We were down to the wire cleaning and prepping for our baby's arrival and I had been having some major labor pains for the past few days. I just had a feeling she would be coming early. That morning I had a doctor's appointment to check my progress, or lack of progress. Yup, still only 1-2 cm dilated. But, Dr. Mayfield stripped my membranes to see if that would help get things going. I went home and Greg and I literally were racing around the house cleaning and putting things away/in their places. I started having pretty bad cramping and contractions about an hour after my doctor's appointment but I wasn't letting them slow me down. I was on a mission. My mom called when she got out of work around 2:20 pm and asked how I was feeling. While racing around the home I spoke to her and told her that I was having pretty bad contractions. She asked me if I had timed them, to which I replied, I haven't had time to time them. :-) She was not impressed. She was 7.5-8 hours away and if she was going to make it for the birth, she figured she had better get on the road. So, I sat down. Yup, 1-2 minutes apart, but still a little irregular. I thought at that point that I should probably go, but I had more cleaning to do. Greg was just doing whatever I asked of him during all of this, while quietly asking every now and again if I was okay. I always replied, "yes," and kept on moving. I told my mom that I still wasn't quite sure if they were true labor pains or I was just having braxton hicks contractions from the appointment and didn't want her getting on the road for nothing. I then got a text from my sister about 2 hours later saying, "are you in labor?" It finally hit me. What if I am?! I slowed down and timed my contractions again. A regular 1-2 minutes apart this time. Yikes! I always heard that the next baby comes faster than the first so I put a plan in motion. Our babysitter was going to arrive by 5ish and thankfully Greg's parents would make it to our home by 6:30 pm to be with Adelaide. It must've been God that told them to get on the road that morning to come down to help because we would've been lost without them. So, off we went to Good Samaritan Hospital to meet our new baby girl!
Annnddd, so much for the next baby coming faster. I took forever to dilate, the anesthesiologist was in surgery and couldn't give me my epidural for hours, which meant my doctor couldn't break my water or give me pitocin for hours! I had the worst labor pains. They came ever 1-2 minutes on average, sometimes longer, but I just wasn't progressing. Ridiculous. The doctor and nurses thought as soon as I came in I would be having this baby because of the strength of my contractions but she didn't come until 1:29 am. I had told my mom and dad to wait to drive because I thought she'd come in no time. Turns out they had PLENTY of time. They gave me some drugs in my IV which made me feel drunk, quickly reminding me why I don't drink a lot anymore and that I don't want to even after I have Olivia. I was SO loopy and just giggled. I'm pretty sure Greg got a big kick out of it but I just felt out of control. Yuck. I'd rather have contractions than feel like that so once that wore off, I went back to feeling the pain.
My anesthesiologist finally showed up around 9:30 pm. He was a good one and didn't have to redo my epidural like my first birthing experience. My body, however, reacted the same as it had the first go around and it only numbed half of my body. It was truly fine with me. Although I could feel the pain on my right side, it allowed me to better feel my contractions and my pushing. When it came to pushing, Olivia came out fast like Addie. It took about 4 pushes and she was out. Unlike her sister who's screams were heard for miles, she was quiet. I asked the doctor, "is she okay? Why isn't she crying?" Turns out, the crying would come very soon. They placed her on my chest and I stared at my beautiful baby girl. She was perfect. Scored great on her tests, and was truly a little miracle. It was amazing how calm I felt this time around too. I just wanted to hold her close to my heart and feel her on me. It was incredible.
She nursed quite well and slept quite well right off the bat. Her demeanor was so calm and even the doctor was surprised when she would perform a test or do something to her and she wouldn't cry. She was so chill. It was amazing how I could see her personality from day one. Calm and happy.
Olivia Grace Walther
October 16th, 2013 at 1:20am
6lbs 3oz, 21 inches long
Saturday, January 18, 2014
The Anticipation...
Greg and I knew that we were ready to have another baby when Addie was about 15 months old. She was such a good girl and I thought that by the time our next baby would be born, Addie would be quite helpful, which has definitely proven to be true.
We got pregnant around mid-January after trying for just 1 month. I was hoping that this would be an easy pregnancy compared to the first, and by week 5 I was still smooth sailing. Then it hit me. I. Was. Miserable. I was still working at the time and was doing at least 2 presentations a day to prospective students and families, on top of meeting individually. I did not want to break the news to my office until I was around 12 weeks so I had to put on a brave face and push through. Thankfully though, the roof of our office was being painted and another coworker who was pregnant had to leave because of the fumes. I obviously had no choice but to break the news a few weeks early and get outta dodge. It's a good thing I did because I had almost past out in front of the crowd I was presenting to on a daily basis. FINALLY I could tell my boss that I could not do multiple presentations a day and I could quit sneaking saltine crackers one after another under my desk.
Yes, it's true, this pregnancy was worse, WAY worse, than my first. Greg and I thought we must be having a boy because of it but we were wrong. Another girl was coming into our lives, she just had a little more fun messing with me before she got here. By the time I was mid-way into my second trimester the lightheadedness and nausea were subsiding a lot. From then on out I was in pretty good shape, up until the last month or so. By then, the belly is in the way and I was quite frankly over it. The only problem was, as much as I wanted her out of me, our house wasn't ready at all.
You see, we bought our first home earlier in the year and moved in on June 22nd. It's much bigger than any other home we have lived in which meant more to clean and get ready. In addition, we also had some remodeling to do before the baby was born. We focused mainly on the kitchen and living room and decided to wait on the rest because we just ran out of time.
Since we moved right before Greg started harvest, it was basically my job to head up the renovations. Thankfully I had decided to resign from my job right after we moved because managing a remodel is a job in and of itself. We had the entire out repainted, new carpet put in, the hardwood floors redone, a hole put in our living room wall so we had an open concept with our kitchen (so I could make sure Addie was sitting on the new baby, etc.), and redid our landscaping.
Because of the reno and Greg harvesting, we didn't actually "settle" into our new home until the beginning of October, and the baby was due October 21st! We had just been shifting boxes and things from room to room depending on what area we were working on. We were hoping to be settled by the end of September but Greg contracted viral meningitis which put all of our plans on hold for a few weeks. Thank goodness my parents came to the rescue and helped me put my house back together, put all of the furniture I ordered together, and help clean everything while Greg was in the hospital. They were a God send. Then Greg's parents came to help after Greg got home because he was in a pick line and took another week to even feel like moving around. Jan cooked and helped take care of all household things, and helped with Addie. I honestly don't know what we would've done without our parents...
I guess through it all I held up pretty well being pregnant and holding down the fort, while renovating it! Lol! I absolutely love our home and how it turned out. We didn't get everything on our list done, like redoing the master bath and deck, because of time and Greg's sickness, but what we did get achieved is pretty impressive. We had thought about tackling the bathroom this winter but at the moment we are just enjoying the new addition to our family and settling in. Speaking of, Olivia is here!
We got pregnant around mid-January after trying for just 1 month. I was hoping that this would be an easy pregnancy compared to the first, and by week 5 I was still smooth sailing. Then it hit me. I. Was. Miserable. I was still working at the time and was doing at least 2 presentations a day to prospective students and families, on top of meeting individually. I did not want to break the news to my office until I was around 12 weeks so I had to put on a brave face and push through. Thankfully though, the roof of our office was being painted and another coworker who was pregnant had to leave because of the fumes. I obviously had no choice but to break the news a few weeks early and get outta dodge. It's a good thing I did because I had almost past out in front of the crowd I was presenting to on a daily basis. FINALLY I could tell my boss that I could not do multiple presentations a day and I could quit sneaking saltine crackers one after another under my desk.
Yes, it's true, this pregnancy was worse, WAY worse, than my first. Greg and I thought we must be having a boy because of it but we were wrong. Another girl was coming into our lives, she just had a little more fun messing with me before she got here. By the time I was mid-way into my second trimester the lightheadedness and nausea were subsiding a lot. From then on out I was in pretty good shape, up until the last month or so. By then, the belly is in the way and I was quite frankly over it. The only problem was, as much as I wanted her out of me, our house wasn't ready at all.
You see, we bought our first home earlier in the year and moved in on June 22nd. It's much bigger than any other home we have lived in which meant more to clean and get ready. In addition, we also had some remodeling to do before the baby was born. We focused mainly on the kitchen and living room and decided to wait on the rest because we just ran out of time.
Since we moved right before Greg started harvest, it was basically my job to head up the renovations. Thankfully I had decided to resign from my job right after we moved because managing a remodel is a job in and of itself. We had the entire out repainted, new carpet put in, the hardwood floors redone, a hole put in our living room wall so we had an open concept with our kitchen (so I could make sure Addie was sitting on the new baby, etc.), and redid our landscaping.
Because of the reno and Greg harvesting, we didn't actually "settle" into our new home until the beginning of October, and the baby was due October 21st! We had just been shifting boxes and things from room to room depending on what area we were working on. We were hoping to be settled by the end of September but Greg contracted viral meningitis which put all of our plans on hold for a few weeks. Thank goodness my parents came to the rescue and helped me put my house back together, put all of the furniture I ordered together, and help clean everything while Greg was in the hospital. They were a God send. Then Greg's parents came to help after Greg got home because he was in a pick line and took another week to even feel like moving around. Jan cooked and helped take care of all household things, and helped with Addie. I honestly don't know what we would've done without our parents...
I guess through it all I held up pretty well being pregnant and holding down the fort, while renovating it! Lol! I absolutely love our home and how it turned out. We didn't get everything on our list done, like redoing the master bath and deck, because of time and Greg's sickness, but what we did get achieved is pretty impressive. We had thought about tackling the bathroom this winter but at the moment we are just enjoying the new addition to our family and settling in. Speaking of, Olivia is here!
My blog reborn!
Welcome! I have always wanted to create a new blog around my family and me and the struggles/triumphs we have as a growing crew. I will be playing a bit of catch up for my dear Adelaide, as I have not done the best keeping up on her triumphs and firsts. This will be quite a task as I go through thousands of pictures in an effort to post the most important aspects of her life. In addition, I will highlight Olivia's life as she goes from baby to toddler, and beyond.
Enjoy!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)