Rachel's Birth Story

September 31st started as a nice and easy day.

My nesting itch was getting crazy, but my baby shower was just days away so I didn't have any clothes to wash, and She would be sharing a room with Blake and me so I had no nursery to prepare... I was left with the laundry of the people who had already been born. 

I washed EVERY stitch of clothing we owned, but instead of folding as I went, I just piled them up and thought "Oh, it'll be  nice to just fold them all at once." and on to the Lay-z-Boy they went.

My dear friend, Janelle came over to deliver a fabulous church bag she had made for me (check her out at SewItSeams) My dad had Kaleb, so we just chatted for hours and hours. 

We finally said goodbye, and not two seconds after I stood up, I felt a little trickle "down there". 

Now, I had the same little accident days before Kaleb was born, but I got all freaked out and thought my water broke and went to the hospital only to have them tell me "uh, sorry. You're not having a baby today, you're just incontinent." So I was reluctant to go to there. . . but then every step I took a little more came out. I grabbed my phone and told Blake what was up and he said to just go to be sure and to call him if it was go time. I didn't want get my dad all excited so I just asked him to keep Kaleb for a bit longer and Blake would pick him on his way home from work.

I show up in L&D, try to explain what I think has happened, but they make me go through the whole shabang with the gown and everything. They use their little test strips and say "welp, its not amniotic fluid, but there isnt much so lets see if anything else comes out and test again." 

I call Blake, give him an update, and just wait. an hour or so later they test again and it says that it IS amniotic fluid (or possibly a fluke). Now we're all confused, so they're gonna do ANOTER test thats supposed to be much more accurate (where they look at it under a  microscope as opposed to just using the test strips.) 

I call Blake again and tell him whats up. By now hes asked him mother to come over and watch Kaleb. I wait for FOREVER. Then the results come back - not amniotic fluid. So I pack up, I'm discharged and I go home. 

I thank Blake's mom for watching the boy and start folding the laundry and ranting to Blake how I'm so happy we're not having the baby today because I have NOTHING ready for her. 

I get up and walk to the bathroom.

SPLOOSH!

I stand there, in the bathroom, just in disbelief and a puddle. I call in Blake and I'm like "This is a lot of liquid, right?" he looks at me and asks "why are you just standing it?!" I told him I needed someone else to see the amount of water coming out of me so if the doctors try to send me home again I'll have backup. 

So I pack a bag (that I didn't already have packed because its THREE WEEKS EARLY)

We go to the hospital, but the main entrance is closed, so I have to go through emergency which also means they're making me use a wheelchair, which I HATE. I tell L&D the whole story and they don't even test me, they just say "Yup you're having a baby!" I tell Blake to go ahead and take Kaleb to his mothers.

Now, my water broke with Kaleb too. But we told the doctors at that time that we did not want to use pitocin and we wanted to see in labor would start on its own. Five hours later and we had to use pitocin anyway. So, with Rachel I didn't want to mess around and said to go ahead and shoot me up b/c my body just wouldn't go into labor on its own. 

The contractions were sharp and unpleasant, but I was well rested and had eaten recently so it wasn't that bad. When they started getting longer, I asked for the anesthesiologist and we started talking about an epidural. 

My experience with Kaleb's birth and an epidural was awful, so I was sort of afraid, but this doctor had me lay down and Blake put his face really close to mine and I got through it. It was a different sort of numb and much less intense than my previous one. 

It was October 1 now and I was at 4cm and my epidural was working so I decided to take a nap. Not two hours later, I started feeling this incredible pressure. I did not know what it was. It wasn't pain exactly, but it felt like I had a "filled-to-the-brim" bladder and someone was pushing as hard as they could on it and I was trying not to pee. It was very unpleasant. I kept trying to tell Blake what I was feeling and that I didn't know what was wrong. The nurse asked me if I needed to push. THAT WAS IT. I hadn't even considered that because it had been no time at all! The nurse checked me and I was 9cm, ready to go. 

I tried to relax, because I wanted my grandmother in the room with me, but no one had expected my labor to go so fast (30 hours with Kaleb) So she wasn't even in the city!

The nurse asked me to push and then there was the top of a baby head. Then she told me to hold on while she went to get the doctor, but the damn was broken and I couldn't stop! Thank goodness the doctor  was just outside, because I told Blake that I was not holding this baby in and he better get ready to catch. 

I pushed once... twice... stop to turn baby... final push... and she was out.

WHAT? She was here? 

Everything had happened so fast and I felt so unprepared in regards to "things" for her and the state of my home, but that didn't matter because she was here now. 

The first time I saw her I thought "Thats my face."

They put her right on me and started cleaning. I just started sobbing. 

She latched on pretty well, but her blood sugar was low so they gave her half a bottle of formula then we put her back to breast. 

A little bit later my dad and grandpa came to see her along with Blake's parents with Kaleb. 

Kaleb said "oh yeah, thats my baby sister." Like they were old pals. 

He was so happy to hold her and to be a big brother. 

Blake spent the first night with me, but then went home to clean and finish the preparations. 

When he came back the next day, he brought Kaleb and it was THE SWEETEST THING I EVER SAW. 

HONESTLY, its my patronus moment. No doubt. 

No one had told him to sing to her or asked him to sing to her or anything. It was all Kaleb. All love. 

 My Dad and stepmom generously got us a carseat to take our little love home in and my aunt Nene basically got her an entire wardrobe, two beds a bat and a million other things. 

We also received gifts and visits from my cousin Tiffany and Jillian. My family and Blake's family were so supportive and wonderful. 

It was an event and a bit of a surprise birth, but shes here and we love her SO much.

Shes our sunshine. 

Kaleb's Birth Story

The birth story of my baby boy, Kaleb.

As captured by the talented LDS photographer and friend, Ashley Perez.

It started on September 6, 2011. 

My water broke just after I had finished making a burrito.

Figures, right?

Well, I changed my pants, finished my burrito, did a little primping and we made our way to the hospital.

I wasn't feeling any contractions at that point. Just excitement and relief that we would soon have our baby boy.

While preparing for our little one, we devised a birthing plan that included the use of "Hypnobabies".

An awesome program that helped me get through most of my pregnancy pain, including Sciatica.

The main part of our "plan" however, was to roll with the punches. If something happened not on our birthing plan, to just go with it and make it work.

Good thing too, because nothing went according to plan.

I did not think my water would break, but it did so I had to stay at the hospital the entire time. 

I wasn't progressing hardly at all, so the doctors suggested pitocin. 

I said "no" I didn't want to interfere if I could help it, so we waited another painful 4 hours and still nothing. 

Blake (my husband) and I talked about it, and came to the conclusion; we weren't inducing labor (which we absolutely did not want to do) we were helping it along a bit. 

So they pumped me full of pitocin and labor got intense very quickly. 

I used the techniques learned from Hypnobabies through the coaching and support of my husband.

(and oh my goodness, he was amazing. So gentle and attentive. So loving and sweet. He was amazing)

However, 24 hours after labor started I was completely exhausted, and slightly delusional.

(apparently I was telling Blake about a man who wasn't allowed in the room...?)

Not to mention I had to constantly wear a fetal monitor around my belly, had the IV of pitocin in my hand and had to pee every two minutes. There was constantly unhooking, rolling over, hobbling, re hooking just to do it all over again. 

Everything was so intense, and I was so exhausted, Blake made the executive decision to have me get an epidural. 

I cried.

I felt weak and like I was doing the wrong thing.

Blake reminded me I had to have enough energy to push, or we would have to have a C-section.

(because my water broke, bacteria was able to enter my uterus and Kaleb and I were starting to run a fever)

So, I yielded and cried felt the most icky thing ever as a tube entered my spine.

However, two minutes after that, I watched the little contraction tracker shoot up and I didn't feel a thing. 

You also have to have catheter put in when you have an epidural, and as gross as that sounds, I didn't have to get up every two minutes anymore so that was a relief as well

I started laughing.

Then I "passed out". (read: feel asleep from exhaustion)

Thats about when Ashley joined us.

Blake was reading Kaleb The Lion The Witch and The Wardrobe almost every night so he, Kaleb,  would know Blake's voice.

My mother in law cam in and felt my little boy squirming

Blake was so wonderful. He was comforting me here.

Trying to say hello to Kaleb

I was so very exhausted

... and a little delirious. 

Blake was my rock

My little brother's came in to visit. (Dig my Hospital gown? I got it at Gownies along with another one that I wore the following day.)

My dad came by too.

When my fingers became too bloated for my wedding ring, I started waring Blake's Spanish CTR ring.

I started to feel the urge to push, and told my nurses. We got things ready. I started pushing.

For three hours I was pushing. I was so exhausted.

Blake said a silent prayer while things stalled. (I didn't know about this until we got the images back from Ashley)

There was about a minute in between pushes... I fell asleep each time.

Blake could see Kaleb's head!

Just a few more pushes and he would here... have I mentioned how exhausted I was?

Then finally, late in the evening on September 7, 2011, he was finally here.

See that cone head? Thats what happens when you hang out in the birth canal for three hours. His head is perfect now, in case you were wondering.

The first time I held him he was right on top of where he spent the last 9 months. 

Because had a fever and possible infection, they took him away to clean and monitor him right away. Normally they would have just handed him to me and I could have held him. This is was saddest part of the day in retrospect, but at the time I just saying "make sure hes OK."

And Blake got to stay with him.

They handed him to me for a quick minute...

and I got to kiss him for the first time.

Then Kaleb and his daddy went to the NICU for bath and antibiotics. And my daddy came by to see how I was feeling.

Along with more family. I loved having them there for support.

It was a good thing Blake read to our little baby so often, because Blake was able to sooth him while I was getting stitched and squeezed and waiting to see my boy.

There is a painting at the hospital with a little red button in the center, and if you've just delivered you can push the button as you pass by and it plays Brahms Lullaby throughout the hospital. 

And when I finally got to hold him, I could barely breathe. He looked just like a mini my father. He was MY son. I had a son. I could barely breathe.

My little kicker baby was in my arms.

Our family had its newest addition. We were complete. We were whole.

I am so thankful we had Ashley there to capture these precious moments.
And I'm thankful for my darling little family.