Labor and Delivery: The last post

I have been really hesitant about writing this because I don’t want some of it to be TMI but I was reading an article on babycenter.com and the article mentioned writing down your birth story while it is still fresh on your mind so you don’t ever forget it. So here it goes… As everyone clearly knows due to my excessive amount of pictures, (sorry guys I can’t help myself, she is just so dang beautiful), Hadlee Faith has arrived! She was born on May 5, 2012 at 11:34 a.m. and weighed in at 8 lbs. 1 oz. and was 20 inches long! For those who don’t know she was also born on her brother Wyatt’s birthday, he is our Australian Shepherd. I am not sure even where to start on the labor and delivery because it was a little traumatic towards the end! I am going to toot my own horn for a second and say that I am VERY impressed with myself and VERY proud of myself. I never thought in a million years that I would have handled everything as well as I did. For all my friends that are about to become first time mothers, when  other women say you will forget everything as soon as you see the baby, that is SOOO not true!! I remember every single little detail! BUT seeing Hadlee and being able to hold her in my arms for the first time made EVERYTHING worth it! No matter how bad it was, I have to say I would definitely do it all again, in like 5 years or so. ;) Ok so I will start with that Friday May the 4^th.

When I woke up that morning on the 4^th, I should’ve known that I was probably going to have her soon because I just wasn’t feeling like me. I was so exhausted and normally when I wake up in the mornings I am up but that morning I woke up at 8 and went right back to bed at 9 and slept until 11 something. There are some other symptoms that I won’t discuss (TMI) and I was hurting a little also. But Dr. Grafa had just seen me that Monday and he just knew he would see me again that next Monday for my appointment, little did he know! Keith and I had to be at our baseball hitting practice before the game that night around 6ish. During that practice I sat in the car with my mom and Lily, a friend of ours. Lily is also a nurse J We were all talking and then I got really quiet because I had a horrible contraction. Lily called WNJ to see who the doctor on call was since it was the weekend. FYI for those who don’t know if you go into labor on the weekend and your doctor isn’t on call, more than likely he will NOT deliver your baby!! Anyways, Dr. Sandmann was on call so I was totally ok if I were to go into labor that night! We went to our baseball game and I didn’t have any more contractions. But I can tell you that I don’t remember a single thing from that game. I didn’t pay one bit of attention to it and that is SO not like me! On the way to the car after the game we had to stop walking because I was hurting again and then the second we pulled out onto the highway I had another contraction. We got home and I hadn’t had anymore contractions so we just thought it was like any other day or night. That night around 11 I started hurting pretty bad again so we started timing the contractions. They weren’t really consistent at all; they would come every 13 minutes or every 10 minutes so we weren’t really for sure on what to do. I called my mom and she told us to just go ahead and go to the hospital because the worse they could do is send me home and say it was only a false alarm. Well we ended up sitting at the house for an hour and a half before deciding to go to the hospital!

We got to the hospital around 1 that morning of the 5^th and walked into the ER and I said “I think I am in labor!” Lol I am such a dummy but hey I have never had a baby before! They wheel me up to the labor and delivery floor and hook me up to the monitors. I was definitely having contractions but they still weren’t consistent. The nurse called Sandmann and he told her to send me home because I was only a 1 ½ cm. dilated but she told him that she was going to keep me for a couple of hours and check me again around 3:30 am. Well when she did I was at a 3 so Sandmann told her to admit me and right when the nurse started to put my IV in, my water broke! Weirdest feeling ever! Almost like a balloon popped inside of me but my reaction was “I think I just peed on myself, and I am still peeing!” The nurses asked me if it was pee or my water breaking! Lol me being a dummy again! It was my water breaking and there was meconium in it which meant that before Hadlee was all the way out the doctor would have to suction her mouth and nose before she took her first breath. The nurse said it was time to get my epidural and everyone that knows me well knows that I do NOT do pain so I was a nervous wreck! The nurse was great and explained everything to me. The epidural did not hurt one single bit and it wasn’t because I was hurting so bad from contractions, it just didn’t hurt!  I was very surprised!

Now comes the fun part of my labor! The nurse checked me again a little after my epidural and I was already at a 6. Then it seemed like I just quit progressing so Sandmann told them to start some Pitocin just to kind of speed things up a little. Well then it was time for shift change so I had new nurses. One of them was a student and nothing against student nurses because both my mother-in-law and sister-in-law are in nursing school but I just did not want a student in there with me. I actually ended up liking her better than the RN. She was phenomenal!! I absolutely loved her. I started feeling my contractions again and my whole right side never went numb and my left side was only tingly and I knew something was up so I told the nurse and she just didn’t seem to care all that much and did nothing about it. I told them again a little later because I started being able to feel my catheter also and finally they found out that the battery to the epidural machine had died..AWESOME! If only they would have listened to me! Well that was fixed and things seemed to get better and then low and behold I started feeling contractions and my right side of my body again so I told them….and once again nothing. Well by this time my mom and Keith were not happy campers and my mom said a few choice words to the nurse because Keith went and told her I was hurting again and her exact words were “when we figure something out we will come let you know.” REALLY?! I wasn’t even getting through one contraction before I started having another!
OK so finally after my mother went and chewed the nurse out she comes back in and figures out that NOT only had my epidural come out but so did my catheter somehow. And by this time I was dilated to a 10 AND Dr. Sandmann had come in and told me I would have to wait an hour before I could start pushing because he had an emergency C-section to go do and he was the ONLY doctor there!!! Complete panic had set in at this point. I started crying and I wasn’t crying from the pain I was crying because I was completely terrified. I had just been told my epidural wasn’t in and I was dilated to a 10 so they would have to put a new one in and Keith and my mom would have to leave again, and I couldn’t start pushing for another hour because of the emergency C-section, and I was terrified about giving birth because like I said I DON’T do pain!! Once again I took the epidural like a champ and it didn’t even hurt but this time my contractions were so bad that I didn’t even notice the epidural being put in! And once that epidural was done and started working I was instantly numb from the waist down and didn’t feel a single thing. The weirdest feeling I have ever felt! I felt like I needed to move my leg but it just wouldn’t move and I couldn’t make it move! So strange!

FINALLY time to push! And let me tell you…labor is hard! You have to take a deep breath and blow it out and then take another deep breath and hold it while you push as hard as you can and the nurse counts to 10. And when I say counts to 10, more like counting to 30 because they take FOREVER to get to 10!!! It’s hard holding your breath for that long and pushing and then the nurse telling you ok another contraction lets go again! What?! I just held my breath for 10 seconds and you want me to do it again! I am not sure how long I pushed but at 11:34 that morning I gave birth to my precious Hadlee <3 The best moment of my life hearing her cry for the first time and getting her put on my chest! As soon as she came out the first thing I said was “she is a girl right!” Lol and then the next thing was “OMG how big is she?!” I couldn’t believe she was 8 lbs!!

Like I said, no matter how much stuff I went through to get her here, I would do it again in a heartbeat! She is the best thing that has ever happened to me! I am very proud of myself for how well I handled everything that day and I am proud of Keith for not passing out ;) and for being such an amazing father! I knew he would be great but he has definitely exceeded my expectations. This little girl has us both wrapped around her finger and I think the whole family for that matter!

I had a great support system in that room with me that day and I am very thankful for that! Oh and another FYI for my friends that are about to become first time mothers, after you have your babies and feel like walking DO IT!! AS MUCH AS YOU CAN!!!! If not you will be kicking yourself when you get to go home from the hospital!

<3 Kristen

The Countdown is Almost Over

Wow! I guess the countdown to Hadlee being here is almost over. We have “18” days left. I really can’t believe it. I mean I know that we are about to have a baby, I am not a complete moron, but everything is finally beginning to become more real. Especially with having her room finished, the baby shower, maternity pictures, and going to the doctor every week now. I am not going to lie I am started to panic a little!! I have been having some contractions here and there and I have been puking again…blah!

We had an amazing baby shower the other day. We are very blessed to have such a great and supportive family and group of friends. I want to again thank everyone who came and was a part of our very special day and a HUGE thank you to everyone who couldn’t make it but still got us gifts. We are very very thankful! And I definitely can’t forget to thank Natalie and Kelley for throwing us such a beautiful shower and putting so much time and energy into making that day so special for us and Hadlee <3 We love you both very much!! And Natalie, I broke down and took apart the diaper cake so looks like I am gonna have to YouTube how to make one for your shower ;)

Like I said earlier we are going to the doctor every week now and things are becoming a lot more real. I am dilated to a 1 and my cervix is about 80% thinned out which is great! Dr. Grafa said with my cervix being thinned out that much already, I have probably shaved a couple hours off my labor. WooHoo!! And Hadlee is head down, thank goodness!! All of this means that I could have her any day or I could be dilated to a 1 for a couple of weeks and go all the way to my due date. Hadlee will make her appearance whenever she decides she is ready! I thought that after that checkup, which was painful (I have a very low pain tolerance), I wanted to keep her in there as long as I could to prolong the whole labor thing but now that I think about it I kinda want her to come NOW because the longer she stays in there the bigger she is going to get!!!! I know all about the epidural and how it makes things easier but for those that know me and know how well I deal with pain, you will know that I am still terrified!!! But trust me, I will be getting one when the time is right! We pre-registered at the hospital today and I highly recommend all my prego friends to do that because they told us it will save a TON of time when you do go into labor! Now we are just playing the waiting game!

Her room is completely finished, we have her bag packed and her coming home outfit, and her bed is set up and ready to go so now all we are missing is our baby girl! We are very excited for all the things to come and we can’t wait to meet Hadlee! She has no idea how many people are waiting for her to make her appearance! She is one loved and very spoiled little girl already! Ok I am getting emotional because I am such a cry baby so I am done!

I am going to end this post on a funny note instead of a sappy one. I had an experience tonight that was a first for me. Keith and I were sitting on the couch together watching The Voice from last night and I had to sneeze. Well when I sneezed I looked at Keith and said “Oh I peed!” He thought it was soo hilarious! So there you have it. I peed on myself when I sneezed. Thank goodness I was at home and not out in public!!!!!

<3 Kristen

Catching up on important events

I haven’t wrote a post in a while because things have been SUPER busy so I am just going to write about a few of the events that have happened over the last couple of weeks!

On February 13^th we got to see our little Hadlee again and of course she wouldn’t cooperate ;) She never does during our ultrasounds! I have a feeling she may be like her daddy when it comes to bringing out the cameras! We did find out though that she was weighing in at 2 lbs. 4 oz. and was 14 inches long already! We may have a 2 footer by the time she is ready to make her appearance J I was really freaking out after the appointment because I thought she was going to be a monster by the time I am full term but Dr. Grafa assured me she would probably be somewhere between 7 and 7 ½ pounds! After our ultrasound I had to do the glucose test. I am the biggest baby I will probably ever know so I was really worried about that stupid test! I went in there though telling myself I was just going to chug it because I knew if I took small sips then I would never get it down! The drink started out tasting pretty dang delicious until I got about halfway done with it. I am not sure how many of you who read this are familiar with horses but if you have ever smelled horse medicine, then that is what the drink started to taste like. Disgusting but I took it like a champ and kept guzzling it down! After the hour was up I had to get my blood drawn.  The nurse couldn’t get my blood to come out and Keith was holding my hand and making all kinds of horrible faces. Thanks honey those faces you were making really made me feel a lot better! ;) But I didn’t once make a peep and I just sat there and took it! I am also borderline anemic and have to take iron pills. I am NOT even going to go there on what I had to experience with that, if any of you catch my drift ;) I am very surprised and proud of myself of how well I have handled everything that has been thrown at me with this pregnancy.

On the 17^th of February we had our 4d ultrasound. Hadlee actually cooperated this time so I was very proud of her <3 I did find out though that I have an anterior placenta so I had to roll over on my side to get enough fluid around her to get good pictures! She is obsessed with her fingers and toes. She had them all up around her face for most of the session and at one point she was playing with her toes. I know I am a little partial but she is going to be the most beautiful little baby girl EVER! She just had the most perfect little features and I can’t wait until she is here. As of right now she has her daddy’s lips and his skinny fingers and toes and she definitely has my nose, there is no doubt about that! No matter what angle you look at her in the video she has my nose! It was one of the best experiences I have ever had. Keith and I got home from the appointment and we were just like “WOW!!” Still hard to believe that we are about to have a little girl!!

We finally went and registered at Target and Babies R Us. It was really fun but wow was it overwhelming! So much stuff you need and so much stuff you want. I let Keith be in charge of the scanner so if any of you are coming to the shower and you check out our registry you will know who scanned the items! He was literally scanning everything! He was like a kid in the candy shop! It was funny watching him get so excited about certain things. I think we literally scanned everything that both stores had to offer and we still probably missed some of the essentials.

We had our first childbirth class last night. I am not going to lie I learned a lot of things I didn’t know before going and I am kinda freaked out a little! But I really just think that I am psyching myself out and I will be just fine! It was a really informative class and I am very glad that we registered for it. Out of the 6 couples including us in the class we are the ONLY ones having a little girl. We thought that was so weird! Our next class we get to tour the labor and delivery unit and learn all the breathing techniques. Very excited for that! All in all it was a good experience for Keith and I to share together so we both will know a little more about what to expect when the day comes!

I have to brag a little on my husband since I don’t do that very often.  I am so glad that I have someone in my life like Keith to share this experience with who is just as excited as I am. He has wanted to be a part of everything and I just feel so blessed to have him. I have been having some nosebleeds here and there again, yay hormones, and Keith just started spouting out reasons why and everything. I asked him how he knew all of this and he told me he had been reading the pregnancy books. He made me feel like a slacker because I haven’t really read that much in them but apparently he has! Every little thing that I go through he lets me know why I have to go through it. He continues to surprise me daily with how much he is involved with this pregnancy. Not to mention he is literally working on Hadlee’s room by himself with no help. He has to cut the molding, paint it, and then put it on the walls and do the same for the trim. Also painting the walls 2 different colors and working on re-doing the closet. AND he is going to take out the old carpet and put down new wood floors! Such a handy man J With everything he has had to go through with me I see him as the most amazing man in the world. I don’t know many men who would do some of the things he has had to do for me and not gripe about it once. Between Braxton Hicks contractions, Panic attacks, my stress level constantly rising, the emotional roller coaster I have put him through, and some other things that I won’t discuss ( J), he has been a trooper and I appreciate it all so much. I just LOVE him. He is simply amazing.

Little less than “10” weeks left! (I put the number 10 in quotations because we all know Miss Hadlee will make her appearance whenever she feels like it!)

<3 Kristen

O-M-G 93 Days!!!

It is so hard for me to believe that I am already 26 almost 27 weeks pregnant. It seems like just yesterday I found out I was pregnant. Keith seems to feel like I have been pregnant for forever lol but for me it has flown by. I have this app on my phone called I’m Expecting and it tells you how many days you have left and everything. I looked today and thought O-M-G I have approximately 93 days left, because we all know that little Miss Hadlee will come whenever she is ready.  I seriously feel like she is going to be here any day now and we have nothing done! I am starting to panic a little because I am usually the type of person that has everything planned and organized way before anything happens. When we go on vacation I have our days mapped out before we even leave. I come by it naturally because my mother is exactly the same. I am definitely my mother made over!
 

We have decided for Hadlee’s room to be light pink, gray, and ivory. No theme because Keith and I aren’t really fans of themes. The first plan for the nursery was one solid pink wall and the rest gray with a pink line in the middle (I hope that makes since!) Well after my wonderful husband painted the pink wall and then the other gray walls he started to paint the pink stripe. We both quickly decided that the pink stripe was NOT working. Then we couldn’t decide on what we wanted to do because there was too much gray and it looked gloomy. We had another idea then I decided that that idea was going to be a no go as well! So indecisive! Finally we have decided that the top half of the walls will be pink and the bottom gray with white trim and white wood separating the pink and gray. We still have to finish painting, putting the new floors down, and re-do the closet! AHH..I feel like there is not enough time between now and May 12^th! Good news is, Hadlee has enough clothes to last her for a while once she is here ;) Every time I go to Sherman I always end up coming back home with some kind of outfit or bow for her!

Hadlee is my little gymnast/jumping bean. She kicks and squirms all day long but the good news is, she is a good girl and when mommy lays down for bed at night she goes to sleep also <3 Wouldn’t it be nice if she was like this when she gets here ;) I highly doubt that will happen! She kicks SOOO hard. I swear she is gonna be a 10 pounder ;) Whenever she doesn’t move very much I start panicking and I will call my mom or call Keith and ask them “do you think she is ok in there?” I am such a worry wart! I have also been OBSESSED with cleaning and organizing that I wake up cleaning and go to bed cleaning. There is nothing in my house that I could possibly clean or organize anymore but still I find something. It is becoming quite a problem because some mornings I wake up and can’t move because my back hurts so badly from cleaning but I can’t help it! Some of these days are days that I don’t feel Hadlee move very much so then I start to panic that I hurt her somehow from cleaning too much and then I will call and annoy the crap out of my mom about it! I told Keith last night that I cannot wait until May is here and she is out of me because I am so exhausted from worrying about her. He told me that the worrying is never going to stop once she gets here but my thinking behind that is, at least I will be able to see her and take care of her. With her being inside of me I can’t see her or hear her so it makes me freak out! Being pregnant is an amazing thing but it is so so scary at the same time! Come on May!

GOOD NEWS: I have gained weight and I actually look like I am pregnant! WOO HOO!! For those who keep up with my blog, be expecting me to write something next week because I have the glucose test(yuck), our 3^rd ultrasound and then we have our 3d/4d ultrasound!

<3 Kristen

Our Four-Legged Children

This post is going to be a little different than my other ones.  It is still about being pregnant but it is also about my four legged children! For those who don’t know we have two dogs Wyatt and Zoey. They can be little demon dogs at times but for the most part they are pretty sweet little babies! Ever since I found out I was pregnant Wyatt and Zoey have been acting really weird around me. At first before discovering my magic pill, a.k.a Zofran, every time that I ran to the bathroom to throw up, Wyatt and Zoey were both at my side during the whole thing. They stayed in the bathroom with me until I was done throwing up; almost as if they were taking care of me or making sure I was ok. It was the sweetest thing ever. Many nights, during the biggest part of my ride on the emotional coaster, I would cry either over something stupid or from being so sick and every time both dogs would lay right next to me in bed until I was done crying. I know this probably sounds dumb to most people but I honestly think that they know that I am pregnant somehow or that there is something growing inside my belly. One night Keith and I had just gotten home from running around in Sherman and Wyatt could not sniff my belly enough. He literally rubbed his nose all over my entire belly. Everywhere I go in the house Wyatt and Zoey follow me. I can’t even go to the bathroom without them following me in there lol. Sometimes I will go in the bedroom and sit on the bed and read or talk on the phone and Keith will be in the living room, the dogs will both be lying on the bed with me. Even though Keith is only in the other room they never leave my side.  It is the weirdest thing I have ever seen! The reason I am writing this blog now is because on the way home from work last night Keith was telling me about the dogs acting very weird all day. He said it was almost like they were depressed or something. I asked him why he thought that and he said it was because the whole day yesterday both Wyatt and Zoey did not leave the front door. Keith said they would leave only to go outside for a little while but then come right back in and lay at the front door. And the other times they left were to go get a drink of water but immediately return back to the front door. As soon as we got home we could see through the glass door Wyatt running circles and Zoey bouncing off the walls. We walk in and they were SOO happy to see me. They were crying and jumping all over the place and then when I sat on the couch they were all over me! Then the next thing we know they are running through the house chasing each other and playing. I looked at Keith and said, “They don’t look too depressed to me” and he told me that they hadn’t done that all day. They just missed their mom I guess <3 Tonight Keith was rubbing my belly because Hadlee was moving all around and Wyatt came and layed his head on my leg and Zoey was of course in her "spot" perched on the top of the couch above my head. I love my little family and can't wait for Hadlee to be here! All I can say is Hadlee will have the best big brother and big sister EVER! If they take as much care of her as they do of me then she will be one lucky little girl!

<3 Kristen

What Shall Baby Copeland's Name Be?!

As I am sure everyone knows by now, Keith and I are having a GIRL! We found out at our reveal party and I was completely shocked when I bit into my cupcake and saw pink icing because I just knew that there was going to be blue icing in the middle! The reveal was recorded and when I watched it Keith looked a little disappointed, or so I thought. I asked him about it and he said he looked like that because he was trying not to cry because he was so excited! Cue the AWWWs! I know ladies, he is ALL mine! We are completely thrilled we are having a little girl. Even though I know she is probably going to be a daddy’s girl ;) She is going to be the most spoiled little girl ever because I swear she got more Christmas presents then Keith and I combined this year and she isn’t even here yet!

The last couple of days I have been really feeling her move A LOT! I have been her personal punching bag! She has moved ALL day for the last two days lol. It is funny because every time Keith puts his hands on my belly she starts moving like crazy and kicking right where his hand is, but it’s not hard enough for him to feel it yet. I told him she is trying to tell him that she knows he is there and he will be able to feel her soon!

I know everyone is wondering what her name is going to be and I have been real iffy about announcing her name to everyone because you just never know if someone is going to steal your name or not lol I know that seems probably stupid to think that but trust me it happens! My mom had her name for me stolen by someone she knew who gave birth to their daughter a few weeks before my mom had me so that has really been freaking me out but I am tired of keeping it a secret because I just love it too much so if ANYONE steals it, BEWARE lol because psycho pregnant chick just may be after you ;) We have had this name picked out for a little girl before we even knew we were having a baby. The weird thing is, we both instantly agreed on the first and middle names and for all the women who have kids I am sure you know that, that is something that doesn’t happen to often so we decided then whenever we had a little girl this would be her name. I should have known we were having a girl because the name came so easily and it took us forever to decide on what we would name our baby if it was a boy! So here it goes….

Baby Copeland will be named Hadlee Faith Copeland J

P.S. she will not be nicknamed Hady, just FYI J

<3 Kristen

Raging Hormones

Ok, so this is me venting for a little while! Read if you want :)

So I am really just wondering is there any symptom I am NOT going to experience during this lovely journey of pregnancy?!?! I am thinking not at this moment. First came the tenderness of my mountains, then the HORRIBLE "all day" sickness (I refuse to call it morning sickness), then the dizziness when standing up and feeling like my head is going to explode, the excruciating headaches, and finally the weird acne growing on my chest and hair growing in places I don't want it to grow! Oh and did I mention I am still psycho?!? I have read in tons of pregnancy books that not every woman experiences all of the symptoms of pregnancy but I guess if you are lucky then you get to experience EVERYTHING. YAY me. Well today I am just sitting in my recliner watching TV and playing on Facebook and all of a sudden my nose starts bleeding. I have NEVER had a nosebleed before and thank goodness Keith was home. At first I was freaked out about my nose bleeding, then it just made me mad thinking about it. I mean really....what else?!?!?! At this point, my raging hormones just need to go ahead and throw everything else at me just to get it over with already!! I think I am now going to get my pregnancy books back out and read what the next symptom is so I can be more prepared next time because I will for sure experience it! Is it May yet?!?! ;) I have a long way to go!!

<3 Kristen