Labor and Delivery: Welcome Lorelei

Thursday- April 19th
I told Paedn I had a feeling I am going into labor this weekend, at the latest by Wednesday.

Friday- April 20th
I had an emergency trip to Triage. Lorelei was not responding to anything. I would feel her little leg and move it around and she did not kick back or anything. This was extremely unusual because she usually was so active. I called my doctor and they told me to go to the hospital so I could get hooked up to some monitors and checked out. That evening I also received the ultrasound my doctor told me I would get since I was measuring small. Of course, they called after my trip to the Triage to schedule the appointment. Made me a little irritated. But, at the Triage I learned that 1- I have really high blood pressure towards the end of pregnancy. 2- I was having a lot more contractions than I realized. This whole time when I felt a tightening feeling I thought it was just Lorelei stretching around in there. Nope, they were contractions! All in all Friday was a very emotional day. 

Saturday- April 21st
Timmy and Christina's Wedding!! Saturday was another emotional day. I wanted to be in Utah. I wanted to see my family and be there to celebrate with everyone. I cried quite a few times. I was so grateful that Emily had her phone hidden but on during the ceremony so I was able to hear almost all of it. Then, Christopher and Stephanie let us use their phones and they skyped me and I was able to watch all the major events plus get a glimpse of my family! It was so nice and I am so grateful I was still able to included in the some aspect. The rest of the day, I was restless. I cleaned out and vacuumed my entire car. I had been putting this off for a while but finally found the energy to just do it. I just kept thinking of how nice it will be when I don't have this big belly in my way. I grew pretty accustomed to it but I knew how easier everything will be when it was back to normal. Then, Paedn and I just enjoyed our time together. We knew the time was soon approaching that we would no longer be alone.

Sunday- April 22
I slept well to about 1AM and then I was up every hour. I finally text my mom and my sister at 3:25AM telling them I was having really bad pains but I wasn't sure if they were contractions or not. My mom called me about an hour later telling me to start timing them. They left their hotel and made their nine hour trek back home by 5AM. I woke Paedn up and told him what I was doing. He decided to get up and shower and then came out to the living room and passed out on the ground while I was timing the contractions and showered. I wrote down a few notes before the contractions started to get worse.
1- pain
2- after contraction she moves around like "ugh! what the heck!"
3- nauseous
4- prayed
5- best husband in the world! he just took the car seat out to the car
6- thought the contractions were going to be further apart at first

leaving for the hospital!

I wasn't sure if they were real contractions because they were happening in my back. It was a weird feeling!! My mom called me to check on me, I was definitely in more pain than I was a few hours earlier. As we left for the hospital I called the Hancock's to let them know what was happening. I then received a text from my daddy that he sent out to my family. It read, "Vancouver, Vancouver this is it!" Seriously made me laugh so hard. My family is kind of nerdish and I am super proud of it. =-) This is the phrase that was said when Mt. Saint Helen's erupted.
When we got to the Triage to check in they asked what we were there for and I looked at Paedn, "It's baby time!" We started laughing. They lead me back and checked my weight, I lost three pounds since my Friday visit! Woo-hoo! I then went back and got hooked up to the monitors to track Lorelei's heart rate and my contracts. They checked my cervix and I was dilated to a 4, almost 5, and was about 90% effaced. They were going to have me go walk around but my blood pressure was too high so I had to stay in bed. Then, we left Triage and got situated in our delivery room. I had to lay on my side for basically the whole time because of my blood pressure. My delivery nurse walked in and she's said, "You look so much like your mother!!" I realized my nurse was one of my mom's friends! It was so nice to have her be my nurse since my mom could not be there with me.. My nurse said she was in no hurry to have the baby delivered, she was trying to stall for my mom so hopefully they could be there! My cervix was checked again, I was dilated to 7 and 100% effaced. My contractions were getting pretty painful so I asked for the epidural. I was beyond scared, my mother and sister told me their horror stories. I tried not to cry because I was scared. Paedn was able to stay by my side and he and my nurse held my hands to comfort me. My anesthesiologist was amazing! He explained everything he was doing and was so calm about it. The epidural did not hurt nearly as bad as I thought it would. I only had one tear run down my check and only squeezed their hands once. It was a weird feeling since you could feel the medicine run all the way down your back. As the anesthesiologist explained, it just felt like a lot of pressure. I was finally able to relax. I had not been snippy at all the whole morning but having the epidural definitely put me in a better mood and I was able to interact with Mama Hancock, Danny, and Paedn, who were in the delivery room, instead of trying to breathe through my contractions. I was given the peanut ball to put in between my legs to help open my hips up and help everything progress. Pretty soon, I looked at Paedn and I said, "Umm...you need to go get a nurse now. Something is leaking..." I felt awkward since it wasn't just us in the room so I tried not to say it very loud. When the nurse came in I asked everyone but Paedn to leave. I told the nurse, "Either I just peed my pants or my water just broke." My water definitely broke. It was not what I expected...I was picturing more of a "water" type substance. I found out my actual doctor was coming to deliver me so I wouldn't have some random man doctor! I was very excited.  My nurse started setting everything up. She checked me just to make sure I was complete, I was. She told me the baby's head was right there! She asked Paedn if he wanted to feel. I just started laughing, I really thought he would say no. I looked at him, "I dare you! I double dog dare you!" We all started laughing. He put on a glove. He felt our baby's head!!! That was seriously so cool. I am so glad our nurse gave him the opportunity to do that. One of my doctor's patients was in the other room and she was complete as well. Our nurse and the nurse with the other patient were "fighting" over who got the doctor first. I made it into a competition, of course. I told my nurse to go to the other room and tell them I bet I will deliver first. While everything was still getting ready, Paedn and I were choosing Lorelei's song. This is something that Mama Hancock did for her kids. She chose a song that came out the year they were born. Example, Paedn's song is "Forever Young". Paedn and I chose Lorelei's song, "Heartbeat" by The Fray. I then requested to listen to some Billy Joel. I wanted something soothing but sassy to listen to. Right before I started pushing Paedn mentioned how surprised he was I didn't ask for Michael Jackson. WHAT WAS I THINKING?! I told him to put it on. I started pushing. In between each push I would dance and sing along with Michael. Some of the nurses joined in as well and my doctor just laughed. During one push, the song "Shake Your Body (Down to the Ground), started playing and I actually broke out in laughter during mid-push. The nurses asked if I wanted a mirror to be placed so I could "see what I was doing". I reluctantly did it and I told them exactly where to place the mirror. They were like, "Man, we like you! You aren't afraid to speak up." When I would push I would shut my eyes and the doctor would call out "Open your eyes! Look! Look! Look!" It was so awesome to see! At first I was a little apprehensive to have the mirror there, I thought it was really weird, but I am glad I ended up doing it. My nurses and doctor were so encouraging. They kept telling me how amazing I was doing. I would look at Paedn and all he could do was smile. When I saw my baby's head for the first time I yelled out, "She has hair!!" After a few minutes the song "Beat It" started playing and I said, "Ya, Beat It, Lorelei! Get out of there!" We all started laughing but before the second verse started, Lorelei was born. She was born at 3:09PM after only 30 minutes of pushing. (I looked at my nurse, WE WON! We bet the other patient! We high-fived one another.) Lorelei was placed directly on my chest and Paedn was able to cut her cord. When she was taken to get weighed and everything I couldn't help but say, "Ah! There really was a baby in there!" Paedn never left her side. He was so curious about everything that was happening. He really did so well in the delivery room! I knew he wouldn't have a problem but when the nurses told him how great he was I realized that not every guy could do what he just did. I was so proud of him. I was on a high. I couldn't stop smiling, I never really cried. My eyes were wet but I wasn't balling like I thought I was going to do.
Everything else happened so quickly. My family made it to the hospital only 40 minutes after I delivered. They were the first to come in and visit, then the Hancock's came and meet Lorelei, then Danny and Amanda. Later that evening, my grandparents were able to come visit me as well as they made their way back home to Texas. I barely held my baby the first day!
I did a lot better than I ever thought I would do. I handled the pain of back labor, of the epidural, and of recovery. I was out of bed as soon as the epidural wore off. I felt great! I wasn't as emotional as I thought I was going to be. I wasn't snippy or rude as I thought I would be. I think the worse thing I said was I asked Paedn not to talk to me while I was having a contraction but he could keep holding my hand or brushing his hand through my hair. After delivery, I looked at Paedn and smiled, "I am so proud of myself!!" I still am. I am a lot stronger than I ever knew! Thanks to the stories I heard, I was preparing for the worst. I was preparing for unbearable contractions, for the pain of the epidural, for pushing for 3-5 hours, for a 4th degree tear, none of which I ended up having! I was so grateful.

newborn

1 week old

First ever tummy time!