Well it has been an extremely long time since I last posted! I apologize. Things have been really crazy in our home! We've been doing a lot of renovations trying to get our house ready to list for sale and we wanted to get most of them done before Baby Lacey joined us. I'll post about those things another day. Today I want to tell you the story or Lacey's birth.
My contractions started at 10:30 pm on the 11th. They were really quite bearable at first and the first couple started out about 25 minutes apart. Then they jumped to about 10 minutes apart for the next 2 hours and started to get strong enough that I had to really breath through them and get up on my hands and knees to work through them which is how I've done it each time I've gone into labor. After the contractions ended I would look at the clock, lay back in my bed and try to sleep in case I was in labor all night and all the next day like I was with my boys. I knew I would need rest.
Well at 2:30 the contractions were already really strong and only 5 minutes apart. I was starting to have some difficulty getting through the contractions without counter pressure from Tyler (who I was trying to let sleep for the same reason I was trying to sleep). I finally decided I better wake him up and say "it's time to go to the hospital". It made me really nervous to say that because I had a hard time believing it could progress so quickly for me. I decided to call my midwife too and see if it would be smart to go to the hospital or wait a while longer. I felt bad waking her up but I know that's what she's there for. She told me to go in and get checked. Well, Tyler had a hard time believing it too. He woke up and said "are you sure?" then called his mom to come stay the night with our boys and started getting in the shower. "Wait, what? You're getting in the shower? I just said it's time to the hospital." Yeah he didn't think it was that pressing of a situation given our last 2 experiences.
So Tyler started loading things up and getting everything ready for us to leave and his mom arrived right before 3:00am. We put the seats down in the back of our Subaru wagon so I could ride back there and get on my hands and knees if I needed to. I was on them the whole ride. I couldn't deal with the intensity of the contractions in any other position and every sharp turn or jolt triggered another contraction. A short distance before the hospital I had a particularly strong one and really thought I was starting to feel the urge to push. "No, it's my imagination" I told myself, "It's not even 3:30 yet."
Well we got to the emergency room entrance and they got a wheel chair and started taking me up to Labor and Delivery. By the time we got to the elevator I had to bail off the wheel chair to my hands and knees for the contraction I could feel coming on. The nurse wheeling me was shocked by it and almost ran over me! It still makes me laugh thinking about her reactions. Especially because then she wheeled me up to the counter and said, "I'm going to leave her chair pointed this way because she randomly bails out." Well?! Who can handle that kind of pressure sitting down?! Honestly!
So when they checked me in triage I was already dilated to a 6 and completely effaced. I was happy to hear I wasn't making things up in my head. They called my midwife and told her they didn't think they'd be able to get me all the antibiotics for the group b strep I tested positive for (again) and that I was a 6 and feeling "pushy". The next time they checked me probably 10 minutes later I was already a 7. For those of you who don't know, active labor is defined by progressing by at least a centimeter per hour. The next time they checked me maybe 15 minutes later I was right around an 8. I was really starting to feel like pushing now! They called the resident MD in for an emergency delivery and checked me again. I was a 9 and they figured as soon as my water broke I'd be a 10. Well... my water broke shortly after that with a really strong contraction. I could feel Lacey on her way out and it was right about then that the resident MD came running in. She told me I was doing great and to keep pushing and about 3 pushes later (still on my hands and knees mind you), Lacey was born! We were at the hospital less than an hour and already has our sweet girl joining us!
Just then my midwife walked in. Yeah... she should have gone to the hospital when I called her at 2:30. Oh well. It's not like anyone was really coaching or helping me. Lacey was ready and on her way out. Someone just needed to be there to catch her!
I only tore a little bit. most were too small to see at first and the resident MD thought I hadn't torn at all. My midwife was standing over her watching her every move and started pointed out the tears. I'm glad she came. I was grateful for her effort. The nurses didn't really communicate to her how fast things were moving. I can't say that I blame them though. They were all running around trying to get things ready for Lacey.
Tyler got to cut the cord and hold her first. I was really weak after being on my hands and knees nearly non stop for 6 hours. I had to lay down and try to rest for a minute before I could feel comfortable holding her. Honestly... I don't remember how long it was before I held her. I'm going to have to ask Tyler that, I was distracted by the stitches and pitocin.
I ended up having to be put on pitocin unfortunately. For some reason I was bleeding a little too much immediately after delivery. I don't know if I really needed it or not I don't know how they guage that, but I'm grateful I was not in the car or something where I wouldn't have had that precaution had my body really started to lose it.
So Lacey didn't get the antibiotics they intended her to get to prevent her from getting group b strep but I'm hoping since her exposure time (from when my water broke) was only maybe 5 minutes that she won't have any late on set. So far she is healthy and eating well.
I'm recovering well and we're all learning how to be a family of 5 now. It's crazy that we already have 3 kids!
Luke LOVES his baby sister. He wants to hold her all the time and he has never held still so long in his life but he sits there very still and careful with her in his arms and frequently leans over to kiss her forehead. It melts my heart!
Dax is intrigued by Lacey but is going through some jealousy. He still likes to look at her and talk about her but isn't very interested in touching her and wants to be right by me while I try to nurse her.
Thanks for all the love and support from everyone! We really appreciate your show of congratulations. We're so happy to have Lacey in our family!
Here I am at 34 weeks pregnant. I was much bigger when she finally decided to be born but I didn't take any other pictures.
Lacey Anne was born at 4:23 am on April 12th! She weighed 7 lbs 11 ounces and measured 21 inches long. Tyler and I had both been getting impatient for her to make her appearance. I started trying a lot of natural methods to try to induce labor as soon as I hit the 37 week milestone. Dax was born at 37 weeks which kind of got my hopes up that she would do like him and grace us with her presence early too. Well... she was pretty determined to stay put until she was good and ready. My cousin and I learned early on that we were only 4 days apart in our pregnancies so we even did some things together to try to both induce labor. 
We got pedicures and we were going to drink some raspberry leaf tea. I guess I left her hanging on that one since I went into labor and she drank it without me. Sorry, I'll make it up to you!
We got pedicures and we were going to drink some raspberry leaf tea. I guess I left her hanging on that one since I went into labor and she drank it without me. Sorry, I'll make it up to you!My contractions started at 10:30 pm on the 11th. They were really quite bearable at first and the first couple started out about 25 minutes apart. Then they jumped to about 10 minutes apart for the next 2 hours and started to get strong enough that I had to really breath through them and get up on my hands and knees to work through them which is how I've done it each time I've gone into labor. After the contractions ended I would look at the clock, lay back in my bed and try to sleep in case I was in labor all night and all the next day like I was with my boys. I knew I would need rest.
Well at 2:30 the contractions were already really strong and only 5 minutes apart. I was starting to have some difficulty getting through the contractions without counter pressure from Tyler (who I was trying to let sleep for the same reason I was trying to sleep). I finally decided I better wake him up and say "it's time to go to the hospital". It made me really nervous to say that because I had a hard time believing it could progress so quickly for me. I decided to call my midwife too and see if it would be smart to go to the hospital or wait a while longer. I felt bad waking her up but I know that's what she's there for. She told me to go in and get checked. Well, Tyler had a hard time believing it too. He woke up and said "are you sure?" then called his mom to come stay the night with our boys and started getting in the shower. "Wait, what? You're getting in the shower? I just said it's time to the hospital." Yeah he didn't think it was that pressing of a situation given our last 2 experiences.
So Tyler started loading things up and getting everything ready for us to leave and his mom arrived right before 3:00am. We put the seats down in the back of our Subaru wagon so I could ride back there and get on my hands and knees if I needed to. I was on them the whole ride. I couldn't deal with the intensity of the contractions in any other position and every sharp turn or jolt triggered another contraction. A short distance before the hospital I had a particularly strong one and really thought I was starting to feel the urge to push. "No, it's my imagination" I told myself, "It's not even 3:30 yet."
Well we got to the emergency room entrance and they got a wheel chair and started taking me up to Labor and Delivery. By the time we got to the elevator I had to bail off the wheel chair to my hands and knees for the contraction I could feel coming on. The nurse wheeling me was shocked by it and almost ran over me! It still makes me laugh thinking about her reactions. Especially because then she wheeled me up to the counter and said, "I'm going to leave her chair pointed this way because she randomly bails out." Well?! Who can handle that kind of pressure sitting down?! Honestly!
So when they checked me in triage I was already dilated to a 6 and completely effaced. I was happy to hear I wasn't making things up in my head. They called my midwife and told her they didn't think they'd be able to get me all the antibiotics for the group b strep I tested positive for (again) and that I was a 6 and feeling "pushy". The next time they checked me probably 10 minutes later I was already a 7. For those of you who don't know, active labor is defined by progressing by at least a centimeter per hour. The next time they checked me maybe 15 minutes later I was right around an 8. I was really starting to feel like pushing now! They called the resident MD in for an emergency delivery and checked me again. I was a 9 and they figured as soon as my water broke I'd be a 10. Well... my water broke shortly after that with a really strong contraction. I could feel Lacey on her way out and it was right about then that the resident MD came running in. She told me I was doing great and to keep pushing and about 3 pushes later (still on my hands and knees mind you), Lacey was born! We were at the hospital less than an hour and already has our sweet girl joining us!
Just then my midwife walked in. Yeah... she should have gone to the hospital when I called her at 2:30. Oh well. It's not like anyone was really coaching or helping me. Lacey was ready and on her way out. Someone just needed to be there to catch her!
I only tore a little bit. most were too small to see at first and the resident MD thought I hadn't torn at all. My midwife was standing over her watching her every move and started pointed out the tears. I'm glad she came. I was grateful for her effort. The nurses didn't really communicate to her how fast things were moving. I can't say that I blame them though. They were all running around trying to get things ready for Lacey.
Tyler got to cut the cord and hold her first. I was really weak after being on my hands and knees nearly non stop for 6 hours. I had to lay down and try to rest for a minute before I could feel comfortable holding her. Honestly... I don't remember how long it was before I held her. I'm going to have to ask Tyler that, I was distracted by the stitches and pitocin.
I ended up having to be put on pitocin unfortunately. For some reason I was bleeding a little too much immediately after delivery. I don't know if I really needed it or not I don't know how they guage that, but I'm grateful I was not in the car or something where I wouldn't have had that precaution had my body really started to lose it.
So Lacey didn't get the antibiotics they intended her to get to prevent her from getting group b strep but I'm hoping since her exposure time (from when my water broke) was only maybe 5 minutes that she won't have any late on set. So far she is healthy and eating well.
I'm recovering well and we're all learning how to be a family of 5 now. It's crazy that we already have 3 kids!
Luke LOVES his baby sister. He wants to hold her all the time and he has never held still so long in his life but he sits there very still and careful with her in his arms and frequently leans over to kiss her forehead. It melts my heart!
Dax when we were about to take Lacey home. "Toes!" is what he's saying here. Also... I made that cute circle skirt :) All the nurses were in love with how cute she looked ready to go home. Me too... just a little.
Dax is intrigued by Lacey but is going through some jealousy. He still likes to look at her and talk about her but isn't very interested in touching her and wants to be right by me while I try to nurse her.
Thanks for all the love and support from everyone! We really appreciate your show of congratulations. We're so happy to have Lacey in our family!
Comments
Secondly, I can totally relate to the whole "husband, we need to get to the hospital right now" thing. I think Chuck took about 20 minutes to get ready and I nearly died. hahaha!
Thirdly, I remember all too well that every single bump in the road brought on a contraction. What the heck?! So not fair. It's a miracle I didn't strangle the seat belt to death on the way to the hospital, I was holding onto it so hard! Poor little fella!
Well, I just love you and I can't wait to see her! And you, too, I suppose ;) Let me know when you're feeling up to a visit and I'll load up Squeaker and come over {unless, of course, you're feeling absolutely crazy and want to come see the new house}. If it's on a Saturday/Sunday, Chuck can come, too, which might be best so that he can wrangle Hannah while I smooch your little one. Keep me updated, lady!