It was a Saturday morning & at 7:30am I woke up feeling funny. About half an hour later I figured out I was having contractions & began timing them using the app Dan put on his iPhone. Kaelah & Danny woke up so we ate breakfast. I couldn't finish eating very well & when it was 9am I decided to wake up Dan & show him his iPhone. He was pretty surprised. It was still a week until my due date & that day had been slated to get ready for the baby.
At 10:30am we decided it was time to take Kaelah & Danny to the babysitter & call the doula & the OB. Here's a picture I took of my happy family b/c I thought I would miss my cute children while I was in the hospital. Turns out they were even cuter when I got home a few days later. (;
When I talked to my doctor he wasn't concerned a bit since I was a first time mom. He was on call so told me to come in whenever. After talking to my doula she decided to drive up from her house about half an hour away just to be on the safe side.
Good thing she did, because after watching me have 2 contractions she basically had to order me to go to the hospital b/c I wasn't sure if I really needed to head in. (We hired a doula so I could stay home as long as possible, which in turn seems to lead to less interventions at the hospital.)
I had a contraction as she & Dan led me down the stairs. I had 2 in the car, 2 in the lobby, one in the hallway, 2 while being checked (I was dilated to 7cm!)... so basically they got me into a room just in time. The OB was pretty surprised to see me there because it was before noon. The nurse responded I was "going at it like a race horse." I guess that's a compliment? lol.
After 2 hours of pushing (and yes, NO epidural) Michelle entered our world. Dan, our doula, our OB, and the nurses were fantastic. The OB even let Dan help "catch" Michelle. Labor & delivery was only 8 hours start to finish & after a good night's rest. It was exactly what I wanted.
Here is Dan cutting the umbilical cord.
And here's Michelle getting her vitals about an hour later. Upon hearing she weighed 7 pounds 14 oz. I was very grateful she came a week early! And just like her big sister, she had a big head, dark eyes, & dark hair. While I was staring at her later I kept thinking, "we made another Kaelah???" While at the hospital she reminded me so much of Kaelah I kept accidentally calling her that too. (Now that we are home & Kaelah is around, she gets called Michelle, I promise!)
I heart this picture of her feet! Michelle has my curled under little pinky toes & Dan's webbed toes & long skinny feet. It's the part of her where it's easiest to tell she's a bit of both of us.
So new.
Michelle is a healthy, easy little baby. She adjusted to the outside world immediately & oh so well. She is simply a delight to be around and care for. And 2 separate nurses called her a barracuda, so we won't have to worry about weight gain any time soon.
3 hours after giving birth I tried to sit up in preparation to eat dinner. I told the nurse I felt nauseous, so she had me lay down & placed a cool wet washcloth on my forehead. The nurses left but Dan was in the room holding Michelle. He said something to me & I didn't respond. He looked at me & I was shaking and totally unresponsive. Dan called the nurse & she came right in, hit the emergency button, & every nurse on the floor came rushing into my room. When I woke up I had no idea why there was a nurse in my face shaking me & asking if I could hear her. I did it again later, but less dramatically & almost did it a 3rd time but they got an oxygen mask on me fast enough to prevent it. I was catching on to how I felt right before hand. Yeah me. lol.
So we think between a loss of blood, my naturally low blood pressure, & my hypoglycemia my body simply wanted to clock out for a while. They kept me in the hospital an extra day & after giving me 2 pints of blood, I got to go home. Hooray! But I'm getting ahead of myself.
The next morning Kaelah got to meet her little sister. Seeing me the way I looked pretty much freaked her out & she was quite happy to make it a short visit & head to church with David & Sandy. We have realized she understood that Michelle would "come out of Mommy's tummy at the hospit-ti-tal," but we failed to tell her I wouldn't be my pre-pregnancy self like I was when we brought baby Danny home from the hospital last summer. Kaelah does a daily check of my belly button to see if my "ow-ies" are getting better & is looking forward to the day when I can carry her again.
A picture of Michelle sleeping the morning we were discharged.
Holding my "teeny tiny baby." We all adore the newest addition to our family. Kaelah thinks she is the best dolly in the world & Danny gets so excited to see her. He has even crawled over & given her a toy to play with & likes to give her hugs. She grunts but tolerates it for the most part. Can't leave my 2 babies alone in a room together, though, that's for sure. Someday I think they'll be the best of friends. We are so grateful for our 3 under 3, even if we're exhausted. (:
At 10:30am we decided it was time to take Kaelah & Danny to the babysitter & call the doula & the OB. Here's a picture I took of my happy family b/c I thought I would miss my cute children while I was in the hospital. Turns out they were even cuter when I got home a few days later. (;When I talked to my doctor he wasn't concerned a bit since I was a first time mom. He was on call so told me to come in whenever. After talking to my doula she decided to drive up from her house about half an hour away just to be on the safe side.
Good thing she did, because after watching me have 2 contractions she basically had to order me to go to the hospital b/c I wasn't sure if I really needed to head in. (We hired a doula so I could stay home as long as possible, which in turn seems to lead to less interventions at the hospital.)
I had a contraction as she & Dan led me down the stairs. I had 2 in the car, 2 in the lobby, one in the hallway, 2 while being checked (I was dilated to 7cm!)... so basically they got me into a room just in time. The OB was pretty surprised to see me there because it was before noon. The nurse responded I was "going at it like a race horse." I guess that's a compliment? lol.
After 2 hours of pushing (and yes, NO epidural) Michelle entered our world. Dan, our doula, our OB, and the nurses were fantastic. The OB even let Dan help "catch" Michelle. Labor & delivery was only 8 hours start to finish & after a good night's rest. It was exactly what I wanted.
Here is Dan cutting the umbilical cord.
And here's Michelle getting her vitals about an hour later. Upon hearing she weighed 7 pounds 14 oz. I was very grateful she came a week early! And just like her big sister, she had a big head, dark eyes, & dark hair. While I was staring at her later I kept thinking, "we made another Kaelah???" While at the hospital she reminded me so much of Kaelah I kept accidentally calling her that too. (Now that we are home & Kaelah is around, she gets called Michelle, I promise!)
I heart this picture of her feet! Michelle has my curled under little pinky toes & Dan's webbed toes & long skinny feet. It's the part of her where it's easiest to tell she's a bit of both of us.
So new.Michelle is a healthy, easy little baby. She adjusted to the outside world immediately & oh so well. She is simply a delight to be around and care for. And 2 separate nurses called her a barracuda, so we won't have to worry about weight gain any time soon.
3 hours after giving birth I tried to sit up in preparation to eat dinner. I told the nurse I felt nauseous, so she had me lay down & placed a cool wet washcloth on my forehead. The nurses left but Dan was in the room holding Michelle. He said something to me & I didn't respond. He looked at me & I was shaking and totally unresponsive. Dan called the nurse & she came right in, hit the emergency button, & every nurse on the floor came rushing into my room. When I woke up I had no idea why there was a nurse in my face shaking me & asking if I could hear her. I did it again later, but less dramatically & almost did it a 3rd time but they got an oxygen mask on me fast enough to prevent it. I was catching on to how I felt right before hand. Yeah me. lol.
So we think between a loss of blood, my naturally low blood pressure, & my hypoglycemia my body simply wanted to clock out for a while. They kept me in the hospital an extra day & after giving me 2 pints of blood, I got to go home. Hooray! But I'm getting ahead of myself.
The next morning Kaelah got to meet her little sister. Seeing me the way I looked pretty much freaked her out & she was quite happy to make it a short visit & head to church with David & Sandy. We have realized she understood that Michelle would "come out of Mommy's tummy at the hospit-ti-tal," but we failed to tell her I wouldn't be my pre-pregnancy self like I was when we brought baby Danny home from the hospital last summer. Kaelah does a daily check of my belly button to see if my "ow-ies" are getting better & is looking forward to the day when I can carry her again.
A picture of Michelle sleeping the morning we were discharged.
Holding my "teeny tiny baby." We all adore the newest addition to our family. Kaelah thinks she is the best dolly in the world & Danny gets so excited to see her. He has even crawled over & given her a toy to play with & likes to give her hugs. She grunts but tolerates it for the most part. Can't leave my 2 babies alone in a room together, though, that's for sure. Someday I think they'll be the best of friends. We are so grateful for our 3 under 3, even if we're exhausted. (:
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