Sedwick: August 2015

Vivian Alice Sedwick

Born 7/17/15 at 7:15 AM

6 lbs 5 oz 19 inches

Most of the time I only blog if there is something I really want to write or I have story that is just sort of bubbling in me. I really want to want to write about Vivian's birth. I love reading about babies being born, but Vivian's birth felt so much less dramatic than my other two that I guess I have been just slowly adding a sentence here or there. Yesterday I read a friends birth story and it has really made me want to finish recording it, because there are special little moments with each one. Thanks Annie for reminding me that I really do want to write this all out.

Here we were in July again. I was pregnant again. In some ways it is great to be due in the same month because I can easily compare each pregnancy, but in other ways is not great to be due at the same time because I can easily compare each pregnancy - if that makes sense. I was due on the 19th with Vivian (Elliott- 17th). With both pregnancies I was super busy with nesting and getting the house ready for a new baby and planning a birthday party for Charlotte, plus this time I also had a birthday party for Elliott coming up. My mantra with both was, "anytime after the party is fine." I think there was part of me that thought everything would be EXACTLY the same. By that estimation she should have come on the 12th. We did Charlotte's birthday party on the 11th and I went to bed that night feeling like anytime would be great now. The morning of the 12th I woke up feeling good, as in too good, as in my body isn't feeling any of that achiness, tiredness, or cramping of a body ready to go into labor. I went to church and didn't feel like anything was happening until the last hour. I started to feel some vague regular contractions. I got excited, started timing them and told a bunch of people after church that I thought I was almost there. WHY? Why would I tell people that early? That is just begging the contractions to stop. As the evening progressed I realized nothing regular was happening, but I had plans for this uterus of mine. I was going to really stir things up by running the next morning. I got up and went for a run on Monday morning and then went to my Dr. appt. It didn't work. Not even one dang contraction for all three miles. So Tuesday I decided to push beyond what I had done in pregnancy...5 miles surely would get things going. No dice! (I know you are rolling your eyes at me right now. I realize I am annoying by posting about my running, but I actually am kind of proud of my body for being able to haul around that baby for a run. And let's be honest those five miles I wound up looking and sounding like that rhinoceros that brings up the tail of the stampede in Jumanji).

Wednesday my mom and brother were settling in at our house and we were just having an easy going day catching up, because my brother had just got home from his two year mission in Minnesota and was becoming best buddies with Elliott. Wednesday night when we were bathing and putting my kids to bed I started having some strong contractions, but by the time the kids were asleep and I sat down they stopped. My mom said, "listening to you getting the kids ready for bed made me have contractions and I don't even have a uterus" and I think that should tell you something about our bedtime routine (why do they stall so much??) By Thursday I decided we should go have fun and we went to this beautiful nearby Lavendar Farm and out to lunch with my mom, brother and Richard's family. I headed to bed at 10 feeling super sleepy, but I was already plotting what we would do to keep ourselves entertained the next day.

I fell right to sleep, but woke up at 12:45 AM with contractions. They felt real and I was feeling so excited that I knew I wasn't going back to sleep so I figured I might as well go watch TV since I wasn't sleeping. I got down stairs and had one of those If You Give a Mouse a Cookie kind of moments. I decided to get some food and needed a bowl. Getting a bowl made me realize the dishwasher needed to be unloaded and unloading the dishwasher made me realize I needed to wipe down the counters and wiping down the counters made me realize I needed to scrub the sink and when getting the cleaning supplies out I realized I needed to sweep the kitchen and sweeping the kitchen made me realize I needed to sweep the dining room. I wound up cleaning the whole kitchen and totally forgot to turn on the tv. The contractions were getting a little stronger, but were obviously tolerable. While cleaning I texted my sister in Utah, because I was hoping with the time difference she would be awake. I had the funniest text conversation with my sister and brother-in-law. I was cracking up and I love it because I felt like they were there with me and it was kind of like last summer all over again. She advised me to try to go back to sleep. At 2:45 AM I laid down and after two contractions I realized I HATE trying to sleep or even just lying down during contractions. At one point between contractions I felt Vivian kick and I had a little conversation with my big belly. I told her that we were in this together and it would probably be a rough night for both of us, but soon enough we would be snuggling and I would take care of her and that I couldn't wait to see her. By 3 AM I decided a shower would help ease the pain and it was really nice. At 330 I got out of the shower and decided it was time to wake up Richard and call my doctor. We headed to the hospital at 4:15 AM and it was sort of strange going out in the middle of the night to have a baby. This was different than my other babies; and everything was just so different. They quickly checked us in and took me up to L&D. I was 7 cm dilated and the contractions were coming strong but only every 4 minutes. I knew she wasn't coming as fast as Elliott. Then there was this big looming question...to epidural or not to epidural? With Charlotte I didn't want an epidural and wound up asking for one. With Elliott I wanted an epidural and didn't get one. I came this time with no plan (because...why bother) and I was at a point in labor where I really could go either way. What to do? Ask me during a contraction...get the anesthesiologist now! But then between contractions or when I heard a baby start crying in the room next door, I didn't want anything to slow this process down. I just wanted her here and I couldn't wait to hear my baby cry too.

After the nurse got a majority of the paperwork done she said it was time for me to be monitored. My contractions were definitely slower than they had been when I was coming in. Now I was only having them every 5-7 minutes. I tried standing up again to keep from slowing things down and wondered if maybe I was starting to feel more pressure and getting closer to being ready to push. At about 5:45 I had her check me again and she said I was still probably around 7cm dilated. That's when I decided to go for the epidural. They got me set and it sure was a fabulous, immediate relief. It was complete relaxation compared to a few seconds previously. I could still feel the contractions, but they didn't hurt anymore. There was the crazy, irrational part of me that felt a little like I had abandoned Vivian. I told her we were in this together. I knew she would have a massive headache and I would have a massive...ahem...nether region-ache, but we were doing it together. Richard informed me that I am nuts and I moved on pretty quick. The epidural really was just too lovely to feel bad about it. At 6:30 AM my Doctor came and broke my water. I was completely dilated and almost ready to push. She went to change her clothes and I started to feel the urge to push (not painful, but I could feel my body just feeling like that is what it was supposed to do). The doctor came back and I pushed three times. They said her head was out and I was kind of shocked that it was happening so fast. It was one instant of feeling surprised that she was almost here to the next instant I saw her and I felt a super intense wave of love for this little lady wash over me. It was crazy how automatic that feeling came and it was like a switch flipped immediately and the tears started. I could not take my eyes off of her and everybody else seemed to fade away. It felt like we were the only ones in the room and I loved getting to hold our sweet new girl.