Saturday, September 19, 2015

Oakley is finally here!

My due date for our little squish was September 14th, 2015. We went in that week and the midwives found that Oakley was already weighing at a possible 9 pounds and they determined if she didn't come by the due date, we would need to induce. I had a very specific natural birth plan, so neither Ty or I was excited to hear this, but we felt that based on the information it would be best for our little squish and I.

The morning of September 15th, Tyler and I woke up bright and early (5am) and got ready to go to the hospital. We said goodbye to Griff, gathered my very overly prepared hospital bags and left. The whole ride there while I held Tyler's hand, I was shaking. I was scared. I didn't know what to expect, and I was hoping that I was strong enough to endure the journey I had ahead of me (not just labor, but caring for this little squishy of mine too)!


When we arrived, we had THE SWEETEST nurse ever! She could tell I was nervous and so she started making small chat asking all about my pregnancy journey. I told her how important it was for me to try and do this naturally, and she made a poster for me that said "YOU CAN DO THIS!" and hung it up above the bed so that I could see it. I was already having small contractions when I went in, so when they put me on the Pitocin, the contractions got quicker fairly fast. However, I honestly wasn't feeling much "pain." The midwife came and checked on me mid morning, but I hadn't progressed a whole lot at that point, so they slowly raised the Pitocin level. Meanwhile, the midwife encouraged us to tell our sweet nurse our story of trying to get pregnant (see previous blog). I had brought the onesie that had hung above my nightstand and the nurse decided to hang that on my medical board for encouragement as well.

Overall, the day started out fairly relaxing. Ty and I just listed to the labor music playlist we had put together with the help from our doula, and we waited for my mom, his mom, his sister, my dad, and my doula to get there. Theeeeennn I started to feel the contractions.... :(

It wasn't until afternoon that the contractions really started to get more intense. Everything I had planned to help me through the contractions became harder because I had to be hooked up to all of these stupid monitors and chords due to being induced (plus, they were having a hard time consistently getting "squishy's" heartbeat. The giant jetted bathtub was out of the picture now, and I struggled to even do much on the labor ball. So Tyler was my rock. He is what helped me get through every contraction. I started to feel horrible back labor pain, so Tyler would push on my legs (which helped A TON) for every contraction. We had our music playing full blast and Ty and I would sing to our songs through the contractions as well. Ha!  It was quite the sight to see.


My dad and Sue came to visit and I'm pretty sure as soon as they came and saw me, they ran back out the door as fast as possible as I'm sure I screamed their ears off. Tyler's mom and sister showed up and my mom showed up. Most of the time, people waited in the waiting room to give Ty and I some space.

15 hours of natural labor and screaming/singing through the contractions and still I had only progressed to 4-5 cm. (Which really wasn't much seeing as how I was dilated to a 3 when I came in that morning.) The midwife suggested that I get an epidural to help relax a little bit and get through the night since it seemed I was in for the long haul. My mom decided to stay the night with me and Tyler (and to help so that Tyler could have a little break as well).

After the epidural, I finally got a little nap, but not much because the nurses kept coming in to help me turn and move around. Squish was facing the wrong way, so we were trying to get her turned so that it might help things progress. A few hours after the epidural was put in and they had upped my Pitocin even more, I started feeling my legs and the contractions again. I told the nurses, but no one seemed to be listening too much or doing anything about it. Soon, I was screaming in pain again from contractions (which were so close together now it didn't seem like there were any rest periods). They finally got the anesthesiologist to look at my epidural and it had completely come out (probably due to all of the moving around they were doing to try and re-position squish).

So, I got a SECOND epidural and by then it was 9/16/15 at about  5 am. My midwife came in and said that it was time to start talking about "other options." Squish's heart rate had started to escalate and monitors were showing she was in slight distress. I immediately burst into tears. I hadn't wanted any of this (Pitocin, epidural, and now C-Section). Everything had gone the opposite of how I was hoping. Tyler and I held each other and cried for quite awhile. My mom called my sister Danae (who had also had an emergency C-Section) and I basically just sat there balling on the phone while she talked to me and tried to comfort me. I literally don't think I said a word back to her.

Our midwife tried to hold off on the C-Section until a little later in the morning, because the current doctor on call was one she had never done a surgery with. (Let's be honest, she didn't outright say this, but it was pretty obvious). At 8 am, there was a shift change and the new doctor on call was Dr. Cox (who is very well known for being amazing!) Dr. Cox came in and made jokes with me and truly calmed me down about everything. He put me so at ease and it was such a relief.

I was laying flat on my back as the anesthesiologist had just prepared me for the surgery and told me I could not sit up at all from this point forward. A nurse came over and gave me a large pill and told me to take it. I didn't even know what it was, I just stuck it in my mouth. All of a sudden, I was foaming at the mouth and choking on the pill. She had given me an Alkaseltzer pill WITHOUT dissolving it in water first! I tried to ask the anesthesiologist if I could sit up to take water, but he didn't know what had happened and immediately said no because of the epidural. They all finally realized what had just happened and the anesthesiologist got pretty mad at the nurse. Apparently, she was newer and still training. Ha! Looking back it is pretty funny, but in the moment, I was not a happy camper. The rest of the time, the anesthesiologist (who had previously been a little crabby towards me) was the nicest most supportive one out of everybody. I think he must have felt bad about the incident and was trying to make up for it.

As they rolled me into the room (w/o Tyler at first), I was shaking extremely bad. My entire body felt super cold and I was so nervous that I was shaking everywhere! The anesthesiologist got me some warm blankets and covered me everywhere possible with them and I started to calm down a little bit. He tried to make jokes with me and talk me through everything I was seeing while all of the doctors and nurses prepped everything for the C-Section. Even though our midwife was in the surgery assisting the doctor, I honestly don't remember talking to her again until long after the surgery.

Tyler was finally able to come into the room and sit next to me and hold my hand. I stared at him for awhile, but after the surgery started, I had to just close my eyes and think about the little girl I was about to meet to try and get my mind off of what was about to happen. At one point during the surgery, I felt the doctor basically climb on top of me and yank and pull. I still don't know exactly what was happening since I was at that point just trying to drown everything out.

All of a sudden, she was out and I immediately heard her cry out. The doctor held her over the screen so I could see her sweet little chubby self, and then they whisked her away to check and make sure everything was okay. Our daughter was finally here, gracing us with her presence on 9/16/15 at 9:33 am weighing at 8.4 LBS, 21 inches long, and a 15 inch head.


Tyler looked at me like he wasn't sure what to do. (He later told me he felt pulled in two directions between staying with his wife, and going to meet his daughter). I looked straight at him and very sternly said, "Go to her!" I couldn't be with her in that moment and needed Tyler to stay with her for the rest of the time. The anesthesiologist was still with me, and as I heard our daughter crying I kept whispering, "I'm a mom! I'm a mom!" over and over. The anesthesiologist looked at me and said, "Yep, you are a mom!" Ha! Tyler brought her back over to me and I got to touch her sweet face for the first time. I couldn't believe the emotions overwhelming me, and this sweet little miracle that was finally given to us. The anesthesiologist said to Tyler, do you have a phone so I can take a picture for you. (Neither one of us had even thought about pics and I am so grateful for this 3rd party who knew we would want to document this incredible moment in our lives).


Tyler went with our daughter as the doctor's sewed me up. (Side note: Dr. Cox is well known for VBACs so hopefully with his technique, I will still be able to experience a vaginal birth in the future). They then took me to the recovery room, and Tyler brought our daughter to me and I got to fully hold her for the first time. I know there was a lot going on around me in the recovery room with the nurses checking everything, but I didn't notice any of it. I was so focused on this sweet little girl who finally was here after 23 hours of labor.

We could immediately tell that this labor was not just hard on me, but definitely hard on our little girl. She had a fairly large lump on her head since she was sunny side up and had been hitting my pelvis over and over every time I contracted. She also had some slight bruising on her head and on her face (along with some sweet storks kiss birthmarks that are now one of my favorite things about her). In the end, even though this was not the way I had wanted things to go, I was just grateful it was all over and that she was here safe. Tyler and I almost immediately knew that she was going to be Oakley Claire Despain. We had Oakley and Claire both as top first names of ours, and they just sounded perfect combined together.

Honestly, our hospital stay is all a blur. I remember Oakley being one of the most aware babies I had ever seen and everybody commenting on this and the fact that her eyes were always wide open taking everything in. I remember her nursing like a champ (even though I did had to get help from an amazing nurse to help get her latched every time), and I remember sleeping with her at night with her just sleeping on my chest. It was rare that I had the nurses take her away, although I did a few times to try and get a little more sleep so I could recover.

This little girl was and is the greatest blessing in my life and I am so excited for the adventures Tyler, Oakley, and I are going to have together.








Friday, September 18, 2015

Pregnancy

Looking back, I really did have an easy pregnancy, but in the middle of it I pretty much thought I was going to die! BAHAHAHA! I tried to stay positive in my head because I truly was so grateful to finally be bringing a mini Tyler-Arianne into the world; but I probably drove my family, my friends, and my co-workers crazy for 9 months and beyond! Here is just a quick breakdown of my pregnancy:

Pregnancy Pros:
  • From pre-pregnancy to end of my pregnancy, I only gained a total of 3 pounds. Baby girl basically just ate my fat for what she needed while she was in there.
  • I got to shop for some new clothes.
  • I never had to deal with heartburn
  • For some reason, I had weird discoloration of my skin that sort've made me look more tan than I actually was!
  • The only true craving I had was at the beginning when I was having nausea... all I wanted was York Peppermint Patties.
  • Scratch that, I did have one theme craving of fruit throughout the entire pregnancy. Definitely not the worst craving to have!
  • Once I got used to feeling baby girl move, it was so incredibly fun to feel like I was never alone! I always had someone to talk to, sing to, and play with!
  • I had so many great friends and family that helped me get ready for baby, brought me food and snacks at work, helped throw me two great baby showers, and donated so many things to us that we were truly ready to have baby by the time I was like 4 months along!
  • I had an amazingly patient husband who helped me through all of the smorgasbord of emotions that I went through and took care of everything around the house when I was too huge to move!
  • Literally, I had people waiting on me hand and foot!
  • At the end of it all, I got the sweetest little girl who is truly blessing my life more and more every day!
Pregnancy Struggles:
  • One of the reasons I didn't gain a ton of weight was because I basically didn't want to eat for the whole beginning of my pregnancy. I was nauseous and nothing sounded good to eat.
  • Even though I lost weight I had a summer pregnancy and therefore blew up like a balloon with water retention. None of my shoes fit me and my fingers looked like sausages.
  • Remember that shopping spree I talked about... I pretty much had to do that so I didn't look like a stuffed turkey in all my clothing.
  • When I first started feeling baby girl, I struggled with it. Until I got used to it, I felt like there were worms inside of me and it was harder for me to get used to than people portray.
  • Baby girl liked to arch her back and stick her butt or head or whatever it was straight up out of my belly which caused constant pressure every which way!
  • The sensation to pee 24/7 is real!
  • I pretty much didn't sleep (which was okay because it prepared me for when baby girl was here!)
  • The back and hip pain I felt because I was already overweight and then I was trying to carry a watermelon was excruciating! 
  • I had a pre-eclampsia scare and had to be super careful about my blood pressure.
  • My husband had to have knee surgery when I was 7 months pregnant in the middle of the hot summer and I truly struggled to try and take care of him while carrying a bowling ball!
  • The worst part of the pregnancy was the end, trying to wait for baby girl to come. The anxiety about killed me... until labor... then the labor just killed me more. :) 
2015 was one of the hardest and most rewarding years and pregnancy was an adventure I will never forget!