LOLA GREY: a birth story.

lola grey was born friday november 27, 2015 at 208pm
weighed 7lbs 8oz, stretched 19 inches long

the backstory:
as i was nearing the end of my pregnancy, i knew i wasn't going to last much past my due date, if even til that. i delivered gracie at 41 weeks. this entire pregnancy progressed much faster than gracie's. the contractions i had for weeks and weeks were so strong and intense that many times i swore my water was just going to break any minute, the pressure was so much. so at 38 weeks, when i went in for my appt, i knew i wanted to talk induction. my dr told me she was totally fine to induce at 39 weeks or later if i wanted to (bless you doctor!!). since 39 weeks was the day before thanksgiving, i knew that wouldn't be the right time. but i was fully ready to commit to later that weekend or even just a day or two before my due date sounded amazing to me. at that appointment, i was dilated to a 3 and about 60% effaced, and my dr, mom, and jae all were pretty convinced i'd likely go into labor before then. my mom talked about how she wouldn't be surprised if she was a november baby, not a december one (my due date was dec 2nd). part of me thought the same just because of the way my pregnancy had gone (i was barely dilated to a 2 at 41 weeks with gracie, so it was just all a bit fast forward this time compared). but part of me also didn't want to believe it, just because i didn't want to make those last few days any harder than necessary by being convinced i'd go earlier than what really happened. anyway! long story short, we set an induction date for dec 1st, just a day before my due date. i was happy and content with that and honestly happy to have the thanksgiving weekend to enjoy and get a few more things ticked off the to-do list pre-tiny baby.

then came wednesday the 25th (day before thanksgiving). i went for my 39 week appointment and i had high blood pressure. i had had high blood pressure the week before too. they checked my blood pressure again before i left my appointment and it was still high. technically, all it takes is two high resting blood pressures with so much time apart for the worry of preeclampsia to come up. which it did. my dr came back in and we chatted and she explained that it could totally be nothing, but with me at 39 weeks and baby girl essentially fully developed by that time, it didn't make sense to keep her in longer and risk something bad happening for no real reason. so we decided to put me on the monitor for awhile and check my fluid levels in my placenta and if everything there looked ok, then she'd let me go another day and get to eat thanksgiving dinner at home with family. so we did that, and everything with baby looked great, so we set up an induction for that friday the 27th instead of the following tuesday. ummm wow! that got real super quick! ok then. a baby in less than two days. i called jae and then my parents and we started planning for friday.

the birth day:
we called labor and deliver that friday morning at 6am, and were told to come in at 730am. of course we stayed up too late the night before and were running late that morning, so we actually got to l&d at 750am. a few people asked me the day before if i was nervous at all. i told them then and jae and i talked about it again on the drive into the hospital, i really didn't feel any nervousness. i was calm about it and just looking forward to having the day to labor and be with jae and meet our little girl. just the whole experience. i was maybe a little hopeful, i guess, that the pushing part would be easier and go much smoother this time than with gracie (pushed for 3 hours - she was facing the wrong way and just got super stuck in my hips). this little girl had shown her face (literally) a couple times during the last couple weeks of my pregnancy, facing up the same way gracie had been. so we just really hoped she behaved and stayed not only head down, but face down too!

we got things going and started me on the pitocin by 845am. i was still dilated to a 3 at that point. by about 11am, i was dilated to a 4 and my dr got there to break my water. and wow, did my water break! i won't go into too many gory details, but at least for me to remember (as if i will forget) it was like i had two giant waters that broke - one then and one again half an hour later. we could not believe the amount of water! my nurse couldn't help but just laugh because it was just so much! ok enough about the water.

things started getting more intense and painful then, but still not bad. by about 1230pm, i was dilated to a 5 and 100% effaced. i had been up sitting on the birthing ball and walking/rocking in the room with jae to lean on during contractions, which was so nice to be able to 'labor', even though i was being induced and on pitocin. with gracie, i was induced and on pitocin and i literally didn't leave my bed the entire day except once or twice to go to the bathroom. it was not how i imagined laboring, and knew i didn't want the same thing this time around. thank goodness my nurse was awesome and hooked me up to the portable monitor so i could be up and about whenever i wanted. i realized around that same time that the contractions, while still bearable, were going to be soon unbearable for me. it's hard to know when to cry 'epidural!' and when you think you can still go for awhile. things just can change so fast. my nurse said the anesthesiologist was just going to do another epidural then so it'd be at least 15 minutes til he could come do mine. so i decided it was time to get me in line!

{sidenote: i got further along in my contractions and labor this time than with gracie as far as when i got my epidural. it was pretty intense and jae was such an amazing rock for me. doing whatever i asked him to - rubbing my back, letting me lean on him, on the birth ball, off the birth ball, holding my hands, getting me sips of water, moving monitor wires - everything. he talked me through the hard painful times and was supportive and perfect for me during my laboring and delivery time. i am so grateful for those hours of just us two alone during all of that. it was another piece that added to our amazing day.}

i did get my epidural about 15-20 minutes after that, and that i am so grateful for. i was so happy to labor and feel it all up til that point, but i was at my limit and things were pretty rough for a few minutes there. the anesthesiologist was a rockstar and super quick and i was soon feeling much more comfortable.

by about 115pm i was dilated to an 8, and after another 30 minutes, i was fully dilated and ready to go! my nurse came to check me and actually didn't even have to - "oh well there's her head! so yeah you're ready!" were her words. best words ever!

my dr came in and they got the room set up for delivery. i started pushing at 2pm and sweet lola grey came at 208pm. four pushes! eight minutes! compared to the three hours and countless pushes with gracie, it was a breeze. i was so so grateful and was able to actually enjoy it.

we did skin to skin and jae cut the cord and it was quiet, with the afternoon light coming in the window. it was the closest to a perfect delivery i can imagine. honestly it was such a peaceful, happy, beautiful day bringing our sweet baby girl into the world.

i will never forget it.

thoughts on pregnancy #2 (vol. 4)

How far along? 39 weeks. and feeling every one of those weeks.
Maternity Clothes? yes and i'm over it.
Sleep: between the heartburn/acid reflux that's found it's way back in my life the last couple of weeks and the small, smooshed bladder and the ginormous belly to haul around when trying to switch sides and the pain in my back by morning - not so much.
Best moment this week: jae got to come to my OB appt with me this time (he's only made it to maybe two of them this pregnancy), so that is always fun when he's there with me. also, i was sitting in the rocking chair with gracie the other night, getting ready to read stories before bed, and baby sister was kicking and pushing some sort of limb out of my belly (or at least that's what it felt like). anyway i had gracie put her hand on my belly and feel it, and little sister kind of kicked her. gracie got a big grin on her face and i think she really did feel it and was both excited but confused ;) it's hard to know how real this all is for a 2 year old, but in that moment, it felt pretty real and that was exciting and sweet.
Miss Anything? fitting in (any) clothes. 
Movement: she's definitely running out of room in there, but she still manages to ram body parts into my ribs or bladder or whatever else she can. i'm not really complaining though, i am glad and thankful to feel her moving and letting me know she's around and getting big and ready to come out soon. 
Food cravings: i feel like i've kind of hit a food-enjoying wall. i don't love to eat at this point, just because i'm already big and energy-less and eating takes space in my stomach and energy to make it and eat it! so no, no cravings right now i don't think. 
Anything making you queasy or sick? nope.
Have you started to show yet? i think i've officially hit the bigger than my first pregnancy line on the size chart. maybe not and i'm just feeling that way. who knows.
Gender: baby sister :)
Labor Signs: lots of contractions, both braxton hicks and 'real' ones (painful ones that make me feel like something is actually happening). baby has dropped even more in the last week and i'm dilated to a 3 now.
Belly Button in or out? kind of sticking out a little, which is surprising and a little weird.
Weddings rings on or off? on!
Happy or Moody most of the time: really happy and excited and anxious. but also, it's the last few days of pregnancy, so it's very easy to just be so tired and done.
Looking forward to: thanksgiving this week. time spent with family and more family. we have a feast thursday and another one friday. jae's convinced we're going to be eating our turkey dinner at the hospital, but i don't think so. as much as i want to be done being pregnant and meet this sweet little thing like, now, i am looking forward to these last few days with our family of 3 and enjoying the holiday time. it's such a weird time, the end of pregnancy. so many emotions.

we set up our christmas tree this past weekend. yes, we're those people. this year, at least. i just know i'll be busy (and exhausted) with two little people the next few weeks, and i want to be able to enjoy my time with them as much as i can, as well as the time with family and friends and the holidays. so i convinced jae it was necessary to set up christmas at our house before thanksgiving this year. so we did. well, most of it's up. the rest will be up in the next few days. this year is going to be SOOOOOOOO much fun with a 2 year old that can understand and be able to really enjoy the holidays this year, as well as a fresh-from-heaven newborn to snuggle by the glow of the christmas lights. i cannot wait.

family pictures 2015.

i realize we'll be having some more pictures done in a couple weeks after this new baby sister joins us, so maybe doing some pictures a few weeks ago (while I was largely pregnant) is a little bit of over-kill. but I wanted some pictures done of sweet gracie girl when she turned 2, and since jae's brother was nice enough to take time out of his schedule to do the pictures for us, I figured we might as well sneak in a few pictures of jae and I and family ones too.

we went up to silver lake up big cottonwood canyon, and although it was still 'early' fall, the colors were just starting to turn and it was beautiful. colder than we expected! and busy. but beautiful. I think they showcase gracie's personality pretty well (aka anything but a simple smiling picture ;))

and now for serious picture overload because I can't narrow them down...