Bringing Home Baby

Bringing Home Baby

It was a rainy, October Tuesday when we brought you home.  We got discharged from the hospital around 10:00 A.M.  I waited in the wheel chair with you on my lap and with the nurse who wheeled me down to the lobby.  Daddy pulled around the car with great anticipation, he could not wait to bring you home.  Daddy drove as careful as can be the whole way home and I sat in the back and just stared at you, thinking about how I never want to forget this moment.  We pulled into the driveway of the house with the pretty pink bow on the mailbox.  This is it, we walked out of the house as a family of two and now we are walking in as a family of three. Your little sis, Lilly, greeted us at the door.  She really didn't know what to think of you.  We brought you into your new room and unbundled you. You have no idea how much you are loved at this point, but you will hopefully know one day. Daddy and I just looked at you and then looked at each other and balled like little babies….we have never been this happy…. How can you love a person this much?

I never want to forget how you feel in my arms right now, the faces you make, your newborn baby smell and the sweet mousy squeals that come from your mouth.  You really are the most beautiful thing I have ever laid my eyes on.

Your daddy kept saying, “I can’t believe she is really ours.” “I feel like somebody is going to take her away from us.” I have never seen him so happy. You can see the pride on his face when he holds you.  He is so over protective of you, which of course I find absolutely adorable.  He simply adores you and all I can say is you are one lucky girl.  I must add that he is a master swaddler and awesome at changing your diapers, mommy is a lucky lady also. ; )

You’re a tiny little thing. You only fit into newborn clothes and even some of those are big on you. Daddy had to run to the store and get you more newborn onsies. When I hold them up I can’t believe you fit into such a small little outfit. Everyone who sees you says you look a lot bigger in pictures than you do in person and it’s true you are a tiny, fragile, little doll baby.

Everyone says the first couple days are the hardest, but you really are an angel. You make it too easy for me. You have a certain face and make a certain noise to let mommy know when you are hungry. (Open mouth face and a little grunts). You sleep about 3-4  hrs at a time, at night and take A LOT of naps during the day. Everyone who visits wishes you were more awake. ; ) but, I know you are just a newborn and you need to sleep, and boy do I love watching you sleep, you’re dreaming of me I’m sure. ; )

First Night at Home

We know you have your daddy’s ears, hands and feet. I think you have my nose and daddy’s lips, but you never know just yet… Can’t wait to see what color your eyes will change to.

 You have a pattern of different faces before you fall asleep. You go from a kissy face (which we call the “Lola face, you make it a lot), to a big smile, to a half smile, to furrowing your eyebrows and then to a pouty face, all in a matter of seconds. You already are a goof. Out of all of your faces, your "milk face", might be my favorite. The look on your face after you nurse is precious. You just look so happy and content and we can’t forget your poop faces, you have two of them and they are both too cute.

You are a strong little girl. From day one you were lifting your head when laying on my chest and flinging your head up, it amazes us, I must say. We tried tummy time the first week and you can lift and turn your head side to side. You can only stand about 5-10 minutes of it at time, unless you are asleep. You sleep on mommy’s chest a lot...and we have our skin to skin moments.  I’m not just saying this, but I’m pretty sure that’s your favorite spot to lay. ;D

You also get the hiccups a lot, and they just make me giddy because you got them a lot in my belly and they are the exact same pattern.  I do miss feeling them. Also, something I didn't know is that newborns  toot a lot, well at least you do, and very loudly, I must say. In fact sometimes I’m not sure if it’s you are daddy, who tooted. Sorry, if this embarrasses you one day. ;D

You are now 5 days old and it’s mommy’s golden birthday! Wow what a gift from God you are.  Your cord fell off today and you had your first doctors appointment.  You did wonderful.  You gained 4 ounces since you were brought home. You also had to get tested for jaundice, which you did not have.  The nurse had to draw blood and I couldn’t watch.  Daddy held me in his arms because hearing you cry like that made me so so sad. You had a follow up appointment a week later and gained 6 more ounces which brought you up to 6 pounds 3 ounces! That’s my girl! but don’t grow up too fast….

Oh ya and Happy Halloween!

A Baby Story

My Birth Experience 

Before I start, I promise to keep this as clean and free of TMI as possible. But keep in mind you are reading a birth story and in reality almost everything about giving birth is too much information. So deal with it alright? Oh, and it’s long. Sorry about that.



           The story begins on Friday October 19th, the day before my water broke.  It was a typical Friday morning, Jake and I woke up and headed to St. Louis for our weekly appointment, now that I was full term. We did the same thing we always do: weight, urine sample, blood pressure, checked baby’s heart beat, and belly measurement. I didn't want to get checked so we passed on that, I was afraid it would start my labor and I wanted to progress naturally. Nothing too exciting, everything looked good. So we made an appointment for next week and headed home.  Our plans for the rest of the day were to hang out at home and then meet at Peel at 4:00 to have dinner with Jakes office and Mikes office then head straight to Mount Vernon and stay the weekend for the Frazier Halloween party.  Well, Jake fell asleep on the couch so I decided to get everything packed up and ready to go. I had this huge rush of adrenaline and wanted to get everything done.  He would have killed me if he saw me. I carried about 5 different bags to the car, pumpkins to carve, a card table lilly’s cage, etc. Then I rearranged the back about 3 times. I had all of our hospital bags packed.. just in case. haha So I woke Jake up and told him to get ready for dinner, we are running late, but I had to vacuum real fast…nesting? maybe.  So we head to dinner then his dad calls with a tooth emergency, so after dinner we pick up Lilly and head to his office in Ofallon.  Jake works on his dad and Lilly and I play hide and seek around the office. I’m still feeling great at this point. We all head to 54th for a late sneaky snack then head to the Vern. We get there after midnight and crash.

Last Dr. Appt. Friday, October 19th

Saturday morning we wake up around 6ish, with only about 5 hours of sleep.  As soon as I stood up out of bed I felt some pressure down there, but ignored it because I had been feeling it lately and thought it was just the baby dropping.  So we eat breakfast with his family and I start leaking a little, but thought it was just discharge and ignored it. I knew it felt a little different, but I was in denial.  Jake asked if I felt the baby kick lately and I said no, so he said lets go lay back down and see if feel any movement.  So it’s about 7:00 A.M. and we head back to bed, we lay there and we feel the baby kick a couple times.  Then all of sudden I felt something different and told Jake to look. He says.  “Ugh Cindy, stand up.” So I did and water trickled down my leg and there was a little wet spot on the bed.  Jake said “ Cindy, your water just broke!" and I said “Nahhhh." So he says we need to go tell everyone, but I’m in denial at this point and say "no not, yet."  It wasn’t a gush of water so I was confused (denial).  Of course he runs out and tells everyone, So they all come into the room, and there is already talk about canceling the Halloween party.  I insisted that nobody cancels anything,  not until we know for sure. I would feel horrible if it was a false alarm.  So Jake calls the Dr. and tells him whats going on, and told him that we hadn’t felt the baby move much that morning.  So the Dr. tells him to either go to the nearest hospital if he is concerned, but if my water did break, then they won’t let me leave. I say "HECK NO", I’m not having the baby at the Mount Vernon hospital and we pack up the car in a flash and drive away. I knew the baby was okay, I felt kicking, but I still was in denial that this was really happening.  We tell the family we will call them as soon as we find out anything. Also, weird tid bit- Becca, Jakes sister’s water broke in the exact same bed 2 weeks and one day before her due date as well…freaky.

So we are on our way to Missouri Baptist, in St. Louis, Mo.   Jake is driving about 90 and freaking out because he was worried about the baby, I on the other hand was in another World, with a million emotions flooding through my head. I tell him I need some water so he stops at a gas station, runs in grabs tons of snacks, water and some O.J. (Our birthing class says to drink orange juice right after birth) So I thought that was the cutest thing for him to remember that. I call and text family and friends and tell them my water broke, even though I still didn't believe it.  We arrive at Mo Bap, in record time. Park in the “Woman in Labor” spot in the parking garage. I open the door stand up and GUSHHH!!!! Water Water everywhere.  So now, I’m thinking, Okay this is really it. I was so excited.  So I walk in with a giant smile on my face and wet pants. I can’t believe I wasn’t nervous (I had no idea how much pain I was about to endure.)  We got admitted and all settled into our labor and delivery room around 10:00 A.M. I couldn’t believe we were really here, this was really happening and we were about to meet our son or daughter very soon. So jake calls all the family and tells them this is really it! and they head our way.

If you read my earlier post about our birthing class, then you know that I have been preparing for an all natural birth.  We give the nurses our birth plan, which I was a little nervous about, but let me tell you, they were AMAZING! They were so supportive about it, I couldn’t have gotten any luckier.  Our first nurse, Annita, was the sweetest lady I had ever met. They Checked me and I was 1 and a half cm dilated and 60% effaced…what I had expected. I knew from the classes we took, that it will probably take awhile to reach 4 cm, but after that things would hopefully get going. They didn't make me get any IVS at all, which I was esthetic about, because I wanted to be free to walk around and progress naturally.  I just had to make sure I was drinking plenty of fluids and they had to hook me up to a monitor for ten minutes every hour. There are so many things that could go wrong, but thank God, didn't.  The baby’s heart rate and my blood pressure were perfect the entire time, so on with the natural birth we go!

We got all settled in and the contractions started coming naturally. My dad and Jake were timing them and they started out about every 8-10 min, but then became every 5 min very quickly. Everyone had been telling me they feel like the worst period cramps imaginable. So that is what I sort of expected, but a little worse.  I guess I really didn't consider that the people telling me this were the people who felt the early labor contractions then got an epidural and never felt the real pain.  So while I was in early labor for the first 7 hours or so, I got to stroll around the hospital.

I walked and walked bounced on my labor ball and when a contraction would come I would stop and breath and then when they stopped I would be all smiles again. More and more family piled in to support me and cheer me on. We all hung out in the room, some people played cards, a lot played on iPads. lol When I had to get monitored it was fun to hear the babies heart beat and the family liked to watch my contractions and the looks on my face. ; ) They checked me again around 5:30 P.M. and I was only 2 cm and 80% effaced. I was a little disappointed, but Jake kept telling me that I progressed 20% and that was more important. I really couldn’t have done it without him. I decided I didn't want to be check for a while after that, plus they don’t like to check you that often after your water breaks for risk of infection.  So, we all sit and wait and wait.

As I entered first stage labor, contractions started picking up, but still felt like a horrible cramp. I just needed to stop and breathe and then when it went away I was fine. Later that night My dad and Jakes dad went and got pizza and I snuck a couple bites. Even though the nurses tell you not to eat the classes say its good to eat during early labor. I’m pretty sure this around the time that Jake asked the nurses what percent of women do you see have a successful natural birth and they said about 2%. This is when I felt a little crazy, but it actually kept me motivated.  They checked me again around 11? I’m not sure about the time here, but I was 3 and a half cm 80% still. So I told family it will probably be awhile to go home and get some sleep and we will call you when we are in transition.  So dad went home. Jakes parents and sister Becca and fiancee Marcus went to our house. Mom slept in the waiting room and Jakes other sister and husband slept in their car. It was just Me, Jake and my sister at this point, thank goodness. This is when late first stage, hard labor started and OUCH!

           Pizza Party!

I really started feeling it around 1:00 A.M. I was in a lot of pain.. a lot and a lot of pain.  Contractions were probably every 1-2 minutes. I had a lot of double and triple peaks.  I decided to labor in the shower for a little bit. I didn't feel like walking around outside the room or bouncing on the ball anymore. Jake was there for every contraction, letting me lean on him.  Our class taught us to relax and for the coach to massage you, but I didn't want to be touched, I just needed a good sturdy support to grab and lean on, Thanks Jake ; ).  I preferred standing when I had the contractions rather than laying in the bed. In the middle of the night I was getting exhausted. I could barely keep my eyes open, but there is no way I could sleep through contractions so I would be leaning on Jake and I would start to doze off then all of a sudden contraction and BAM , back awake and moaning. I swore I wouldn’t be one of those moaning ladies, but it helped me breath, otherwise I would hold my breath and probably pass out.  It was a very quiet moan. ;). All throughout the night I was in hard labor. This is also around the time when I threw up a couple times. We learned in class that, that was normal as well, otherwise I would have probably been worried.  Around 5 A.M. I started to hit transition, the most painful stage, but the shortest. I was probably in transition for a couple of hours.  This is when I thought to myself, I will never do this again (but I will).  I never felt like giving up though.  I think going into this KNOWING this was how it was going to be done is what got me through it, oh and Jake of course. I can’t even describe the pain at this point.  Period cramps. HA HA HA! Not hardly. Extreme pressure and pain.  The nurse checked me again I was 9 cm with a tiny bit of cervix left.  This gave me hope. They said come get them when I felt an extreme urge to push. She left the room, I had one huge contraction and said “Okay, I think this is it". I sure was hoping it was. Jake ran out of the room and got the nurse. I’m guessing by this time parents and Dr. have been called, but I was in another World so I really couldn’t tell you what was going on.  My sister and Jake had stayed with me throughout this whole thing.  The nurse came in and said “Yup, she’s 10 cm”.  The Dr. wasn’t there yet, but the nurses helped me push. Annita my first nurse had already been with me the first 7 hours and went home and arrived for her second shift right on time.  She is the one who helped me push and I couldn’t have asked for a better nurse to help me get through that.  

Pushing. Oh pushing. Part of the reason I chose to have an all natural birth was that I didnt want to miss a thing.  Like the urge to push for example…the STRONG urge to push and the pain that goes along with it of course. Well, I felt it! People don’t tell you it feels like your bones are moving, but guess what? it does and they are.  I saw it for myself on the video, on yeah my sister is recording this whole thing. Pushing was.... so hard.  This is when I looked at Jake and said I couldn’t do it. He kept me going by reminding me it’s almost over, and telling me that we are going to meet our baby very soon.  They teach the husbands to say those things in class, I didn't think it would really work, but it does. That little bit of confidence and promise of progress, kept me going.  I pushed and pushed and thought it was never going to end. When I saw the Dr. come into the room, I knew we had to be close and that gave me the strength to push harder. I guess I pushed for about 30 minutes total, but it seemed like forever. I had always told Jake I wanted a fuzzy, dark haired baby, so when Jake could see the head he whispered in my ear, “guess what, it has a ton of dark hair.”  At that point I wasn’t talking, but after hearing that I said “Does it really?” “For real?”. Watching that on the video cracks me up.  I didn't realize at the time how sweet Jake was being to me, but watching the video, makes me fall more and more in love with him.  He was cheering me on, whispering the sweetest things and just being the best support system I could ever ask for.  I asked for a mirror, but had my eyes clinched tightly closed every time I pushed.  Before you know it I hear the Dr. say “Grab your baby!” and then I pulled the baby right out of me and onto my chest. Yes, I pulled a Kourtney Kardashian. And then I heard that sweet  little mousy cry. I could have never dreamed that moment would be so incredible.  Then I hear Jake say, “It’s a girl!”  She was the most beautiful thing I have ever seen. I think I kept saying “she is so cute, she is so pretty.” over and over again. Then the nurse asked us her name and I gave Jake a look.  He said “what’s her name Cindy?"  At that point we had two girl names we couldn’t decide on. I looked at the baby again and looked at Jake and said “Lola, her name is Lola”. Then started crying again. lol If it wasn’t for the amazing video my sister took, I wouldn’t have remembered all of this, it was seriously so surreal.  Then the Dr. said "the cord is done pulsating, (something we wanted to wait for) you can now cut it dad." So Jake cut the cord.  And after that a lot and a lot of tears and then of course all the gross parts, which I won’t go into detail about.  Our Dr. was seriously amazing, so laid back, but not careless.  He will hopefully be the one to deliver all my babies. I got to hold the baby on my chest for awhile, before they ever had to take her away from me. Jake went out and told the family the wonderful news and then when he came back they weighed her and did foot prints and all of that good stuff.   Our little sunrise baby, Lola Rae was born on Sunday, October 21st at 6:53 A.M. Weighing  5 lbs 13 oz and 18.8 inches long.

Then the family came in the room to meet our Lola and I got to eat a really yummy breakfast and drink my O.J. haha .  Soon after all of the excitement they took me down to the recovery room and that is where we got to stay with our baby girl for 2 more days. I won’t go into detail about recovery, but oh yeah.. it’s a beautiful thing…. lol The nurses we had were all still so amazing. I am so glad we decided to deliver at Missouri Baptist, and I will go back there for anymore future Frazier babies, for sure!  The whole experience could not have been better. Our baby was an angel, every news we got back was perfect, we had a perfect, healthy little girl, I couldn’t have asked for anything more.  Jake got to sleep through the nights, and even though I could have slept,  I had so much adrenaline I couldn’t fall asleep, plus I loved looking over at her crib every 5 seconds. The nurses couldn’t believe what a good baby she was.  She has been sleeping through the nights, I have to wake her to feed and change her. But even if she was the fussiest baby, I wouldn’t complain. Being a mommy is truly the most amazing feeling in the World! I was going on about 10 hours of sleep in about 4 days by now, but didn't want to miss out on one minute with my baby.  Everyone kept saying I bet you’re ready to go home, but honestly I didn't want the whole experience to end. I was excited to start a new journey, but sad to leave that one behind. Then it was Tuesday and time to go home. We packed up our things, put Lola in her going home outfit and waited to get discharged.  I may have teared up a little bit. To come to an end here, I am so glad I did things the way I did. I do not regret one thing. It was the experience I had always wanted and one that I can not wait for again! ; ) And a big thank you to the most incredible man on the planet, my wonderful supportive husband!!! I couldn’t not have done it without him. I love you hunny, and our sweet baby Lola.

                                                                The End!

Next: Bringing home baby! ; )