Peyton's Birth Story

(I realize that I haven't updated or written anything for awhile, so I figured I would start with Peyton's birth story. I promise to eventually get back in to blogging, as I really miss it. However, my attention is needed elsewhere and I wouldn't have it any other way.)

At my 38 week appointment, my doctor and I discussed possibly scheduling an elective induction. As much as I wanted to go into labor naturally, I was ready to be done. After discussing dates, we both agreed that Oct. 14th would be ideal in that it was only 3 days away from my due date. It was also a special day for my family because that would mean that Peyton would share a birthday with my dad. Having a scheduled induction also helped in planning out and organizing things for Mason & Taylor. Adam's mom would be watching them and since she lives in Houston, it made things easier knowing when she would need to be here.

The night before, Adam's mom arrived just in time for dinner. Given that we had to be at the hospital so early, I wanted to make sure that I had a good meal the night before. We dined outside and enjoyed the beautiful sunset of one of our new favorite restaurants and then went for frozen yogurt. Mason & Taylor love frozen yogurt and loved all of the attention on them. It was a wonderful end to the evening.

I was worried that I wouldn't be able to sleep that night with the anticipation of the next day, but I drifted off to sleep right away. We were up by 4am and loaded all of our things in the car and then I made my rounds to the kids room. It is always hard saying bye to them, even when they can't hear me and are completely out of it.


We arrived at the hospital at 5am. Since I had a false alarm a few weeks prior, I had already answered the list of questions they ask. It ended up saving time, and by 5:30am, the IV was in and they had started the pitocin. I must note that this was the first time in history that a nurse has been able to get the IV in on the first try. I have ghost veins and have always had issues with IV's.


When they hooked me up to the monitors, they realized I was already having contractions every 8 to 9 minutes. I was still only at 3cm, but thinning out a little more.My first nurse was very nice, but she isn't very good at checking dilation on patients. I have never been more uncomfortable or in pain during a check before, but I was gripping the bed because that is how bad it was.  The contractions weren't too bad, but I was starting to feel them with the pitocin.


Around 8am, they checked me again and I was 4cm. Fortunately, they had a nurse change and I had a new nurse. This time, it wasn't painful at all. I decided to go ahead and get my epidural because I knew that they would be breaking my water and usually once that happens, I go pretty quickly. Once I got the epidural, I felt so relaxed and a little tired. My doctor came in around 9am and checked me again and I was at 5cm, so he went ahead and broke my water.

For the next couple of hours, I napped. I was tired from getting up so early and I needed the rest. Adam rested as well. It was rather peaceful and quiet. Occasionally, they had me switch from side to side because Peyton was having a little fetal distress with each contraction. I had an oxygen mask on for awhile. I was very calm and had a peace the entire time. In my mind, I was pretty certain that she had the cord wrapped around her neck, but I knew my doctor and nurses would know what to do if that was the case.

Around 11:40am the nurse came in and checked me and I was at 7cm. I started to feel a little pressure and paged the nurse. Sure enough in 10 minutes I went from 7cm to 10cm. She paged my doctor and by noon, they had the room set up and were ready to go. I started pushing and only had to push twice and she was born at 12:07pm.

The minute we saw her, we realized how much she resembled Mason at his birth. Her hair was dark, same shaped mouths and nose and she was a good size. She didn't make much noise so they took her over to clean her up. She had a little fluid in her lungs, so they took it out and then she let us know she had arrived with her crying. My doctor confirmed the the cord was wrapped around her neck, which was causing the distress during my contractions.

The nurses weighed her and she was 8lbs 6oz and 20.25 inches long. I was then able to hold my baby girl for the first time. She was absolutely perfect! Everything happened so quickly, but I wouldn't have had it any other way. I was ready to meet my baby girl and we were blessed to have a smooth and normal delivery.

I nursed her right away and she had no problems latching on. After about 30 minutes of cuddle time, they whisked her off to the nursery and Adam made the calls to our family. They took out my epidural and I had to wait for that to wear off before I could go to my room. I knew it would take awhile, so Adam & I decided to take a good nap. It ended up being about 3 hours long and much needed. I could move my legs again, so they moved me to my room.

I sent Adam home once I got settled in, so that he could get the kids and his mom and bring them to the hospital. I was anxious to see them and I couldn't wait for them to meet their little sister. When they walked into the room, Taylor ran straight up to my bed and climbed up with a huge smile. She was so excited to see Peyton. Mason was just as excited, but he wanted to cuddle with me first. I ate it up. Having all three of my kids together for the first time was absolutely delightful.

That night I had them take her to the nursery in between feedings so that I could get some rest. I woke up the next morning refreshed and ready to go home. My parents came in town the night before and were staying with my aunt. They came up to the hospital with my aunt & uncle and my gram that day. Thankfully, my doctor and the pediatrician were willing to let me go home on Saturday. One day in the hospital was enough for me. I wanted the comfort of my own bed and to be at home with my family.That afternoon I was discharged and reunited with the rest of my family.

Day before Peyton's arrival

So I have a ton of thoughts running through my head right now. This time tomorrow, I will be in the hospital, in labor and awaiting the arrival of our little girl. This pregnancy had it's highs and lows. Overall, it was the smoothest pregnancy compared to my other two. I had no morning sickness at all, which I didn't expect. The only two things that made this pregnancy harder in some ways was the extreme heartburn that made me sick to my stomach one night and the 10 days of an intense itchy rash that covered my body. Thankfully, a steroid helped the rash and switching OTC medicines for the heartburn seemed to do the trick. The summer was hotter than it's been since I was born in 1980. So I made sure to spend most of my time indoors with the AC cranked up.

We tried a long time to get pregnant with Peyton, which was a complete change from our pregnancy surprise with Mason and getting pregnant on the first try with Taylor. Last year on October 14th, I suffered a miscarriage. This year on October 14th, I will be delivering my baby girl. So thankful for God's redeeming love. It's very bittersweet. I love that Peyton will share a birthday with my dad. He is a very special man to me and I love that I can give him a grandchild for his birthday.

After I dropped the kids off at school, I wasn't exactly sure what to do with my free time. I had already gotten a pedicure on Tuesday and everything is already packed and ready for Peyton's arrival. So I decided to spend the morning doing a little shopping and just relaxing around the house. It was very quiet in our house, almost too quiet.

Adam's mom is on her way up here to spend the next week with us. My parents will be arriving this weekend and staying with my Aunt to celebrate my dad's birthday and Peyton's arrival. We are so blessed to be back in Texas and to be able to celebrate Peyton with our family. Next time I post, it will be full or pictures and her birth story.

39 Weeks and 3 days

39 Weeks

Pregnancy Highlights

How far along: 39 Weeks

Size of Baby: Over 7lbs and 19.5 inches long

Total Weight Loss/Gain: Gained a total of 33lbs.

Maternity Clothes: Everything.

Gender: It's a girl!

Movement: She is still very active. I can tell that she likes to nap during the day and she is most active in the evenings, especially when I'm trying to go to sleep.

What I miss: Sleeping on my stomach. I also miss being able to roll over with ease. It's very uncomfortable and sometimes I will avoid switching sides, even when I really want to, so that I don't deal with the process of rolling over.

 

Cravings: Nothing really. I haven't really over eaten anything or had anything that really stands out with this pregnancy. 

Symptoms: My heartburn has still held off thanks to the OTC heartburn medicines. Constant bathroom breaks day and night. The pressure down there is intense and I can barely move my legs at times because it hurts to walk or get up from my seat. 

Best Moment of the Week: This is my last week of pregnancy and this past weekend was a very bittersweet weekend. We tried to do as much as we could with the kids, because all too soon Peyton will be here. 

I am such a mix of emotions and I'm sure it will only intensify as the week progresses. Yes, I'm extremely excited to be able to hold our little girl and to finally see what she looks like. I can't wait to see how the kids interact with her. But I'm also very emotional.

This is most likely my last pregnancy. Despite the little annoyances, I love being pregnant. The feeling of a baby fluttering around and knowing that God created something so beautiful out of the love I share with my husband is overwhelming. We are pretty certain that our family will feel complete with Peyton's arrival.

Mason & Taylor are very excited to finally meet their sister. Every morning, Mason wakes up and asks if Peyton is here yet. Mason was so young when Taylor was born, he doesn't really remember like without his little sister. So it will be a shocker for both of them when Peyton comes home. He did great and it really wasn't a bad transition, but I have a feeling Taylor will have a harder time adjusting to life with a newborn and someone else taking attention away from her.If any mom's of three have any suggestions on making the transition easier, let me know. We are going to make this a special week and I'm going to eat up every minute I have with the kids.

Baby Update

Yesterday I went to see my doctor for my checkup. Unfortunately for me, things are the same. I haven't changed since I was 36 weeks. We spoke about my options and decided to give it a little more time but to go ahead and schedule an induction. By my previous pregnancy standards, I'm overdue. Mason was 9 days early and Taylor was 11 days early. I'm open to giving Peyton a little more time before scheduling an induction too early, with hopes that I can go into labor on my own.

My doctor gave me two dates to choose from. The first date wouldn't work for me because the kids have school pictures that day. The second date happened to be a very important day to me and I thought it would be fitting. So if Peyton doesn't arrive before then, I'm scheduled to be induced Friday October 14th at 5am. This is also a special day because it is my dad's 50th birthday.

So for the next week, we will be waiting. Tomorrow I have a garage sale planned to get rid of a ton of the kids stuff that I have been holding onto for way too long. It will be nice not to have the boxes in my house any more.

38 Weeks

Pregnancy Highlights
How far along: 38 Weeks
Size of Baby: Over 19.5 inches long & weighs a little over 7 lbs

Total Weight Loss/Gain: Gained a total of 32lbs.

Maternity Clothes: Everything. 

Gender: It's a girl!

Movement: Constantly kicking. 

What I miss: Laying on my stomach at night. Even laying on my side is uncomfortable and I use pillows. I can't even role over from side to side without waking up. Being able to move around with ease. 

Cravings:  Nothing in particular. My appetite has remained about the same.

Symptoms: Heartburn is under control due to OTC medicine. Sleepless nights that are preparing me for Peyton's arrival. Constant bathroom breaks. Tired due to my sleepless nights and not having much energy.

Best Moment of the week: Realizing that I can try everything to get her to arrive, but it's ultimately God's timing and not my own. 

One evening this past week, we ended up at the hospital. Earlier that afternoon, I started having contractions and they were consistent and eventually started getting a little closer together. This lasted for about 4 hours before we decided to go ahead and head to the hospital. My doctor told me that if I thought I had signs of labor, to go ahead and head into the hospital.

Upon arrival, I knew the drill. They asked me a ton of questions and checked me and then monitored my contractions for the next hour. My contractions were still happening about every 5 minutes but I hadn't dilated any further. I had such a mix of emotions. I was frustrated, sad, and embarrassed. I was sent home and told to keep monitoring the contractions.Around 1:30am that night, they finally started to slow down.

My next appointment is Thursday morning. I'm hoping I've made a little more progress. Once I'm 39 weeks, they will discuss if I want an elective induction. At this point, I'm not really sure how I feel. Honestly, it would be easier to have it scheduled, especially given that our family is in Houston and it would make arrangements with Mason & Taylor much easier. I was induced with Mason based on his size and it went extremely well.  Part of me really wants to go to labor all on my own. Only time will tell.

37 Weeks - Full Term

Pregnancy Highlights
How far along: 37 Weeks 

Size of Baby: Over 19 inches long & weighs 6.75bs

Total Weight Loss/Gain: Gained a total of 31lbs.

Maternity Clothes: Everything. 

Gender: It's a girl!

Movement: Constantly kicking. 

What I miss: Laying on my stomach at night. Even laying on my side is uncomfortable and I use pillows. Being able to move around with ease. Thankfully, Adam can help me up from the floor when I'm playing with the kids. It's hard when the kids want to sit on my lap and cuddle, but there isn't much room and it's pretty uncomfortable for me.

Cravings:  Nothing really right now. When dining out the other day, I was looking over the dessert menu and almost everything on it sounded delicious. Although, that isn't really anything too far fetched, because I love desserts, even if I don't eat a lot of them.

Symptoms: I can proudly say that switching to my new OTC heartburn medicine has made all the difference. In the past two weeks, I haven't felt any form of heartburn, which has been a huge relief. Saturday evening we drove down to Waco for the Baylor vs Rice game. The weather wasn't too bad, but I did notice that my ankles and legs started to swell some. It's still there a little, nothing too bad thought. Sleepless nights have begun. I can hardly get comfortable at night and can barely turn over. I'm constantly going to the bathroom.

Best Moment of the Week: As I mentioned, we went to the Baylor game this weekend, which was the last home game we will attend before Peyton's arrival. Technically there is one more home game before her due date, but we won't be attending it. The next game we will attend will be Homecoming in November. It's so neat to think that we will be attending it as a family of five.

I had my checkup this morning. I was hoping I would have something to update, but I'm still only 3cm and 50% effaced. To say I was disappointed was an understatement. It would be wonderful if she made her appearance this week. The doctor still said he believes it will be sooner rather than later. You better believe I will be doing everything I can to make sure it's sooner. I've been extremely uncomfortable and the pressure makes it extremely hard to walk. Our bags are packed and ready for her arrival. So now we just wait and see.

Nesting

This week has been a bit of a wake up call for me. While I realize that I'm 36 weeks pregnant, I have yet to really start my nesting phase. I don't think it's really denial, but really more about the fact that we have everything that we need this time around for our third child.

The great thing about having a boy and a girl, no matter what sex the third child is, you should everything you need. This is a blessing. We have been busy at our house getting the kids in the routine of school and Adam has been busy studying for his last licensing exam.

It didn't really hit me that I needed to start getting things ready for Peyton's arrival until my checkup this week. While I fully expected to be making some progress this early on, I was a bit shocked to see that I'm already 3cm dilated. With the realization that I could go into labor at anytime, I knew I needed to make my to-do list.

I had already done a few things, like sort out all of Taylor's old girl clothes that I had saved and set up a new crib in Peyton's room. But I still needed to get things ready for the first few months of Peyton's arrival.

So yesterday, I made a list and it was really long. Today, Adam was so kind and took a break from studying to help me. We cleaned the entire house from top to bottom, set up space for Peyton in our room, did laundry, and I finally have my bag packed for the hospital. I feel at peace and glad to have everything done. Peyton can arrive anytime after next Tuesday when Adam takes his last exam.

What to pack for delivery

With Peyton's arrival just around the corner, I realized that I still hadn't packed my hospital bag. I made a list of all the things I wanted to bring and tried to remember some of the necessities that help make my life easier after delivery. I thought I would share some of those things with you.

1. Dermoplast.

First and foremost, my all time favorite thing to have after delivering a baby (This really only comes into play if you had a vaginal birth). This stuff is from heaven! Thankfully, after delivering Mason, my nurses shared the wonders of Dermoplast with me. It makes walking around and even sitting that much easier. Basically, I like to call it magic in a can. When I delivered Taylor, I asked one of the nurses for a can at the hospital and she looked at me like I was nuts. Not really sure why, because I thought all maternity nurses were aware of how wonderful and necessary it is for healing. I will probably buy some just to have an extra one around the house.

 2. Johnson's Nursing Pads.

I seriously wish someone told me about nursing pads before I delivered my first child. I have tried many different kinds and for me, Johnson's worked best. I will say that I gave reusable(washable) pads a try and they just didn't cut it for me.

3. Medela Lanolin.

Nursing is a beautiful and natural thing, however it can also be rough for the first couple of days to weeks. This helps with the transition and allowed me to enjoy nursing.

4. Pacifiers.

These pacifiers are awesome. I also really like the Avent pacifiers. My son took to pacifiers right away, where my daughter never took one a day in her life. She was a thumb sucker, which I didn't like at first, but proved helpful in that she could soothe herself back to sleep.


5. Soothies.

Again the nurse I had when I was in the hospital with Mason, told me about these wonderful gel pads that make nursing easier. I used to put mine in the fridge to keep them cold and it was even better.

The list is much longer than these items, but these are some of my favorites. Here is a tip that one of my nurses shared with me when I was in the hospital with my first:

When they bring the baby into your room, there are drawers underneath the cart and they are filled with items you will need, like diapers, wipes, lanolin, formula, pacifiers and a couple of other things. Every time they take the baby away to the nursery, they check the drawers to see if they need to be refilled. She said to basically empty those drawers and make your own stockpile of items to take home with you. We had almost a month's worth of diapers for Mason before we even broke into what we had at home. With Taylor, we weren't in the hospital for a full 24hours after her delivery and they never took her to the nursery, but we still stocked up on what was in the cart.

My chest is on fire

So normally, I keep the pregnancy stuff in one post at the beginning of the week, but it has kind of consumed my time this week. I've mentioned that I've had major heartburn with all of my pregnancies and that this time it seems to be worse. It has been waking me up at night to the point where I need to sit all the way up or stand, in fear that I will be sick to my stomach. I don't eat before lying down and I sleep with five pillows.

Monday night I awoke with it and I was seriously uncomfortable. I couldn't shake it. I then got the really watery mouth, where you feel like you should head to the bathroom in fear that you might just throw up. Well good thing I did, because the minute I did, I got sick. I thought it passed, but I was wrong. My entire insides burned due to the acid in my throat. I sat on our bathroom floor and waited to make sure it was all gone before finally heading back to bed three hours later. When I woke up in the morning, I had no voice due to the horrible heartburn.

My OTC heartburn medicine wasn't cutting it, so I opted to call my doctor Tuesday morning. After explaining my situation, they were kind enough to call me in a prescription. Tuesday night,  I slept much better. However, I was still having heartburn throughout the day.

Finally, I decided to switch my OTC medicine to another approved on on my list and thankfully it has done the trick. Smooth sleeping last night and it's been almost 24 hours since I felt a tinge of heartburn.I think my body just got used to my old OTC medicine and I needed to switch it up. Hopefully this will continue and I'm thankful that end of the pregnancy is nearing.