Lujayn's Birth Story

TMI Alert: There may be portions of this post that are not suitable for the those not wanting excruciating birth details including bodily fluids and or pain descriptions.

I love a good birth story, and I thought I better write this stuff down before it feels like ancient history (already kinda does). Z was 10 days early, so I was pretty sure she was going to be early too. I actually thought she would be earliER so all my preparations were based on that assumption. When that didn't happen, I started to think she could be on her own schedule. Anyway, as we all know, there is no knowing when your baby is going to come, he or she decides that. So, all was set for me to be induced on Monday, May 21, and I had changed my work schedule all around so that I could work through Wednesday the 16th, then have the rest of the week and weekend to ready myself and be at the hospital bright and early Monday morning. Then, Wednesday at 4 a.m. Miss Lu decided to impose her own plan.

I woke up to go to the bathroom (as I have been every night since this pregnancy began) and when I got back into the bed, I felt a little something watery. It was not a dramatic burst as I had with Z, but since I had just gone to the bathroom, I knew it was different. So, I went back to the bathroom to check it out and also found a little blood. At that point, I was convinced the process was starting but had no idea how it was going to progress from there. I had no more major water leaking and really no contractions, so I decided I was going to try and sleep a little more. Then, about 45 minutes or an hour later the contractions started and were about 10 or 15 minutes apart. Try sleeping through that. Not gonna happen. When I had Z, I never really had painful contractions until I was at the hospital on the pitocin, but it came back to me real quick and I knew exactly what they were.

Incidentally, when I got up the second time, Nick woke up and asked what was going on. He's been on labor alert for weeks now ever since I woke up in the middle of the night sick. I told him "I don't know, but I think the baby is coming today." He didn't get too excited, reminded me that women have false alarms all the time and to sleep and we'll see in the morning.

Well, I didn't, but I did manage to stay in bed until about 6, when I decided I was going to prep myself like I was going to the prom. I remembered with Z wishing I had clipped my toenails, shaved, had a fresh shower, etc. So, I didn't waste a minute. When I got out of the shower, I was halfway across the floor and realized I was bleeding, more evidence that today would have to be the day. We were getting all of our stuff together and Nick was thinking we'd take Z to school and go into the office for a few hours then see what happens (I was thinking I wasn't going anywhere bleeding and having contractions every 10 to 15 minutes). I called the on-call doctor and she said to go ahead and come into the office to let them check everything first. So, we decided to pack up, get Z ready for school and head over to the doctor. Nick then realized that nobody was going to the office that day.

Another side note: I had told Nick to have his parents come in on Wednesday the 16th weeks ago. I just thought that would probably be a good day with how I felt the pregnancy was progressing at that time. Also,  my mom starting bugging begging me on Monday to please have the baby Wednesday and that it would be sooo good for her. Haha. She was the first person I called when I realized it was happening and she totally freaked. She even said I could have called her at 4 a.m. that she would have had 2 more hours of joy if I had!

Okay, back to the story. So, we got some pictures including this one mid-contraction, taken by Faris who was on baby watch, but also our resident photographer.

And we headed to Z's school attempting to be normal even though I was clearly in labor. I was just having to pause every little bit to get through contractions.

When we got to the doctor's office, she checked me and said I was definitely ready and was already 80% and 3cm! She sent us straight to L&D and finally Nick was convinced this really was it!

I was admitted by 9:30, called my mom to come, and nurse started my IV and paperwork. We started the pit (which I didn't even think I would be getting, but oh well) at around 10:30 or so, and the contractions started getting real. I was kinda excited that The View was on and my spirits were high despite the pain.

Mom arrived, latte in hand and dressed for the occasion

They checked me again around 12 and I was a 5 borderline 6 and 90 or 95%, so they said it was epidural time, woohoo! Last time the epidural changed my whole demeanor, but truthfully I was already in good spirits, so the epidural was just icing on the baby cake. The epidural was very different this time too. It definitely worked but I could still feel some tightness every so often. At around 1, I was feeling some major pressure way low. I told my nurse that, and she said the baby was just dropping. Yeah, girl she's dropping right out of there is what I wanted to say. The other nurse came in and said well let's just check her again, because they weren't supposed to officially check me for another 30 minutes. The she's just dropping nurse checked first and was really confused. She reported that I was probably about a 7, but clearly wasn't sure what was going on. Then the other nurse checked and her eyes got really really big and she said (what I knew) that I was 10 and 100% and the baby was about +1. She also informed the other nurse that she was feeling the baby's head. Now, we were ready to push (duh, people).

I had a little pump for an epidural bolus and went back and forth about pushing it, then we ended up doing it, and I was still feeling some, but the nurse assured me that I wouldn't be pushing long, so I decided to proceed. I actually liked being able to feel the baby as she was coming out and felt immediate relief when she was delivered. It was like I let out a huge breath that I had been holding for about 6 months!

 I started pushing around 1:15 and Nick guessed the baby would be here by 1:30, which we all thought was ambitious but she did arrive at 1:38. I had a couple of prep pushes then I could feel her coming at which point the nurse literally held her in while we waited on the doctor. I had always heard that you get that urge to push, but I never understood it until that point. It was really neat.

All in all, it was a very low-key experience and quite different than it was with Z. I'm in love with this baby girl and so thankful that she arrived safely!

My dad got Z on his way over. He was more interested in his fruit snacks than his baby sister. Also, he got a battery powered Percy that pulls the other trains from his "baby sister" (really it was from Nana and Tata)

Family Pictures

Through all the craziness, I tried really hard to get some pictures of our little growing family. Here's the best we got.

Last picture as a family of 3!

Big brother checking baby out

 Smiles and a wink

 Happy to be going home!

Not Starting at the Beginning

I'm really not sure where I can start or how much time and energy I have at the moment, but I'm going to try with what I have and we'll see what happens. Lujayn is doing very well, thank God, and so am I. Many aspects of my labor and recovery experience were much easier this time (good news for you second time pregos out there) and some a little harder, but I will get into that later. Where we are now is Lu is glowing both from the jaundice and the bili-blanket she is wearing (really it's wearing her) at this moment. Her bilirubin was a little elevated on our discharge day, so a home health nurse met us at home when we arrived with a bili-bed, a little platform that's lit with a special light that allows the baby to break up the bilirubin and get rid of it quicker that she's supposed to lay on. That's great in theory, in theory...

She spent a good hour with us literally from the second we walked in the door saying that the baby would have to be on this bed at all times unless she is being fed. And guys, let me tell you, this is not a baby you can feed and lay down and not expect to hear from her about 2.5 seconds later. It was a lot to take in, so hormonal over here got a little emotional. Don't worry, I pulled it together (eventually) and we managed (thanks to my very proactive father and husband) to get the glowing pad that travels with her so we don't have to fight with that stupid bed anymore.

Her levels are already down a little bit (they were mostly worried they were going to go up more), and her weight was really good. She was 6'5" at birth, 5'13" the next night, and this morning she was back up to 6'2" yay!

Here's our little baby radiating light, literally.

So far today, she is like a different baby, calm, satisfied, and settled. I think she sensed my anxiety over the stupid light bed and she was reflecting it or it could be that my milk came in last night because our feedings are going a lot better too. All in all things are looking up. Oh, she also had her first bath, and while she didn't love it at first, once we started going on that hair, she was in heaven!

This pic reminds me of this one of Z (also a little jaundice baby). Here we go with the comparisons.

Well, that's all for now.

Baby!

Baby!

She's here! Lujayn arrived at 1:38 p.m. today at 6 pounds 5 ounces and 19 inches, we are so thankful for healthy baby and mama!!

Baby Day

It's here! We are heading to L&D now per doctor's orders! God-willing Lu will be here today some time! Please keep us all in your prayers!

Sent from my iPhone

Still Here

I am now 10 days out from my due date and no baby. I don’t even feel like she wants to come out. She (and I) seems pretty content. I had my 38 week check on Friday and the baby is still high and I’m a little more dilated (1.5 cm), but still about 60% effaced. We went ahead and scheduled an induction for Monday, May 21, which works great for exactly one person, me. I say that because my parents will be out of town Monday-Wednesday and my in-laws, who will be in town, will have been here for several days waiting. I am already here at work today when I had planned not to be. So, that’s the plan. I hope she’ll be ready by then. It’s only a few days from her due date, and I’m kinda looking forward to having a set date that I can plan around, but part of me is anxious about pushing her to get here when she may not be ready.

My theory is that I am not desperate enough. When I was pregnant with Z, I had a total breakdown the morning before what ended up being his birthday. I mean, full on, I’m ready for this baby to be here, I’m getting tired of being pregnant breakdown. I do NOT feel that way at all this time. I feel like I could do this for another month or so. I’m sure it’s because I know what’s coming, labor, recovery, sleepless nights, etc. Don’t get me wrong, I am thrilled to meet this sweet baby, and I pray every day that she will be healthy and arrive safely, I just know that once she’s in the world, that’s it, there’s no going back.

So, that’s where we are, content happy in the belly, 3 weeks, no change.

We did some work this weekend on the nursery (pictures coming). We also got and installed our video monitor. Y’all, this thing is amazing! We got an extra camera for Z’s room, and I could not stop watching him. We knew he didn’t go right to sleep when we put him down at night and for naps, but were never really sure what he was doing until now. We watched him get books out and turn pages, pretend to read, sing, and what I thought was the funniest, he kept sticking his leg in and out of the covers as he finally settled in for his nap. I can NOT wait to spy on Lu like every day of her little life! How did we ever function without this thing?!

We enjoyed lots of downtime and celebrated Mother’s Day at Carrabba’s on Saturday night. I have been having a blast with my new camera lens too, and I think I got it just in time.