Brad, Kimber, Micah & Hallie

Catching up on blogging, here is Micah meeting his little sis for the first time. He came up to the hospital with Daddy and Grandma and was very good, just had a tad too much energy for such a small space with so many interesting things to get into! He and Grandma wrapped a present for Micah to give to Hallie and he was very excited to do that! He gave her a little doll (which he calls her dolphin) and for weeks he would not let that doll be more than 6 in away from her. He made sure she had it at all times! He is very, very sweet to her from day one and even two months later there has not been a time where he has done anything to intentionally hurt or be mean to her. He loves his little sister and constantly smothers her with kisses!

The day before I went in to "be induced" I had a small moment of panic when I realized that the big brother shirt that I intended for Micah to wear to the hospital to meet Hallie had gotten packed away with the clothes I had sorted (my fault!) I just didn't know what I would do if he didn't have a big brother shirt! Luckily for me I have the sweetest and most talented friends! My friend Anna came to my rescue by helping me to make him this cute shirt (she did 90% I did 10%) at the very last second. She lives so close to me and we have really enjoyed crafting together. This though so so wonderful of her to spend her entire evening doing for me!

I had Micah about 3 days after my due date. Honestly I totally expected the same thing with Hallie. I was pretty floored when at 36 weeks I was already 2 cm 70% effaced! My doctor seemed convinced I would go into labor at any minute. 3 uncomfortable weeks later I was still pregnant. I went in for my 39 week appointment on Friday, the day I turned 39 weeks and was sent home because the doctor was at the hospital delivering a baby. Later that day they called me and rescheduled the appointment for the following Monday since several more women showed up in labor.

Over the weekend we had visitors and although I enjoyed every moment with our dear friends, I was really uncomfortable and starting to really swell up big time in my legs. I wanted to get a few maternity style pics so Hallie wouldn't feel slighted that I had them with Micah and not with her, so on Sunday we went out to Calico Basin (a canyon near our home) and took a few pics. This also involved hiking probably a mile total, up a mountain, in flip flops and 100 degree weather. Probably not my best move. On the way down, I started having some pretty good contractions and was not 100% sure I wouldn't be going into labor! I rested and things calmed down, although my feet, ankles, and now calves and thighs were getting pretty big!

On Monday morning I went back to the doctor and thins time got to see him. He asked "How are you doing?" I responded, "Good, but I started swelling up over the weekend." He looked down and seemed fairly surprised at just how swollen I was. The good news was that my blood pressure was still fine so it wasn't an urgent concern. He went ahead and checked me and found I was 4 cm and 80 % effaced. Then he put the ultrasound machine on my belly to check on the princess. Everything looked good with the exception of the fluid being cloudy. He said this could be marconium (the baby having a bowel movement) or vernyx (the white coating covering the baby in womb) there was no way to know but f it is merconium it isn't great for the baby.

So his conclusion with everything considered was this baby really needed to make an appearance this week. He asked me if I had an induction date which I did not. He told me to think about it and let them know when I wanted to do it. You could pretty much see the look on the nurse's face say "that's not how this works." She told me that the doctor had surgeries scheduled all of Wednesday and Thursday so if I wanted to be sure he delivered me I would need to go in preferably today (Monday) or tomorrow. Brad's Mom was coming to help with Micah and the Baby on Tuesday so I did not want to have the baby before my reinforcements arrived!

The office called the hospital I was delivering at and asked to schedule an induction for Tuesday night. They informed them that there were no inductions available except Monday or Friday night. The lady asked the doctor if she should call another hospital or what she should do. The doctor looked at me and said, "you just go in when you are ready and tell them you are feeling crampy. They are going to check you and since you are 4 cm they are not going to let you go. They will call me and I will have them start your labor. "

So all of a sudden I was about to have a baby. It was a lot to process. I hadn't planned on getting induced and wasn't 100% sure what had just happened. It took me awhile to process through things but I decided I would just do what I needed to do to have a healthy baby. On Tuesday I woke up and felt great. Early that afternoon I called the doctor's office and asked to speak to the nurse. I told her I was a little less swollen and feeling good and wanted to see if we could give it another few days to see if my body would get things going on its own. She told me the main concern was the possible merconium in the fluid and that could lead to heath risks for the baby. I think there s a good possibility she played it up more than necessary because she was very concerned about me accommodating the doctor' schedule but either way we were going in that night. If there was a risk for the baby, I wasn't going to take it.

Last belly pic before the hospital. 39.5 weeks!

Brad picked his mom up from the airport that afternoon, then came home. We finished some odds and ends around the house, went to an early dinner, then headed out to the hospital around 6 pm. It was a weird feeling going to the hospital just because, not really in labor. We headed in and went up to maternity. They put me in triage to check my status and monitor me. I was still 4 cm and 80% so they wanted to keep me in triage and monitor me for a bit. About an hour later we were both getting antsy. They had a shift change at the hospital and when the new nurse came we asked her what was going on. She sad they were trying to get a hold of my doctor but he was no where to be found. Great.... Another hour later they came in and said it was time to move me to a labor room.

Triage

Last moments of pregnancy

The drugs

Yup... I'm having contractions

Daddy to be cheering me on

Starting to feel it now...

Around 8 pm I got settled in the labor room and Brad went and got the bags. I was hooked up to all of the monitors and we were good to go. We were watching the contraction machine and Brad noticed that I was actually having very regular contractions by myself that were about 5 minutes apart. They were small but a sign that labor probably would have been imminent even if we hadn't gone in. They put in my IV and started me on fluids and pitocin. The contractions started but were still very manageable for a few hours. Around 11 pm they were starting to get more intense so I asked them to go ahead and get the epidural ready so it wouldn't be too late. By midnight I had the epidural and we decided to get some rest and try to take a nap since it would be a long night. At some point I remember feeling some pressure down low but I drifted back into sleep. The nurse came in around 1 and I told her and she checked my progress. She told me I was ready to have a baby. They were going to call the doctor and the baby would be here soon! It's all a bit of a blur but the doctor must have gotten there around 1:15 am. He told me to give a big push, so I did. Then he said "Stop! You are too good at that! Now just give me little pushes." So 1 big push and 2-3 little pushes and she was here! Welcome to the Hallie Grace. When she came out the cord was wrapped around her neck. The doctor still let Brad cut the cord but he positioned his hand between the neck and the cord so he could cut safely. I remember looking down at her and thinking that she was really purple and it took her a good bit to cry. Everything turned out okay though as she got nice and pink after they suctioned her airways and definitely found her voice.

What did you do! I was comfy in there!

All in all, a great experience. The labor ended up to be really quick and we were taken great care of by the nurses and staff. A healthy baby and momma, and a happy daddy. Life is good.