Welcome Home, Harlie Jo!

Ok, both babies are sleeping so I'll take these few precious minutes to update my blog, and I hope you feel special about that.

Here's our birth story:

My doctor was going to be out of town on her due date and my mother-in-law (who's one of the few people who could actually help with Kailyn while I was in labor) had a break from her Master's program and was able to help me before her due date but not actually on her due date. Thus we decided to induce her. She was due June 20th but was induced and born June 17th, so only 3 days early. And Kailyn was not induced but came a full week early so I felt okay about it.

Anyway, Thursday, the day before her induction, the hospital called and told me that they would let me know the next morning when to come in. They don't do appointments for those, they just give you a day (so I knew she'd come Friday) and they call you in the morning to let you know what time. They also said I was fifth on the list of voluntary inductions and what time I went in would depend on how many other women actually went into labor that day. So I kind of expected to go in around noon and I figured I'd have that whole morning to pack my hospital bag, shower, do my hair, clean the house, and just get things ready while waiting for the hospital phone call. Luckily, Kailyn was already at her grandparents' house and Garrett went to work so I had the house all to myself. I thought I was going to be bored waiting so I intentionally left things undone so I'd be able to keep busy. Also, Garrett decided to just go to work and he asked me to call him once I knew anything. He even said I could call him a little earlier than I knew anything so he'd have an excuse to come home early. He has to put in one hour of work in order for it to count as a work day so that was the minimum (he went in at 7) but he expected me to call around 10 or 11. Little did I know, I wouldn't have as much time as I thought.

At about 8:30am, I was awake but still in my bed, just waking up slowly. I got the phone call and I expected them to give me an appointment time. The lady on the other end had a different plan in mind though, she was calling to tell me they were ready for me. Right then. I had to ask her to repeat herself a couple times before it really sank in. She said I could go in right then or maybe at nine (I think she suggested that because I sounded so surprised at going right then so she gave me a tiny window). Anyway, I hung up the phone, panicked, and called Garrett. He answered thinking I was calling much earlier than he expected and was just as surprised as I was to find out that we could go to the hospital to have our baby in 30 minutes, or whenever we get there.

He came home while I ran around the house trying to remember everything I'd wanted to bring. Luckily, I had made a list a while ago of things I wanted to pack in my hospital bag so that helped me stay focused and a little less stressed than if I hadn't. Because I really was not ready yet when she called, we didn't end up leaving the house until 9, which is when we were supposed to get there. That was a little stressful, but she also said they'd induce me whenever I got there so it wasn't that big of a deal.

We drove to the hospital and talked a lot about how different the feelings were this time than they were last time. We were both remembering how worried and clueless we felt on the way to have Kailyn while this time we actually got to notice the excitement of the whole thing because we weren't as clueless this time around. We went in, filled out paperwork, and were sent to our room.

I changed into the hospital gown and basically we just waited. The nurse lady came in and hooked me up to an IV and induced me at 10am. Then we waited some more. I had decided previously not to get the epidural right away, but also not to wait until they were too painful either. My doctor came in and greeted me. He checked my cervix and I was dilated to a 3 and effaced like 70 percent or something. He told me that with the Pitocin I could expect to dilate about a centimeter an hour, give or take. That felt like forever!

Eventually my contractions were starting to get a little painful so I asked the nurse to send in the anesthesiologist so he could give me the epidural. A few minutes later he came in and did his thing. It didn't hurt too bad last time and I am happy to note it wasn't too bad this time either. The shot right before the epidural is worse than the epidural itself. A little while later it started to kick in and my contractions were much more bearable.

Did I mention that I was starving this whole time? Cuz I was. Once I was numb to the contractions, that was my new biggest discomfort. They don't let you eat while you're in labor in case you have to have an emergency C-section. For some reason that I forgot having a fully tummy in that case is a health risk or something. So I got water. And ice chips. Yum. And Garrett got Bajio's or Panda Express, I can't remember. It was fine though because I actually really dislike that place (both options) so I wasn't envious, how sweet of him, huh.

In the meantime, we were again just waiting. I guess I thought that with an induction, they have more control and make it happen faster. But they don't. All they do is make contractions come. You still have to sit there and wait while they get longer, stronger, closer together, and make more progress in your cervix. We were pretty bored. Garrett took a nap. I listened to the Hunger Games audiobook. We watched "Along Came Polly". We talked to the nurse every 30 minutes that she came in. She was nice. I don't remember her name, but she was pregnant too. With her second child as well.

They checked my cervix every now and then and things were progressing quite slowly. My doctor (who I love, by the way) came in around 1pm to break my water, on his lunch break. I think that's funny that that's how he got to spend his lunch break. I was dilated a little more but not to anything impressive. They had to put an oxygen mask on me, because of something or other, but I only had to wear it for like an hour. But then later they put it back on me. That time, I remember it was because the baby's heart rate was dropping after each contraction. After wearing it for another several minutes, it wasn't helping and they started to get worried. They said it was possible that the umbilical cord had wrapped around her neck and that could explain the heart rate drop. It must have been around 5pm at this time.

They had just decided to give me a drug that would stop my contractions so they could reevaluate and decide what to do next. Right before they did that, I noticed that it felt like I had to poo. I didn't know if that was anything or not because that didn't happen with Kailyn. I figured it really was that I just had to poo. It happened a second and third time before I asked about it. It turns out that that is what it feels like when you start needing to push.

At around 5pm, I was dilated to a 6. Six minutes later after feeling that poo feeling three times and mentioning it, they checked me again and I was at a ten. With very little warning, and luckily just before they were about to stop my contractions altogether, they realized that our baby was coming! And RIGHT THEN too. Three pushes and about ten minutes later, Miss Harlie Jo entered the world.

Harlie Jo Strong (who we call Harlie Jo, even though Jo is her middle name) joined our little family at 5:27pm on June 17th, 2011. She was a whopping 5lbs 15oz, 19 inches long, and actually had hair! And it was brown, unlike her sister's.

Compared to Kailyn, who was 6lbs 4oz and 18.5 inches long, it looks like I just have little babies. Both healthy though, so it's cool.

Harlie Jo nursed really well right after she was born, but for the next several days gave me a very hard time about it. We are still having a hard time figuring it out, but we are making progress. She, like Kailyn, had jaundice, but she, unlike Kailyn, actually got better after laying on the Bilirubin lights at home. I think there are two main reasons that our jaundice experience was different this time. One, we actually kept her on the lights, even though she sometimes had to be sad about it. And two, we actually fed her formula, since she was too lethargic to nurse and that helped her get better quicker and gain weight. With Kailyn, I didn't want to feed her from a bottle and give her nipple confusion, so while she was jaundiced and too sleepy to nurse, she just got worse (because feeding is the exact tool you need in order to combat jaundice). Anyway, it was better and we are grateful.

She lost quite a bit of weight from the jaundice but eventually got back up to her birth weight. The doctors like babies to get back up by two weeks and Harlie Jo was just past it on day 13 so that was awesome. We have been very strict with her feeding schedule, even if she doesn't seem interested, and I think that is what has helped her gain weight. Now she actually seems like she can't even get enough food. We are working on that too.

Kailyn got to visit us both days in the hospital and seems to really love her little baby sister. She signs 'baby' all the time and likes to give her loves and try to shove a pacifier in her mouth or try to pick her up if she is ever fussy. It's sweet.

I am doing okay. I feel healthier post-pregnancy this time than I did last time. I'm not having as many meltdowns I don't think. I consider that a success.

Anyway, we are all doing pretty well. Not great, because we are still adjusting, but we are doing pretty well. We are glad that Harlie Jo came to join our family and we probably have many more hectic but lovely years ahead of us!

Here are some pictures:

After her first bath

Kailyn and Daddy holding Harlie Jo at the hospital

Harlie Jo trying to decide if she's asleep or awake

Kind of looking like a sweet turtle

Kailyn and Daddy holding Harlie Jo again

A Harlie Jo Burrito- To Go

Anyway, that's what we've been up to. We've had a lot of help from family, friends, and ward members and we are very grateful. K, I need to go soothe a baby. I bet you can't guess which one... :)