Back Again and Kate's Birth Story

So it has been almost exactly a year since I took a time away from blogging!  I missed it, but not enough to do it in that year!

Our lives are very busy!  Lots of stuff happened this year, and I can not possibly cover it all, so I am not even going to try!  I am going to start with the most major thing that happened to me this year and go from there.  I will not include gooey details, but the following is Kate's birth story . . .

Jack and Audrey joined us in 2008 and 2009, and according to our plan we were going to wait three years and have two more 18 months apart.  But our lives rarely go according to plan and we found out in March of this year that I was pregnant . . . again!  I know how this all works!  I know how babies are made!  I have already had two kids, but apparently Kate decided she wasn't going to wait!  We even bought a puppy the previous December, which Johnny wouldn't let me sell, so we were going to have a very full two bedroom townhome!

My doctor retired that delivered my first two so I had to choose a new OB and as far as I am concerned, choosing an OB is like choosing a husband, it should only be done once!  I decided to stay with the same practice because the location is fantastic and so I decided Dr Thackeray was the one!  From the beginning I thought he was wonderful!  He was competant but so calm and always had a smile on his face!

I started my monthly appointments and then when I was 20 weeks, I went in for my ultra sound to find out what it was and make sure everything was okay.  They said it was a girl and Johnny asked her to please check again!  He wanted another boy!  After we found out she did the rest of the ultra sound.  This one seemed to take longer than the other two did and she was doing some of the measurements twice.  Being an already emotional basket case from being pregnant I was starting to worry and think the worst!  I found out at my appointment that my amniotic fluid was low and the baby was measuring small.  This is not great news and of course I started crying.  The dr said to just drink lots of fluids and that I couldn't really do anything to change it, so not to worry, ya right!!!  He also said he would do a few more ultra sounds during the pregnancy to make sure the baby was okay.  I drove home and immediately called my dad to have him come and help my husband give me a priesthood blessing.  I was told that she would be healthy and I would be able to carry her full term (along with other things).  I was so relieved and at my next appointment, she was measuring average for size and my fluid was above average!  I don't really think it was the extra fluids that helped and I am so grateful for good men in my life!

I felt from the beginning of this pregnancy that I was supposed to go drug-free during labor and delivery!  I wasn't trying to prove myself to anyone but me and so I commited myself to it!  I knew I had to be educated so I read about it, watched videos, talked to friends, and soaked in everything I could so I would be ready!  My dr was very supportive and gave me tips and good moral support.  As her due date came near, I was scared, I was so excited!  I was induced with Audrey and it was miserable!  My water broke with Jack and contractions were slow to start so I had Pit with him too!  I couldn't wait to feel what it was like to go into labor and half this baby on my own.

I was due Sunday Oct 23 and at my appointment on the 24, I was feeling some contractions but they were inconsistent and still about 10 minutes apart.  I was 75 % effaced and dilated to a 4 so the doctor stripped my membranes and told me to go home and rest up because I would be having a baby in the next few hours!  I had my membranes stripped with Audrey and it did nothing, but it really gave this labor a kick start.  I came home and tried to sleep, but the contractions started getting a little more intense and closer together.  I wanted to do most of my labor at home so I decided to take the kids for a walk.  I saw my friend Kate and she asked how I was doing.  I told her I was having contractions seven minutes apart and she told me to get back in the house!  Walking was great and chasing Jack and Audrey up the street was fun!  This was the last time I would do it as a mommy of two!

My parents had gone up the canyon for a drive and the last my mom knew was that I had left the doctor and wasn't feeling anything consistent yet.  We called them on their cell phone . . . no service!  Great!  We finally got them and told them we were coming over just so everyone would be there.  It was dinner time and Johnny wanted to BBQ steaks!  We packed everyone up, including the stupid dog and headed for my parents.  I was timing the contractions and they were 5-7 minutes apart with a few here and there 4 minutes.  I decided when we hit three we would go to the hospital.  We stayed at my parents' house for an hour.  I was up and down.  I walked around and ate some bread and water while Johnny grilled the steaks!!!  I talked with my mom and would have to pause every now and then for a contraction, but then things were getting too intense and we decided to head for the hospital.

We had to drop the dog off first, stupid thing, so I was in the car while my husband ran in.  He was taking forever and I called him on his cell.  He told me he was changing his shirt and shaving!!!  Are you kidding me??!!!  We drove the two minutes to the hospital and checked in.  Our nurse was the night charge nurse and seemed a perfect fit!  I told her I didn't want an epidural so don't talk about it because I might cave towards the end.  She talked to my husband about medical stuff and got my IV in.  By now it was after 8:00 and my doctor was not the on call doctor so they were going to let him know I was there and he would come a little later.  My contractions slowed down to 8 minutes apart, but I was dilated to a 6.5 and fully effaced, so they let me stay.  She said I had a "bulging bag" so my water hadn't broken yet, but I knew that part already!

We watched some TV, called some family and friends, and chatted with the nurses for about an hour.  The on call doctor came in and said he talked to my doctor and he would be coming in an hour to stay there til the end.  An hour later, about 10:30, my doctor came.  He was all smiles and told me to just hang tight because my contractions were still consistently five minutes apart, although they were definitely increasing in intensity!  He told me he was going to go upstairs and sleep in his office until midnight and then come break my water.  Probably an hour after that I would be ready to push so we were looking at having our baby about 1:30-ish.  No one ever checked my dilation since the first time and they decided to just go by my contractions!  Now, funny thing, everyone in my family has even birthdays.  March 24, April 8, September 8, and December 22.  It was October 24th and the doctor was telling me that she would be born after midnight!  That would put her on the 25th!!!  Bummer!

I could no longer talk, walk, groan, or happily get through these contractions!  Five minutes from start of one to start of another was not enough recovery time!  Everything was ready to go and the nurse was watching my sheet from her desk.  Twenty minutes later, just after 11:00, I was ready to give in and get the epidural!!!  I told myself one more contraction, and I would ring the nurses button to tell them.  The contraction started.  Johnny was sitting on the couch, I begged for his hand and he slowly got up.  The contraction was not stopping!!!  It was going on two minutes and I was about to throw up!  Then, I felt a pop and my water broke!!!  Then this feeling started.  It was unlike anything I have ever felt in my life before!!!  I was telling Johnny to push the nurse button and he couldn't find it (he was frantic!)  The nurse came rushing in and I told her I had to push!  She just kept saying, "Don't push, don't push!"  She was calling my doctor STAT down to our room and he came rushing in too!!!  My contractions were STILL 5 minutes apart.  It was like they didn't believe me when I said I had to push.  He told the nurse to check me to see if I was ready to start my practice pushes.  She barely started to check and said, "Oh we are ready!!!"  The doctor then realized I was right!  The baby was almost crowning!!!

Now this feeling was all encompassing.  I had three nurses and a doctor telling me not to push, yet all my body could do was push!  I was telling it not to, but it wouldn't listen!  It was the most intense thing I have ever done!  The weird thing is, all the pain went away.  It didn't hurt at the end, only the feeling to push.  I pushed for one minute and she was fully crowning and I pushed for another minute and she was out!  I got the biggest rush afterwards as I held my baby and knew I had done it all on my own!  Granted Johnny was there holding my hand and one leg!  He even had to take his wedding ring off because I squeezed his hand too hard!!!  She was beautiful and had red hair!

Our little Katharine Sophia weighed 7 lbs 9 ozs and was 21.5 inches long!!!  She was born at 11:19 PM so she made it on an even day!!!  She was so alert and aware the whole time and was even nursing with a few minutes of being cleaned up!  She got an APGAR of 10 which is unheard of!!

She looked just like Audrey!



She was doing so well and was a rock star eater!  I decided after my experience with Jack and how he reacted to the drugs I took after I had him that I wouldn't take any pain meds or stool softeners with my other babies.  I was blessed that I could breathe through anything I needed to and not take any Ibuprophin or other drugs.  Only problem was my bleeding was still heavy and needed to be stopped.  They had to put me on Pitocin to get it stopped and even then another shot in the rear given by a cute male nursing student!  But after you have had three kids it doesn't really matter who sees your kiester!!!

We had many visitors but these were my favorite!!!  They both did so well and Kate even bought both of them a sticker book so they would like her more!!!

I went home on time to a full house and our lives have been such an adventure ever since!

My little Kate is now eight weeks old today!  Time flies and although we have had good days and bad, it has been an amazing experience!  Three is definitely different from two!  Throw in a 75 pound golden retriever puppy and our house can seem like a zoo!  We love it and we love our little Kate!