Sterling's Birth Story

Warning: this is a birth story. I will be talking about anything and everything that happens during a birth. It will be embarassing  (for me) at times and probably gross (to you) so don't read it if you don't want to know. (Also, I wrote this in 2 parts while very tired. I hope it makes sense.)

Sterling Elizabeth Helen was born on Sunday April 10th at 3:08 am. She weighed 8lbs 13oz and was 20 inches long. She currently has blue eyes and brown hair.

Saturday was a normal day. I hadn't been having any contractions at all the whole day. I'd had some through out the week though. At my 39 week appointment with Dr. Webb my cervix was still closed, high and thick. We scheduled an induction starting Monday night and she'd probably be born on Tuesday the 12th sometime.
I wasn't really doing much to induce labor at that point. Brighton was 8 days late so I figured she would too.
We did do some yard work and I raked and helped bag 8 huge bags of leaves. Then I was wiped out for the rest of the day and pretty much laid around doing nothing.
At 9pm I was tired of watching tv so I headed to bed, mess around on the computer trying to find a free download for some relaxation type music. I didn't find one so I rolled over and just tried to relax myself by listening to the wind outside.
Then, I felt this pop/rip/crack in my lower pelvis. I was a little worried, but the baby was still moving around A LOT, so I got up and closed the windows in the living room (i was going to turn the a/c on), then went to the bathroom. I wiped and there was some mucus so I figured I'd lost my mucus plug. I stood up then felt a small gush and sat back down, there was a small amount of liquid in my liner. I was sure my water had broken. So I went back tot he bedroom and called the hospital. I had put a huge pad in, just in case. I told the nurse that I think my water had broken, she told me to come in to see. As I was wrapping up the phone call, a huge gush of water came out. Yeah, my water had broken.
I walked to the top of the stairs and called to Mitchel. When I told him my water had broken he wasn't sure what to do at first. He'd been sleeping and wasn't completely awake. Brighton said "my sister broke your water? She need to fix it". Haha, we both laughed. Mitchel called his mom and she was going to meet us at the hospital. I grabbed my hospital bag, my purse, and a towel to lay on the seat of the car. 
Along the way I had 3 more huge gushes of water. And one more while waiting for Mitchel to park the car.
I wasn't really having contractions. Not painful ones anyway. 

I was wheeled (yeah, my pants were soaked, there was no way, I was walking) into L&D into the triage room. I told the nurse that I could have walked but that my pants were soaked. She's was like, "oh, yeah, lets just get you to a labor room".
Kendall came and got Brighton and I was all strapped with monitors. They'd checked my cervix and I was already at 4cm. Iw as starting to have more contractions now, but they still weren't very painful. I was hoping they'd stay that way, but I knew better.

My water had broken at about 9:45 and by midnight they were getting more intense and more frequent. I was feeling them in my hips more than anything and I couldn't lay on my side like they wanted me to.  I guess the baby was in minor distress (there was meconium in the fluid) and they needed me to be in a postion that was good for her. Well, those positions weren't good for me! I eventually tried the birthing ball, which gave little relief. I was still having intense pains in my hips along with the contrations.
I think at that point I asked for the epidural. I was trying not to get one, but they pain was way more intense than I imagined (no comments on that please!). It seemed like it too the anesthesiologist forever to get there. I kept saying that I couldn't make it through one more contration. I was seriously in agony. I was half way yelling, but I didn't want to. I was trying to breathe through them, but it was so hard, I could barely concentrate. I was having three contrations in a row, then I'd have about a minute break, then three more contractions in a row. I was crying my eyes out in pain. Mitchel didn't even know what to do. I felt bad for him (then another set of contractions would come and I'd forget about him).
Finally Josh came (the anesthesiologist) and we started the epidural. I seriously just wanted him to get it in instead of reading to me all of the side effects and whatnot that he probably HAS to read me. I had a break in contractions while he was prepping my back, but as soon as he started to instert the catheter I had another one. I was so hard to keep still, but I did. I momentarily thought that maybe I could get through the rest of labor with out the epidural, but it was too late, it was in. I think at that point I was like at 5.5cm. I was kind of disappointed that I wasn't farther along.
I had about 45 minutes of no pain, then I started feeling them again. I had a panic button that would give me another dose of the epidural, but for some reason it wasn't working. I got checked again and I was at 7 cm.
I have no clue what time this all was happening. After the epidural started wearing off I lost track of everything. It must have been close to 3am (she was born at 3:08) and I was back to feeling all of the contractions. The panic button wasn't working even though I was repeatedly pushing it. I turned to the nurse and told her that I needed to push and that I was feeling pressure. She said don't because I was only 7 cm and if I pushed too soon my cervix would swell and I'd need a c-section. So I tried not to push. But then I felt like I needed to poop (and I did, I pooped with out even trying right there on the table). I screamed at one point that I needed to push and that I was. I couldn't help it.

3 am was when the nurse's shift changed, a new nurse was there, but the first nurse (jennifer) stayed. I was glad. They went and got the doctor, put my feet (not my legs) on the stirrups and told me to wait for a contraction and push. I was in such terrible pain, that I could barely think to recognize a contration. I was crying because I'd pooped on the table, I was crying because the new nurse (kayla) was in the way and Mitchel couldn't reach my hand, I was crying because I could feel the baby's head crowning. The doctor (not my ob Dr. Webb) was telling me to grab my thighs and pull back and I physically couldn't do that. I was pressing my feet into the stirrups and pushing that way. I could not grab my thighs. I think I pushed about 3-4 times while her head was crowning (worst pain ever). Then, when her head came out, I pushed 2 more times and she was out. It was instant relief. They weren't able to put her on my belly because of the meconium in the amniotic fluid, but she was right next to me in the crib. They had gotten her all cleaned up and seemed to be standing around. I really wanted to hold her and was reaching my hand out and touching her. I guess I had a 2nd degree tear and the doctor was stitching that up. I said "can I have my baby please?", and no one seemed to hear me. Finally the doctor was like, "umm, can we get her the baby?" I guess they were waiting on orders to be put in the computer for the hep b shot. The doctor was like, no, just give her the baby. So i finally got to hold her. She was beautiful and I cried and I couldn't wait to sit up and see her better.

Everything after that was kind of a blur. The doctor got done with me and the nurses were talking to each other and to me (no clue what they were saying). I got the huge maxi pad and the ice pack (that was nice).
Sterling was amazing. She latched on right away and nursed for a few minutes. But we were both exhausted.

I don't think I slept at all the rest of the morning. The nurse had to come in every so often and she checked my stomache and pushed on it really hard (ouch!). I guess she was trying to get all the fluid (not going into too much detail) out. I think Mitchel fell asleep at some point which was good, he didn't need to see all that.

So that was the story of Sterling's birth. I didn't want an epidural, but I'm glad I got one even though it didn't work because it allowed me to rest for a bit and make it through to the end. I'm halfway glad I was able to feel the last part of labor and delivery. Even though it was excruciatingly painful, it was all worth it in the end.

I didn't have any of the side effects from the epidural that I had last time. I was able to walk to the bathroom and pee about 5 hours later (i probably could have done it sooner, but they wouldn't let me).

That's the end. We had a good stay at the hospital. Sterling was born at 3:08am on Sunday and we left about 2pm on Monday afternoon. Breastfeeding has been a bit of a challenge. She needed to have the underside of her tongue clipped at 2 days old because she couldn't extend her tongue out enough to get a good latch. I haven't been able to use the cloth diapers yet. They were catching on her belly button. Hopefully next week we can get going with those.

More to come later maybe if I ever remember to keep up with this blog.

35 days

Actually today is 34 days left. But yesterday I turned 35 weeks pregnant and I had 35 days left or 5 weeks left. I like saying the days I have left now better than weeks. it seems shorter.

Brighton and I have been trying to get outside and play, but it's been too cold. Nice blue sunny skies, but stinkin' cold wind and air.
I think we've gotten everything ready for little girl's arrival. We decided to skip the crib this time and go with the bassinet I got for *FREE*.  We're going to put our house back on the market next week and one thing our realtor said was to make the rooms feel bigger than they are. And since she will be staying in our room for awhile, the crib just seemed too big to set up again.
Her clothing is all put away, diapers are mostly clean (brighton still needs one at night sometimes). I have more coming soon that will be used only on her. When she comes I'll be doing diaper laundry regularly again and I'll keep Brighton in 2-3 diapers only as not to get them all confused with who's using which diaper.

Well, Mitchel's been doing well, but Brighton and I seem to be in some kind of sickness cycle. He had croup, then it turned into a cold, which he then gave to me. I ended up with a sinus infection and now he's not feeling well again. I'm praying everything will clear out of hear in the next few weeks! I hate being sick, and I hate seeing my little man sick.
Otherwise Brighton's doing great. I think he's getting excited to see his little sister. He talks about her alot and is even talking to my belly sometimes. I don't think he quite gets the concept yet, but I'm hoping he'll adapt well (which he usually does)

This picture thing still isn't working for me. I'll try to do pictures again soon

less than 50 days to go

I think I say this in every blog, but I'm so bad at remembering to blog.
I have like 6 weeks to go and it can't go by any slower. I'm so ready to just have the baby already. I want to hold her and love her, I even want to change her diaper!!! I know weird. But I just ordered some super cute cloth diapers and I can't wait to use them.
That's right Mitchel and I cloth diaper. We started out cloth diapering Brighton, but the daycare he went to didn't allow them so we used disposables, but when I lost my job and put ourselves on a strict budget, it was either food or diapers, so we went back to only cloth diapers. I think Brighton was about 19 months. Let me tell you, it saved us soooo much money. There were some weeks that we had no money left over after bills. This may have potty trained Brighton sooner, but having the cloth diapers just made everything easier. I also hit a lucky break when a cloth diaper retailer was running a promotion for store credit and I was able to get 6 more cloth diapers for free!
Cloth diapering will also save us money for the new baby too because I won't need to buy diapers. Yes, Yes, I did buy diapers for her, but all of Brighton's diapers were blue and green and I wanted a few girly looking ones. One of my favorite diaper makers Nifty Nappy went out of business at the begining of February so I hurried up and bought some from her. Plus, I didn't start full time diapering Brighton until he was 19 months and he didn't go through as many diapers as a newborn will. So I did need to add to my stash. But, spending $100 for some diapers is nothing compared to spending $2000+ on disposables.

I also loved wearing Brighton around in a sling and I'm looking forward to carrying this little one around too. I think it will be essential seeing as I'll have a busy 3 year old running around. I have 2 ring slings, a pouch sling, I made a moby style wrap, and I just got a mei tai wrap on ebay! I know, that's alot of slings for jsut one baby, but I only had the ring slings with Brighton and I wanted to try other slings to see which was more comforable.

Anyway. I can't wait for baby girl to get here.
Brighton's moving right along. He's regonizing most of his colors. He counts (not always in order), he can say his ABC's and he's getting more imaginative with his playing. Today he was giving his cars voices. He mainly just repeats things he's heard Mitchel or me say, or something he's heard on tv. Today one car apologized to the other for knocking him off the table. It was too cute. He loves to pretend he's an animal. Usually it's a dog or a T-rex.
We've been thinking of sending him to preschool or headstart this fall. Mainly just for some social interaction. I think he gets tired of me sometimes and could use some peer to peer playtime. He is a super social child and thrives on personal interactions.

Here's a super cute picture from our family photo shoot back in June 2010. My friend Beki's a photographer. If you are in Kansas or Missouri, give her a call. Her website is http://www.therustedchain.com/

What I've been thinking about lately

So I have like 70 days to go. yay! I can't wait to have this little baby in my arms and for Brighton to meet her. He knows there is a baby in my tummy and we've started talking about the baby coming out but I still don't think he quite gets it. He's been around babies and seems to like them and loves to give them hugs and kisses. I do worry a bit because h hugs them around the neck (sometimes a little too hard), but not in an aggressive way at all. He just loves them. I think Brighton will be really curious about the baby and I think keeping him involved in the new baby like helping get the diapers and clothing and such will help him adjust to her. I plan on keeping the same routine at home and doing all the same activities (when I'm able). He loves the zoo and the park and playing outside. April is an iffy month sometimes, but by May the weather will be nice enough to be outside most of the days. I've also been thinking of enrolling him in a preschool like program or a summer program at the library or something. He'll be 3 in May and I know he will benefit from the social interactions with other children as well as the learning aspect.

I've also beening thinking about the actual birth of this new baby. With Brighton, I was induced and ended up deciding to get an epidural which in retrospect I don't think I really needed. I had some complications after that I really want to avoid this time around. I want a shorter hospital stay too. With Brighton, I checked in Tuesday night, and left Friday night. This time I'd like to leave 24-36 hours after birth.
I'm planning on a natural birth with no medical intervention. I'm praying this baby decides to come on her own before 41 weeks. I want to labor at home as long as possible. The hospital is less than 10 minutes away. I know I can do it. And Mitchel is on board with it too. We've talked about it and we both know my limitations and concerns and desires. He's very supportive of whatever I choose to do.

We've also finalized her name. But, sorry I can't tell. We've decided to keep it a secret. We both love the name though and she has 2 middle names!

So that's all for now!

Let's see if I can get a few pictures on here.

halloween, thanksgiving, christmas, snow

 I told you i'd do a picture blog soon. Here are a bunch of pictures from the past few months.
This one is of Brighton at our local botanical gardens in his halloween costume. He was a super hero!




I threw a bunch of leaves at him after he'd been throwing them at me. I had good timing on this one!









See, he threw them too!

 Here's one at christmas in front of our tree. He was into taking pictures that night for some reason. they turned out really good!


 2 seconds after the flash he threw santa at me. Oh well, I got the shot


We got our first snow fall in January. He had so much fun playing in it

 This is our neighbor Tyson. He's about a year younger than Brighton. They were actually sitting in the street.







This is from thanksgiving. We went to Arizona and this was at a replica of an abandoned mining town.

So, What's Up?

So....What's up? Not much here. Still pregnant. I have like 89 days to go. I'm pretty excited. All I can think about is having the baby in my arms and for Brighton see her. I have some new cloth diapers I can't wait to try out, I made a sling wrap and got a new one I want to use. I just can't wait to have this little girl and dress her up. I also can't wait to breastfeed again. I loved nursing Brighton and I was sad when he decided to stop (but glad too).
Not much as changed in the last few weeks since I last blogged. I've grown bigger obviously. I did have to spend a few hours in the hospital (in L&D) but only to get some fluids. I was really dehydrated. I'd spent the previous night throwing up to the point where I couldn't even keep water down. They ended up putting 2 bags of 1000cc's each through an IV and I only peed out 200 cc's, so only 10%. The doctor said I was really dehydrated and that my body was just sucking up the extra fluid. Since then I've been drinking water, juice, anything. And I've been trying to eat a little better too. It's not always easy. I did break down and have a huge Wendy's double cheeseburger last weekend. It was soooo yummy.

I have my next appointment on tuesday and i'll have my glucose testing done. What fun. Drink a nasty sugary drink and get my blood drawn. I passed with no problems last time and I don't think I'll have a problem this time either. I also get to have the rhogam shot. My blood is negative and Mitchel's is positive. That equals a potential problem if this baby has positive blood like Mitchel. Shots don't bother me so it's all good.

One of my New Year's resolutions (or goals) is to do more sewing projects. I'm almost finished with Brighton's quilt. I just have to get the backing on it. I've made a few purses, and I made a wrap for the baby. I think I'm going to try to make a few small size diapers for her too. The diapers I have will be a bit big for a like a month and I don't want to spend a bunch of money on newborn diapers so I thought I'd make some to save money! I do need to pick up some flannel though.

Well that's all for now. I'll try to post some pictures soon. I'll do a christmas post maybe.