David, Melissa, and Co.

I don’t know if it’s being a couple years older, having 2 other small children to take care of, or just a different pregnancy, but this pregnancy was challenging for me. The first trimester I had some nausea (though not as bad as with Shayla), but more than anything I was tired and just had no motivation. Even when I felt ok, I just did not want to do anything. I started getting out of that around 20 weeks, but then I got a cold and sore throat that lasted well over a week. Then came the afternoon headaches that had me wanting to lay down and rest instead of make dinner. I thought maybe I wasn’t getting enough protein or water, so I tried increasing both of those which didn’t help. My midwife suggested Emergen-C and coconut water, and I tell you what…I didn’t have one more headache the rest of the pregnancy. At that point I had only about 6-8 weeks left, and was finally feeling like I had the energy to “nest” and work on some of the major house cleaning projects that had been on my list forever. Then I got struck with another cold that just knocked me out flat for almost 2 weeks. It was really just one thing after another with this pregnancy. When that finally let up, I started getting pubic symphisis pain, which made it hurt to walk, sit, change positions, etc. so again I had a hard time getting anything done. I was so frustrated with being pregnant, but also frustrated with the constant fighting and whining of my other two children that I really was starting to wonder why in the world I wanted another child.

Then at my 36 week appointment, my midwife said that my belly measurement was way behind. It didn’t really concern me since I have always measured small, but still had normal sized babies. She wanted me to get an ultrasound to make sure that the baby was still growing properly and that there was enough fluid. A couple days later, we went for the ultrasound and to my dismay found out that this baby was breech. I had just asked at my appointment the week before when we needed to start worrying about a breech baby and she told me (this was the Dr. and not the midwife): “your baby is head down, we can tell by the sound of the heartbeat.” I’m pretty sure she was wrong, because I really don’t think she moved in that week. So, finding out my baby was breech with only 4 weeks to go was kind of a big (and very emotional) deal for me. After 2 unmedicated and uncomplicated deliveries at a hospital I really wanted to have a more relaxing (if you can call it that when you’re in labor) experience at a birth center. It is out of network, so we opted for the cheaper high-deductible insurance plan since we would be paying for most of it out of pocket anyway. Well, the news of a breech baby meant that unless she turned, I would not be having her in the birth center. So I started trying to do everything I could to turn her: chiropractic, acupuncture, handstands in the swimming pool, but she wasn’t budging. I had an appointment with a doctor that will do breech deliveries (and works closely with the birth center) at the end of the following week. I was now 37 weeks. I had David (and the kids since I couldn’t find a babysitter) come with me, so that he could be there when the Dr. gave us our options. We did know that my fluid was starting to get on the low side from the ultrasound the week before but that was less concerning to me than the fact that she was breech. After waiting in the waiting room for an hour, we finally got to meet with Dr. Medchill. This was on a Friday morning. He explained the 3 options: first try an external cephalic version to see if he can manually rotate her, or he will do vaginal breech deliveries, but they are highly monitored and done in an OR at the hospital, or C-section. I did not want the latter 2 options, so I was really hoping he could turn her. He pulled out a small ultrasound machine and confirmed that she was still breech, and fluid was still low, but he thought there was enough fluid and that she was small enough that he would be able to turn her. So right there in his office, he started pushing on my belly trying to see how easily she would move. Holy moly it was not comfortable, and I was very tender for several days afterwards. He was able to get her to move a little ways, so he says “It’s my lunch break right now, go check in at the hospital and I’ll meet you right over there.” Whoot?? I knew it had to be done in the hospital, so I expected we’d have to schedule it for another day. If there were any complications with the procedure it would mean an emergency C-section, and I wasn’t mentally prepared for that possibility right then and there. That and David had the kids to take care of, so he wouldn’t even be able to be with me when it was done. I check into OB Triage and they get me on the monitors. It is weird being in triage when you’re not actually in labor. He eventually came in, they gave me a shot of something that relaxes the uterus (and makes your heart race), he checked her on the ultrasound again, and then slowly began to rotate her around counter-clockwise. It was definitely still uncomfortable and I had to practice my deep breathing, but it didn’t hurt nearly as bad as when I was in his office. It probably only took about 5 minutes, and BOOM, she was head down. They had to monitor her for about 20 minutes afterward to make sure everything was still ok, and then I would be free to go. The 20 minutes passed and all was well, but I was still waiting for them to get me a binder (which you wrap around your waist tightly to keep her from rotating back). While waiting for another 30 minutes or so, her heart rate dipped a couple of times (I’m pretty sure it was just because she or I moved), so then they decided that we needed to do an ultrasound to make sure she wasn’t on the cord or anything. I’m not even exaggerating when I say that I waited for 2 hours for them to take me back for the ultrasound. I was fine (although getting bored), but I knew David was battling the kids who he had been trying to entertain since 10:30 that morning at the Dr’s office, and it was now like 2 pm. He took them to get lunch in the cafeteria, and they found a room that had a computer, so they sat and played games forever. The lady that did the ultrasound was Japanese (I think) and it was really hard to understand her. All I got was that my fluid was getting lower. We finally got home about 5:30 that night. It was a crazy long day, but I was relieved to know that I could still have the labor that I wanted at the birth center.

I went back in for another appointment on Wednesday, and since my fluid level had gone from an 8 to a 6.2 in a week, she wanted me to keep getting ultrasounds once a week to make sure it didn’t get too low. I was doing everything I could to keep it up: baths daily, drinking lots of water, etc. My ultrasound was on Thursday. I’m barely 38 weeks. They did a biophysical profile which has several different tests that baby has to pass within a certain time frame (a pocket of fluid that was a certain amount, so many movements, practice breathing, etc). She passed all those, but my fluid measurements were all really low, and averaged out to just under 5. I knew this was pretty much the borderline number before they get really concerned. The Dr. at the ultrasound place said to just keep at it and come back in a week. Friday morning at 8:00, I get a call from my midwife. She sounds pretty frantic and says that I need to get to the hospital right away to be induced because my fluid is getting dangerously low. She said I have time to pack bags, etc. but to get over as soon as possible. I called David and told him to come back home (and saved him from being late to a meeting he forgot about). I call my mom and see if they are ok to have the kids for the next couple of days, and then I got in the shower and cried. This was not what I wanted. Not only do I not get to have the birth center birth that I wanted, but being induced (I thought) meant pitocin, which would make having a natural delivery much more difficult, and I was worried about how we were going to pay for it all. It took us a couple hours to feed everyone breakfast, finish packing up, and get out the door.

David dropped me off at the hospital and then went to drop the kids off at my parents’. (Since we know how long hospitals take, I knew he wouldn’t be missing anything). Just as I’m starting to check in, I get another call from my midwife. She apologizes and says that she misread the report, and that my fluid is still right on the border, but not quite as dangerously low as she thought. She said to hold off for a bit and wait to see what Dr. Medchill thinks we should do. At this point, I’m really not sure what I wanted to hear. I was finally mentally starting to come to terms with having my baby that day even though it wouldn’t be how I wanted it. I sat outside and waited for probably about 45 minutes and Dr. Medchill shows up (David was still dropping off the kids). He gives me my options: because I was right on the border, it was still medically sound for me to stay and be induced that day with a slightly higher risk of C-section due to being induced, or I could wait and see, but I would have to get an ultrasound every 2 days (with the slightly higher risk that something could happen to baby in the mean time). I called David and we talked about it and decided that we would just go forward with it that day. Since my fluid had been dropping so fast anyways, waiting would probably only buy me maybe 3 days at most, which would mean I would still most likely need to be induced and have a hospital birth, so why prolong it and risk anything happening to baby (and have to pay for all the additional ultrasounds)? After we had made our decision, I got another call from the midwife. She said that no matter what I decided that she was transferring my care over to Dr. Medchill because I was no longer in the “low-risk” category. That further confirmed my decision because even if I happened to go into labor in the next couple days, I wouldn’t be able to have her at the birth center anyways, so let’s just get this whole pregnancy thing over with.

Once we let the hospital staff know that we were staying, it took them a bit to get me back to my room. I got to my room around 1 pm and they didn’t start anything until 4:30.

While I was sitting there waiting I was actually having pretty consistent contractions roughly around 5 minutes apart. I was hoping I would just go into labor and that this could get over with fairly quickly. I was only at 1 cm and 60% effaced. At 4:30, they gave me Cervidil, which is supposed to soften the cervix. Sometimes it is enough to start labor on its own, but if not, then they start pitocin 12 hours later. After putting the Cervadil in, contractions kept coming, although maybe slightly stronger. They were still easy enough though, and we were just hanging out. I was reading a book, we were chatting with the nurses, eating food, etc. I started thinking that maybe the epidural route wouldn’t be such a bad way to have a baby. I remember walking the halls of the hospital around 8:30 and being more uncomfortable. I was so sweaty and stinky. I don’t remember what time it was, but I finally took a shower because I couldn’t stand the smell of myself anymore. Things were definitely more uncomfortable now and I really felt like things were progressing, and hoped I wouldn’t have to have the pitocin. I still had to be on the monitor for 20 minutes of every hour, which meant she would make me climb back into bed. I tried to sit on the ball one time but apparently “baby didn’t like it.” What I think that really meant is that the monitor wouldn’t stay put and give an accurate reading. It is so hard to lie in bed and not move during the contractions. At one point the nurse had me lie on my side with the peanut ball between my legs while I was being monitored. I’m not sure how I did it, but I was able to relax and get brief stints of sleep between the contractions. I finally got uncomfortable in that position, and we begged to walk the halls some more. We were able to get into a closed wing with a long hallway and we’d walk back and forth, back and forth. This was around midnight or later. I can’t remember if I got checked before or after this point, but I was only between a 3-4. I remember talking to David about how defeated I felt. I hated them constantly telling me what to do, I hated that things were not going the way I planned, I hated spending my WHOLE labor (instead of just the last several hours) in the hospital. I hated that I was only 3-4 cm when my pain compared to my other labors felt more like I should be at 6-7. I decided that if I had to get pitocin I would most likely get an epidural because it was already hard and I was giving up.

At 4:30 when they took the Cervidil out, I was between 4-5. I was definitely in active labor, so luckily I avoided having to have pitocin, but things were HARD. My other labors were 11 and 12 hours, and here I was at 12 hours and not even at 5. I was very frustrated, but there was nothing to do but keep going. At 6:00 I decided to call the midwife (she said they would still come to the hospital and help out even though they couldn’t deliver the baby). I felt bad calling her because only being at a 5, I felt like it was still going to be a ways away, but I was really struggling and needed some additional support. Both Mary (the midwife) and Summer (the assistant) showed up about 6:30. They made me eat a little bit of food (though the hospital wouldn’t have allowed it if they had known). I was hot and sweaty but had the cold shakes. The contractions were crazy painful and definitely not easy to relax through. After feeling nauseous for a little while, I finally threw up (which happens once every labor, but I was much further along in this labor than with my others). I don’t remember what time it was the next time I asked to check where I was at. I definitely felt like I was in transition, but I was at 6 cm. So discouraging. I couldn’t understand why it was moving so slowly. Everyone always says labor gets faster with each one, but this has not been the case with me. I just couldn’t understand why I FELT like I was at 10 cm, but still wasn’t really even close. It seemed like I was still going to be hours away. Mary kept telling me “you can go from a 6-10 in one contraction.” I just kept thinking “Yeah, right. That’s not how things have been going.”

This one was taken 6 minutes before she was born. I would essentially hang from David during the contraction.

I was at a 7 the next time I got checked, which was probably around 8 or a little later. They said that the bag of waters was already starting to come through the cervix, and baby’s head was right behind. Mary kept repeating to me, “you can get to 10 in one contraction.” Well, by the next contraction or maybe 2, I was dying and feeling like it should be time to push already. The nurse checked me while I was standing up during a contraction (not fun), and couldn’t feel any cervix. They had me get on the bed so she could check again when I was not having a contraction. This time it was 9, but they said I would be at a 10 during a contraction. “Can I push then?” They told me, yes, but I have to wait until the Dr. gets there, and the nurse rushes off to grab him. Well, the next contraction came and I gave a little mini push just to relieve the pressure. I wasn’t holding my breath or bearing down or anything like that, more of a relax and let it flow kind of push. Well, with that my water broke. They’re all yelling at me, “Don’t push! Don’t push! Wait for the Dr.!” I’m sorry, but that’s pretty impossible. With another mini push, the head was out and then baby. The Dr. walked in right after that. The nurse that caught her was actually the one that we met at the very beginning before they even started the induction. In chatting with her we had found out she literally lives right around the corner from us in our subdivision, so we kind of had this mini bond. She was born at June 28, 2014 at 8:44 AM.

Chloe was our smallest at 6 lbs 1.8 oz, 18” long. We knew she wasn’t going to be big, plus she was almost 2 weeks early, so she was pretty much the size I expected. Shayla was 6 lbs 14 oz, and yet Chloe still seems so teeny tiny.

It’s always such a relief to have baby out and healthy (and to see that this one had hair!), but I always forget that the pain isn’t over yet--more contractions to get the placenta out, getting stitched up--none of which is any fun. I held baby (we still weren’t set on a name yet) during all this and David cut the cord. Whew! The last little bit was such a whirlwind. Mary was actually right about jumping to a 10 so quickly. For such a slow progressing labor, she sure came out fast. Everything about this labor was so different than my others—being induced obviously, but just the way it progressed was so different. I always assumed that on a “labor pain” scale, 5 cm would be about a “5,” 7 cm a “7,” etc., but my pain was way ahead of how dilated I was this time. I guess I just didn’t know that was possible. With my other 2, the pushing phase was hard work—holding your breath as long as you can and pushing as hard as you can. I really don’t think you can even say I pushed this time, she practically came out on her own. When Dr. Medchill came to check up on me the next morning, he said that he was sorry I tore. I just shrugged, because it’s just kind of expected. He said that I wouldn’t have torn if he had been there. Oh. Bummer. I kind of felt like maybe he was angry with me for not waiting for him, but I’m really not sure I could have stopped it if I tried. So, it is what it is. Recovery is still way better with a tear than an episiotomy. WAY better.

The rest of the hospital stay was pretty uneventful. My parents brought Shayla and Easton over, who of course adored her from the moment they saw her.

Tanner and Jenn also stopped by. We still didn’t get out as early as we would have liked the next day, but we did have a good nurse who had everything all ready and waiting, so that we could leave as soon as the pediatrician came in.

My family brought dinner over that night when they brought the kids home, and they even left us all the leftovers. That ended up being more of a blessing than we thought, since one of our dinners never showed up. David had the whole week off. I had all these plans of things he could get done while he was home, but I pretty much spent the whole week feeding a baby, and he spent most of his time feeding the others, and changing diapers, and doing all the “mom” stuff. I think I maybe got one nap that week. We also had to get ready for the family reunion which was the next Monday, but we had family coming into town on Saturday. I know I shouldn’t worry about whether or not the house was cleaned, but I just can’t let someone come stay at our house when the carpet hasn’t been vacuumed in weeks (and it gets dirty within a day or 2 of vacuuming), or the kitchen floors are sticky. So, with all the last minute family reunion stuff, it just wasn’t a super relaxing week.

The week after the reunion (when she was 2 weeks old) has been my first week alone with the kids, and I must admit that I survived okay. My mom watched Shayla and Easton all day on Monday, and a friend watched them for a few hours Friday, so I did have some help. The house may not be super clean, but the laundry is done and mostly put away. Our fridge is essentially empty, but we have had dinner on the table every night, so we’re alright.

I’m a little disappointed because with Easton I gained 29 lbs, and I came home from the hospital having lost 20 lbs already. It has pretty much been the opposite with Chloe. I gained 35 lbs, but I started off weighing less. 4 weeks later and I still have only lost about 12 lbs. This is going to be a long journey. I really can’t wait until I can start exercising again. I can’t stand all this extra belly fat hanging around.

Chloe has been a pretty good baby for the most part. We had a few struggles with eating in the first week or two, mostly that I couldn’t get her to wake up to eat. She essentially sleeps through the night and I have to wake her up just enough to eat. The last several nights she has woken me up about every hour and a half, but then she falls right back asleep and never seems to get a full feeding in, which means she’s hungry again in another hour or so. She’ll be awake for quite a long time in the morning, where she’s trying to fall asleep and can’t, and just wants to be held. But then come late afternoon she is pretty much out. The other kids are always wanting to hold her (though Easton is done after about 30 seconds), and touch her and call her “Cu-mo.” I have no idea what that means, well actually Shayla said it means “baby.” I ask them over and over to leave her alone, and then they will touch her, “Look Mom, she’s awake!” Argh. That’s exactly why I asked you NOT to touch her. I’m glad that there’s no jealousy and all just love. As hard as my pregnancy was, especially when having to deal with the other 2 kids, I was really having a hard time getting excited about having another one to take care of (and feeling guilty because of it). But now that she’s here, I just love her to pieces. Having done it twice before, I’m really trying hard not to take this sweet and tiny phase for granted. I’m trying to enjoy all the moments when she wants nothing else but to be held by Mommy (even when I’ve got to get dinner going).

We are all so in love with her.