My Labor Story

t's a little jumbled, but I wanted to get my memories and thoughts down about the whole labor process before I forget the little details. I did "edit" some of the story to leave out the graphic details.

Just like with my pregnancy, my labor, delivery and recovery were all different this time around. Of course with this pregnancy, I had a lot of morning sickness, developed a thyroid issue and I actually had contractions the last week or so even though I didn’t know that’s what it was till I got to the hospital.

I was scheduled to be induced Sunday, April 25th at 8pm, so that’s when my “labor” story begins. As Josh and I drove to the hospital that evening I was pretty nervous. My labor & delivery were so smooth with Haylee but I had since heard of too many horror stories so I was pretty scared that things wouldn’t go as well. I checked in right around 8pm, put on my gown, and got into bed. Allison was my labor nurse (until about 2 hours before I delivered) and she was so sweet. We did some paperwork and then she started my IV. It hurt but at least she got it in the first try. She told me Dr. Huff’s plan was to start my pitocin at 2am, break water around 6am and deliver between 8-12pm. At that point I was dilated 2-3cm, and having good contractions every 2 minutes. When I was feeling this tightness in my belly I asked if I was having a contraction at that point and she said “yes.” I had been feeling that “tightness” for the past week or so but didn’t know it was a contraction. It almost felt like Natalee was moving and kinda pushing her body way out against my tummy I guess. Some of the contractions were actually pretty uncomfortable. My mom arrived a little after 10pm and by that point I decided I should go ahead and get my epidural because I was more and more uncomfortable during contractions. Of course my motto is, why be in pain if I don’t have to be. At 11pm I got my epidural and it hurt. (With Haylee I never felt a thing, not even the numbing shot) I felt a lot of pressure and then I felt very uncomfortable during the “test” run of medicine. After everything was in place I was able to relax comfortably again (but not for long). This was a very weird epidural. I could still feel all the exams, the catheter being placed, some contractions, and then Natalee coming out (which was the best part of the wacky epidural). I was never in pain, I could just feel what was going on….weird to explain. Shortly after I got my epidural, I started feeling like I was going to pass out. I told the nurse, she said my blood pressure had dropped and I lost color. She called Joe (the anesthesiologist) and he came to give me medicine to help stabilize my blood pressure. The cause of the blood pressure issue was the epidural. Then I got the shakes really bad. I couldn’t stop shivering. I didn’t feel cold, I just couldn’t control it. Sucked. At 1am I was given Tums because I was having really bad heart burn. (I swear it was literally one thing after another the entire labor process) Then at 1:15am I was given oxygen because Natalee’s heart rate was high. I was then given more fluid in my IV and some Tylenol because I had a fever. At this point my legs were driving me nuts. They weren’t completely numb. They were in limbo between being numb and not numb, just kinda tingly. So I pushed my epidural button hoping that would help. At 2:20am the pitocin was started and I was dilated to 3cm. (So even though I was scheduled to be induced I actually went into labor on my own. Pitocin was just used to speed up the process) At 3am I pushed my epidural button again because I was still uncomfortable. My pitocin was upped to 4 and I changed sides (how I was laying). I was given oxygen again for Natalee’s heart rate. At 3:45am my pitocin was upped to 6. At 4:10am I was given a booster shot in my epidural because I wasn’t feeling the way I wanted. I still felt too uncomfortable and I wanted my legs more numb. I couldn’t stand the tingly in-between stage. My pitocin was upped to 8 and I switched sides again to get comfortable. By 5am my pitocin was upped to 10 and my legs were too numb. I just couldn’t find a happy medium. I thought I was going to go insane between my legs and wearing the oxygen for almost 5 hours. They weren’t too concerned about Natalee’s heart rate because even though it would go up, it also came back down on it’s own without intervention. That’s why I just continued to wear the oxygen mask. 6:15am my pitocin was upped to 12, then at 6:30am Dr. Huff broke my water, I was dilated 3-4cm, and my oxygen was finally taken off. At 8:30am I was dilated 5-6cm. At that point Dr. Huff checked with the nurse to see where I was because he was going into a surgery. All the sudden around 9am I started feeling a lot of pressure. It felt like Natalee was coming out. Sure enough, the nurse checked and I was dilated to 10 and ready to go. It happened so fast and I was scared to start pushing because I was worn out and I didn’t know if it was going to hurt since I could still feel almost everything.

Dr. Huff came in right away and things were prepped for delivery. (Come to find out, he left his patient on the table to come deliver Natalee) At 9:04am I started pushing. I pushed during 3 contractions and at 9:10am Natalee Ann Coplan entered the world. It was crazy to feel her actually come out, I was just glad it didn't hurt at all. She was placed on my belly, (had a lot of white stuff on her) Josh cut the cord, and they started to take her away because she wasn’t crying yet. However, as soon as they picked her up off my belly she screamed.

She weighed 7lbs. 1.9oz. and was 20 inches long. And yes, she had lots of hair. (Not as much as Haylee but a lot more than most babies)

Shortly after Natalee was born, Haylee came down to meet her little sister. She didn’t know what to think really. There was so much going on that she didn’t pay too much attention to Natalee.

Natalee was given a bath which I didn’t get to see since the sink was around the corner in my room, and then shortly after I was moved to a recovery room because they needed my room for someone else.

Around 1:30pm the lactation specialist came by to help me attempt breastfeeding. Natalee wasn’t interested so I expressed milk on a spoon and fed it to her.

Throughout the day, Natalee had many visitors. Haylee brought us 3 balloons and a pink rose, she was so adorable! She got in bed with me and held her sister. Since it was just her in the room this time, she was more interested in sister.

 

For dinner, Josh and I got this “celebration” dinner complete with sparkling cider and cheesecake. The food was actually very good this time around.

Before bed I attempted breastfeeding again, and this time Natalee latched on great and nursed for about 30 minutes. In the next 9 hours, she only woke again once to eat, and the nurses even left us alone, so we were able to get some sleep. Tuesday, we both showered, ate breakfast and just waited to be discharged. There were a ton of nurses, specialist etc. coming in an out doing different things. Dr. Huff came to check on me, Natalee got a hearing test, the photographer came in to schedule pictures, a pediatrician came to check Natalee and so on.

Haylee and my Mom came back down to help pack up and come home. It was always so wonderful to see Haylee’s smiling face enter my hospital room. After pictures (which turned out so adorable) we were able to leave around 1pm. We went home and enjoyed a 3 hour family nap, just the 4 of us!

Looking back at my pregnancy, labor, and recovery this time around, I realize things were a lot more difficult. By now all the negative things are a distant memory and I'm just extremely thankful I have a healthy, beautiful, little girl. I feel so blessed.

1 Month

Guess who's a month old already?

Little Miss Natalee!

8 lbs. 9 oz (25-50%)

21 inches (50 %)

Things to Remember~

*Wearing newborn diapers.

*Finally growing out of preemie clothes and wearing newborn sizes.

*Sleeps a lot. During the day she's usually awake 1 1/2-2 hours, and then takes a 2+ hour nap. Then at night she sleeps 4+ hours, eats, and sleeps another 4+ hours or until Haylee wakes us up.

*Nurses great still and we also supplement with formula when she's still hungry (milk supply is low).

*Aside from a couple gassy/irritable moments, she only cries when she's hungry.

*She's starting to smile and it melts my heart.

*Loves car rides so far. Always falls asleep when she's in the car.

*Has big blue eyes which may change colors but I hope they stay blue.

*For such a small little girl she has the loudest, most explosive poops.

*Doesn't like shots!

Lovin' Life

I never realized how easy life was with one child until we had another! Both Haylee and Natalee are good little girls, but we have our hands full. It seems like I never have time anymore to blog because as soon as Natalee goes down for her morning nap I am rushing around getting things done and taking a shower (if I'm lucky). So here I go catching up again on the last 2 weeks....

This year May 9th was a crazy, emotional day. Not only was it Josh's Birthday and our 7th Anniversary, but Mother's Day fell on that day this year also. I had just turned the corner and had started to feel better from the mastitis, so I hadn't been able to get Josh anything for his birthday or our anniversary and I felt so horrible. He told me a million times that it didn't matter, but I still felt bad. Then of course, being the wonderful husband that he is, he got me an edible arrangement (which I've been wanting) so that made me feel worse that I hadn't gotten him anything. I couldn't read any cards that day (Mother's Day or Anniversary) without crying, I was just an emotional wreck. But I got through the day and now all of my nursing issues (and sickness) are a distant memory and life is getting better!

(Haylee brought me a card and flowers to help me feel better)

Since Natalee lost her umbilical cord she can now have "real" baths. For the most part I think she enjoys them because she no longer cries. She is so adorable and I love making a little mohawk with her hair after I wash it. Have I mentioned Natalee is getting a red tint to her hair just like Haylee? Also, I don't think I ever mentioned that Natalee has the cutest dimple in her chin. Both of these things are courtesy of Papa Reggie!

Last weekend we were all able to get out of the house for a much needed break. Friday, the 4 of us went to dinner at Serrano's and then to the mall so Haylee could ride the carousel and play in the play area. Natalee slept the entire time we were out and Haylee behaved very well. I felt so blessed! Saturday we had to run a couple errands. We took Haylee to the library for some new books, and then we went to Party City so Haylee could pick a theme for her birthday party. Can you guess what she picked? I can't believe my little girl will be 3 in a few weeks! That night Kaysi and Steve took us out to dinner at Outback. Not only was the food delicious, but both of my girls behaved once again! I just might be able to take them somewhere on my own sooner than I thought...if I had to....or maybe not! Thanks Kaysi and Steve for a wonderful dinner!

So how are the girls doing? They are great! Haylee is adjusting so well and in just the last week has really started liking her sister. She has actually asked to hold her a few times and always wants to hug her and kiss her. She isn't so "scared" anymore when Natalee cries, she mostly ignores it. She really is a wonder big sister and always helps us out when we need her to do us a favor. She is filling up her big sister reward chart and loves picking toys out of the toy box. Natalee is doing awesome. She still seems to be awake 2 hours, then sleeps 2 hours during the day, and usually just gets up once at night. She has started to become restless at night (or at least that’s what I call it) and will make constant sounds like she's awake and ready to eat, yet she is still asleep. I guess she's just not in a deep sleep. This doesn't happen every night, but it wakes me every 5 minutes. She still nurses great, and we have started supplementing with formula also so that she gets enough and is happy. It works great for both of us and she's a happy baby!

Yesterday we had a little "open house" so that friends who wanted to come meet Natalee could. Instead of trying to get together with each person, we thought this was an easier way to get together with everyone one day. My mom took over the "event" and did an awesome job. She ordered a cake from Costco, made tuxedo brownies, and had fruit, veggies, cheese & crackers. She also made cute table decorations with pink and white carnations. We kept it simple and it was a fun afternoon. We feel so blessed to have such wonderful friends in our lives!

Announcement

I'm absolutely in love with this picture. This was my favorite from the hospital pictures. She fits perfectly in her Daddy's hands!

And I must say Costco does a wonderful job on their announcements!

Catching Up

My little baby turned 2 weeks old yesterday, time flies so fast! I've been meaning to get caught up with my blogging but I've been so sick. Just like with my pregnancy, labor, and delivery (which I will blog about soon); my recovery has been completely opposite this time around too. Last time I had an easier recovery, never really any issues that didn't resolve shortly after coming home, just a fussy, gassy baby. This time around....I don't even know where to begin. I started out with cracked, bleeding nipples right away. From there the engorgement began, and then last Wednesday I got mastitis which is an infection in the breast, and I had a huge mass like area, and flu like symptoms. My fever reached 103.2 and I had chills, body aches, and I can't remember ever feeling so sick. The torture was that in order to get rid of the mastitis you have to nurse frequently. However, it absolutely killed to nurse, but I was given some pain killers which helped. I finally started to feel better Sunday just to wake up today with another huge mass on the same breast. Enough is enough!!!!!!! I'm still on antibiotics so I'm hoping it will kick all infection and that it will stay away. Natalee is such a wonderful little nurser that I really hate to stop breast feeding, but I've been to hell and back these last 2 weeks.

Natalee is a very sweet little girl. She usually only cries when she is hungry and I love when she's content and just looks all around with her beautiful blue eyes. Lately, I've had to supplement with formula (only a couple times) and when I do, she'll sleep 6 hour stretches at night. I'll put her down around 9pm, she'll wake around 3am to nurse, then back to sleep till around 7:30-8:00am. It's been very nice. However, that’s only been the schedule like 2 nights. The other nights, she'll wake up twice, usually around 1-2am and again 5am or so, still not too bad. I'm getting more sleep than I thought I would. She's sleeping in her bassinet next to my bed (which Haylee never liked to sleep in) and even though she's sleeping good at night, she's still sleeping a lot during the day too. The first week it was impossible to wake her during the day. Josh even tried ice cubes once and it didn't work. She'd sleep all day long. I tired not to complain because she was still sleeping at night. With Haylee it seemed like some nights she just wouldn't go back to sleep after eating, she wanted to be up all night. This week I've noticed she has been awake more during the day which should help her sleep even better at night. Josh took her in last Thursday for a weight check and she weighs 6lbs. 12 oz. so only 5 oz. off her delivery weight. She's doing really well. She went on her first trip to Walmart (which she slept through) and her first family walk last week too. Other than that, she's been staying at home with me while I get my strength and energy back. Oh, and she even lost her umbilical cord this past Saturday which I thought was fast. (Sorry this was all kinda jumbled together. I'm just trying to get everything down for me to remember).

Haylee girl is doing awesome with her sister. She is always kissing her and touching her head telling her "it's okay" when she is crying and is always watching out for her. There is a little bit of jealousy as far as wanting to be held by the person holding sister, but when it's just me with them, she does better. She has been a huge help getting me things when I need them too. I started a "Big Sister Reward Chart" that she's been filling up with stickers and earning prizes and that makes her very excited. She has lost some of her independence lately. She's always asking for me to turn her light on, or me to go upstairs and get her toy, but I just remind her she's a big girl and can do it and then she usually does. She's had a little attitude problem also, but we're working on that too. She's been very caring since I've been sick, and she bought me flowers and a card to help me feel better. I have the 2 sweetest girls ever!

(This was one of my favorite 2 pictures taken at the hospital)

Josh is loving life right now with his girls. He has been a tremendous help to me these last 2 weeks. Always asking what I need, cleaning the house, just taking care of whatever needs done. I was so sad to see him go back to work. I wish he could stay home with me every day.


Jackson is worse than Haylee. He is always begging for attention. Poor little guy, we have not forgotten him, life has just been a little hectic.


So everything has seemed to work itself out so far....except my "issues" and Haylee's attitude. I know after a few weeks (or even months) we'll have more of a routine down and things will be a lot smoother. I think I'm caught up now....time to go give these girls a bath!

Sneak Peek

Here's a peek at the adorable little girl we brought home from the hospital. Oh, and since when do hospitals take awesome newborn pictures?

 I'm working on a couple of projects with my 2 favorite pictures so I will wait to post those.

First

Natalee got her 1st bath on Wednesday, not a big fan. She screamed pretty much the entire time, oh and peed all over Daddy! I forgot how wonderful the smell is of a new, clean baby. After washing her hair, it went a tiny bit curly, (nothing like Haylee's was) and it seems her hair is going to be a lighter brown, I don't see any red in it.

Yesterday we took Natalee to her 1st Doctor visit with Dr. Allen. She weighed in at 6 lbs. 8 oz. so she's only lost 3 oz. since leaving the hospital Tuesday. I anticipate her weight will picking up now that my milk has come in.

As far as our first "outing" with both kids.....I think I might just stay at home from now on, unless I have Josh with me. I can't imagine going anywhere by myself with both kids, unless Haylee starts behaving better. I know she's adjusting and actually she is doing better than we thought towards her sister. It's just her tantrums have picked up again. And Jackson....he's worse than Haylee, always begging for attention. We are gonna definitely have our hands full!

So do they look alike?

(Natalee on left, Haylee on right)