Blake's Birth Story

Like I mentioned in my previous post, I made the decision that I wanted to be induced as soon as my doctor would allow me. We had the induction scheduled for Monday, February 18th. I was told to call the hospital between 6:00am-6:30am and let them know I was on the induction list. Then depending on how busy they were, they would call me back and let me know what time I was supposed to come in.

I slept TERRIBLE that night. The two nights previous, I had been waking up right around 3am with terrible stomach and back pain. I didn't realize it at the time, but I think they were probably contractions. The problem was that they weren't timeable. It was constant pain and discomfort for about an hour. I would walk around the house a little, sit on the couch, anything to try to get somewhat comfortable.

Then right when I was almost back to sleep, the hospital called me. It was about 5:15am and they asked if I could come in within the next hour. Thrilled, I said yes started getting ready.

At 6:15 am, we arrived at the hospital.

Let's do this!

Day of induction!

6:45 am - The nurse did her initial check to see where I was. I was only dilated to a 1.5-2, which is where I had been at my previous appointment the last Monday. I was really surprised as I had been having contractions and pains all week. I thought for sure I would have progressed at least a little bit.

Soon after she checked me, she got my IV going and started the pitocin.

Super excited that this day was finally here. 

At about 8:30 am, I was still only dilated to about a 1.5 and was having contractions every few minutes. They were super uncomfortable and made me feel really sick to my stomach. I wouldn't necessarily say they were painful at this point, but they sure didn't feel good. Right before I got an epidural, they started getting more painful, and I happily welcomed the drugs.

8:30- Got epidural - The epidural actually hurt quite a bit this time. I don't remember feeling anything when I got it with Will so I was surprised at how much it hurt. I spasmed and jerked a few times because it hurt so bad. But a few minutes of pain is definitely worth it to avoid hours and hours of pain. I felt great shortly after given the drugs and didn't feel much the rest of the time.

Feeling much better after epidural kicked in :)

From this point on, the nurse came to check me hourly. Within the first 2 hours, I finally dilated to a 3. Then things decided to get a bit interesting.

We were both surprised to find me still only dilated to a 3 every time she checked. Each hour, the report seemed to stay the same. I had thinned out a little, the baby has dropped slightly, but no change. So each hour, the picotin dose was increased.

-1 o'clock passed with no change.

-2 o'clock passed with no change.

Finally, my nurse decided to connect an internal monitor to see how strong my contractions were. They were frequent enough, but perhaps they just weren't strong enough. Once that was connected, we discovered that they were indeed strong enough, but for some reason my body just didn't want to progress.

-3 o'clock passed with no change.

-4 o'clock passed with no change.
-5 o'clock and still no change -  I was beyond frustrated at this point. It seemed like this baby was never going to come. I hadn't eaten anything since 5 am and I was starving.

My nurse started talking about the possibility of having a c-section. She said that there was a pretty good chance that I would need to get one. My doctor had a different c-section scheduled for 6 pm, so we would discuss it with him once he was finished. I was fully expecting and planned on having a c-section around 8 pm that night. And at that point, I was more than ok with it. Anything to get that baby out.

Between 6-7 pm, I started feeling a lot of pressure. It almost reminded me of the pressure I felt when I was pushing Will out. I was slightly hopeful that maybe a miracle had happened and I was somehow a 10 and needed to start pushing...otherwise, I needed to use the restroom.

So when she checked me and I was dilated to a 4, I wasn't happy. It was only a slight change, but because I had progressed (even a little bit), I was told we should keep waiting.

No c-section. I was not happy. You'd think I'd be thrilled, but I really was just super frustrated and ready to be done. After 10 hours and only changing 1 cm, I was sick of waiting. And I was scared that it would only continue at that rate. I was convinced it would be March before I would have that baby. (Little dramatic, I know.)

Lance decided he should go home for a few minutes to check on Will and to get himself some headache medicine. He got home around 7:45 pm. When my nurse came to check me at 8 pm, we were both shocked to find I was suddenly 9 cm.

I called Lance and told him that he needed to hurry back.

After many hours not progressing, I was pretty happy to be told I was now a 9.

Meanwhile, they started getting prepped for delivery and getting everything ready. At one point, we were pretty much ready to go, but just waiting on Lance. My nurse didn't want to check me again until Lance arrived in case it started something.

Waiting for Dr. Olsen to arrive.

Lance arrived, and Doctor Olsen came shortly after. After about 3-4 sets of pushes, Blake Nicole was born. 

They immediately placed her on my chest and let me hold her for a moment. (This was new to me as Will had to be taken immediately and I didn't get to hold him until he was all cleaned off.)

Tired and hungry, but thrilled to be holding my baby girl.

She was born at 8:42 pm, weighing 7 lbs 4 oz and measuring 20 inches long.

  Just like her brother, she was born with lots of dark hair.

.

 Even before they cleaner her off, you could tell she was going to be a beauty.

.
Always something special between a daughter and her daddy.

I got the shakes again, though not as badly as I had them with Will. 

Blake getting her first bath at the hospital.

She was pretty content to have her hair washed.

 We had quite a few visitors while we were at the hospital. Thanks to those who stopped by.

 Special thanks to both our parents. My mom watched Will for a few days while we were in the hospital and Lance's mom watched him a few days after. It was nice to be able to go home for a day and adjust with a newborn without having Will's craziness. 

We stayed in the hospital until Wednesday morning. By then, we were definitely ready to go home.

Blake all buckled up and ready to go.

 Because of the bad flu season, no one under the age of 14 was allowed in the hospital (including siblings). So Blake was several days old when Will finally got to meet her. We showed up at the Hinton's during dinner, and first thing Will said was BABY! Then he refused to finish eating and insisted on seeing the baby.

And lastly, a few pictures during her first few days. She is such a beautiful baby and we are so thrilled that she is finally here and healthy.

We love you, Blake Nicole!

The Waiting Game

I started a post a few weeks ago (when I was about 38 weeks), and I have been debating whether or not to post it. I wrote it mostly to vent and get my emotions out. Writing really helps me focus and see things from a bigger perspective. Often just writing about a situation will help me get over it and move on.

So anyways, I wasn't really planning on posting this, but decided that I want to remember all aspects (good and bad) of pregnancy and remember at least a small part of how I was feeling.

Written on Feb. 11, 2013:

"I think I've hit another really rough spell this week. I've been super depressed, grumpy, and short on patience. The smallest things will set me off and I have to keep reminding myself to calm down and not do something I would regret.

A big part has to do simply with being completely exhausted ALL THE TIME. With or without a toddler at home, this pregnancy is draining every ounce of energy I have. Throw in a toddler, and I get downright miserable to be around. Throw in a toddler who has started waking up several times during the night, as well as refusing to take a single nap during the day, and I lose it.

I'm extremely emotional which also doesn't help. A few days ago, I was so overwhelmed that I had to go lock myself in my bedroom just to escape for a moment. I sat on my bed, plugged my ears as tight as I could to drown out Will's screams, and I just tried to calm myself down. After a few long minutes I went out to get Will and I dinner. Will had dumped our garbage out on the kitchen floor. I tried to remain calm. Then as we were eating, he kept dropping pizza to add to our already disaster of a floor. I lost it and bawled like a little baby. Overreaction? Of course. All I wanted at that moment was a somewhat clean house. I was disgusted with the "place" I was living in and hated the environment it was creating. And while I knew it was an "easy" fix (I mean, all I had to do was get off my butt and start cleaning), I couldn't make myself do it. I sat there on the couch, miserable and upset, yet not doing a thing about it.

But I feel like I'm no longer in control of my emotions. I find myself angry at Will for the dumbest things, then it makes me angry and disappointed in myself that I haven't controlled myself better. And it spirals out of control.

I'm way done with being pregnant. Yet I don't really want a baby yet. I'm afraid that it'll only make things worse and that I'll be even more out of control."


Fortunately for me and my family, that emotional low only lasted a day or two. But boy were those few days rough, on everyone. I understand I was only 38 weeks along and I shouldn't have expected my baby until 40 weeks, but I was ready to be done. I was sick of being told how close I was when every day felt like weeks.

Even though I wasn't dilated much, I convinced my doctor to induce me a week early. The earliest he was allowed was the 16th (one week before my due date), but because he was going to be out of town, the earliest he could do it was the 18th. And even though that was only a week away, it still sounded like a lifetime. I did everything to try to get labor started, but nothing worked. On Tuesday night (the 12th), I started having contractions. They lasted between 40-60 seconds and were coming about every 3-5 minutes. I remember being told to go into hospital when contractions are about that far apart and have lasted over an hour. After about 40 minutes of this, they stopped completely. Talk about a major letdown.

I became so desperate that I even called the hospital and asked if there was anyway that another doctor could induce me so that they could do it on the 16th. Two days earlier sounded much more doable. They said no, unless there was a medical emergency. It's what I expected, but I was still bummed.

Luckily, the last part of the week went extremely well and I was pretty happy. Lance and I were able to go out on a last date on Valentine's Day, then my mom came into town on Saturday. Once she got here, I was much more stable and content to wait until Monday for my induction. I think a major part of my depression was me tired of being alone all the time. I'm a very social person, and it's difficult for me to be alone all day, most days. So having my mom around for a few days was great because it gave me someone to talk to.

I seemed to get a lot of mixed reactions when people found out I was getting induced a few days early for no reason. I know a lot of people avoid getting induced at all costs and think it should only be done if it's an emergency. For the sake of my mental well-being, it is a good thing I got induced. Obviously, if getting induced wasn't an option, I likely would have lived until the baby decided to come on her own. (However unlikely that seemed at the time.) And even though my induction didn't go as smoothly as I would've liked, I don't regret my decision and would do it again in a heartbeat.

Every woman handles pregnancy different. Some women absolutely love being pregnant and handle everything great. Others are sick and miserable the entire 9 months. While I complain and sometimes dislike being pregnant, I realize what a blessing it is. So many people struggle to even get pregnant and would happily endure the woes of pregnancy. I am grateful for my kids. I am extremely blessed to have had two smooth pregnancies and two healthy babies. I know things could be so much worse. It's times like this when things are so rough that I really need to remember to focus on the things I have and the miracles that are in my life everyday. It's sad how we can waste so much time focusing on the tiny negative aspects and forget the huge blessings.

As I look back now, it's easy to forget and think "oh, it wasn't that bad". And I know that many people probably looked at me and thought the exact same thing. What could you possibly have to complain about? And honestly, there probably was nothing for me to complain about. Sure I was uncomfortable, but that is part of pregnancy. I wasn't constantly throwing up. I was never put on bed-rest  Things always looked good for my baby, and complications never came up. For the most part, I was still able to do everything I wanted and function pretty normal. Nevertheless, I found myself extremely depressed and unable to do much about it. Even at the time, I realized that there was no reason to be so down, but it didn't make any difference.

In a few months, I'll likely look back on my pregnancy and only remember the good things. When people ask how my pregnancy went, I'll tell them it was great. (And for the most part it was). However, I wanted to remember some of the other little details as well.

How's that for a long, put-you-to-sleep kind of post? Kudos to you if you actually made it to the end.

And Then There Were Four

Introducing

Blake Nicole Hinton

Born: February 18, 2013 at 8:42 pm
Weight: 7 lbs 4 oz
Height: 20 inches long


Working on Birth Story, which will have tons more pictures!

Recent Projects

It appears that I get the "crafting bug" while I am pregnant. For me, it's one of the best ways to pass time while also preparing a few things for the baby. It came as no surprise that there were about 4 times as many crafts/ideas to do for little girls as opposed to little boys.

With Will, most of my crafting was focused on his nursery...making, blankets, etc. But with baby girl, I've done a lot more accessory type things. It's definitely given me something to do and really helps get me more excited for her to come.

Here are a few of the things I have been working on the past few months:

My first project I did was to make this blanket. It's often referred to as a bubble quilt or a biscuit quilt. It was very time consuming and I spent  many hours on it. Though I made a massive mistake (which most people wont notice hopefully cause it's on the backside), I'm happy with how it turned out.

I've also been making some skirts for her to just wear around. I have never really seen little babies in skirts, but thought it would be fun to throw one on her every once in a while. Fun way to dress up a onesie while just chillin' at home.

I've had some fabric lying around forever and wasn't sure what to use it for, so I decided to make a new carseat canopy.

I love seeing little babies with bracelets, so I had to make some bracelets. You can't just make one...so I made quite a bit. And I have a ton of beads still, so if anyone wants one, let me know. And it's hard to tell, but each of these are different colors.

And if you know me at all, you know that I love little girls in headbands and flowers. Might have got a bit carried away with the flower making, but I've had fun experimenting and trying different styles.

I made all of the flowers with little clip/barrett attachments so they can be attached to any headband. That way I can exchange them as needed and make them much more versatile.

And finally, this hat was made for a friend, but I like it so much I wanted to post it. I've been debating whether to make another one for my baby, but figure she already has enough hats and hopefully warm weather will come sooner rather than later.

Well, I think that covers most of the projects I've been working on. Definitely getting anxious to be able to use them!