Kambree's Arrival

Sunday December 8th, 2013...... 38 weeks and 6 days pregnant

I woke up at 3:30 am with some cramps that came with the normal contractions I had been having for a couple of weeks. I have never had any sort of pain with them, so I thought it was weird, but I didn't think that I was in labor. I started timing them just to be safe because I heard that early labor contractions just feel like cramping. By 4:00 am they were pretty regular and about 6 minutes apart, I decided to wait a full hour and wake Josh up at 4:30 am if they were staying regular. At 4:30 am the contractions had become about 5-6 minutes apart and at least 60 seconds long and a little bit more painful. I actually woke Josh up by grabbing his arm super tight during a contraction and he woke up and asked if I was OK, I told him that I thought I was in labor and he instantly jumped out of bed and said "OK! What do we need to do?"

I had already packed all of mine and Kambree's hospital items but just had some last minute things that I needed to pack up. I tried to gather my things while Josh packed a bag for himself. I feel like it took me forever to pack up those last few things because I couldn't focus and was too nervous and excited. We ate breakfast while I labored. I had always wanted to labor at home as long as I could before going to the hospital so I could be as comfortable as possible. I got in the bathtub to help with contractions, used my exercise ball, and just tried to relax in bed while I was laboring. By 6:30 my contractions were random but getting as close to 2-4 minutes apart so we decided to head to the hospital because there was a horrible blizzard the night before and we wanted to be able to take our time and drive safely to the hospital and also not have a baby on the freeway.

We made it to the hospital by 7:30 and the nurses were just giving shift report so we stood at the nurses station for a few minutes while they all chatted and were deciding who was going to take me to the triage room. After a few minutes of me moaning and breathing heavy at the nurses station, a nurse stood up and said "that is definitely real labor, let's just take her straight to a room instead of triage". I was already 100% effaced and 6cm dilated, which really surprised the nurse, and me! I got all hooked up to the monitors and had to lie flat in the bed uncomfortably for 20 minutes while they got a good baseline reading of the both of us. I finally was able to get up and walk around to help with contractions. I had always planned to go without an epidural, hence me laboring as long as possible at home, but they were getting really uncomfortable and I ended up deciding it would be best for me if I could just be comfortable and relax instead of having to be in so much pain. I got the epidural at 8:30 and it honestly didn't hurt at all, which was awesome.

At 11:45 the on call doctor came in and broke my water and I was about 7 cm by this time. By 1:45 I still was 7 cm so the doctor decided to start me on a low Pitocin drip to speed up my contractions. At 2:30 I had progressed to 9cm and shortly after that I was complete at 10cm and was ready to push. I was getting ready and the nurse came in and told me that she had to go to a C section and all the other nurses were helping deliver other babies, I guess everyone on the unit decided to all fully dilate at the same time. So I was put off an hour and was really bugged. About 45 minutes into waiting, a nurse came into the room and said she had been watching the monitors and couldn't see a heartbeat... my heart dropped and I instantly started crying and thinking "if I wasn't put off an hour, I could have had her by now, I hope nothing happens to her...". They turned me on my left side after trying to find the heartbeat with the external monitor and having no luck. The doctor came in and inserted an internal fetal monitoring device (a tiny screw that goes in Kambree's head) to get a more accurate heartbeat. After a minute, her heartbeat came back and was much clearer than with the external monitor.

I finally was able to start pushing at 5:00pm. I had Josh, my mom, and Sharon (step-mom) in the room with me. After two hours of pushing, Kambree still hadn't moved down in my pelvis at all. The doctor said I could push for one more hour or just go back and get a C section. Of course I wanted to push longer and try as hard as I could to not get surgery. The last hour I was in excruciating pain. I had gotten extra doses of my epidural and still was having horrible back labor. I felt like my whole back was broken and seized up. I tried as hard as I could to push. We tried so many different positions but Kambree would not move down. Towards the end, I was in so much pain and could barely sit up let alone grab my legs and crunch down and push, I would just scream out the whole time and say "I can't do another push". Josh was so good to keep telling me that I could do it and to push harder and giving me great encouragement. Finally at 8:30, after 3.5 hours of pushing, the doctor told me that I would need a C section. By this point, I just wanted her out, I was in so much pain.

We (Josh and I) got into the OR and I just remember lying on the table completely terrified while Josh held my hand and tried to calm me down. I hated watching the anesthesiologist push medication into my line and feeling the cold/burning medication and just hoping that I would be able to keep breathing because I had heard that the medication makes you feel like you can't breathe. The doctor started doing test spots to see if the medication was working and there was one spot that I felt them cutting me. The anesthesiologist tried more medication... still felt cutting... a different medication... still felt cutting. After trying a few different medications, including Propofol, there was still one spot that I would scream out because I could feel them cutting me. They ended up having to put me to sleep and intubate me and Josh had to be out of the room because they don't allow anyone in the room once the patient has to be intubated. Josh went out into the hall and collapsed on the floor and basically went into shock. They ended up having to put him on my patient bed that was out in the hallway. When Kambree was born, she was wide awake and looking around, and then all of a sudden she stopped breathing and they had to call a code. They did a few compressions on her and she snapped out of it... thankfully. (I am still asleep for all of this).

So after 16 hours of labor, 3.5 hours of pushing, a C section, having to be intubated, having my husband go into shock, and my baby having to get CPR... it was the craziest, most unexpected delivery that I could have imagined. The doctor who did the surgery told my family that the reason Kambree wouldn't move down in my pelvis was because my pelvic opening was too narrow. I will always have to have C sections due to this. He said that even if Kambree was 5 pounds, she wouldn't have fit, and I still would have needed a C section. This made me feel much much better about my labor because I felt like a failure having to get an epidural and trying to push as hard as possible with no success and having to end up getting a C section.

Kambree was 8 lbs 7 oz and 21 inches long. Not what we expected!!! My doctor didn't think she would be over 6 pounds because I was so small and my belly was so small and Josh and I were both small when we were born. SURPRISE!

I am recovering slowly. I have to try not to push it and learn to relax. I am not used to sitting all day, I like to be busy constantly, so it is hard for me to only be able to be up for 10 minutes and then have to rest because of the pain. Josh was able to take 7 days off of work and so with the weekend, we were able to get a full 9 days together. He has been amazing and has cleaned the house, has helped me with anything I need, and has just been the best ever. I am so grateful for him and all that he does for us.

 My last pregnant picture... I forgot to take one before they hooked up the monitors on my belly

 Josh and Kam after surgery, still in his surgery suit

 Our chunky baby!! 

 Precious.

 Mom and baby snuggling

 Ready to go home! 

 Holding her binky in 

Chillin with mom

 Roxy loves her new sister!!

 She is getting so big already! 

 One week old :)

I always had the goal to be able to do the splits while 9 months pregnant.. I was still able do all three! 

This was two days before I went into labor. 

Through the months of pregnancy.....

I took a picture at the end of every month during my pregnancy so I could make a collage out of it when I was done being pregnant. I took it at the same angle, in the same outfit, and with the same background so it all looked the same except for my changing belly. Here are the 9 months... I am hoping I don't have to do month 10!

Maternity Pictures

I got maternity pictures done when I was 33 weeks by Amy Lee Photography. She did an awesome job and will also be doing Kambree's newborn pictures. Here are some of my favorites....

Update

Well it has been a very long time since I posted last... I am now 37.5 weeks! This fall has been crazy busy with full time school, work, and being pregnant! Josh and I are just trying to finish up our classes early (Josh's finals week isn't until the middle of December) so we can focus on getting ready for Kambree. I should be done with most of my classes by December 1st. I am so lucky that I have had such an easy pregnancy. Other than pretty bad hip pain, I really have not been sick and didn't start having major heartburn and insomnia up until a couple of weeks ago. I am also lucky that I am healthy and have been able to keep working full time, 12 hour shifts, on my feet all day and still be comfortable and functioning. If I wasn't working or was put on bed rest, I might rip my hair out and go crazy.

I was lucky enough to receive three baby showers for little Kambree. One from my sister-in-law Tawni for Josh's side of the family, one from my sister Calaigh for my side of the family, and one from my coworker Nikki for my work. Kambree has plenty of clothes and diapers thanks to all of the generous people who gave her gifts. Her nursery is mostly complete, all I have left to do is hang her name above her bed with the wood letters that I bought. Other than that it is complete. We got everything we needed from the baby showers except for a few bigger items: pack n play, baby swing, and baby monitor. We just used gift cards to buy her pack n play and then just bought her baby swing. We are planning on waiting to buy a baby monitor until I go back to work in a few months because she will be sleeping in our room anyway and there really is no need for one right now.

I started my weekly checkups last week, at 36 weeks. To my surprise I was already 90% effaced and 1.5cm dilated. Although I am trying not to get too excited about her coming early, my doctor basically told me there was no way that she would make it to her due date. Once you efface, you can dilate an in instant. Effacing is the hardest part because you cannot dilate fully unless you are effaced. That is why a lot of people have such long, hard labors is because their body is trying to dilate with contractions but they are not effaced yet. So being effaced first means that you are more than likely going to have a shorter and easier labor because half of the work is already done. Yipee! At my 37 week appt this week, I was still 90% effaced but I have dilated to 2.5cm. My doctor said that she is on call for Black Friday and she wants to see a baby then... two days away! We will see!

Sharon helped me recover an old glider that one of our family members gave us... here is the before..

 AFTER! I am so happy with it. It turned out perfect. 

Her nursery, just missing the letters above the crib

20 Week Anatomy Scan

We got to finally see baby Kambree this week! The ultrasound took about 30 minutes and we loved every minute of it. She is head down, which is great, and had her little legs crossed with her hand in a fist on her cheek. She is quite the mover, the ultrasound tech finally just had to let her pick a position instead of chasing her down to get a good shot. She never stops moving in my belly and I knew she was a very active baby, but it was pretty funny watching her kick her legs and arms throughout the entire thing. She is measuring a week ahead schedule, so we are excited and hoping she will decide to come early too!

 Look at the beautiful profile :)

Halfway!

Today is my halfway mark!  I am 20 weeks!  I can't believe I am already halfway through my pregnancy and we are so excited to meet our little girl :)

Roxy can't wait either!

RN!

I took the NCLEX (nursing boards exam) on Thursday July 18th and passed! There is a minimum of 75 questions and a maximum of 265. There is a mix of multiple choice, hot spot, select all that apply, fill in the blank, and recorded questions. The test is adaptive, so there isn't a certain percent you have to get right to pass, the computer just shuts you off after you stay above the passing bar for so many questions. So if you go all the way to 265, that means that you kept going above the passing bar and then getting some wrong and going below the passing bar, so they keep giving you a chance to pass until you hit the max amount of questions. For my LPN, I got the minimum of 85 questions and was super excited and hoping I would do the same for my RN... nope. I hit 76 and my computer kept giving me questions and I got super stressed and pissed. After I took a break and got a drink I sat back down and my computer finally shut off at 150 questions. All I can say is taking the NCLEX twice in my life is horrible and I am so glad I never have to take it again. I just have to renew my license every two years by paying a fee and I have to do 200 hours every renewal period to keep my license active. I have a huge weight lifted off my shoulders now that I have become an RN. I have been taking two pathophysiology classes since June that I have an exam a week in, trying to study every night for the NCLEX, trying to decorate my house, wanting to start getting ready for Kambree, and working full time has been tough. Now that the most serious and hardest part, the NCLEX, is over, I am able to just study for classes now and start making stuff for Kambree :)

I finally felt her kick! I was laying in bed over a week ago (I was 18 weeks) studying for the NCLEX and I felt a bunch of taps on my stomach. They were very small and I didn't think it was her, but it felt different from anything I had felt before. I was still not believing it was her moving. A couple days later, I went to yoga with my mom and at the end of the class we were stretching and I was just laying on my back for about ten minutes and I felt her kick and flip all over the place. Now she doesn't stop and I feel her moving all day long! She is so active! I love being able to feel her move inside of me, it is the best feeling ever. Josh still hasn't been able to feel her yet. She only does hard kicks every once in a while and by the time he puts his hand on my belly she is done kicking.

We are going to start painting during the two weeks Josh has off between summer classes and fall classes. We have to paint our bedroom wall (it is purple), the kids bathroom (it is orange), and Kambree's room. I am so excited to get her room painted so I can start matching decor to it and getting it ready!!