Before I forget!

The last week has all seemed to blur by now, and so I figured I should write this sooner than later so I don't forget (maybe I'm trying to??)

Sunday, we woke up early and figured we would give our new ward a try. I made it through Sacrament and then wasn't feeling up to sitting for two more hours so we went home. An hour or two later, I thought my water broke. I called my mom and she just said if I would feel better knowing if this was it or not, just to go in. Of course I was so anxious for her to be here that I knew the only way my nerves would be calmed was to go in and check.

We went in and got checked into triage around 1:30 that afternoon. They checked the fluid, and couldnt read any of the results, so they had me walk around for 30 minutes and then they planned on getting more fluid to test. Just before they tried taking more fluid, they said they found the fern pattern on the last slide, and that it was indeed amniotic fluid. We were admitted. And sooo excited knowing that soon we would have our little baby in our arms. Plus, this was the 24th, and my family and I had a pool going on the date she would come and I just so happened to pick the 25th!

So we were moved to labor and delivery and I started walking. My mom came soon and met with us, and then we had a few other visitors. I was hooked up to two different kinds of antiobiotics for my heart and me being GBS+. I was put on the monitor, and they said that I was having steady and strong contractions so they wernt able to give me anything to speed up labor. I was still dilated to a 1 at this time. Around 10 they came in and said nothing was going to happen for a while so they gave me some sleeping meds and I was out for the night. They started me on pitocin at 3 the next morning. When I woke up well rested, they started upping my dosage every few hours. I was up to a 22 ML/MIN drip. But I still wasnt having any pain, so that was good. Hours and hours passed and I still hadnt dilated. The doctor FINALLY came in and I got to meet him (my doctor was of course out of town all this week) and he found that my water still hadnt broken all the way so they did it again. He also started talking about the possibility of a c-section because I just wasnt progressing at any rate. I started having some painful contractions, and I knew because my water was broken now they would continue to get worse..so I gave in and got an epidural around 6 that night. It was heavenly not knowing the difference between my legs and the pillows :)


Around midnight, I was just barely dilated to a 4...I was starting to give up and had started freaking myself out. Tylers grandpa came and gave me a blessing. Within the next two hours I had dilated to an 8..and 15 minutes after that I knew it was time to push. With Tyler and my mom being the best support team I could have asked for..I pushed for 30 minutes. I finally had my baby girl here at 3:32 am on Tuesday, July 26th. I was 3 hours off of my guess, but the other part of the pool was guessing the weight, and I had guessed 8 lb 2 oz and thats what she measured! Cha-Ching! She was also 21 inches long and beautiful. We decided to change Hallie's middle name from Kate to Rene at the last minute. Partly for it being my middle name, and also because our favorite nurse was named Renee, and she had so much to do with getting Hallie here that we will forever be grateful to her.

We were moved to the postpartum room and the visitors just started piling in. It is crazy and a little overwhelming to see how much this little girl is loved by all of our family and friends. We barely got any rest the first day, and unfortunately felt the affects later that night when Hallie refused to sleep if one of us wasnt holding her.

Wednesday Hallie was tested and they found her jaundice levels high. She was eating very well and having lots of dirty diapers, so we figured it would pass soon. She was tested again early this morning and they were still too high. Although I was supposed to be discharged today, they told us Hallie still had to stay overnight. It was sooo hard for me dropping her off at the nursery and knowing other people are taking care of her now. I just am so beyond ready to take her home and have her be ours. But the hospital has been great and Im feeling much better. They are slow tonight so they let us stay in our room for another night even though Im technically not a patient anymore, and they're letting us take her off the lights every 3 hours for 30 minutes to feed her. I cant begin to explain how much I enjoy going over there to feed and hold her. I miss her being next to me all the time, and we constantly have a prayer in our hearts that she will be able to pass this today and be able to come home with us tomorrow morning.

Thank you to all of those who have offered services, or who have sent kind words and thoughts are way or have come to see us. Tyler and I are so grateful for the support from our family and friends, and we know how much our little girl is loved. She is a beautiful and sweet spirit, and I cant wait to see how she will grow and what she will become in this life. I feel so honored and blessed that she was given to us, and I cant wait to have her at home and start our little family!

Last Minute Trip!!

Well, it is finally that time. Tyler is in Colorado for annual training with the army, and things have already been crazy. He left early Saturday morning, and the poor thing had a 22 hour bus ride. But Im so glad he arrived safely and he's enjoying the nice weather. Saturday I pretty much slept all day again. I was supposed to get packing done since we were moving the next morning, but I was having a lazy day and didnt get anything done that I was supposed to. I swear when Tyler leaves he takes my motivation with him. Thats another reason why I know it was a good idea marrying him, he pushes me to not procrastinate and to get things done. I need that! Saturday night I went to the movies with my dad and brothers and then picked up the keys to the new house! It started storming on my way home. Of course the first night with Tyler being gone and its a huge storm including power glitches and no cable! I was already ready to give up and quit. Things get so bad without him..it never fails. Sunday morning I woke up to an EXTREMELY humid day. I took the girls over to the new house, Lacey was in love at first sight and acted like she had lived there all her life. Chloe, stood by my side shaking..she really doesnt like moving and the poor thing is confused now that Tyler left and were in a new house. But theyre getting used to the idea of a backyard and warming up good. I had my family come help me move and we got it done in a few hours. It was so nice being able to rely on their help! I got some things put away and then we went and cleaned out the apartment. My dad invited me to come to Cali with him and the boys for the week. I told him if things worked out I would. So this morning, after my doctors appointment, I dropped the girls off at Grandma and Grandpas (thank you for watching them!), did the final walk thru on our apartment to be DONE, and left boxes and boxes full of crap in the house to join my family on what will be my last vacation without a baby for a while. We left around noon and now were in Ocean Beach, my absolute favorite. My mom is real nervous about me being away and being due so soon, she doesnt want me to go into labor and her to miss something if she doesnt get here in time. The doctor checked me this morning and said I wasnt dilated at all but I had almost thinned out all the way. I asked him what he thought about me going and he said chances were very small anything would happen this week so it would be fine. He said just stay near a city in case my water breaks. So who knows. I feel great, but I am nervous. It is absolutely crazy to have waited this long and have the doctor say "probly not this week, but maybe next week". Its finally hitting me. I could have a baby next week?! We have so much to do still, so lets hope she takes her time for a little bit longer. But now that Im wishing that instead of wanting her here right away, karma says she'll come. So were playing by her schedule, and we'll see how it goes. Most of all, I just want Tyler to be there. He deserves it with how much he's done for me during this pregnancy. He's been the absolute best support person and I could never have asked anything more from him. So as for now, Im just going to relax on the beach like a beached whale and see how everything goes!