lbs 1 oz
20 in

Oh how I instantly loved her and I was so happy about all that hair!

 8 lbs 1 oz chubby!

We had a super hard time choosing a name for her.
We were down to the last hour in the hospital and had to make a decision.
We finally narrowed it down to two names:

Elsa   or   Kate

I looooove both of these names so much and was torn on which to choose. Elsa just didn't seem to fit her though.

So Kate it was!

Isabella is a family name chosen from my ancestor.
The name fits her perfectly :)

I have to say.. when Frozen came out, I was SO excited to hear the name Elsa. I fell in love with it even more. Every time I hear it, my heart beats a little faster. And I told Vaughn (for the record) I loved the name BEFORE the movie was released.

I love watching Vaughn with our girls, he is a precious, loving daddy to them both!

ready to come home



big sister, Ava meeting Kate for the first time
 

dang she's tan. Wait, that's jaundice ...

 

 

a slightly awkward picture of us before leaving for the hospital

  

In the few short months that you've been here, Kate, you have brought us more happiness than we could ever have imagined. You melt my heart. You are my sweet baby doll, I will love you forever and always :)

3 queens

 i love this beautiful video about what being a mother is really like.

you just might tear up :)

3 Queens from Matt Bieler on Vimeo.

kate's birth story - part I

 I'm so glad our little sweet pea is finally here, we love her so much.
She's our precious little baby doll :)


And I have to say, I've enjoyed the little things so much more this time around. I don't know what it is. Don't get me wrong, we love our precious Ava's newborn months but this time has been a little easier for some reason. 

Easier delivery, easier recovery, easier on my emotions. Just easier all the way around.

I've been trying to get the details surrounding her birth written down for about 4 weeks now. I've only able to write a little bit each day so it's taken quite awhile to accomplish. And I just got the birth photos back from the photographer, yay!

These photos are priceless.
 I'm so glad that I had Ashleigh there to photograph all the details of this special, life-changing day.
 Best decision ever.

I had a July 19th induction planned since my 36 week appointment. I was told that second time labors are much shorter than the first. With Ava, my labor was 27 hours so ...

 she would most definitely have a July 19th birthday right? 

Well, that didn't exactly happen..

We arrived at the hospital on July 19th at 7:05 am. I had already been dilated to a near 3 and 70 % effaced for about 2 weeks. So again, I thought labor would progress fairly quickly.

I slipped the hospital gown on, and got started on the pitocin. Most everything about the process was familiar yet, so much was unknown. Would this labor be quick? Would it be less tramatic? Ava's birth was still fresh in my mind. At this point I was still debating on whether I would try for a natural birth or just get the epidural. My first experience with an epidural made me so incredibly sick that I just wanted to die so it almost didn't seem worth it to me.

Vaughn and I had a leisurely and relaxing  morning. Just hanging out, talking, waiting and eating ice chips.

My mom and Grandma arrived at noon to await the babes arrival. Dad and Kyr would arrive later that evening.

by this time, I was starting to feel some discomfort. dilated to a 3.

I wanted to see how far I could go, how long I could stand the pain.
The nurse checked me again an hour later, dilated to a 4.
Somewhere between that and passing onto a 5 I caved and got the epidural. Not because I couldn't stand the pain but because I just didn't see the point in suffering if I didn't have to.
For some reason, getting the epidural  this time was quite a bit different. It hurt more and was just different. I can't explain it.

By this time, it's 3:00 pm and I was expected to progress fairly quickly.



An hour later, I was still dilated at a 5.


another hour passes, another check. Still a 5.


yet another long hour goes by.. STILL a 5. um... seriously?


by now it's about 7:00 pm and I'm completely stalled at a 5. What?? I was getting so discouraged, frustrated and upset.




The nurses tried all kinds of different positions and contraptions to try to get my body to progress.

 Also, the epidural kept wearing off on my left side so i could feel the contractions (on a pain scale it was like a 7) i was worried that it would be like that for delivery so the anesthesiologist came back in and adjusted a few things to make it better.



8:00 pm. yep. Still dilated to a 5 with no signs of progression.

 I was in tears at this point. I buried my face in the pillow and I silently prayed hard. I begged Heavenly Father to please let me deliver this baby without a C-section.
 

After another check around 8:30 pm (and still dilated to a 5), I overheard the nurse mention that if at the next check I wasn't progressing, we would have to take another route. The C-section route. No. Please, NO. I think I had an anxiety attack there in the hospital bed. Pure panic set in as I most likely was headed toward the operating room unless I was dilated past a 5 at the next cervix check.


I didn't want the nurse to check again me. I was terrified. Absolutely terrified. After silently praying like 10 prayers in the past 2 hours, I felt nervous but at peace with whatever was to happen. The nurse came in around 9:15 pm and I'm pretty sure I was shaking. I buried my face in my pillow to hide my emotions. I didn't want to burst into tears if I heard that dreadful number 5 again.


to be continued . . .