Emmersyn Ryleigh: Birth Story

She is here!

At 40 weeks and 2 days I was ready for our baby girl's arrival.  The day before her arrival I really didn't want to be induced, but I was so anxious for her arrival and everything that goes into labor and delivery I was ready to discuss the option with my doctor at my appointment the next day.  Ryan and I had discussed it and were ready for that to be the way my labor started.  I was more than excited when I started to have contractions on Wednesday May 8th.
The day started out just as any other.  I was feeling good and planned to spend the day with Rowan playing as we usually did.  I was pretty tired as the day went on, but nothing out of the ordinary.  Ryan had to work late so I didn't start thinking about dinner till around 7.  I decided to do the dishes first and while doing those I had a pretty big contraction.  I had been having minor ones for weeks, but this one made me stop and hold onto the counter.  I didn't think to much of it though, and kept on washing.  I had another one about 20 minutes later right when Ryan got home from work.  I told him I had had a couple of strong contractions, but didn't think it was real labor.  I wasn't really hungry so Ryan made him and Rowan something to eat and I sat down to rest.  I continued to have pretty strong contractions about every 15 minutes and started to really think this might be it.  We put Rowan to bed at his normal time around 9:30 and went about our normal business.  The contractions continued though and were closer to 10 minutes apart.  Around 10:30 we started to talk about what we wanted to do.  Should we take Rowan to the sitter's now or wait till we knew it was the real deal?  Our sitter is a little older so we didn't want to wake them in the wee hours, but we also didn't want to take him for no reason.  I had talked to my mom and she was on her way  so maybe we would wait till she got there and we wouldn't have to take Rowan to the sitter at all?  We finally decided that it was best to just take Rowan to the sitters and hope for the best.  Ryan called and took Rowan over there.  He left at 11:00 and I decided to take a bath.  As soon as I got in my water broke.  My water broke with Rowan, but I didn't really know it. This time I was sure it had broke.  I had a really strong contraction and then there was a pop and some clear liquid.  Ryan was still gone so I knew I had some time on my own.  With Rowan my goal was to stay home as long as I could in order to try and not get an epidural.  This time I had decided that I would do the same thing unless my water broke.  If my water broke I wanted to go right to the hospital.  I had a fear of labor going really fast and not being at the hospital when she decided to arrive. 

Ryan got home around 11:30 and we started packing for the hospital.  My contractions got a lot stronger and we had to make several stops for Ryan to push on my lower back through each contraction.  By the time we got to the hospital I was in a lot of pain, but could still talk and answer questions.  I remember walking down the hall to the delivery room and looking at the clock.  It was 12:15.  I was miserable by the time I got the gown on and in the bed.  The nurse said I was a 4 and I asked for the epidural. The nurse kind of sighed and said I was probably not going to be able to get one.  I said a few choice words.  The anesthesiologist was in a C-Section and the nurse didn't think he would make it down in time for me to have one.  I started to freak out a little bit.  I was in a lot of pain and didn't really think I could do this on my own.  I had prepared for a natural birth with Rowan, but didn't for this one so I was freaking out.  Ryan assured me I could do it and deep down I knew I had no choice. 
When they hooked me up to the fetal heart moniter and I had a contraction baby girls heart rate dropped dramatically.  So much so that I asked about it.  They quickly hooked me up to the internal monitor and gave me oxygen.  I was really nervous at this point but in a lot of pain so I was concentrating on that. At the next contraction baby girl's heart rate went up so the nurses said they would continue to watch it, but it seemed better.  Contractions continued to get stronger and I continued to freak out.  Ryan was absolutely amazing at keeping me calm and ensuring me I could do this naturally. 
The on call doctor was called and was there in no time to check me.  I was 6cm dilated when he arrived.  He asked if I was getting an epidural and the nurses filled him in on the whereabouts of the anesthesiologist.  He told them to just let him now when I started to feel pressure.  The second or third contraction after he left was like nothing I have ever felt before.  I was sure the baby was coming out right then.  I told the nurse I was feeling pressure and she called the Dr. back.  He checked me again and I hadn't changed a whole lot.  He told me I couldn't push yet cause my cervix wasn't fully dilated.  In my head I was like "WHAT!"  I didn't feel like I had control over pushing or not.  My body was telling me to push and that's what I was going to do. He told me that if I pushed before my cervix was ready it could start to swell and then I wouldn't be able to get baby out that way.  I think he could tell I was starting to panic because he stayed with me and got right in my face to help me breath through each contraction.  He made me keep my eyes open and look at him.  I was supposed to breath like I was blowing out a candle, but for the life of me I could not make that happen.  I have no idea what I was doing, but I know I was thinking this is not what I'm supposed to be doing!  Ryan told me later I was making the most ridiculous noise and he had to try really hard not to laugh out loud.  I knew I wasn't blowing out the candle, but at that point I was just trying my hardest to not push.  I did not want to have an emergency C-section. 
At this point the Dr. checked me again and said I probably had 15-20 minutes left before I could start pushing.  The nurses thought differently and they were right.  At 1:15 I was told I could start pushing.  I had been in the hospital for an hour.  I pushed 3 times and out she came at 1:21am.  It was the most amazing experience.  The dr. gave me local anesthesia so the pain of her actually coming out was lessened, but I could still feel everything.  I just know there was a whole lot of liquid and then a baby girl.  I felt incredible afterwards.  They took her to be checked out and Ryan went with. 

I could hear her cry and them talking about her hair.  Ryan came back over and we talked about her name. We had two names picked out, but hadn't decided on one yet.  I told Ryan he could decide and he picked Emmersyn.  I decided on Ryleigh as her middle name.  When they were done checking her out Ryan brought her over to me.  She was perfect. 

I couldn't believe how good I felt for just having a baby. I did a lot of apologizing to the nurses and doctor.  I was sure I had been one of those crazy ladies you see on tv, but everyone assured me I wasn't.  It took almost 4 hours for the epidural to wear off with Rowan, but I was ready to go in a half hour after Emmersyn was born.  I had to wait for a room to be available so I didn't leave the delivery room for about an hour and a half.  I nursed my baby girl for the first time and enjoyed the time with Ryan.   Once up on the mommy/baby floor we got setteled in and I continued to try and nurse. My mom arrived a few hours later and got to meet her 3rd granddaughter.  Then we all slept!
It was by far the most incredible experience that I don't know if I would want to experience again!

~Nicki

1 month to go!

I can't believe we have a little under 4 weeks until baby girl is due to arrive!  Everything is still going good.  My heartburn has calmed down a bit, but still rears its ugly head a few times a week.  Sleeping is hit or miss.  Moving around is starting to get more uncomfortable, but I'm trying to walk everyday.  Chasing Rowan around is keeping me pretty active!  The beautiful weather has allowed us to spend most days outside in the yard which has been great. 

We are prepping not only for baby girl, but also for Rowan's 2nd birthday party.  I can't believe he will be 2 in 2 short weeks.  He has been a ball of fire lately and really testing my patience.  His language is taking off and I love trying to decipher his stories.  He cracks me up on a daily basis. I will post more on him in the next couple of weeks.

I wanted to write a little bit about preparing for baby #2 and what I have been doing.  The biggest thing is freaking out!  I think I am more nervous for this babies arrival then I was for Rowan.  Number 1 fear right now is what we are doing with Rowan when I go into labor.  We don't have any family in town and our parents aren't planning on coming down until we call to say I am in labor.  Then they each have a 6 hour drive.  I would like to stay home as long as possible like I did with Rowan, but I'm not sure dealing with contractions and a 2 year old is going to work.  Our babysitter has said they would take him whenever we needed, but I still worry. I know Rowan probably doesn't care, but I want him to feel safe and comfortable when we suddenly drop him off and he doesn't see me for a little while. 

I'm also concerned about going into labor early.  Rowan was a week early and a fairly quick labor so I have that in the back of my mind.  I wouldn't mind if baby girl came a little early as we have a wedding to attend in Illinois a week and a half after my due date and I would really like to be able to go.  Traveling 6 hours with a one week old might be a little difficult though.  I think my fears are the lack of control I will have with the logistics of getting Rowan somewhere where he will feel comfortable and dealing with a potentially quick labor.  Ryan could also be up to an hour away from home at work so that adds to the stress.

I'm not as concerned about life when baby girl arrives however.  Life with 2 kids will be crazy I'm sure, but it is a crazy I'm looking forward too.  I have been making "busy bags" for Rowan to play with while I nurse if need be.  I will do a post on those later.  He has always been great at independent play, but I wanted to have activities prepared if he changed his tune and I needed to nurse.  They have also been lifesavers when we go out to eat and have to wait. 

Baby girl's room is nowhere near done, but I keep telling myself she won't actually spend anytime in there till around 3 months anyways.  I FINALLY picked colors and somewhat of a design, but we haven't actually done anything but clean the room out and move the furniture from Rowan's room in.  Pinterest has been a blessing and a curse.  I keep seeing things I like and changing my mind.  I finally just had to order a blanket I liked so I would stop going back and forth.  Yellow and gray is what we decided on, which is what I originally picked when we found out she was a girl.  The blanket should be here any day now so paint and decorations can be picked after that.  I'm sure Ryan is thrilled about that!

Because of vacations on my part and the doctors I haven't seen my doctor since March 22nd.  I have an appointment this coming Thursday and the Dr. will do the strep B test and see if anything is happening.  He will also see if she has flipped.  I really hope she has.  I'm running out of time to try and do anything before the doctor tries.  Ryan got me a prenatal massage for my birthday and they have a special massage where they do different techniques to try and flip the baby.  If she hasn't flipped on her own this is my first option. If that doesn't work the doctor will have a shot at my next appointment.  Not looking forward to that if it has to happen.

Overall I am more then ready for baby girl to get here, but slightly freaking out about the actual labor process and all I have to think about this time.  I know everything will work out, it always does, but worrying is something I'm pretty good at!

Side note:  My dad had a dream I had the baby this coming Sunday the 14th so we will see!

Nicki

Pregnancy Update

I can't believe I am already 30 (almost 31) weeks into this pregnancy.  It is crazy how fast it is going.  I feel bad already for this little girl cause I am already slacking on documenting anything from her life. I'm sure once she is here though things will change!

We found out we were pregnant in August (almost the exact same weekend we found out about Rowan) and were a little bit surprised by the news!  We had talked about starting to try again, but no real plans were made. We weren't not trying, but weren't trying really either.  Needless to say though we were excited that our kids would be close in age (I'm slightly freaking out about this now!).  We told family and friends and then got excited for the 20 week appointment when we could find out if we were having a boy or a girl.

At the 20 week ultrasound we found out we were having a girl!  We would have been thrilled with either a boy or girl, but we were both rooting for a girl.  She was a little stubborn at this appointment though and the ultrasound tech could only get a good view of the spine and not her heart so we had to schedule another ultrasound for 24 weeks.  From what she could see, everything looked good on baby girl.  My placenta however, was sitting very low.  The doctor explained that if it did not move up by 30 weeks we would have to start talking about the complications that would cause.  Pretty much, if it didn't move up then I would have to have a c-section.  They would check it again at the 24 week ultrasound and if needed again at 30 weeks.  I was a little taken aback by this news because my pregnancy with Rowan went so smoothly, I wasn't prepared to hear potential problems.  I knew though that the placenta could move up on its own and there wouldn't be any issues so I tried to not worry to much. 

Ryan wasn't able to go to the 24 week ultrasound with me so I went on my own.  Baby girl was still a girl and was a little more cooperative.  I had a different tech this time who I didn't really like, but she did what she needed to do.  Baby girl's heart looked good and the placenta had moved up on its own.  I was happy leaving the ultrasound before my Dr. appointment.  Dr. however had some more news for me that the tech did not tell me about.  He confirmed what the tech had told me about the heart and the placenta, but then said there was a slight issue with the umbilical cord.  The umbilical cord is supposed to have 1 artery (which delivers all the good stuff to the baby) and two veins.  My umbilical cord however appeared to be missing one of those two veins.  He said this wasn't really a huge problem, but it could create issues with the growth of the baby.  There was nothing I had to do, we just had to check baby's growth at 30 weeks with another ultrasound.  I was disappointed at the news and concerned, but knew I just had to wait it out and see what the ultrasound said.

I had my glucose and anemia test at 28 weeks.  I passed the glucose test, but am slightly anemic.  I wasn't really surprised by this news.  I have been anemic on and off my entire adult life.  I just have to take an iron supplement until I deliver.  At this same appointment, when the Dr. measured me he just laughed.  I was measuring at 33 cm which equates to about 33 weeks along (I was only 28)!  Clearly we were not having any growth issues with baby!  He said that he didn't feel that is was necessary to have the 30 week ultrasound to check growth, but if I wanted to see baby again he would order it.  I wasn't going to turn down a chance to see the baby and check on everything and insurance pays for it so I said yes.

Ryan had to work again for this ultrasound so I went on my own again.  I had the good tech and she was very quick.  She measured baby's head, abdomen, and femur and then checked gender one more time.  Baby girl is breech and was facing away so she couldn't get a good profile shot of her.  Baby was weighing in at about 3lbs 8oz and at about 30.5 weeks.  She is right where she should be in terms of growth.  The tech also said she already has hair (my constant heartburn might be proving the old wives tale true)!  I was so excited to hear I wasn't having a ginormous baby and that everything was looking good!  The Dr. was pleased with the ultrasound and said I measured so large at the last appointment because of her position.  I am hoping she flips around soon!

We are slowly preparing for baby and are really looking forward to her arrival very soon!  If she is born on her due date (May 7) she will be 2 years and 2 weeks behind Rowan, but I anticipate an early arrival (maybe that is wishful thinking). We have 2 names picked out at this point, but are not committing to anything yet.  We probably won't commit until she is born!  We just had maternity pictures done so look for those in the next post!

I'll try to do at least one more pregnancy update before she makes her arrival!

Nicki

Eating

Just a little update on our life with a toddler.

I wrote about sleep several weeks ago and it continues to be great (except for that as I am writing this he is supposed to be napping and I can hear him playing/singing).  Rowan got dinosaur sheets for Valentines Day (which I thought was a lame mom gift) and he freaked out!  He was in LOVE with them.  He carried them around for awhile before we could talk him into letting us put them on his bed.  He still asks us to come lay in his dinosaur bed with him, which is way cute!  Also, about 3 days after I wrote that post he stopped using his pacifier.  The transition was super easy, we just didn't offer it to him and he stopped asking for it.  I was super excited it went so well!  Occasionally he will ask for it in the car or if he is really tired, but for the most part we hear very little about it. 

This time I wanted to write about eating.  We get a lot of comments on our eating habits.  Some people disagree and some agree, and some just go with it and don't say much!  I have been a vegetarian for most of my adult life (not strict by any means).  I stopped eating meat in high school because I just don't like the texture of it.  Some stuff I can handle, but for the most part I don't like it.  I ate chicken and turkey for my teenage years, but have stopped eating those within the last year.  On occasion I will eat meat.  Holidays/vacations are a time when I will eat meat if there is something I really want.  Ryan's mom makes a great turkey casserole that we "cheat" on for holidays and I could never ever pass up Mario's nachos when home in Pontiac.  I also really enjoy deer meet and duck/goose when my dad has that around during the holidays.  So by no means am I super strict on what I eat.  I eat what I want and what I like, I just prefer to not eat meat. Ryan is much more strict with what he eats, but again he will "cheat" if he wants too.

When I was pregnant with Rowan, Ryan decided to try being vegan for a month. I decided I would go along when I cooked at home, but if we ate out then I was still vegetarian.  He really enjoyed the health benefits he saw from eating vegan and I didn't mind it either.  We also did a lot of research on the environmental benifits and that was convincing enough for us to continue eating vegan after the month was over.  For the most part we were vegan up until I got pregnant again.  We fed Rowan this way as well.  The few times he did have to have formula it was soy based and when we started giving him table food it was vegan.  He didn't seem to mind.  This is when the comments really started to come in.  What about protein? He needs calcium!  We heard a lot of stuff and because of the research we had done we knew we could give him those nutrients through other foods.  He does have low growth percentages when he has his check-ups, but the doctors have never been overly concerned.  Ryan was very small up until high school and Rowan is his spitting image so I anticipate him always being somewhat small.  I have never really been concerned.  He eats just about everything you put in front of him!


He didn't like cheese up until a few months ago and still doesn't really like it in solid form.  He loves macaroni and cheese however!  We still only cook vegan meals at home, but will eat dairy when eating out.  People have offered him meat (all but forced it upon him at times) and he usually doesn't take it.  At this point in time he isn't really a fan of it and that is fine with us.  If he liked it then we have no problem with him eating it on occasion.  We just won't cook or order it for him.  Those are the choices we have made as a family for our family.



Rowan absolutley loves fruit and most vegetables.  It is a gurantee he will eat corn, especially if it is on the cob.  He would eat an entire can of corn if I offered it all to him!  Strawberries, blueberries, rasberries, and banana's are high on his list of likes.  He is also really good at eating other vegetables.  He enjoys any color pepper (raw or cooked), mushrooms (raw or cooked), and green beans. Salad is a go if it has thousand island dressing on it (this is an option when we go out).  He will eat raw broccoli if he can dip it in ranch as well (we don't offer this option at home, but at restaurants we let him do it). 


Some other go to foods include pasta, mandarian oranges, vegan boca burgers, sometimes home-made pizza (without cheese), guacamole/avacado, and peanut butter and jelly.  For breakfast we usually have either toast, oatmeal with cinnamon, whole wheat waffles and a banana.  He likes yogurt as well.  We offer him soy, almond, or cocunut based yogurt at home, but at the sitter he has cow's milk yogurt.  He only drinks soy and almond milk, but he has had cow's milk when we were traveling and couldn't find one of the others.  Granola bars are always a good option as well.  He likes most types of nuts, but we don't offer those often just because of the choking hazard.  He likes tofu, especially when in a chinese dish.  He absolutly loves sushi.  We get vegetable rolls and he just eats them up.  His favorite is probably the avacado roll.  Steamed white rice is also a winner.  We are still working on brown rice.  He loves one of the mediterrian restuarants we go too.  His favorites there are hummus pita's and beets.  He is not a huge fan of potatoes, but french fries are growing on him if he can dip them in ketchup.  Usually he just sucks the ketchup off so we don't offer them often.  He has a sweet tooth like his momma and would eat any type of sweet you put in front of him, especially chocolate based treats.

We have gone through phases where we have to "trick" him into eating anything.  Asking him to take a dinosaur or crocodile bite worked for a long time and recently telling him he has to take a certain number of bites before he can get down has worked. Using the colors of the food works on occasion as well.  We went through a phase where we put ketchup on a lot of stuff too.  Typical toddler behaviors!

All in all he eats really well.  We really want to continue to offer him a wide variety of foods from different cultures so he is exposed to many different types of food.  This is probably more important to us than him not eating meat.  Ryan and I love trying new foods and we want to pass this along to our children. 

Sleep

 

I didn't meet my goal of once a week, but this post is coming within two weeks so that is progress!

We don't live very exciting lives so I thought I would break my blog posts into different aspects of raising my almost 2 year old (AH!).  Today is sleep.

From the very beginning Rowan has been an amazing sleeper.  From the time we brought him home he got up every 4 hours if not 6.  He has slept through the night without problems since the first few months.  The only time he has every woken up through out the night is if he was teething and then we just put him in bed with us and he was fine.  We moved him from the sleeper in our room to his crib around 3 or 4 months and at 18 months we took the front railing off of his crib.  He wasn't trying to climb out, but I thought it was time for him to start the transition to a big boy bed.  The first two nights were a little rough with sleeping through the night, but after that no problem at all. 

A couple weeks ago we put our spare twin bed in his room to start preparing baby girls room.  Rowan's room is the bigger of the two kids rooms so we thought it could also serve as the spare room for guests.  I had a feeling though that Rowan would prefer to sleep in the big bed instead of his crib because he sometimes chose to take his nap in our bed instead of his.  We decided to leave the crib in the room as well as the twin bed and see which one he picked to sleep in.  That first night he chose the twin bed and climbed right in.  He slept through the night without a problem.  The next night he fell out of the bed, but went right back to sleep when Ryan put him back in.  No problems since then. 

Our bedtime routine is pretty simple and Rowan does great.  He gets a bath (his absolute favorite activity), pj's, and milk.  Most nights he gets Daddy to read him a few stories or to play a little longer.  We usually give him a time frame for how long until he needs to go to bed.  He doesn't understand, but I feel like it has been a good habit to get into now.  When it is time, whoever is putting him to bed that night tells him to give kisses and then walks him to his room.  He climbs in his bed, we turn out the light and close the door and that is it.  He is out till the morning.  Nap time is pretty much the same except he is more likely to stay awake and play in his room quietly before he falls asleep.  We are still working on getting rid of the pacifier.  We really aren't trying very hard to get rid of it we just set limitations to when he can have it.  He only gets it when he is sleeping or in the car, which usually turns into sleeping.  In the morning I tell him to leave it in his bed and he does until nap time and then again at bedtime.  He asks for it as soon as we get in the car though so I will probably start trying to break him of that habit. 
My biggest concern with all of these transistions was what he would do in the morning or after he woke up from his nap.  When he was in his crib he would just stand in the corner and call for me or sit and read books we left in the crib until I came to get him.  Now he just plays with the toys in his room quietly and when he is ready to come out he bangs on the door.  He is absolutley amazing!  I couldn't ask for a better son. 

He is growing up so fast, but I love watching him grown and learn and can't wait to see how he is as a big brother!

Nicki

I'm back...well hopefully!

I have been gone to long without a good reason for that.  I'm not a big new year's resolution person, but I thought I would give myself some this year.  One is to blog at least once a week.  I started this blog so friends and family could stay up to date on Rowan and our lives since we live so far away and I wasn't updating it enough to accomplish that goal.  So, hopefully I can keep it up this year since we are adding a new little one to the family in May!  One other goal is to participate in the 365 photo project which I will also post on here.  I have an obsession with photo's so I thought this would be fun for me.  I would also like to learn more about taking and editing pictures so hopefully this will give me lots of photo's to practice with. 

I am still in the market for a new computer so I may not start posting photos till after we get a new one.  I am using Ryan's work computer so I can't upload or save anything to it.  Hopefully we get something this weekend, I hate not having my own computer!

Just a few quick updates: 

Ryan is still working with the residency program for his company.  He just finished up with one student and will start next week with two new physical therapists.  He is always busy, but he loves what he does so that makes up for the long hours.

I just finished up my first semester in the Doctoral program for literacy.  I am still working on the research grant project and am really enjoying it.  I have decided however to take this semester off from classes to spend time with Rowan before baby sister arrives in May.  I am due May 7th which is finals week and I don't want to run into the same issues I had when Rowan was born.  I will miss taking courses, but am very thankful for the opportunity to spend some time with Rowan before I have to share my attention!  I am going to continue working on the research project through March and then I will be done.  That will keep my busy, but not so busy that I can't focus on Rowan and preparing for baby.  I am beyond excited to officially be a stay at home mom come April and am beyond grateful to Ryan for supporting and encouraging me. 

Rowan is the coolest kid I have ever met.  He is always making us smile and laugh and just has the best personality.  He is still a small fry, but he eats non-stop!  His vocabulary is really taking off and he learns so fast.  He is still an amazing sleeper and we can't be anymore grateful for that!  He loves his daddy and playing with him, but I would say he is definitely a mommy's boy.  When he says my name my heart just melts.  I don't think I could love him anymore then I do! 

I will update with more specifics soon!

Nicki