Friday, February 22, 2013

Birth Story

My beautiful Adley Mae is here! 

I am again head over heals in love!  She is beautiful and I could spend all day snuggling with her!  She is tiny, well for one of my babies anyway!  Did I say that I am in love?  I could gush over her forever! 
For those who don't know, Adley was born on January 14th at 9:14pm.  She was 7 pounds 14 ounces.   
Once again I had a great labor.  This one was a bit more intense being that it was the first that I actually went into labor on my own.  With Ashlyn my water was leaking so I was induced and with Quinn I was also induced.

With Adley it was all her.

It started Sunday evening.  I just didn't feel good.  That night I was having contractions but nothing timeable, just enough to keep me uncomfortable and not able to sleep.  I decided to go to work anyway figuring it was nothing and just the normal joys of pregnancy.  I was tired and feeling pretty crappy but up until around noon I was mainly OK.  Then I started having more and more contractions.  I still managed to stay until around 2 and then I had to go home to relax.  Relaxing in my world is doing the dishes (hey, if I was in labor I didn't want to come home to dishes in the sink), take a shower (to shave my legs of course), and pack my hospital bag.  I got all of that done and finally laid down.
By this time the contractions were about 9 minutes apart but they weren't terrible.  Uncomfortable but I didn't have to breath through them or anything.  After a while I decided to go downstairs and sit in the rocker in Adley's room.  I talked to Steve right before he left work and we (I) decided that we would leave Ashlyn at Renee's house seeing as the contractions were about 6 minutes apart by this time.  I still do not think that Steve thought I was in labor.  By the time that he got home they were 2 to 3 minutes apart but still not as painful.  At this point I think he finally realized that this was happening and started running around to get everything ready for us to go to the hospital.  I spent the next 15 minutes or so trying to get a hold of the after hours line for the midwife.  I FINALLY got a hold of someone and spoke to the midwife on call and told her that I was ready to head to the hospital.  She said to go ahead, they would check me and let her know if I would be admitted. 
The ride to the hospital sucked.  My contractions were now painful.  PAINFUL!  Of course this is when you get behind someone that appears to be high because there is no reason that you should be going that slow on the express way, ever!  Ever!  Especially not when there is a woman in labor behind you. 
We got to the hospital right around 6.  At Labor and Delivery Triage I saw 2 clearly pregnant girls waiting.  One sitting and one leaning against the wall.  Neither of them about to die as their baby ripping its' way out of their body.  Me being in tears, moaning and near screams got taken first.  It was kind of them.  They quickly got me checked and I was at 5cm.  I remember one nurse saying that they thought that this was going to be a "stop and drop" but lucky or everyone we had a little time. 
I will admit that I was a bitch.  I was in pain and it wasn't like a contraction, rest, another contraction, they were right on top of each other.  There was very little rest.  I wanted to claw Steve's arm.  Literally.  It took all that I had to not.  I yelled at him to not touch me, not move me, snapped at the midwife who had to ask the same question over and over again. 
Thankfully, I did get my epidural rather quickly.  It was much harder this time to sit still for it.  With Ashlyn I was uncomfortable but never in serious pain, I more got the epidural when I did because I was so tired.  With Quinn, I never felt a single contraction.  Once the drugs were in though, I was happy and much nicer.  Also, the annoying midwife was off and my favorite, who I have seen since before I got married, Molly, was now my midwife! 
The rest of labor was pretty uneventful.  Around 8:15 or so Molly checked me and I was at around 9.5 cm and would have been full 10 but my water hadn't broke yet, though it was bulging.  Molly went ahead and broke it and around 9 Molly said that I should start pushing.  The only thing was I didn't feel the need to push.  With both of the other girls I knew when it was time.  This time, nothing.  But, we went ahead and started anyway.  I pushed a couple of times and nothing was really happening.  Molly finally felt up there and could tell that not only was Adley sunny side up but she had her head tilted up and was stuck.  I have to say that Molly did a great job keeping me calm.  She said that she needed the doctor to come in and they were going to have to try and move her.  I knew that if she didn't move I was going to have to go for a c-section but I managed to keep calm and not freak out.  I asked if I should keep pushing and Molly said that a couple times wouldn't hurt.  I pushed one more time and when I stopped I felt her move.  Suddenly I actually felt the need to push and knew that one more push and she would be out and that is exactly what happened.  By the time the doctor was coming into the room Adley was coming into this world! 
9:14pm and I finally got to meet my rainbow!


My beautiful, ooey gooey baby!  Out of the 3 girls, this was the first time I got to hold my ooey gooey baby!  With Ashlyn they had to take her right away due to my water leaking for nearly 24 hours and of course Quinn had to be taken to be assessed.  This time though, I got to cuddle my baby as soon she was in this world!  I honestly could have stared at that little face forever!




We decided that we wanted pictures taken during her birth seeing as this would be a very emotional experience.  Of course all births are, but we figured that this might be a bit more than your typical birth experience.  I am so so very thankful that we have these pictures.  They capture everything perfectly.  I can look at these pictures and I see the pure JOY.  Complete and utter joy and amazement! 

Adley is a wonderful baby!  She is beautiful and calm and just perfect!  Honestly, bringing a baby home for the second time is a whole lot easier than the first.  There isn't the stress of the not knowing. 
Ashlyn is an amazing big sister!  She LOVES her baby sister and is always wanting to hold her and help take care of her.  I was worried that she would feel slighted, especially since she is such a Momma's girl and I am nursing but she has been such a big girl and very understanding.  I am so very proud of my little lady!  I couldn't ask for better daughters, all 3 of them.

I will admit that there are times that I look at Adley and my heart breaks for Quinn.  I miss her every day and I promise you that as happy as I am to be Adley's mom I would give anything to have my Quinn back as well!  It is surreal.  Adley looks a lot like Quinn and I think that makes it even harder at times.  It is hard to put the feelings into words.  I know that if Quinn hadn't died or if she never had T13 that Adley wouldn't be here.  It is hard to think of my world without Adley now that she is in it and to think if it weren't for her sister dying she wouldn't be here is just.....  like I said, it is hard to put into words. 

I know that my little Quinn-Bean is in Heaven smiling down on her baby sister and that makes me smile! 
I am a very happy and proud Mommy!  I love my 3 girls with all my heart!

Now that I have rambled forever, here are a few pictures of Adley not all ooey gooey =)
Gawd, is she gorgeous!  Even if she does look just like her daddy and nothing like me!