Monday, July 8, 2013
Baby K's Birth Story
I have had a lot of people ask me about our birth story so I
thought I would share it. Even though all pregnancies, birth stories and
children are different I sure hope my experience offers some help to the many
mamas to be out there. Seriously, both in my real life and in my blog life I
know so many pregnant women and I have LOVED having such a supportive community
to turn to during this exciting time in my life. Also, I want to write this
story out so I remember it, apologies in advance for the length! Just grab a
glass of wine, hopefully that will make the story go by faster.
Disclaimer: I might provide a little TMI at some points in
the below story – so just be warned. Nothing too gruesome, but I just want to
prepare you before you read too far. J
On Sunday, June 23 Tolar and I went to church as normal and
came home to take a Sunday afternoon nap (we get up at 5 a.m. on Sundays, so a
nap is always needed – we just didn’t know at the time how badly we would need
that nap!). After our naps, I decided to check things off my to do list and
finally got around to packing my bag for the hospital and taking care of a few
other baby prep things. As I’ve told you all before, I had some sciatic nerve
problems during my pregnancy and on Sunday night around 7 p.m. my back starting
hurting very badly. Thinking it was my sciatic nerve and that maybe I had done
too much around the house I decided to just go lay on the couch. I had to text
Tolar who was downstairs because moving from the couch was just too painful for
me. He came up and tried to help ease the pressure on my back by gathering
every pillow we had in our house and making me a pillow fort in the living room
where I could lay on my stomach without squishing the baby in my belly. Nothing
seemed to work and my back continued to ache. I remember telling Tolar that I
hoped our baby girl would come a bit early because I knew that I couldn’t
handle the back pain for 3 more weeks! God has quite the sense of humor I found
out!!!!
The night continued on and around 10:45 p.m. I started
noticing that I was having some cramps in my lower abdominals (if you even
still have abdominals while pregnant!!!). The cramps weren’t bad and were very
inconsistent with timing, so I didn’t think much of it. Except the cramps didn’t
stop and my back continued to ache. Tolar thought the cramps might be Braxton
Hicks contractions as I had yet to feel any during my pregnancy. But when the
cramps continued, I thought otherwise. I found the paperwork that my doctor had
given me and read the sheet explaining what labor felt like and I was shocked
at what I found. The paper said that labor starts in your lower abdominals and
feels like menstrual cramps and you also experience back pains!!! OMG! I was in
labor!!!! After finding that sheet, Tolar quickly jumped into action and
started packing his hospital bag. He also loaded up our ipads with movies and
tv shows to keep us entertained at the hospital in case my labor went long.
Then around midnight Tolar went off to find a store that was open where he
could buy snacks for us. (I had read a lot of forums that suggested having
snacks at the hospital in case you delivered in the middle of the night and the
café was closed.) Thankfully while Tolar was gone, the cramping was extremely
bearable and I was able to make sure we were all packed just in case what I was
experiencing was real labor.
Once Tolar returned, I tried to lay down and get some sleep,
but I was too excited and nervous to really sleep. Then around 2 a.m. the real
contractions started and I was unable to sleep because they were getting
painful. We started timing my contractions, but they were extremely
inconsistent. Sometimes they would be 6 minutes apart, sometimes 2, sometimes
12. We had been told that we should call the doctor when they were 5 minutes
apart, lasting for 1 minute for 1 hour. But after an hour of intense
contractions they never stabilized, so we called the doctor just to find out
what was going on. She told me that they would even out and for me to call her
back when that happened. She obviously knew I wasn’t in active labor because I
could talk to her on the phone just fine at this point.
So we stayed home and continued to labor. I had given up on
sleep at this point and tried to distract myself (by typing a blog post!!!),
but the contractions kept on. I walked around, I got down on my hands and knees
and did A LOT of breathing. We moved from the living room couches up to our bed
because I thought I might be more comfortable up there, but nothing seemed to
work. Tolar was beside me the entire time. With every contraction that came he
would make me concentrate on him and he helped me breathe when all I wanted to
do was cry in pain. The contractions progressively got worse between 3 a.m. and
7 a.m., but they still never got consistent in timing. Around 5 a.m. I lost it
and started crying because I was in so much pain and I was incredibly sleepy
and I just couldn’t get comfortable. With each contraction I felt a need to do
something different: either lay still, get up and walk around, march my feet,
jump up and down or just cry. Tolar was right there with me, walking around
with me, holding me when a contraction started and speaking such comforting
words to me during the painful moments. I know I could not have done it without
him.
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| My awesome support system! |
At 7:45 a.m. I was exhausted! Tolar called the doctor again
because the timing of my contractions still weren’t evening out. Also, I was in
so much pain that I was ready to go to the hospital. The doctor said that if
the pain was too much for me then we should come in. And I told Tolar I was
ready! So off to the hospital we went. Funny thing, I actually was most
comfortable sitting in the car so the ride to the hospital wasn’t as unbearable
as I had thought! We got to the hospital, gave our car to the valet (thank you
Alexandria Inova Hospital for providing that service!) and made our way slowly
to the Labor and Delivery floor of the hospital. They gave me a bed to monitor
my contractions and the baby and we had to wait for about 20 minutes before a
doctor would even see me. It was a long twenty minutes because I was just so
tired and in extreme pain. Finally one of the midwives from my doctor’s office
came over and checked me out and told me that I was already 80% effaced and
dilated 3 centimeters. She said that she was on duty until 8 p.m. that night
and was pretty certain that she would be catching our baby! I was so relieved;
she was admitting us to the hospital! I was also pretty hopeful that we would
have the baby that day, because June 24 would have been my Grandma’s 93rd
birthday – I so wanted my baby to be born on the same day to make it extra
special.
We had to wait to get an actual room for awhile and by the
time we got to the room I was ready for an epidural. My contractions were
strong! I told our Labor and Delivery nurse, Daphne, that I was definitely
getting an epidural because I knew I couldn’t handle a lot of pain, but I did
tell her that I was nervous about receiving it. Daphne was awesome. She tried
to calm me down about the epidural and she also assisted Tolar in holding me
still while the anesthesiologist did her thing. I prayed almost the entire time
while I was receiving the epidural, I did scream out in pain because the
pressure was pretty intense, but I remained as solid as a rock. I was scared of
moving and potentially getting paralyzed from the shot so I prayed for God to
help keep me still. And He did just that! As soon as the epidural was in, I
felt amazing! I could no longer feel the contractions and I was able to just
rest. I was proud of myself, because I had made it to 5 centimeters before
needing the epidural (kudos to all of you natural birth ladies out there!!!).
So from around noon until 8 p.m., I felt pretty good. I was
able to nap briefly here and there and watch some episodes of Friends. My Bestie Erica ended up coming
to the hospital and hanging out with me and Tolar for the whole day. As soon as
she heard that I was in labor she knew she wouldn’t get any work done. So she
went to her morning meeting and then came to the hospital. Thank you Erica for
being there! Since I went into labor 3 weeks early, it was a little difficult
for our families to get to town. Tolar’s family hopped in the car around 10:30
a.m. and started the 13 hour drive to see us. My mom, who was coming to stay
with us for a few weeks, wouldn’t be able to arrive until the next day as she
had tons of things to complete in order to stay with us for so long. So we were
extremely happy to have Erica with us!
Once we got to 8 p.m., the midwife who admitted us to the
hospital came to check on me one last time and told me that Jenna (another
midwife) would be taking care of me for the next shift (we also got a new Labor
and Delivery nurse). So our admitting midwife wouldn’t “catch the baby,” but
Jenna would get to. And I was super excited because we had been seen by Jenna
at the doctor’s office and LOVED her. I must say, that God answered our
prayers! We had prayed to feel comfortable with whoever would deliver our sweet
girl and when I heard that Jenna would be the person to do the job, I knew God
was all over that prayer request! Jenna checked me and told me that I was 100%
effaced and fully dilated – it was almost go time! Pitocin was added to my IV
to help speed things along. They also wanted to help get the baby to move down
naturally instead of having me push for longer (which I was so thankful for),
so they tilted my bed up so I was in a more vertical position. Jenna said they
would keep me that way for about an hour unless I felt an intense need to poop
(sorry all!!!). If I felt like I had to poop, I needed to call our nurse. Well
during this time some of my epidural didn’t take on the right side of my
stomach. When they add pitocin it makes the contractions stronger and I started
feeling VERY intense contractions. It was so painful!!!! I could only feel it
in my stomach, nowhere else, but I was still in a lot of pain. Then just before
9:30 p.m. I told Tolar we needed to call the nurse, I was ready to push!!!
The midwife and nurse came in and we got things started. The
contractions were intense and I just wanted to relieve the pain and get my
precious baby out of me! I was nervous about the delivery process, but I had an
incredible delivery team and I listened to everything they said. I highly
recommend that you listen to every instruction that the doctor/midwife and
nurse tell you, it helped me immensely. I didn’t want to be in pain anymore so
I followed everything they said. And it paid off – I only pushed for about 30
minutes! Tolar was there with me the whole time, coaching me, breathing with me
and telling me how great I was doing! I so appreciated having my sweet honey
beside me. Jenna had told me at one point that with 2 more contractions my baby
would be here. So I “got in the zone” and pushed with everything I had. After one
contraction I heard Jenna say to me “Lindsay, look down” and there was my baby!
I was so overwhelmed with joy and relief for two reasons; one that my baby was
finally here and two that the pain was over. I think I even said “thank goodness
it’s over!” Tolar and I cried (and cried) and were immediately in love with our
sweet daughter.
 |
| Overwhelmed and exhausted, but so in love! I'm a Mom! |
Tolar stayed with the baby for all of the tests and cleaning
while Jenna took care of stitching me up. I heard the nurse ask what type of
laceration I had and Jenna told her I had a very small tear. The nurse was
shocked and so was Jenna. Most first time moms tear quite a lot and even push
for about two hours. They couldn’t believe I did it in 30 minutes with minimal
tearing. Jenna even compared my tear to a paper cut. I immediately gave all of
the glory to God when I heard this. That is another thing we prayed for – for my
tearing to not be bad. And again, He answered the prayer. The final prayer was
that our baby would be healthy and not need any kind of medical intervention
and God delivered!!!!
So I know this story has gotten rather long – sorry about
that. But there are two things I just want to leave you with. God cares about
everything in your life, even the small things. However nothing is too small
for Him. He wants to give you the desires of your heart. That was evident in
the fact that He answered all of our prayers for the birth. And two, having an
incredible partner to support you through such a difficult moment in your life
is amazing. Tolar has always been supportive and wonderful, but I realized his
love for me even more during the 24 plus hours of labor. He never left my side
during my time of need.
I’m thrilled that our birthing experience was a positive one
– because I have wanted to be a mother my whole life and I have always wanted
three children. I know I can do it again!!! But for now, we are just going to
concentrate on our one child, Baby K, and cover with her so much love!!!
Friday, July 5, 2013
High Five For Friday
For once I’m not overly excited that today is Friday because
as I’m sure you can imagine, the days are a blur to me. We’ve been home from
the hospital with Baby K for a week and 2 days and each day blends into the
next. We are leaving the house for doctor’s appointments, but I’m hesitant to
take her out for errands and other visits while she is still so young/little. Even
with remaining in the house and not being sure which day it is on the calendar,
I still have some awesome moments to highlight for you from my week.
1.) My sister and nephew were in town for several days
visiting and my nephew was so curious about Baby K. He was very gentle with her
and really stared at her more than anything. I love this photo of him checking
on her.
2.) Tolar turned 31 on Monday and I let him sleep in a bit.
However, I was so excited for him to come open his presents I quickly started
regretting my choice to let him sleep. (I mean, I was way too excited for him
to open those Cheetos so I could eat them. Because it’s just not a birthday
present display without a bag of Cheetos.)
3.) Baby K and Tolar had their first story time together –
heart melted!
4.) We are almost finished with the nursery, Tolar and I
hung up the last few items this week and now we are only waiting on the
curtains to arrive. So pictures of the nursery will be up very soon! I love
this cross that my sister, brother in-law and nephew gave to Baby K. It hangs
over her crib.
5.) Its just not the 4th of July without a little
Legally Blonde!!! I heart Elle Woods and decided to watch Legally Blonde 2:
Red, White and Blonde in honor of our nation’s birthday. Also, I love the line
that Paulette says, “You look like the 4th of July – it makes me
want a hot dog real bad.” Since I wasn’t
able to eat hot dogs during my pregnancy, I found myself saying this line a
lot. (You better believe I am more than making up for not eating hot dogs for
the past 7-8 months!)
So that was my blur of a week. To see other awesome bloggers
and read about their week, be sure to stop by Lauren Elizabeth and check out
her High Five For Friday link up!
Wednesday, July 3, 2013
Win $350 PayPal Cash!!!!
Happy 4th of July!!
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I hope that you have a great 4th of July! Be sure to check out all the amazing ladies below that made this possible.
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Tuesday, July 2, 2013
5 Minute Face
Ever since Baby K arrived, the amount of time I have to get
ready has drastically diminished each morning (yes, I know you are all thinking
“duh!”). But being the Southern woman that I am, I feel best with some makeup
on. It helps me feel more human and less zombie like after I’ve been up through
the night every 2 hours feeding and changing my sweet little one.
So this past week I adopted the 5 minute face. Prior to Baby
K, I would call this my weekend face, where I had some errands to run early in
the day and wanted to look somewhat presentable, but didn’t want to wake up
early to go through my entire morning routine. It’s a quick and simple makeup
routine that anyone can do – mom or not!!!!
And all you need are five simple makeup products.
1.) I start with some tinted moisturizer, which acts like a
foundation but goes on a whole lot faster and doesn’t feel too heavy. I wrote
about my love for Clinique’s Moisture Surge tinted moisturizer in this post
here.
2.) Then I dust a little bit of loose powder to set the
look. Any loose powder will do. I actually really like Cover Girl, especially
the price tag!!!
3.) Next I apply some blush to my cheeks to give me a little
bit of a glow and color.
4.) For my eyes, I sweep my most favorite eye shadow – Cover
Girl’s Champagne – across my entire lid.
5.) And I finish by adding some mascara to my lashes to
really open up my eyes.
That’s it! Quick and simple and leaves me feeling great.
My quick makeup routine even caused my friend Jessy to be amazed that I had a less than a week old baby, but yet I had makeup on in the below pic. Hey, a girl’s gotta do what a girl’s gotta do!!!!
My quick makeup routine even caused my friend Jessy to be amazed that I had a less than a week old baby, but yet I had makeup on in the below pic. Hey, a girl’s gotta do what a girl’s gotta do!!!!
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| This was our first outing without the baby! My mom and sister watched Baby K while we ran to pick up dinner. |
Makeup pictured:
Cover Girl Loose Powder
Cover Girl Eye Shadow in Champagne
FIBRE LashXTEND
Clinique Moisture Surge tinted moisturizer
Clinique Blush
Cover Girl Eye Shadow in Champagne
FIBRE LashXTEND
Clinique Moisture Surge tinted moisturizer
Clinique Blush
Monday, July 1, 2013
Happy Birthday to Tolar!!!
Today is such an awesome day for my husband – Tolar turns
31!!!! Even though little miss Baby K decided to make her entrance into the
world about 3 weeks early, Tolar and I were both pretty happy that we were
still 30 when she arrived. J
I’d like to take this time to honor my husband, the man who
is already an AMAZING and hands on father!!!
To my extremely loving husband, Tolar:
Words can’t express how proud I am of you and all that you
are doing to care for our daughter. I have always said that our wedding day is
the day that I loved you the least and I definitely realize that daily. My love
for you continues to grow. Especially since our daughter was born; it’s like my
heart is exploding out of my chest. Watching you rock our daughter and feed her
and dance down the hallway with her and cuddle with her and nap with her, my
heart beats a million times faster watching you two together.
Even before Baby K arrived, you constantly amazed me with
your loving and caring heart. From running out to not one, not two, but THREE
different grocery stores to find me pre-made Lime Jell-O when I was pregnant
and not feeling well, to sleeping on the FLOOR of the living room when the only
place I could get comfortable was the couch. Those are just two simple
examples, but those sweet gestures meant so much to me. And I can’t even begin to describe how caring
and supportive you were during my labor. There was no one else I wanted by my
side. You helped me through the most difficult moment in my life.
So on this day, I celebrate you. I look excitedly towards
the future at all of the fun memories we will make as a family of three during
your 31st year on earth. I am so proud to be your wife and stand by
your side and create such fun memories with you year after year. My birthday
wish for you is that you wake up every morning knowing just how loved you are
and that Baby K nor I could make it through a day without you.
Happy Birthday to the love of my life. You make me so happy!
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- Lindsay @ Pursuit of Pink
- Welcome to Pursuit of Pink. I'm Lindsay and I'm so glad you are here. I believe a positive life is a happy life. Join me as I try to walk that out daily - in life, motherhood, style and more.
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