Spud Is Here!!!! And it's a GIRL!!!!

***Just a note before you read this...#1- it's LONG, #2- it's detailled, hence the 'long' part (and possibly TMI for some; you do know you're going to be reading about labor and delivery of a baby right?), #3- it's picture less because for the life of me I cant figure out how to add pictures to a post from our iPad (I'm technologically challenged BIG TIME)


Our lives have changed a bit these last few weeks. It's hard to believe that just three days after my last post we were blessed with a baby!!!! McKenna Kimberly decided to join us a few days early, which is a completely new thing for the women in my family because everyone seems to go late, but we couldn't be happier for when she came!!!!  


McKenna's journey into this world started on Tuesday, July 3rd, when my mucus plug came out and I started having somewhat regular contractions. We still decided to take Carmen, Jason's sister who was visiting, out to a few breweries to meet some friends and try some local beer. Everything was going great until we got up to leave the first place, as we walked out this gush of fluid came out and I literally thought I peed my pants. Not exactly the best feeling especially because we were all headed downtown to another brewery for more CO beer and pool. So needless to say, once I decided that no, it wasn't my water breaking, we took a detour back to our house so I could change and grab extra clothes in case it happened again. The contractions were still there and even though they were coming semi-regularly they still weren't regular and consistant enough to make me worry. Plus they had gotten less intense than what they had been the past few weeks. So the next few days I kept a close watch on everything and really monitored how I felt just in case my body was going to give me any other clues on how close to baby time we were. 


On Friday, July 6th, my dad, step-mom and cousin arrived for the weekend. It was great to see them because it was the last time to see them before this Fall and they brought with them a glider we had purchased (which proved very useful the next day). On Saturday when I woke up everyone was still sleeping except my dad so we took our dog, Sophie, for a quick walk and came back to get ready for the day. This was the first time my cousin had been here so we were going to take her to Garden of the Gods to do some hiking and sight seeing. By the time everyone was getting up, around 9 am, I started realizing that my contractions were coming pretty frequently. I still wasn't timing them at this point but just overly paying attention and getting excited. It wasn't until around noon that I started timing them and realized that there were consistently coming between 5-6 minutes apart and lasting anywhere between 40 seconds and 1 1/2 minutes. This got me very excited but I knew I had to be patient because if I was in labor then this was just the start! 


After my contractions stayed consistant for about two hours we called into the maternity triage and asked if we should come in. The nurse said it definitely seemed like labor but not to come in until my contractions were much harder, where I couldn't talk or walk through them (those weren't exactly the encouraging words I had hoped for). So Jason and I did a few short walks up and down our street to keep me moving and try to keep Spud moving down as well. Around 9:30 Saturday night we drove over to the hospital, my contractions weren't getting closer but they were getting more intense and I wanted some confirmation that we were actually in labor. Motivation was key during my labor!!! 


Our first nurse when we got to the hospital, Shannon, was great! She hooked me up to all the monitors to check on Spud, myself, and the contractions so she would have some information to tell our doctor when she called her. After sometime she called our doctor and when they checked me I was still about 75% effaced, but I was now dilated to a 5. Our doctor was a little concerned about my blood pressure and that Spud seemed sleepy but another 20ish minutes and a cup of cranberry juice later everything seemed good and normal. Once our Dr. didn't have any more concerns she gave us  our options. Since our goal was to try for an all natural birth, with no assistance from the doctor, she  said we could go home to labor for a few more hours or get checked into the hospital and wait. Jason  was concerned that I was getting too tired so he suggested we get checked in and that I get some  medicine to help me sleep before the real intense labor started, which we did. Shannon gave me 2  doses of Fentanyl which allowed me, and Jason, to sleep for about 3 hours which was amazing and  much needed.   


When I woke up I decided that I had slept enough and was to excited to sit around any longer. I wanted to start doing something to get Spud moving, especially since when Shannon checked me I  was only dilated to a 6, almost 7. We opted first for the jacuzzi tup, I was able to sit in it and relax a  bit while Jason used the hand held sprayer to put some counter pressure on my back, back labor is no  fun but it did help to get the job done. While I was able to manage my contractions easier in the tub  they had started to get more intense so after about 40 minutes I was ready for another change. This  time, the exercise ball and walking around in our room. This enabled Jason to get a little more sleep,  the contractions weren't terrible, and me to move Spud. The ball was great and helped a ton to get my  mind off the pain, I suggest it to everyone! Around 5:30am our doctor came and checked me and I  was at a 7 but my contractions weren't getting closer so we opted for her to break my water to see if  that would get labor progressing any faster.....it did!!!! 


I never knew that contractions could be non- stop :( But the worse they got the closer we were to meeting our little one, that was the one thing I  tried to focus on and it was a huge help in getting through the labor. Walking wasn't helping much  anymore so our next nurse suggested we try the shower. There was a hand held attachment so Jason  was able to help a TON by applying counter pressure again just like in the tub. Before getting in the  shower the nurse checked and said I was dilated to 8 and when I got out and started feeling like I  should push I was at 9. The nurse got ahold of our doctor and was given the green light to let me start pushing whenever I felt I needed to. By the time our doctor got there I was dilated to 10 and the  action started. Almost immediately the room had about 3 more nurses and my bed was taken apart for delivery. Pushing is a completely new experience, unlike anything I have anything experienced  before, and near impossible to explain to someone who's never had a baby. But let me tell you...it was so incredibly worth every minute, because this amazing little blessing, a daughter, was brought into  our lives. 


The last few minutes before she came out they needed to give me some oxygen but as soon as she was born they put her on my chest. AMAZING!!!!!!! I couldn't believe she was actually here! I got to have her for a little while but then they had to take her to the warming table because she  was cold and blue and they couldn't get her to pinken up. Jason was right next to her and I was  exhausted and  thankful for just a minute to hear the doctor say that everything went great, no stitches and the   placenta came out completely. Once she was pink I got to have her again until the nurse took her and Jason to the nursery to wash her and get her footprints while my nurse helped me get ready to move to our postpartum room. 


McKenna was born at 8:39 a.m., weighing in at 7 lbs. 1 oz., 19 1/4 in. long, and her head was 13 3/4  in. We couldn't be more in awe of this miracle that God has blessed us with!

Changes: Some Bad (the Fire), Some Great (Spud)

This week has been rough! Where we live we are about 20-25 miles away from Waldo Canyon, which is currently on fire and it quickly became the worst fire in Colorado Springs history, possibly even state history. Thankfully at this point they have the fire 70% contained and people who had to evacuate their homes are slowly being let back in. Thankfully very few people were hurt in what could have been a massive tragedy for the people of western Colorado Springs. During this time Jason and I were managing the climbing tempetures by positioning fans to get air flow and keeping windows wide open; tempetures continue to be about 10* higher than usuall for this time of year. Needless to say, but we were getting extremely warm, then the smoke from the fire blew across town to the area we live. Instead of being smoked out of our house we shut all the windows with the hope it wouldn't get too warm and soon the wind would change so the smoke would be blown elsewhere. This was not the case, instead our house was usually warmer than it was outside....not ideal when your about 37 weeks pregnant. Some amazingly gracious friends from church offered their guest room, aka basement, to us for as long as we needed. It was more than wonderful to be in an air conditioned house, in a cool basement with great hosts! We couldn't have been more thankful especially since the night before we packed up to live at their house I slept about 2hrs because it was so hot in our house; 2 hrs of uncomfortable, restless sleep doesn't make for a happy momma. While staying at our friends house I had an unexpected visitor (Jason was in on the surprise) my mom!!!! She flew in for the baby shower the ladies from my church threw for me and was able to stay the weekend to help us pick up our crib. It was an amazing surprise and I was so thankful to get to visit with her and get more words of experienced wisdom (she's had 6 kids) about our upcoming adventure of labor, delivery and parenthood. We got our hopes up that Spud would have made an appearance for Grandma because of the news were getting at our prenatal appointments. (Possible TMI alert) At our 37 week appointment my body was already getting prepared for Spud. I was dilated to 2, 50% effaced and Spud was head down. At 38 weeks I was dilated to a 3, 70% effaced and Spud was still head down and positioned correctly. At our most recent visit the nurse said she could feel Spud's head so baby and mom are both getting closer to a visit to the hospital!!! Jason and I couldn't be more thrilled to know that Spud is still healthy, growing on schedule and will soon be joining us! We know that a lot will change with a new baby in the house but we couldn't be more excited to start this next chapter of our lives!