So a quick catch up: In the last two years, Emerly was a terrible newborn/infant. She had reflux that made her cry pretty much non stop. We held her at night and would switch off who would hold her for the next hour and a half after her feed. It was rough. Then she outgrew it (1 year later) and became a happy, spunky, sassy, strong willed toddler who we love and adore. She will be 2 next month and I just love her to pieces. She is also a bit spoiled as she has gone to Disneyland twice and the east coast twice in her short little life. Currently, she is taking tumbling and swim lessons and she LOVES them. We also visit the Curiosity Museum, the Butterfly Biosphere and the aquarium. We are trying our best to get to know our new neighbors and make friends so that we can have more play dates and so that I can be more social--i.e. help my anxiety and depression to stay at bay.
We also sold our house that we lived in for 7 years and moved to Cedar Hills. That was not necessarily the plan. We had decided we wanted to grow our family, BUT we did NOT want the baby and Emerly to share a room due to how severe her reflux was and if the next baby was like that, they would need space. So we started to house hunt in the Weber/Davis county area. We also discussed Tyler's career and how we thought he should be making more, so he started applying at tons of places and got a lot of interviews close by. Then he got an interview at Canopy, a tax company near Thanksgiving Point. Then the job offer :O we were stunned and so happy by how it was exactly what our family needed, after accepting that job, we decided to house hunt the next Saturday in the Utah county area. Here's the kicker--we had put offers in on houses in the Weber/Davis county area but not ONE came through or worked out in any way. The Saturday we looked at the house in Cedar Hills, our offer was accepted--the next Saturday we put our house for sale and it was under contract by the very next Tuesday. Blessings were pouring on our family as we were preparing to meet baby brother in February. They may not have come how we wanted them, but they came as we needed them and we are so grateful. We do miss living super close to family and friends, but I am adjusting to driving--like actually driving--to see them. Not only that, I am beyond appreciative when they come to see me. It just makes visits that much more special than living close by. Blessings.
Now onto the birth story!!! First blessing in disguise, Tyler's sisters wanted to spend the weekend with us!! We went out to dinner with them on Friday night, played games everything was normal then. Just the same ole Braxton Hicks contractions. That night I dreamt I was in labor and the hospital was filled with people whose gowns would not close in the back and I saw lots of bums. I slept great on my couch with only one wake up like normal to pee. I think its best to do Parker's birth story with telling the time of how quickly things happened.....
Saturday morning 8:15 am.
I feel a contraction that is not like my Braxton Hicks, instead its closer to my uterus like I was having period cramps. It ebbed and flowed like a contraction, and then I got another one later on during breakfast. I told Tyler and the girls I don't think we'll be going out today--these are different contractions. Lets just stay home and time them a bit, play games and I'll go shower. After I showered, I put on a diaper because I was certain that at some point today my water was going to break and when it did I didn't want to have a huge mess to clean up.
We started timing the contractions. They were roughly 8 min apart, then went to 5 min apart. But here's the thing I wasn't worried. My water had not broken yet. With Emerly, my water broke first--then I had contractions and they got worse in pain and timing and 9 hours later I had her. So I was waiting for the contractions to actually feel worse. They never got worse, the pain was about the same till we got in the van.
9:51 am
Call my parents to let them know that hey, we probably will have a baby in the next 24 hours you should start to head down here sometime. No rush, Tylers sisters are here but we're packing up for the hospital now.
9:57 am
Call my sister to let her know that she should expect another call from me when we are at the hospital since we will be headed there soon. I talk to her about how my contractions are and how my water hasn't broken. She insistently and THANKFULLY says "J if they are five minutes apart you should be at the hospital now" Another blessing. So I listen, and tell Ty, hey babe lets hurry things along and get going soon....we should have been running out the freaking door but no, I went to go do my hair.
10:26 am
I take this picture with Emerly,
and I'm crying because I just love her soo much and I know that today things change. Then we leave. In the van I tell Tyler, ooooohhhh I want my epidural right now that contraction was rough! I can't wait to get to the hospital to have my epidural! I notice he is speeding and say well babe lets drive us there safe, I mean granted we have the best excuse in the book right now to speed but we're fine.
10:35 am
According to our LIFE360 app, this is when we arrived at the hospital. We walked slow in the parking lot and in the hospital and Ty was walking fast. Again I tell him, I'm walking slow there's no rush. He asks if I want a wheelchair. No I'm good, lets just go.
We get to the check in door, and I pick it up "Hey I'm pretty sure I'm in labor and I would love my epidural right now please" They let us in, we go to the counter. They start asking me a few questions and I have a bit more painful contraction...so Tyler starts to answer the questions. They ask has your water broken "No" LITERALLY 3 seconds after I said that WHOOSH! My water breaks. So I say, wait no it just broke. They tell me to go to Labor room one and change. I go in, I realize Ty has my gown that I bought to look cute in pictures and go back out to get it. I grab my gown go in the bathroom and change....and then everything changes. I have no idea how I made it from the bathroom to the bed with even the gown covering my chest, but I did....hollering. Talk about a RUSH of pain.
Suddenly, the nurse was in the room again with Tyler asking to check my cervix. I think I said no, I know my body was fighting against her because Tyler had to help separate my legs. When they looked, Parker was already crowning. I yelled I DONT WANT TO FEEL THIS multiple times according to Tyler....and I was told too late, baby is coming. Clearly, I was not getting my epidural nor was I getting ANY pain medication--and I might have been pissed and delirious and this point.
I was not mentally, or emotionally prepared to suddenly have my water break and give birth to a baby. I wanted my epidural and to play card games and be in labor for like another hour....yeah....
*warning Poop coming out*
So during these few minutes I was pushing and I could feel my poop coming out with the baby. I was LIVID that nobody was taking care of my poop so I turned to the side to pull it out myself and basically as Tyler puts it, it looked like I was going to "Monkey throw my poop at people" And yes...yes I was going to do just that. BUT he grabbed my hand and said J, don't touch your poop. Now for anyone who knows me well knows I HATE POOP--so this is very out of character for me, but also quite amusing. I was just annoyed and pissed that there was poop next to my babies head and I could seriously feel all the freaking hemorrhoids happening around my ass.
The nurse who was helping me, told me that I needed to open my eyes and look at her. I needed to push. I think I did a total of 2 pushes and out he came. They put him on my lap, and he was purple. He started to breathe and then stopped so they took him away. During this time, Tyler held my left leg I believe the whole time, and I think I was also a bit positioned by other people while also screaming multiple times I DONT WANT TO FEEL THIS. I reminded Tyler to also take pictures....so pictures!
TIME OF BIRTH 10:46 am
Notice all that happened within 10 minutes. FREAKING MIRACLE that we were in the hospital. Seriously.
Then as they took him away, more pain came...and honestly it was slightly worse than the baby coming out. Placenta birth :P. It took four pushes to get my placenta out, and it hurt. THEN because this happened soo fast, I was hemorrhaging a bit I guess, and the on call doctor had not even arrived yet so they had to push on my stomach to get clots out. I instinctively would put my hands on theirs and said NO, please NO more. I did move my hands to the outside of the bed and then got to relax a bit. The on call doctor arrived after the party was over and I got stitched up with local anesthesia FINALLY some pain relief right? A huge shot in the leg and WOW we just had a baby. There was no time to put a heart monitor on me, or an IV or anything....its still mind boggling to me how fast things happened and where they happened.
He came out 7 lbs 2 oz and 19 inches long. Although some paper work has it that he is 18.89 inches...so whatever.
So far he has been a freaking chill baby. He seems to have jaundice a bit though so I think that is what is part of his lethargy but if he remains chill he is the total opposite of Emerly's birth. He latches well, but doesn't eat a lot which is part of jaundice stuff, but I'm not too worried.
Emerly was weirded out by all the people in the hospital room when she first met him. Since then she has been doting on him non stop. Wants to change his diaper, wants to nurse him and nurse with him --she has tried to suck Tylers chest even, but we've explained its just babies milk. She loves him so much right now and I hope that doesn't change anytime soon. The dogs even love him. Lucy growled and snipped at Ava like she claimed Parker, but they have chilled down. So we will see how chill he remains and how lovey Emerly stays with him as the weeks go on.
His name Parker--my maiden name is Park, so he represents A LOT of my family. middle name Reed: After his dad, Tyler Reed.
I was told by all the doctors and nurses who came to see us at the hospital that if we are to have another child, I would have to be induced or the baby would be a home birth whether we wanted to have it like that or not.
On the plus side, the recovery has been AMAZING, I feel almost completely normal and its just been three days since I gave birth. Emerly's recovery was an absolute bitch and like two weeks of stinky painful hell. Granted I had other things stitched up to during that time...but I dunno, if I were to do it again there are definite pros and cons of this whole natural vs epidural. Talk to me when I'm not on post partum hormones lol.
Now here's tons of pictures of people who came to visit that night--with nice pictures done by Terra...because clearly she made it on time for the actual birth :D I'm kind of grateful that wasn't photographed. I probably was a crazy person.
Emerly also got "Dug" from Up and a Bracelet with a heart on it from her brother.
Emerly coming in the first tiem.
She told me and Bra we needed to go with her.
Imitating his sad cry.
Its a shame I'm not looking at the camera...Good job Ty
Cross our fingers he's not like an Emerly baby.
All pictures can be seen here
And from DAY TWO pictures Emerly REALLY loved her brother more.
And lastly, a simple side by side of my babies. Parker does have a bit of jaundice so he is darker at the moment than Emerly, but wow they are so different and yet I see similarities.
