The hardest thing, for me to deal with, about pregnancy is just the waiting, the unknown of when and how it'll happen. It really was hard waking up everyday wondering if it would be the day and then falling asleep disappointed. So the morning of the 17th, I just had a little talk with my belly and said, "You need to come out or you'll end up being forced out which won't be nearly as nice for anyone!" Then I said a little prayer.
Later that day after lunch is when it started. I was getting some small, random contractions and I didn't want to mention it to anyone because I was afraid they would stop and go away. So we went on with life and ended up going out to dinner. I had some contractions in the car and Jason started getting all freaked out, but I was just not sure if it was the real deal or not. When we got home from eating though, I kinda just knew things were going to happen so I started getting everything ready. This all started around 7pm. That's when the contractions started getting about 15 minutes apart. Then it really just picked up from there. Around 8 they were 8-10 minutes apart. And we started contemplating if we should get the girls taken care of. Our original plan was to take them to a friend's house from church. It ended up that our friend was able to come over to our house and sleep here with the girls while we went to the hospital!! It all worked out so well!
We didn't actually end up going to the hospital until about 11:45, just because I wanted to make sure we were a consistent 5 minutes apart. So we got to the hospital at midnight and got checked in. I was 5cm dilated when we first got there. And it was just crazy because she must have known we were there because the contractions got closer and stronger. You could tell they were a smidge worried because they were moving pretty fast to get everything taken care of. I don't remember what time it was when I got my epidural, maybe 1:30 or 2...but oh my goodness it was amazing! I wasn't sure if I was going to do pain killers, but honestly... I had been up since 6am and it was now the middle of the night. I just needed some relief. Sadly, after the epidural, I got the shakes really bad. It was awful.
It was around maybe 2:15?? My water bursted, not broke... it seriously like POPPED! It was crazy and I'm happy it didn't happen like that in public. The nurse that was with me poked her head out into the hall to tell the people out there that my water had broke and I just heard them all say "YAY!" And the doctor came in and was like, yeah this is happening soon let's get ready. So they brought everything in, but having the epidural, I wasn't sure when I needed to push. So at about 2:40 maybe he tells me, "Alright on the next contraction we're going to push!" And then it was just quiet and everyone was staring at the chart watching my contractions and there just wasn't a contraction coming!! haha It took 3 minutes for one to start up! It took 3 series of pushing and she was out at 2:51am. They held her up and put her on my chest and I remember thinking first "she has my nose!" and second "holy crap that's a giant looking baby!" It was just so awesome to have it be done! That was my one motivator through all of this... "You can do this Melissa... just get through this and then you don't ever have to do it again!"
So there she was! My final baby girl. Weighing 8lbs 7 oz, the biggest of them all. She just LOOKS chunky too. Her legs have some meat on them, not little chicken legs like the other two. 21 1/2 inches long and tall like her sisters. As soon as I could walk they took us over to recovery and Jason stayed with us until about 7 the next morning and then went to grab the girls to meet baby Hailey. Sara was beaming when she came in! She was SO excited about seeing her new baby Chiefy! Jordyn... she didn't really care too much. She liked to look at her but wasn't too impressed. Although she did wave and say "goodbye baby!!" when they left that day.
Our hospital stay was short and luckily nothing to major was wrong with either of us. So we packed up at came home at lunch time today on the 19th! It's been a struggle being home just because at the hospital it was just me and Hailey. So, when we got home I just wanted to cuddle, but I feel like I spent most of my time correctly and disciplining the other two girls. It'll just take some getting use to.
So, she's here! And we're just working on getting adjusted to our family of five. :)
Later that day after lunch is when it started. I was getting some small, random contractions and I didn't want to mention it to anyone because I was afraid they would stop and go away. So we went on with life and ended up going out to dinner. I had some contractions in the car and Jason started getting all freaked out, but I was just not sure if it was the real deal or not. When we got home from eating though, I kinda just knew things were going to happen so I started getting everything ready. This all started around 7pm. That's when the contractions started getting about 15 minutes apart. Then it really just picked up from there. Around 8 they were 8-10 minutes apart. And we started contemplating if we should get the girls taken care of. Our original plan was to take them to a friend's house from church. It ended up that our friend was able to come over to our house and sleep here with the girls while we went to the hospital!! It all worked out so well!
We didn't actually end up going to the hospital until about 11:45, just because I wanted to make sure we were a consistent 5 minutes apart. So we got to the hospital at midnight and got checked in. I was 5cm dilated when we first got there. And it was just crazy because she must have known we were there because the contractions got closer and stronger. You could tell they were a smidge worried because they were moving pretty fast to get everything taken care of. I don't remember what time it was when I got my epidural, maybe 1:30 or 2...but oh my goodness it was amazing! I wasn't sure if I was going to do pain killers, but honestly... I had been up since 6am and it was now the middle of the night. I just needed some relief. Sadly, after the epidural, I got the shakes really bad. It was awful.
It was around maybe 2:15?? My water bursted, not broke... it seriously like POPPED! It was crazy and I'm happy it didn't happen like that in public. The nurse that was with me poked her head out into the hall to tell the people out there that my water had broke and I just heard them all say "YAY!" And the doctor came in and was like, yeah this is happening soon let's get ready. So they brought everything in, but having the epidural, I wasn't sure when I needed to push. So at about 2:40 maybe he tells me, "Alright on the next contraction we're going to push!" And then it was just quiet and everyone was staring at the chart watching my contractions and there just wasn't a contraction coming!! haha It took 3 minutes for one to start up! It took 3 series of pushing and she was out at 2:51am. They held her up and put her on my chest and I remember thinking first "she has my nose!" and second "holy crap that's a giant looking baby!" It was just so awesome to have it be done! That was my one motivator through all of this... "You can do this Melissa... just get through this and then you don't ever have to do it again!"
So there she was! My final baby girl. Weighing 8lbs 7 oz, the biggest of them all. She just LOOKS chunky too. Her legs have some meat on them, not little chicken legs like the other two. 21 1/2 inches long and tall like her sisters. As soon as I could walk they took us over to recovery and Jason stayed with us until about 7 the next morning and then went to grab the girls to meet baby Hailey. Sara was beaming when she came in! She was SO excited about seeing her new baby Chiefy! Jordyn... she didn't really care too much. She liked to look at her but wasn't too impressed. Although she did wave and say "goodbye baby!!" when they left that day.
Our hospital stay was short and luckily nothing to major was wrong with either of us. So we packed up at came home at lunch time today on the 19th! It's been a struggle being home just because at the hospital it was just me and Hailey. So, when we got home I just wanted to cuddle, but I feel like I spent most of my time correctly and disciplining the other two girls. It'll just take some getting use to.
So, she's here! And we're just working on getting adjusted to our family of five. :)
Headed Home!
