1. Greta.
2. Lisa movin' the heck back to Winkler.
3. Morocco/England trip
4. Our first multi-night trip away without any kiddos to Minneapolis.
5. Experimenting way more than I ever have with my cooking.
6. 10 years of marital bliss.
7. A 30th birthday to end all 30th birthdays.
8. Seeing my world through a two-year old's eyes.
9. The discovery of Bananas Foster Haagen Dazs ice cream. Yeah.
And last but definitely not least:
10. Ruby poopin' on the potty without the aid of an enema (for reals, y'all)
Friday, December 31, 2010
Wednesday, December 8, 2010
The Pregnancy Files: The Final Chapter
Well as I'm sure most of you know, we had our baby! Her name is Greta Katheryn and let me tell you, ladies and gentleman, she is a show-stopper.
I always find it very fascinating that if you ask almost any woman ever about their child's first 6 months of life it is all very fuzzy. All except for those first few moments. I think almost EVERY woman remembers their labour stories. Whether good, bad, ugly or some of it all, they remember. Every. Single. Detail. And I also don't know too many women who don't enjoy hearing other people's stories. I know I do.
So for personal records' sake and for all your reading enjoyment AND because it was just so awesome and such a huge miracle from beginning to end, here is the birth story.
Warning: This depiction of events may involve phrases such as "ripe cervix" or "bloody show" or any number of equally graphic labour-related commentary. Reader discretion is advised.
As I've previously indicated, I really REALLY wanted to go into labour on my own. It was a goal from the very beginning and I didn't know how I would make this happen or even if I COULD make it happen. But I talked to a lot of women and heard of some interesting methods to get the show on the road. And I tried a lot of them, if not all of them. But hope was waning, oh my was it waning.
But on the stormy day of November 25th, I woke up early in the morning. And as I went downstairs to shower, Chris' first words to me were "Today is the day!" and I'm pretty sure I said something like, "Oh yeah?" or something equally as sarcastic. But from about that time, I started having contractions. They weren't huge but they were slightly painful and I just figured they were Braxton Hicks with a little pain. No big deal.
I had a doctor's appointment that afternoon and as she examined me, she said I was 2cm dilated, my cervix was ripe but I could be there for a few days. We went ahead and scheduled an induction for the following Monday and I had to head to the hospital for a non-stress test. When I was there, the contractions got worse and although they couldn't tell me how strong they were, they could tell me that they were about 4 minutes apart. But the nurse kind of said the same thing, that I could be in that spot for awhile so off I went to my in-laws for supper.
Once I got there, it was around 4pm and the contractions started coming in a little stronger. Strong enough that I needed to stop walking and just breathe a bit. Everyone else was getting excited - you're in labour! you're in labour! you're in labour! But I still couldn't believe it was happening. Really? Could it be real? We ate supper and they just kept getting more intense and closer together. By the end of supper, Chris and I decided that there was probably no turning back at this point. We left Ruby there and went home to gather our stuff and spend as much time at home as possible.
At around 8:30pm, the contractions were coming in fast and furious and not knowing how far along I was, we decided to head into the hospital. Once we were all checked in and stuff, they checked me and said I was 4-5cm! I could hardly believe it. Things were working! I was in labour! This alone gave me such encouragement.
We laboured for awhile and with both labours now, I have had tremendous back labour. Any contractions I felt in my actual stomach were nothing compared to the incredible intensity in my back. And it felt like there was just no getting away from it. Around 11pm the doctor came in and checked me again and broke my water. I was 6cm and he recommended I get an epidural. I didn't really want one but not knowing how much longer we would be and feeling so much back labour, I went for it. And I am so glad I did. For one thing, it is a miracle. To go from so much pain to none in a matter of minutes is like the best thing in the entire world. And after he broke my water, the back labour got so much more intense that I felt like I could literally not even breathe through some of the contractions.
So the epidural was painstakingly put in and I felt relief almost immediately. I stood up at this point and just sort of swayed side to side for awhile. Around 12:45am I began to feel the urge to push and so we called the nurse in. She said I was 10cm and could start pushing! Yeah! But there was one catch. The doctor came in and checked me and said I wasn't quite 10cm yet. And because of my complications with Ruby, he wanted me to wait it out a bit longer. Because I had some internal tearing which could have been caused by the cervix not being fully dilated, he wanted me to wait until I was more than ready to push.
This was another reason I was sooooo glad to have that miracle epidural working wonders in my body. I sat there for half an hour trying desperately not to push this baby out. It was not the funnest half hour of my life but would have been made 10 times worse had I not had the epidural.
At around 1:25 I was like, "PLEASE! CAN SOMEONE CHECK ME, DANG IT!" And the nurse did and said "Let's get it on like Donkey Kong!" Well, she may have not said it quite like that. So I pushed. And pushed. And pushed. Yep, that was about it. 3 pushes. 6 freakin' minutes. Let me just say that again. Six. Freakin'. Minutes. And it only took that long because Greta's shoulder got stuck for a minute and they made me stop pushing. It was un-freakin'-real.
And let me just also say that there is no huger rush in life (that I have experienced yet anyway) than when that baby pops out. Both times I have screamed and laughed and cried all at the same time. It is the greatest feeling in the world and once a year if I could just give birth to a baby, I totally would. But only if that whole 9 months of pregnancy thing before and then the 6 months of not sleeping thing after, didn't happen. But the adrenaline rush is killa'.
This may not sound like any sort of a "miracle" labour/delivery story to some of you but for anyone who knew what I experienced the first time around, this was beyond amazing. I literally felt like I could've walked out of the hospital that night. The first time around, I was healing for weeks. And just the whole experience of going into labour all by myself was so great.
And I owe so many people so many thanks. Because even though I tried so many different things from getting my pressure points in my feet worked on (thanks Nellie!) to eating Szechuan chicken (thanks New World!) I know most everything happened because there were so many people praying for me. Like all around the world. And after I sat there and held my new Greta girl in my arms, that's all I could think about. Was how amazing God is. Even just that morning as the contractions started, there was a great group of ladies who were praying for me. And I believe that all those prayers were heard and answered and the most amazing experience of my life happened. Thank you.
I was also thrilled that my sister came along for the ride, however short it was, too. It was awesome having my second mom there cheering me on and crying along with us all. You're invited to the next one too!
And let's not forget about the greatest coach in the entire world. Chris was the most supportive husband through this all. Even keeping me entertained with a little "Best of Will Ferrell SNL" while we were labouring on the bouncy ball. A weird combination to be breathing through a contraction while Christopher Walken yells "I've got a fever and the only prescription is more cowbell!" But leave it to Chris to keep the laughs flowing. And even more than the actual day, he has been a huge support these past few weeks. Cleaning and taking care of all his girls and cooking and again, keeping me entertained. I love you, Lover.
So I guess that's about it. Now the new real life begins. Feedings. Lots of mustard poop. Crying. The beautiful smell of a newborn's breath. Tons of cuddles. And being a family of 4. I'm loving it all.
I always find it very fascinating that if you ask almost any woman ever about their child's first 6 months of life it is all very fuzzy. All except for those first few moments. I think almost EVERY woman remembers their labour stories. Whether good, bad, ugly or some of it all, they remember. Every. Single. Detail. And I also don't know too many women who don't enjoy hearing other people's stories. I know I do.So for personal records' sake and for all your reading enjoyment AND because it was just so awesome and such a huge miracle from beginning to end, here is the birth story.
Warning: This depiction of events may involve phrases such as "ripe cervix" or "bloody show" or any number of equally graphic labour-related commentary. Reader discretion is advised.
As I've previously indicated, I really REALLY wanted to go into labour on my own. It was a goal from the very beginning and I didn't know how I would make this happen or even if I COULD make it happen. But I talked to a lot of women and heard of some interesting methods to get the show on the road. And I tried a lot of them, if not all of them. But hope was waning, oh my was it waning.
But on the stormy day of November 25th, I woke up early in the morning. And as I went downstairs to shower, Chris' first words to me were "Today is the day!" and I'm pretty sure I said something like, "Oh yeah?" or something equally as sarcastic. But from about that time, I started having contractions. They weren't huge but they were slightly painful and I just figured they were Braxton Hicks with a little pain. No big deal.
I had a doctor's appointment that afternoon and as she examined me, she said I was 2cm dilated, my cervix was ripe but I could be there for a few days. We went ahead and scheduled an induction for the following Monday and I had to head to the hospital for a non-stress test. When I was there, the contractions got worse and although they couldn't tell me how strong they were, they could tell me that they were about 4 minutes apart. But the nurse kind of said the same thing, that I could be in that spot for awhile so off I went to my in-laws for supper.
Once I got there, it was around 4pm and the contractions started coming in a little stronger. Strong enough that I needed to stop walking and just breathe a bit. Everyone else was getting excited - you're in labour! you're in labour! you're in labour! But I still couldn't believe it was happening. Really? Could it be real? We ate supper and they just kept getting more intense and closer together. By the end of supper, Chris and I decided that there was probably no turning back at this point. We left Ruby there and went home to gather our stuff and spend as much time at home as possible.
At around 8:30pm, the contractions were coming in fast and furious and not knowing how far along I was, we decided to head into the hospital. Once we were all checked in and stuff, they checked me and said I was 4-5cm! I could hardly believe it. Things were working! I was in labour! This alone gave me such encouragement.
We laboured for awhile and with both labours now, I have had tremendous back labour. Any contractions I felt in my actual stomach were nothing compared to the incredible intensity in my back. And it felt like there was just no getting away from it. Around 11pm the doctor came in and checked me again and broke my water. I was 6cm and he recommended I get an epidural. I didn't really want one but not knowing how much longer we would be and feeling so much back labour, I went for it. And I am so glad I did. For one thing, it is a miracle. To go from so much pain to none in a matter of minutes is like the best thing in the entire world. And after he broke my water, the back labour got so much more intense that I felt like I could literally not even breathe through some of the contractions.
So the epidural was painstakingly put in and I felt relief almost immediately. I stood up at this point and just sort of swayed side to side for awhile. Around 12:45am I began to feel the urge to push and so we called the nurse in. She said I was 10cm and could start pushing! Yeah! But there was one catch. The doctor came in and checked me and said I wasn't quite 10cm yet. And because of my complications with Ruby, he wanted me to wait it out a bit longer. Because I had some internal tearing which could have been caused by the cervix not being fully dilated, he wanted me to wait until I was more than ready to push.
This was another reason I was sooooo glad to have that miracle epidural working wonders in my body. I sat there for half an hour trying desperately not to push this baby out. It was not the funnest half hour of my life but would have been made 10 times worse had I not had the epidural.
At around 1:25 I was like, "PLEASE! CAN SOMEONE CHECK ME, DANG IT!" And the nurse did and said "Let's get it on like Donkey Kong!" Well, she may have not said it quite like that. So I pushed. And pushed. And pushed. Yep, that was about it. 3 pushes. 6 freakin' minutes. Let me just say that again. Six. Freakin'. Minutes. And it only took that long because Greta's shoulder got stuck for a minute and they made me stop pushing. It was un-freakin'-real.
And let me just also say that there is no huger rush in life (that I have experienced yet anyway) than when that baby pops out. Both times I have screamed and laughed and cried all at the same time. It is the greatest feeling in the world and once a year if I could just give birth to a baby, I totally would. But only if that whole 9 months of pregnancy thing before and then the 6 months of not sleeping thing after, didn't happen. But the adrenaline rush is killa'.
This may not sound like any sort of a "miracle" labour/delivery story to some of you but for anyone who knew what I experienced the first time around, this was beyond amazing. I literally felt like I could've walked out of the hospital that night. The first time around, I was healing for weeks. And just the whole experience of going into labour all by myself was so great.
And I owe so many people so many thanks. Because even though I tried so many different things from getting my pressure points in my feet worked on (thanks Nellie!) to eating Szechuan chicken (thanks New World!) I know most everything happened because there were so many people praying for me. Like all around the world. And after I sat there and held my new Greta girl in my arms, that's all I could think about. Was how amazing God is. Even just that morning as the contractions started, there was a great group of ladies who were praying for me. And I believe that all those prayers were heard and answered and the most amazing experience of my life happened. Thank you.
I was also thrilled that my sister came along for the ride, however short it was, too. It was awesome having my second mom there cheering me on and crying along with us all. You're invited to the next one too!
And let's not forget about the greatest coach in the entire world. Chris was the most supportive husband through this all. Even keeping me entertained with a little "Best of Will Ferrell SNL" while we were labouring on the bouncy ball. A weird combination to be breathing through a contraction while Christopher Walken yells "I've got a fever and the only prescription is more cowbell!" But leave it to Chris to keep the laughs flowing. And even more than the actual day, he has been a huge support these past few weeks. Cleaning and taking care of all his girls and cooking and again, keeping me entertained. I love you, Lover.
So I guess that's about it. Now the new real life begins. Feedings. Lots of mustard poop. Crying. The beautiful smell of a newborn's breath. Tons of cuddles. And being a family of 4. I'm loving it all.
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