My pregnancy with Libby was very similar to Walker's...very uneventful, healthy and easy. Although it was a little harder this time around because I was chasing after a 2.5 year old, overall I have been blessed with two very healthy pregnancies. A little of a back story first...with Walker I was induced at 39 weeks because my amniotic fluid was low and a biophysical profile showed that he was not gaining wait sufficiently and he was better off being born than remaining in the womb. They are not sure what caused this but apparently my placenta was not functioning like it should have and since he was 39 weeks my doctor decided it was time for him to come out, rather than wait for him to decide to make an appearance! :) Induction with Walker went rather quickly and labor was relatively easy; I only had to push for about 10 minutes with him. So, this time around my doctor (who is amazing by the way!) wanted to monitor me more closely after 36 weeks to make sure that my fluid did not get low and that baby was gaining weight appropriately. From about 30 weeks, any time I had an ultrasound Libby was always measuring bigger than her brother and my fluid was fine. However, she was always sideways (transverse) in my belly. Meaning she wasn't completely breach but wasn't head down either. Since I was going to have more frequent ultrasounds to check fluid, my doctor said we would just keep checking and wait. Basically no need to schedule a c-section yet! At 37 weeks I had an ultrasound and Libby was head down! YAY! Then at 38 weeks I had an ultrasound and she had turned sideways again! :( I saw my doctor's partner that day for my appointment and she said that I had two choices...schedule a c-section or schedule a external cephalic version (that means they try to turn the baby externally). Neither one of those sounded like fun but that was the choices we were faced with. You hear horror stories about them turning babies but the doctor assured me that all was safe. They don't do a version until they have you prepped like you are having a c-section (spinal block administered, surgical tools open, etc.) that way if something does happen they can get the baby out in a minute if necessary. If they were able to turn the baby, then I would be induced and they would let me progress and delivery vaginally. The doctor strongly encouraged me to try the version since I had already had one vaginal delivery and the experience went well. And since I had a two year old at home the recovery time would be so much quicker and easier with a vaginal delivery. If they weren't able to turn the baby, then I would have a c-section but she at least wanted me to try since she was just sideways and not completely breach. So we made an appointment to check into the hospital on January 3 for the procedure.
However, Miss Libby had other plans. The afternoon/night of the 1st I started feeling "weird." Not really contractions but just achy and not normal. However it stopped and I went to bed. But that night I woke up about 2 ish having contractions and spotting some. Since we assumed that Libby was still sideways, we thought we better head on to the hospital because if my water broke before we got there, they wouldn't be able to try to turn her. We got to the hospital around 4:00 and it was packed!! Every room was full! They put us in a recovery room until they could determine whether I was actually in labor. They determined I was in labor and that I was dilated to almost 1 cm. They said they would keep me and would do an ultrasound to determine baby's position so we'd know what to do next. The doctor did the ultrasound and she was head down so they got me in a room and allowed me to progress on my own. The day was fairly uneventful; having contractions, them checking my progress, etc. At one point the baby moved and the nurse had to move the heartbeat monitor on her and she had to place it awfully high so she was afraid that the baby had turned...again! The doctor was coming around to break my water soon so we had to do another ultrasound before she did to make sure baby was still head down. She was still head down but was still very high; she hadn't dropped as much as they'd liked. However, she broke my water and said I could get the epidural when I felt I needed it. When they broke my water they did discover that baby had already had a bowel movement so they had to put in a catheter just in case that caused problems before I delivered. Also, since she had already had a bowel movement, there would need to be more people on hand when I delivered to make sure she was ok. That was about the only stressful part of the whole delivery!
After awhile (I'm really not sure how long), I decided to get the epidural because you hear stories about people waiting too late or it not working, etc. and I wanted to be sure there was plenty of time for it to work!! :) I was a little nervous about the epidural this time because with Walker the guy that did it was a complete jerk and had to stick me 3 or 4 times before he got it right. This man was wonderful...so sweet, patient and took his time to make me feel comfortable. He got it in on the first try and it worked wonderfully!! :) But after a little while I kept feeling pressure and discomfort and didn't think I should just yet with the epidural. The nurse checked me and said I was 9-10 cm dilated but the baby still hadn't dropped much. Another nurse checked me and said that the baby was +1 and I think they like you to be at +4 before you start pushing. However, her heartbeat had started dropping a little with contractions so the nurse said we were going to push some and see if we could get her to drop more. I did and Libby did not like the pushing...her heart rate would drop some with each one. So they went ahead and called the doctor, baby nurses, etc. I was very relieved when the doctor got there. There is just something so unnerving about pushing when it's just you, your husband and one nurse! It happened with Walker so I was prepared for it but you just feel so much better when the doctor actually gets there! Anyway, the doctor came and told me to keep going. I remember Jon commenting that if I had her out in 13 minutes then she would be born at the same exact time as Walker! However, I was one minute shy. I just had to push for about 12 minutes and she was born! I was so afraid I'd be in for a long delivery since she hadn't dropped much but thankfully she came fairly quick! Especially since she didn't like the pushing I was very glad it went fast, as was the doctor! Libby was born a healthy 6 lbs 11 oz. and was born at 4:40 p.m. (Walker was born at 4:41 p.m.!). With Walker it seemed like I held him for just a little while then he was whisked away to the nursery and I was sent to my postpartum room fairly quick. But with Libby we got to stay in the delivery room for about 3 hours and just spend time with our new baby. It was so relaxing and peaceful to just be able to enjoy her before she was taken to the nursery to get cleaned up. It was such an answer to prayer that she ended up turning head down and I was able to deliver her vaginally. I had prayed and prayed that God would just take the decision away from us and that we would have a healthy and safe delivery and he answered our prayers. It was such a wonderful experience and we are so blessed by the new addition to our family. We love our little girl so much and are slowly adjusting to becoming a family of 4.
Walker has done very well with the new addition. He is a little more needy than normal, always wanting Jon or I to play with him and has been a little more wild but nothing major. I think it's helped him a lot that he's continued with his normal routine, going to school each day, etc. He hasn't been able to hold Libby yet; our pediatrician and the nurses at the hospital said that only adults (and healthy adults at that) should hold her until this yucky flu season is over. The week I delivered RSV was going around Walker's daycare! :( He is dying to touch her and hold her but we're holding off until there aren't so many germs going around. That's been the only bad part of having a baby in January. We're basically quarantined to the house until flu season is over; that's been the most difficult part for me. We can't even go to church or family lunch because you never know what people might have. But her staying healthy is the most important thing! Warmer weather will eventually come and we can get out and introduce her to everyone. Right now we're just at home and I'm enjoying my time off with her until March. Now here are some pictures of our sweet little girl.
She's here!!
Walker getting his first look at her.
First picture as a family of 4!!
Getting ready to go home.
First picture at home.
First sponge bath...not a fan!
1 week old
Big brother singing us a song! :)
A lazy Sunday morning...Libby is 2 weeks old here.
Kisses on the head from big brother...he's just dying to hug her and hold her!
I never posted pictures of her room so here's a glimpse at her nursery.
2 weeks old...very hard to get a good picture when they can't sit up at all just yet!
