Birth Stories: {Megan and Halli} March 28, 2013

Hey y’all! You met me a few weeks ago, and I was so touched by how welcoming you all were and all of your sweet comments.  I feel like I have kind of fallen off the face of the earth and been in baby heaven with this precious little girl.

The day you met me is the same day I had my beautiful daughter.  She is 4 weeks old now, and I can’t believe it.  Just like my pregnancy, time has flown by!  There is really nothing as special as having a new baby.

When I had my son, who is now 4, I needed to have an emergency C-section.  My entire pregnancy with him was br-u-tal!  I have never puked so much in my life than I did those first few months, I had kidney stones and infections because of how he was positioned, and I swelled up like a gigantic water balloon.  Two weeks before my due date, on a cold and icy December night I woke up sick.  Really sick, with the worst headache I have ever had and was so nauseous.  My doctor had us go to the hospital, where we found out I had pregnancy induced hypertension.  I was so miserable and wanted nothing more than to get my sweet baby boy out!  Being rushed to a surgical room to have a C-section while a nurse is riding on your bed is a surreal feeling.  That whole morning was a blur but I had my handsome 8lb 13 oz son and we were both happy and healthy.

Fast forward to now.  My due date was April 3rd, this pregnancy was much better than my last one, and I have a new doctor; she is more than willing to let me try a VBAC because I never had the chance to push and try with my son.   Every weekly checkup I would pray to be just a little bit dilated, and a little bit effaced.  Sadly every time I left I was barely a half a centimeter.  I walked around our neighborhood, bounced on a birthing ball, walked around Target for hours(this is fun and distracting but expensive 🙂 ), more exercises on a birthing ball, spicy food, more walking, walking, walking and still…nothing.  At 39 weeks I was feeling more than uncomfortable.  To add more stress to the situation, my family and I are transplants to Texas.  My husband and I are it here.  None of our extended family lives anywhere even kind of close to where we are.  My mom had flown out to be with us for 2 weeks, and baby girl wasn’t even close to making an appearance.

March 27th I had another checkup.  I decided I wanted to go ahead with a C-section, I healed great from my previous one, and I desperately wanted the help from my mom.  My doctor and the hospital was able to get me in that day at lunch if I wanted; I was more than game because I was so darn uncomfortable!  I was ready, my bags were packed, I had a “big brother kit” ready, my house had been deep cleaned, and I had made 12 freezer meals…GAME.ON!  My husband and I flew home to grab our bags, and just as we were leaving for the hospital my doctor called to let me know I would need to go into hospital first thing the next morning because of new scheduling issues.  After getting off the phone with my doctor I was crushed.  I was so excited to meet my baby girl that day, not the next morning!  I had already called our family to let them know our fun news.  I had tried to picture her little face and that my son would be a brother by dinner time.  But all of it would have to wait until the next morning.  Now…to a normal, not super hormonal, and exhausted pregnant woman this would be no big deal.  One more day would not be the end of the world.  I on the other hand lost it.  I bawled, hysterically for entirely too long and then needed ice cream from Sonic.  Super embarrassing to think about now and looking back I am grateful I was able to have one more day with my family of 3.  My husband and I had a fun low key day together and just enjoyed the day with our son.  I could barely sleep that night.  I would be a mother of 2 in a few hours. 

March 28th: Driving to the hospital felt ridiculously long and super short at the same time.  My husband was beyond excited and thrilled both of our kids would be born on the 28th (my son was Dec 28th).  I was way more nervous than I thought I would be.  I had a C-section before, but it was all such a blur I barely remember everything that happened.  This time around I was watching all the nurses get me ready, and hooked up to antibiotics.  I walked myself into the freezing cold surgical room and was more than alert for the spinal block (which was not all that bad).  I could hear my heart racing on the heart monitor as nurses and my anesthesiologist (bless him) tried to help me relax.  Finally my husband came in and then my doctor.  The sheet went up and it was baby time.

The nurses and doctors were amazing, telling me how great I look (apparently I have a lovely uterus?), and guessing the size of my baby.  Guesses like 7 almost 8 lbs, or higher 8 lb baby but not more.  Then I heard the sweetest little cry and started to tear up.  That was my baby!  “She has so much dark hair!”  My baby has hair?  My son was super blonde and had a little fuzz for hair.  “She is nice and big mama!  She is so beautiful!” And she was.  Overwhelming feelings of love for her took over and I got more teary.  My husband left to go be with our new baby girl, “she is 9 lbs 8 oz!  21 3/4 inches!”  I had to ask again, “did they say 9lbs 8 oz?!”  Yup…she had more than enjoyed her time in my belly, no wonder I was so uncomfortable.  My doctor said she would have been more than fine to live in there another 4 weeks and had no intention of leaving.  It was a good decision to have a C-section; I never would have been able to get her out on my own.

I text my mom later that day and said “I have never felt so happy.”  I was overwhelmed with love for this new little person in our family.  I was overwhelmed with pride and joy to see my son meet his sister for the first time.  I was overwhelmed to see my husband with our daughter.  It was a great, great day.

4 weeks later and I am very sleep deprived.  Halli (pronounced “Hal-E,” like Halle Berry) has reflux pretty bad and I can tell the poor girl is in pain quite a bit.  She LOVES to eat, so I feel like I am nursing all day long.  Adjusting to more than one kiddo has been harder than I thought.  Also I can tell I’m older because healing from my C-section has been a little rougher this time around.  But I am still so overwhelmed with love for my little family.  There is truly nothing more special than bringing a little baby straight from heaven into your home.  I feel so blessed that I have the opportunity to be a mom.  I am so grateful that we are all healthy and that we get to figure out how to be a family of 4 together.  We are slowly finding our new normal and getting to know this sweet, gorgeous little girl.  I am one blessed mama.