Monday, October 17, 2016

Baby Mae // Birth Story

I can't believe the last time I wrote here was to write Hugh's birth story and now I'm writing Mae's. I'm so happy that I journaled about my labor and delivery with Hugh and have read it over and over so I am keeping the tradition alive and writing down my sweet girl's story. 
I had expected her to arrive 10 days early just like Hugh did so I was surprised when she didn't come and then her due date passed and I was more than anxious for her to be here but also so nervous. The thought of two kids is seriously the most daunting thing ever! I can hardly manage Hugh! I had not really had any signs of labor and the doctor suggested I set and induction date. She was due Friday the 2nd of September and I set one up for that day and then it was pushed to Tuesday the 6th (thankfully—I don't know why, but being induced made me so uneasy, I just wanted her to come on her own.) Every little cramp made me think I was in labor and I took a walk with Hugh up the hill by our house every night hoping it'd bring on labor. 
On Labor Day morning I woke up and thought I was feeling a little sick, ya know, the kind where you sit on the toilet 😂. I was crampy and felt pretty crappy, no pun intended. We were planning on going to my niece's softball game that morning so we hopped in the car. I realized that my "cramps" were definitely some sort of contraction but I didn't think anything of it because they were 20-30 minutes apart. By the time the game was over and we were back home, I was super disappointed because they had completely stopped. I took a nice nap (which I'm so thankful for) and then went out and cleaned and vacuumed our disastrous car. I wanted to take Hugh to the car wash and then had some groceries to get so we headed out. Hugh, by the way, was amazed by the car wash. His face was a perfect mixture of fear and amazement the whole time and it was adorable! It was my last moment with Hugh as my only baby. We walked through Walmart and I got 1,2, and then 3 contractions!! Yay! It was about 5 when we got home from the grocery store and I told Cam that I was pretty sure my contractions were back. 

 These contractions were wayyyy different feeling than I felt with Hugh. Baby girl was so low that they would start in my tail bone and then wrap up around my belly button. I knew one was coming on because I'd start to feel that pressure on my tail bone first. They seemed to be progressing really quickly. I thought it was going to go at about the same rate as it did with Hugh but by 6:45 they were starting to get unbearable. I hated that I was only dilated at a 4 when I went to the hospital with Hugh so I was trying to put off going but when I called my mom in tears around 7pm, she sounded alarmed and suggested we get to the hospital. Cam was scrambling to get someone over to watch Hugh, pack up the car, and clean the house all while helping me through my contractions. We ended up leaving Hugh with the neighbors downstairs until family arrived because I couldn't wait any longer. 

We got to the hospital at 7:50ish and I was just as shocked as the nurses when they told me I was at 8/8.5cm! The nurse immediately moved me to the delivery room and told me that my "bags were bulging" (haha whatever that means) and that once the doctor came in, he'd probably pop my water and I'd start pushing. At this point, I reeeeeally wanted the epidural. Every contraction felt more and more like my back was going to break. I was laying on my side in the bed with Cam putting pressure on my lower back and a nurse pushing on my knees to relieve the pressure. When the Dr. came in and broke my water, it sort of just leaked out rather than explode like it did with Hugh because she was so low. Once they broke it, the nurse told me I was almost 10cm with a little bit of my uterus still there but she told me if I needed to push, to go ahead. Right when she said that, I had an instant need to push. I always made fun of movies where the women scream because I didn't feel that way with Hugh at all but man, I couldn't keep it in this time around, haha! I just started telling the nurse " I'm pushing, I have to push, I'm pushing!!" in a very interesting, primal sounding scream. [[You definitely don't know yourself until you give birth, because I've never heard that scream come out of my mouth!]] The Dr. rushed in from the next room, where he had just delivered a baby, while I was mid-push and had me scoot to the edge of the bed. I'm pretty sure I asked for an epidural right at this moment and they all laughed because they could already see her hair! It was a million times more painful than the last time though. In fact, I laugh now because the anesthesiologist was right outside the door and he'd poke his head in every time I asked but I am actually extremely grateful I didn't get an epidural because it would've been a waste!  I pushed 4 times and my sweet girl was here! 

Mae Florence Stephens was born at 8:46pm on September 5, ironically and appropriately on Labor Day. She was 7lbs 12oz , 19 inches long, and came out with the prettiest head of red hair! Besides her hair, we weren't quite sure what she looked like in that first hour because she came out hungry and ready to eat! She nursed for about an hour after, like a tiny, little, hungry champ. She has us wrapped around her itty bitty fingers and breaks our hearts with her tiny little frown before she cries.


We were shocked to see her hair. The entire pregnancy we said we'd definitely name her Sally if she had red hair but we never actually expected it to actually be red! We had a really hard time deciding on whether to call her Sally or Mae and ended up going with Mae because in our minds, that's what she already was. I honestly think either name would have fit her perfectly though. Her namesake is also precious to us. She is named after my paternal grandma, Dorothy Mae (my middle name is Mae, after her) and Florence after my maternal grandma, Floss. 

The moment she was born, we could tell that she was going to be peaceful and sweet. She is the most perfect little thing and has been an amazing sleeper thus far! The first night home from the hospital, she slept a 6 hour stretch! Can't get much better than that! At 10 days old, she had already gained half a pound too. It's crazy how different each labor, delivery, and baby is! This time has been night and day compared to my experience with Hugh. Speaking of Hugh, he is so cute and wakes up wanting to see "baby" and gives her the sweetest little kisses on her lips! It kills me! I can't imagine life without my two babies and I feel the special presence of my little brother McNeil ever since she arrived. It truly feels like we have a little piece of heaven here with us.


p.s.
I'm an idiot and never took professional newborn pictures of her but here are a few from these last 6 weeks.

Monday, October 6, 2014

Baby Hugh // Birth Story



I can NOT believe it has already been a month since our little baby Hugh was born! I have been so anxious to write his birth story on here and post some photos that were taken that day but I've been a little busier with cuddling, feeding & loving this babe these days (and nights), so this was put on the back-burner for a bit. Now here's to hoping this baby sleeps long enough for me to finish ;)

Let me start by saying that our prayers were definitely heard that weekend when Hugh was born. Cam had booked a wedding for Saturday, August 30th, and because we only have one car I was really not wanting to stay in Logan alone so I made a really risky choice and decided to head to the wedding in Salt Lake with him for the day. I said a little prayer that I wouldn't go into labor and really wasn't too worried seeing as how I had no real signs of labor quite yet and had just had a Dr. appointment and nothing had changed significantly...(still dilated to a 2+, 90% effaced). Cam wrapped up the wedding around 9pm and we made it back to Logan around 11:30pm that night. 

I had been feeling a little back pain that Saturday but I just assumed that it was because I had been on my feet almost all day long. I wasn't feeling too comfy sleeping in my last days of pregnancy and woke up pretty often with back pain so when I woke up Sunday morning at 5:30am, I thought I was just feeling some more of the pain from the day before and just from trying to sleep with a giant belly, haha! I hopped in the bath, which usually helped my muscles relax, but this time was different. I got out and felt like my pain was getting worse. That's when it dawned on me that maybe, just maybe, I was having contractions. I pulled out my handy dandy pregnancy app which happened to have an awesome contraction timer on it and started to track my contractions. They were pretty manageable and far apart at this point. It wasn't until about 6:45 that they really started kicking in. At that point I was feeling pretty excited so I woke Cam up to tell him that I was pretty sure I was in labor. 

Cam and I had both heard from a lot of people that you should avoid going to the hospital until absolutely necessary and I was all for that plan (I really really hate hospitals) so we tried to fill our morning and keep busy. The morning sun was shining through our windows and it was a beautiful morning so we took some photos/video around the house, I got ready for the day because I wasn't so sure when the next time I would be able to actually do so would be—and let me just say, curling your hair can be pretty tricky when you're mid-contraction, haha—, and then, around 11, we ran out of stuff to do so we decided to turn on a movie. And what better movie to hold off time than good, old, 3 hour long Titanic?

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I found that sitting was my worst enemy when it came to contractions for two reasons. 1: it made them 100x more painful and 2: it instantly slowed down labor. Like.. a lot! So I paced pretty much the entire movie (and day) and hollered at Cam for almost every contraction so that he could help me breathe through them and massage my back with tennis balls. By the end of the movie I was having trouble talking through contractions and had to really start focusing on breathing. 

Cam was the BEST coach. From the moment I woke up he was putting those Lamaze breathing and coaching techniques that we learned to great practice (little did he know, he would be a pro by the end of the day...poor Cam! haha) 

Around 2:15, my contractions were about 2-3 minutes apart so we headed to the hospital. When we got there, they instantly had me lay down to put the fetal monitors on my belly and lo & behold, my contractions slowed to about 6-7 minutes apart. At this point I was dilated to a 5 and 100% effaced but really frustrated about how much my labor had already slowed since getting to the hospital (and hating those uncomfortable monitors and hospital bed...and the room was about 1 million degrees). Right before they were about to stick my arm with an IV to keep me hydrated, I asked if I could go home. I was just more comfortable there and free to roam and be in my element. The nurse kind of laughed and looked at me like I was crazy (I guess most women get an epidural when they're dilated to a 5) but she called the Dr. and he said that would be fine because my water hadn't broken. Then, the second I stood up to change back into my clothes I instantly had three extremely strong contractions right in a row.

The nurse wanted to check me once more before we left and when she did, I had progressed to 6+cm. in just an hour. We agreed that if I was able to pace and have the mobile monitor, that I would stay at the hospital. It was 3:15 now and things were starting to pick up and I was definitely feeling it. 

In our Lamaze class, we were told to discuss with our husband what our hospital preferences and plans were so that we were both on the same page once we got there and things got serious. I had told Cam that I thought it would be cool to go natural but I also was definitely not opposed to getting an epidural if my labor ended up being super long or getting too painful to handle. I wasn't sure what to expect pain-wise but when I had progressed to about 8cm (around 5pm), I could see why the epidural starts sounding reeeal good. 

By 8cm, things were getting serious. I could hardly breathe without Cam doing so with me and I was having some major tunnel vision. I couldn't really talk, joke around, or do much but dread the coming of my next contraction. Our Dr. was out of town so we were waiting on the Dr. that was on-call to come in. My water would not break regardless of how many times that nurse tried to (about 3 times...and laying down during a contraction was now my very worst enemy) and the Dr. was the only one authorized to do so with that lovely crochet hook so it was just a waiting game for him. Poor Cam was putting about as much pressure as he possibly could on my hips during every contraction and I'm pretty sure he was ready for that Dr. to arrive about as much as I was. 

6:15pm rolls around and the Dr. FINALLY shows up! YAY! At this point, I was pretty desperate to start pushing. I was at 9+ cm. and definitely feeling that urge but my water still hadn't broken. The Dr. broke my water right when he arrived and then things started to get exciting: the nurses began setting up stuff for delivery which is probably the only thing keeping me motivated. Those last few contractions after my water had broken were the absolute worst. You guys, I honestly still have a little bit of PTSD just thinking about them. I had about 3 more contractions before the nurse wanted to check me again and, thank the heavens, I was at a 10 and SO ready to push. I don't think I could have survived another contraction, haha!

The next 20 minutes were like a dream compared to the pain of having contractions for the last 12 hours. Cam still laughs about how I looked like I might die in those last contractions and then the moment they said I could push, my whole mood changed. I was happy, joking around, laughing... honestly, I could have pushed all day! It was a relief to finally have a purpose to my contractions. Luckily, I didn't have push all day... haha but the 20 minutes that I did felt like 5 minutes and then all of the sudden, at 6:46pm, there he was!! All 7 pounds 1 ounce and 19 inches of him!
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Everyone talks about how amazing and euphoric that feeling is when you see your baby for the first time but you just can't grasp it until it actually happens to you. The moment I saw his head full of black hair and his sweet tiny little body, I could have cared less about the events of the entire day. I think the exhaustion and relief of having him here also played into the happiness I felt. 
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After a month of being able to think about that day and the miracle and extreme blessing that babies are in our lives, I would not take one moment of that day back. I am SO happy that I was able to go natural, and feel like the whole experience, in retrospect, went so well and so quickly. Don't get me wrong, I'm not doing it anytime again soon but I feel so lucky to have had such a great pregnancy and delivery and that our baby boy was able to get here healthy and happy. It's funny how quickly babies change life but I can't even imagine what life would be like without him now. Needless to say, we're a little obsessed with this little guy.


Sunday, August 24, 2014

summer recap

Because I am a horrible blogger in general, I always tend to skip over a bunch of fun stuff that made up my Summer. But I just can't pass up all the photos from the summertime that are just sitting in my iPhoto so I have no choice but to do a summer recap. Let me warn you though... it is always a photo overload so prepare yourself.

Also, in honor of tradition, I will be doing a Summer recap poem. I am no poet. But it makes it a little more fun. haha

Our Graphic Design BFA Exhibition called NEUE (pronounced NEW) ended senior year on great terms,
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and so did a little brunch with some good friends at Herms.
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I walked in my cap & gown to get my diploma
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then jetted off to LA with my momma when it was all over.
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We had a blast, just roaming the city.
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We ate Sprinkles ice cream, and took pictures of shadows that were pretty.
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In a matter of months my belly grew and grew leading to many belly shots.
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We vacationed in the sun amongst the red rocks.
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We went to St. George for a big Stephens Family Reunion.
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and then headed back to LA for our 2nd anniversary and babymoon.
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The Dodgers, beach, and my favorite surfboard sugar cookies left us satisfied.
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And a trip to the cool driving range ended our trip just right.
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Golfing became Cam's newest addiction.
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Meanwhile, mine became going to the pool to lounge in the sun. 
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Two cute Shewolves tied the knot! 
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and resulted in a lot of great photobooth shots!
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We took Lamaze class to prep for the baby
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And Cam lit some fireworks and things got a little bit crazy.
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We traveled for work to Salt Lake, Driggs, Boise, IF and many more places.
And in the midst of this work we snuck in a few photos of our faces.
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And that's a wrap!
See, I told you I was horrible at poetry but that was my Summer in a nutshell! 

So much fun and so busy. The busy-ness definitely helped this pregnancy go by quickly and made for lots of good memories for our last summer with just the two of us! Here's to many more summer recaps ahead of us.