Life as I see it...: July 2015

Disclaimer: this is going to be long and as detailed as I can remember, so please don't feel obligated to read the whole thing!
Before I get started, I just need to note that the last few weeks of pregnancy are hard! and the waiting game is excruciatingly frustrating!! I was absolutely convinced this little one was going to come in May, so when May came and went, to say I was anxious and frustrated is an understatement! However I have the best husband, and my momma came out to help move things along, and then my daddy came which made things even more interesting! :)

My due date was June 6, so as it got closer with absolutely no signs of labor we enlisted some help! Some midwives my dad works with offered a "cocktail"-of ice cream, castor oil, milk, and a raw egg-so Friday night (June 5) we tried said cocktail (minus the egg). Not so much as a contraction. It did clean out my bowels, but this baby was determined to stay put. Stubborn thing :).
Fast forward to Monday night, my daddy arrived in town with a few tricks up his sleeve, hehe (by this point I was overdue). I got my membranes swept (which didn't really do much either) and quietly prepared to go to my doctors appointment on Tuesday. Tyler went to work early on Tuesday so he could come to the doctor without taking time off work (our appointment was at 3:15) and as we were getting ready to go to the doctor my water broke. I was positive for Group B Strep so we needed to get two rounds of antibiotics before our little one came, we called the doctor and were told to go straight to the hospital. I jumped in the shower (waters breaking makes a mess!), while my parents and Tyler collected our stuff. My dad and Tyler gave me a blessing and we calmly headed to the hospital. On our drive I started feeling contractions, and they were all in my back! Not exactly what I was hoping for! As we pulled into the parking garage at the hospital it started pouring rain! so we stood around, hoping for it to pass, as contractions started getting a little worse and a lot closer together. (we finally just decided to brave the rain and run across the street to the hospital!). The nurses put us in a room to monitor our labor, and check for amniotic fluid. We had no doubts it was amniotic fluid (hehe), and the test quickly confirmed it! We were admitted by 4:15, I was dialated to a 3 and contractions were already right on top of each other. I tried bouncing on a ball...hated it...Tyler and I tried walking around for a little bit...terrible...I ended up laying in bed with someone rubbing my back (Tyler, my mom, or my dad), and a cold towel on my head. By 6:30ish I was only dialated to a 4, and contractions were in my back and lower belly, I couldn't get relaxed and I could sense the anxiety in my sweet husband. So at 7:00 I got an epidural. (Brief rant... How on earth are you suppose to sit, hunched over, and perfectly still while you are having contractions, and with a big belly in the way???? We need to rethink that!) When they checked me around 8:00 I was dialated to a 6! The epidural really helped me relax! When my doctor came to check at 9:00 I was at a 9.5. At this point my brain started taking over. I had prepared myself, as a first time mom, to be in labor for a long time. My body had never done that before and I was ready for hours of sitting around, laboring, and waiting. So when 9:30 rolled around and the nurse started prepping me to begin pushing I was not prepared! Luckily I had the BEST support team in the world!! :) My dad, My mom, and Tyler all did wonderfully at motivating me, supporting me, and encouraging me. I needed each of them, for different reasons, and because they each had a special way of helping me! I pushed for about 2 hours when the Doctor and resident came in. At this point contractions were so close together I barely had time to catch my breath before it was time to push again. I'm pretty sure the only thing I said during the pushing was, "I can't breathe" over and over again. My mom held one of my legs, Tyler held the other and was amazing at fanning me (I don't know what he used, but it really helped, that room was HOT.) and my daddy took pictures as well as quietly encouraged and helped me focus on the prize at the end. In fact at one point my mom and Tyler told me to reach down and touch baby's head, I refused, and my dad grabbed my hand and said, "touch the head, it will help". (can we talk about the fact my baby has hair?? haha was not expecting that one!!) It helped and kind of grossed me out! But it was motivating to reach down and feel a head! There was so much pressure, I couldn't catch my breathe, and honestly there was a point that I seriously doubted I would be able to get our baby out. I could hear my mom and Tyler saying, "come on, you've got this, you are so close". At this point Tyler moved up by my head, and I think a nurse took over my leg, however it might have been my dad (I'm not quite sure). I was so exhausted that Tyler started to support my head/neck every time I pushed (I had strained so hard during each push that my voice was like a whisper for a whole week afterward). Finally I felt the pressure start to ease up and my sweet baby was flipped up onto my belly. My mom was standing by me saying, "you did it, you did it", Tyler was saying, "It's a girl, Shelb!" and I was listening for that first cry. (I later learned the cord was wrapped around her neck twice) Tyler cut the cord and she was immediately taken to the baby warmer thing, Tyler and my dad followed her, my mom stayed with me, and our little girl finally started crying! Those first few moments with no noise are pretty intense. As the doctor and resident started delivering the placenta, my mom went over by the baby, and my dad came by my side. He kept telling me I had done so good, and she was beautiful! We heard someone call out she was 8lbs and 8oz and we were all shocked! She was big! (everyone had been guessing she would be in the low 7lb range). 21 inches! I started feeling pokes and I remember looking at my dad and asking how bad I had tore. (It ended up being a 2nd degree tear). Tyler was able to diaper and swaddle our little one and he brought her over to me! She was so alert and remained so for almost 2 hours after birth. She just stared around the room, Tyler did some skin to skin, I was able to do skin to skin, she latched on to nurse like a pro, my parents were each able to hold her, and we were able to have almost 2 hours in recovery before they moved us up to the postpartum unit.
A lot of people have asked how my dad did in the delivery room and he was great. We didn't tell anyone about my dad's job, our doctor never knew I was raised by an OB... hehe. and no one in the delivery room knew either. As the resident was stitching me up I knew my dad was preparing to take over should something go wrong, but he was great.
My momma was the best and I definitely needed her encouragement! She had all c-sections, so I am so glad she got to be apart of this delivery! :)
Tyler also did amazingly! I was so impressed with his quiet strength and encouragement! :) He had to sit down a couple times, but I'm pretty sure that was more out of sheer exhaustion than the need to pass out. He did so good, and I could feel my love for him growing as I saw him snuggle our little girl with tears in his eyes! :)
All in all I labored for about 9 hours! (water broke at 2:30pm, baby was born at 11:48pm) Super short for a first time mom, we are all still amazed at how fast it went!
We are so absolutely smitten and in love with our little girl!
Welcome to the world!!

My mom was the best!!! (especially at massaging my back and
arranging my pillows!!)

That squat bar thing didn't do much, but it was fun to try!

Seriously!! So in love!! :)

After we moved to postpartum and got all situated (It was
like 3 or 4 in the morning, so totally dark), I was trying to
nurse this sweet girl, I started to feel wet, and just kind of assumed
it was milk. She started getting antsy so I went to reposition her
and noticed a little puddle of blood all over me, and on the back
of her head, the little stinker had ripped my IV out! :) hehe
Needless to say, it was a little less work for the nurse ;)

She was literally awake like this for almost 2 hours after delivery!

I'm pretty sure they slept like this the whole
time we were in the hospital! :)

He looks good with a baby!

She loves her daddy!

Funny story: Tyler started getting her dressed and put her onesie
on from her feet up to her head. We didn't get a picture but it
was seriously the cutest thing! It just seemed so logical to him!
I love my engineer!!!