The Birth Story

The past couple of weeks have been crazy!! Since I was measuring so big so early, I was positive that Addy would be born ahead of schedule. I really did not expect to still be pregnant at Thanksgiving. Everything worked out really well, though, so I'm glad it happened the way it did. My measurements evened out towards the end and my belly never got to the 80 cm that I had anticipated, lol. In fact, the last couple of weeks, she was measuring right on.

So anyway, my mom and dad and my sister and her family all drove up (separately) from California to have Thanksgiving dinner with us. They got here on Wednesday the 25th. We went out to dinner, perused Cabela's, and made pies that evening. My sister had agreed to stay here until the baby was born so she could watch Brooklyn for us. I was scheduled to be induced on December 1st (the earliest they could fit me in.) However, Tyler was anxious to get back to work and my parents were heading out on Saturday the 28th. So, everybody was quite adamant that I do a lot of walking to get the baby to come. (Sorry it didn't work!) On Thanksgiving, the girls and kids stayed home and cooked while the boys (men?) went and played football and hiked the Y. It was a low-key dinner but very nice to be together. We put the kids to bed and watched a movie that night. On Friday, we all went to Gardner Village and did the scavenger hunt for elves doing various activities. It was just a little bit too cold, but still fun. The girls got sugar sticks at the end. Then we went to Cafe Rio for lunch, yum! In honor of Black Friday, Katy and Tyler went shopping while everyone else napped. Tracy and Lauren came and visited that night.

On Saturday, Katy and clan spent time with the Nichols family in Salt Lake and we went to the mall with my parents. The goal of being at the mall? To induce labor. Again, no dice. We did get to go out to Iggy's for lunch which is always a plus. My mom and dad left for St. George that afternoon while we watched the BYU vs. Utah game. Okay, Jason watched the game. Brooklyn and I took naps. Sunday evening after church we went over to Tracy and Lauren's for pizza dinner. It was delicious and the kids had fun playing with their cute little nativity set and reindeer antler headbands.

Monday was, I thought, my last day to do whatever I wanted before having the baby. We took the kids to the cute Christmas storytime at the library in the morning. Then we went to Costco and had samples because Brooklyn had been begging to go for the past few days. This is where Katy decided that Utahans are "vicious." Never get between Mormons and free food, lol. You really do have to be prepared to fight for that little square of toast with grape jelly. Afterwards we went to Emmett's and Ethel's for lunch and ice cream.

We then went home to put the kids down for naps. After getting Brooklyn settled, I checked the messages on our phone. Guess what? One of the calls was from the hospital. Apparently, they had 11 inductions scheduled for the following day and were hoping to get a couple of us in there early. I called them back and they asked if I could be there in 15 minutes!!! Luckily, I had my bag all packed and Jason and I just grabbed it and left. It was so nice to not have to do an emotional goodbye with Brooklyn. Plus, she had just spent the last several days with Katy and was having so much fun with Lucy that I didn't worry about her waking up without us at all. Apparently, we weren't even missed.

Upon arrival to the hospital, they whisked me into a delivery room and started putting on monitors, IVs, etc. By 3:00 pm, I was all hooked up to pitocin and starting to have contractions. We thought for sure we'd have a November baby. Things progressed slower than anticipated, despite having my water broken an hour or so later. Eventually I asked for an epidural. I wasn't really having much pain, but I was feeling more and more pressure and didn't see any reason to let the pain start. Okay, so the real reason I asked for it was I was sick of having to drag all the IV equipment into the bathroom and the fluids they were giving me were making me really have to go!! After the epidural (and accompanying catheter) I was a lot more comfortable. It was a good thing I asked for the epidural when I did because the anesthesiologist was headed to a surgery and if I had asked any later I would have had to wait.

After the epidural, Jason and I just hung out and watched a movie. We texted family and played games with the clock, wondering when Addy would make an appearance. At around 11 pm, the contractions were getting to the point where I was in a good deal of pain. I tried to just grin and bear it, but when the midwife told me I was still only dilated to a 7 I realized we still had some time left and asked for an extra dose of the epidural. That was pretty much the only 20 minutes of pain I had during the whole experience. Oh, that and them putting the IV in my HAND!! Why would they do that?!

At 12:40 am, the nurse told me I was fully dilated. They got everything set up and I started with a "practice push" at 12:48. I seriously thought we were still "practicing" when they told me the baby's head was out. =) The nurses all went crazy telling me how much hair she had. I didn't really believe them because they said the same thing about Brooklyn and she was pretty much bald. When they put Adalyn on my chest, it was a total disconnect. I had been picturing her as a light, bald little baby like her sister. Who was this dark little curly-headed stranger??... that was already peeing on me? They took her and weighed her and cleaned her up some. She weighed 8 lbs 4 oz and was 20.5 inches long. She was born December 1st, 2009 at 12:55 am after 7 minutes of pushing. Even though the first ultrasound we got had put her due date at December 6th, the nurse said that her skin was already peeling some which usually means they are at least 40 weeks or later. I think December 1st was right on.

I got to hold her for a while before they took her to the nursery for a bath and tests. The epidural wore off pretty quickly and I was all of a sudden starving. After being transferred, examined, eating, taking pictures of the baby in the stocking they brought her in, etc. we finally got to sleep. By the way, why is it so important that the trashes in the room be emptied at precisely 7:30 every morning?? Seriously. Jason had to get up and leave that morning. Katy and Tyler wanted to get on the road to CA and we didn't have anybody else to watch Brooklyn. It was a sad goodbye because we didn't know how much we would see each other for the next couple of days. The hospital wasn't allowing children under the age of 14 to visit because of the swine flu. So, we knew Jason would have to be at home the majority of the time with Brooklyn. Before leaving town, Katy came to see Addy. We discussed changing her name. She didn't seem like an Adalyn to either of us. I think mostly because of the disconnect I mentioned before. I just hadn't pictured the baby looking like she does. However, Jason and I didn't have any other names that we both liked enough, so Adalyn stuck. I like it a lot more now after getting to know her some and calling her that. Brooklyn pronounces it "Adin." A few hours after Katy left, I got some AWESOME news. The hospital decided to lift the ban on children visitors!! It was so crazy that it happened THAT DAY!!! What a blessing. So Jason and Brooklyn got to come see me both days I was in the hospital. I was still very anxious to get home, though. That bed was extremely uncomfortable and hospitals are surprisingly noisy.

Adalyn and I were discharged from the hospital yesterday morning (Dec. 3rd). She needs to go back tomorrow morning for another billirubin test. It was high on the initial test so they ordered another one 48 hours later. That one was not as high, but they are checking it again tomorrow just to make sure she's okay. I think she's perfect. I have loved getting to know her and actually wish she was awake more so I could spend more time with her. It's nice to have the time to be with Brooklyn though. Brooklyn's got a cold, so when Addy's awake I pretty much constantly tell her to stay away. So sad...

I'm feeling surprisingly good. I never had to take any narcotics and haven't even taken much Advil since being home. I didn't tear at delivery and just seem to have more energy than I did with Brooklyn. It's a hidden blessing that Jason is unemployed right now because he's here to take care of Brooklyn while I take care of Addy. Even so, I think the only thing that would make life perfect right now is a JOB!!

We are so glad that Adalyn is here and that she is healthy. She is absolutely beautiful. Seriously, pictures don't do her justice. She makes the cutest little newborn expressions and she loves to snuggle close. I'm so excited to watch her grow and for Brooklyn to get over her cold so the sisters can bond. What a BLESSING to be a mom.