Laiken's Birthday

I've been meaning to write this post for...oh about 10 weeks.  I've just been a little pre-occupied ... This got a lot longer than I had anticipated so I hope you have a cup of coffee handy, ha!

Kinley had her 18 month well baby visit scheduled on the morning of Tuesday, April 9.  (Nothing like waiting until the week before your due date to get everything done!)

I should back up...Monday morning I had a small suspicion that my water was leaking but it kind of subsided so I didn't think much of it.  That week I had been having a few contractions here & there but nothing painful or regular.

Tuesday morning I got up & got ready for work.  I planned to take Kinley to her appointment and then Sue would meet me at the doctor & take Kinley for the day - our normal doctor routine.  After I got out of the shower I could tell that I was having a few contractions and questioned if "this was it."  I had one that made me grab the chair in pain so Scott agreed that we should be safe & he quickly got ready to go to Kinley's appointment with me just in case anything happened.

 We arrived at the doctor & I was having small contractions but only when I walked - nothing regular so in my mind I didn't need to go to the hospital.  We joked with our pediatrician that I could maybe have baby #2 that day (but I didn't honestly think that!)

We got done with the appointment and I had a pretty good contraction when we were walking in the parking lot and wondered if my water was leaking again.  (Sorry if that's TMI!)  I vividly remember looking at Sue holding Kinley and thinking, this could be our last moment as a family of three!  (And my crazy picture taking self thought about getting a picture in the parking lot but I didn't, haha).

I decided to call my doctor and her nurse said that since they weren't regular not to worry about it but to call back if they got really painful & closer together.  I agreed and told Scott that I would go to work until my 39 week appointment that afternoon at 2:00.  In my mind, I could sit at my desk & relax until then, no big deal!

I got in my car and BAM, another contraction that I had to "breath" through - I called the nurse & she agreed that I should go to the hospital.  Scott drove us but we had to hit Starbucks on the way for some breakfast & a big coffee for him "just in case we were stuck at the hospital for a while."  I learned the hard way with Kinley that once you get to the hospital you get nothing to eat so I at least wanted one last breakfast!

I didn't have Scott drop me off at the front entrance because "I wasn't really in labor." I'm pretty sure we ended up parking in the farthest lot away from the hospital so I waddled my way across the street trying not to keel over.  We checked in & they set us up in a triage room to get checked.  I rolled my eyes when they made me get a bracelet & change into a gown because I was pretty sure it was a false alarm.

They got me all hooked up to the belly monitor to watch my contractions and we waited...and waited...and waited.  Nothing.  I was so annoyed & sure they were going to send us home.  I made sure to reassure the nurse that I really was having contractions but not when I laid down.  Finally, after waiting over an hour the nurse came in & said that they would probably send us home to wait until the contractions were stronger & closer together.  She also wanted to check to see if my water was leaking even though I was pretty sure it wasn't.

That test sealed the deal - my water had been leaking, oops - and I was 4cm.  And that meant that baby #2 was arriving that day.

Getting in some last minute standing before the epidural

We got to our room & started pitocin to speed up my contractions and I had an epidural by noon.  Things were moving semi-quickly & I was still kind of in denial that I was going to have the baby that day!

The nurse didn't want to check me much since my water had been broken so we just sat around and watched tv.  Andy & Alicia made it back from Edwardsville & came up to visit me around 2:30.  My nurse guessed that I wouldn't have the baby until maybe 7pm so they left to shop a little for baby.  My mom & Cora also wanted to pick up a few things before they came up so I told them to take their time.

I wasn't progressing too quickly so the nurse just told us to hang out & wait.  I forgot to add that my epidural didn't take very well on my right side so I laid on that side most of the time to stay comfortable.  Around 3:00 the nurse wanted me to switch sides and I found out real quick that laying on my left side was a lot more uncomfortable.  The contractions were A LOT more intense on that side.  I stayed on that side for as long as I could stand it and I rolled back over to my right side around 3:30.  

I'm not sure if that shifted baby or what happened but I got the urge to push immediately and Scott went and got the nurse.  I never had that feeling with Kinley so I was really caught off guard - maybe freaking out a little.  TMI - but I really thought she was going to come out by herself! haha!  It was really crazy how things could change in 5 seconds!

The nurse told me that if I was 10cm there would be a lot of commotion and she would get my doctor there immediately.  Yikes!  I was not ready!  This totally freaked me out because mentally, I thought I had more time to prepare...whatever that means.

Sure enough, I was at 10cm.  I, as casually as possible, asked if I should call my family and she looked at me strange and said "sure, but they probably won't make it."  Seriously!  This still makes me have nervous butterflies just thinking about that moment!

I tried my best to breath through the really strong contractions and "hold Laiken in" until my doctor got there but I was struggling.  She only works a few blocks away but those few minutes seemed like an eternity!  Finally, I heard her walk in and it was show time.  Three sets of pushes and Laiken Grace Tucker entered the world at 3:53pm.

I.could.not.believe.it.

It was love at first sight all over again.

Scott & I (almost in unison) said, "she looks just like Kinley!"

Apparently I was feeding her well and she came out with some roly-poly arms and legs.  Just how we like 'em!

We settled in and enjoyed our time with our new peanut.  Another lesson I learned with Kinley was not to make our family wait for over 2 hours while I hung out and bonded with baby - talk about a guilt trip!  Our family came  up to visit throughout the afternoon and evening...

A few hours after I had Laiken I was super anxious to get Kinley up there.  Sue brought her up around dinner time and she LOVED meeting her new baby.

She showed us where her fingers, toes, eyes, ears, & nose were and loved just touching her.

Of course we had the Blackhawks game on in the background...Laiken & Aunt Sue.

And I have no words for these pictures...melt my heart...

Looking at our new precious miracle

First picture as a family of four (it still feels crazy to say that!)

Kinley opening her big sister gift.

Another new baby!  She loved carrying her baby around and lost interest in our real baby after that.

Both of the "mommies" loving on our baby dolls.  :)

There were a few times when I think Kinley forgot that I was holding a new baby and wanted to bulldoze through the bed.

A few pictures of our new little birdy...

Smooches all around

That evening we reflected on the day thinking how crazy it was that we were just at Kinley's doctor appointment 12 hours earlier.  The next day and a half in the hospital were kind of a blur but we slept a little and just hung out with Laiken.

Coming home pictures to come...