My Birth Story (4 days later)

Waiting to be taken to surgery

Well here I sit 4 days after having a beautiful baby girl writing this blog. I never imagined how much my life would change just 4 short days ago. Tuesday November 22nd I was scheduled to have a C-Section at 10 am. I woke up at 6am that morning, showered, finished packing what little I had left to pack, and at 7 we hit the road. We had to be at the hospital at 8am for all the "fun" pre-op stuff. We dropped Zoey off at Wayne's mom's and headed to the hospital. I got all checked in and put into a labor and delivery room. The nurses came in brought me a lovely hospital gown that my butt hung out the back of and told me to change, and that they would be back in just a few minutes. I changed got into bed and waited. The first nurse came in and tried to start my IV line. I told her before she started poking me that she was going to have better luck in my left arm, but she insisted on poking my right one. 4 sticks later I had an IV started (in my left hand.) Then the wait began. Everyone started showing up at around 9:30 because I was scheduled to go in at 10. Well 10 came and went, then 11 came and went. I was starting to get a little concerned. At around 11:30 my "ride" finally arrived. I got onto the gurney and got wheeled up to the surgical floor. This is the point that I was thinking "OMG this is really happening, I am really going to have a baby in just a little while." Wayne beat me up to the surgical floor. I met him at the doors. They made him sit outside on a little stool until I had my epidural. I gave him a kiss and told him that I would see him in there and that I loved him. I made it into the room and all the surgical nurses introduced themselves to me and I to them. Talk about WEIRD. These people were going to see me in all my glory in just a few seconds and now I know them by name. The anesthesiologist had me sit on the edge of the bed and arch my back and relax my shoulders. He shot me up with some Lidocaine to numb the spot that he was going to JAB me in the spine with a needle. He got me not once, but approximately 6 times with the needle. He just couldn't get it in the right spot to numb me. At this point I am BAWLING my eyes out. It hurt so bad, I am talking snot dripping out of my nose tears falling bawling. The anesthesiologist called another anesthesiologist into the room at this point because he just couldn't get the right spot. THANK GOD for Dr. Moore. He was AMAZING to me during all this. He was on my left side whispering in my ear words of encouragement. He told me that I could do it and that in just a short while I would be holding my little girl and all the pain I was feeling now would be gone. At this point I heard the second anesthesiologist say this was his last attempt and that he wouldn't stick me again and that if they couldn't get it this time that I would have to be put out and Wayne wouldn't be able to be in the room. Well I couldn't have that, my little girl and my husband depended on me. I hadn't come this far just to be shot down. I was bound and determined that I was going to see my little girl. It hurt like HELL!!!!! I got it done though.
Here is a picture of my back post epidural.
This is one of those times that I am SOOOOO glad that I have my mom's genes. She is the strongest, most determined person that I know. Now I am numb from about mid chest down. WHAT A WEIRD FEELING. Every time someone or something touched me all I felt were pins and needles. Like if your foot was asleep. WEIRD. They brought Wayne in at this time. He gave me a kiss told me he loved me and sat next to me for about 2.5 seconds. Dr. Moore said he was ready to begin and Wayne stood up to look over the curtain. I kept asking him what was going on. I could tell that they had gotten to my uterus and got the placenta open by the sound of water going everywhere and the suction machine going. I knew it wouldn't be long now. Wayne told me that he could see a foot, then he said "SHE IS STILL A GIRL!!!!" About that time I see the nurses take her to the incubator and start working on her. I hear her first cry and I lose it. This is for real now and really happening. I am officially a mommy. Let me tell you hearing your baby's first cries is the most amazing sound in the entire world. I will never forget it as long as I live. They got Taylor all cleaned up and brought her to me so that I could see her before they whisked her to the nursery. Talk about love at first sight. I was so filled with love that I thought that my heart would burst. She was the most beautiful baby that I had ever seen and she was mine. We snapped a couple pics and off she went with her daddy so that I could be stitched up.
Our first family photo

2 hours later I get wheeled down to the nursery to see Taylor. Talk about paparazzi. They brought her out and put her in my arms and it was flash bulbs everywhere. It made my heart feel so good to know that everyone that I loved the most in the world was there to share my love for one little girl.
Fast forward to that night, I got to get out of bed. Talk about painful, however it felt good. Just not being stuck in a bed was AWESOME!
The next day Dr. Moore came in to check on me. He asked if I had gotten out of bed yet. I told him yes and I walked the halls. He said "YOU DID WHAT???" I told him that I walked the halls the night before. He was pretty surprised by that. Apparently most women only walk about 2 steps after a C-Section. Hmm...Who knew??? I then asked him if I could have my cath, IV, and the stupid pumpy things on my legs off? And if I could go home yet? He said "Well, you have to have the IV and cath for at least 24 hours. I will see what I can do about the pumpy things on your legs. He asked me how much pain meds I took through my IV. I told him none since about 4:30 the previous day. He was surprised by that too. Once again apparently it is pretty uncommon to not be on pain meds. He said my incision looked good and that if I could manage my pain with oral medication that I could have my IV and cath out around 1 that day. Let me tell you I couldn't wait for 1 o'clock to roll around. Once I was free from the restraints of being stuck in bed all I wanted was a shower. I finally got to take a shower about 3:30 that day. Man it was nice to be able to get up and finally hold my baby when I wanted to. I finally didn't have to ask for someone to bring her to me.
Fast forward to the 24th Dr. Emily (the pediatrician) came in and said that Taylor looked great and that if Dr. Moore agreed we cold both be released that day. YAY!!!!!!!!!!!!! Happy Turkey Day To Me!!! Dr. Moore came in checked my incision and told me that there were 3 criteria that I had to pass to be able to be released. I had to be able to control my pain with oral meds, CHECK, I had to be able to get out of bed and go to the bathroom alone, CHECK, and I had to be able to walk unassisted, TRIPLE CHECK!!! WAHOO I WAS BUSTING OUT OF THE JOINT A DAY EARLY!!!!!
Ready to go home!!!


We couldn't leave until Taylor was at least 48 hours old and had a check-up and billirubin count done. So we finally got to come home at around 3pm that day. Let me tell you the car ride home was painful. Oh yeah and guess what the pharmacy is closed on Thanksgiving. No pain meds for me. It's ok though it turned out better for me anyhow. I controlled it with Motrin and sleep.
I am now home and in a routine (sort of). We even had Thanksgiving with Wayne's family today. Let me tell you that my husband is the most amazing man that I have ever met. Not too many men I know can cook a Thanksgiving spread with a newborn in their arms. He is AMAZING!!!!! I never thought that I could fall more in love with him, but every time I see him with Taylor in his arms, or changing a poopy diaper my heart melts. I am the happiest woman in the world right now. God is soooooo good and I sincerely do not know what I have done to deserve being this blessed. I am so thankful that I am though.

She's Here!

Well, as most of you know by now Taylor arrived at 12:32PM on Tuesday afternoon. She weighed 7.1 lbs. This is the first chance I have had to get on here and do any writing. We went to the hospital at about 7:30 on Tuesday morning. The c-section was scheduled for 10am. Everything got processed quickly and we were in the prep room in no time. I even got some cool blue scrubs to wear ;)

Then came the waiting. We watched as 10AM came and went, then 11AM also came and went. Finally around noon they said they were ready. Helen was wheeled to surgery and I was lead by 2 nurses to surgery as well. I was at the surgery door to meet Helen when she arrived. We kissed each other and they wheeled her in. I was instructed to sit on a stool right outside the door of surgery. They said it will only be a few minutes, just until we get her epidural in.

So there I am, sitting alone in a very quiet hallway on a little metal stool, all decked out in my blue scrubs. 20 minutes goes by without any word. Through the smoked glass doors of the surgery department I can see nurses running up and down the hallway. I'm getting concerned now. After what seems like forever her doctor comes out and explains that the anesthesiologist had trouble getting the epidural in. "We thought we was going to have to put her to sleep, you have no idea what she just went through so that you could be there for the birth." Later I learned that they had to stick her with the epidural needle more than a few times. She refused to be put to sleep though. She wanted to see Taylor as soon as possible and she wanted me to be able to be in there. I have an amazing, strong, loving wife. I would also like to add to that.. THANK GOD I AM A GUY.

Once I was allowed in it didn't take long at all. I was watching them cut her open and she just kept asking me what was going on. She really wanted to see what was going on but they wouldn't have any part of that because everything on the other side of the blue screen is a "sterile environment".

At 12:32 I see my first glimpse of baby, legs first. Within seconds the rest of her was out and I was very excited to see that she was still a girl. I don't even know we would begin to change all of the pink clothes into blue ones :). Here are some pics from right after she came out.

Once she was cleaned and printed she was taken over to meet mom. The anesthesiologist asked me if I wanted him to take some pictures of the three of us.. uh YEAH!

After this baby was taken to the nursery with me in tow. Mom was stitched back up and taken to recovery. The nurses let me push the crib to the nursery, when we got close it looked something like a parade route.

We were supposed to spend the next 3 days in the hospital, but since my wife is amazing we went home in only two, putting us home right on Thanksgiving. Best Thanksgiving ever! All in all things went pretty much as planned, and everyone is doing good at this point. I will leave you with some more pics from the hospital.. and preparing to leave.

T-minus 7 days

Today is November 15th, 2011. I cannot believe that in 7 days I will be holding my beautiful precious baby girl in my arms. I'm not sure if it has sunk in yet that I am about to be a mommy. Over the last almost 10 months I have been growing this tiny human inside my body. How amazing is that??? I CAN'T wait to get her out and see her, but I know that I am going to miss feeling her moving and kicking around in there.
I get asked all the time why I am still working this close to my due date. My answer to this is why not??? I am not incapable of work, actually I LIKE working. Working makes the time go by faster to me. Just imagine if I was a pioneer woman who worked in the fields. They would give birth and then 30 minutes later be back in the field working. THANK GOD I don't have to do that!!!
I had Monday off work and Wayne and I spent it getting last minute things done before Taylor gets here. I was slightly freaking out about not having things ready. Wayne had to bring me back down to earth. He says to me "Helen, you are only going to be gone for 3 day, when you are putting trimming the dogs nails on the list of things that need done, I'm pretty sure that that means that you are ready to have this baby." Once he put it into prospective for me that made me feel a little better. Ugh, what would I do without Wayne.
Getting a C-Section wasn't how I planned for my little girl to come into the world, however the big guy upstairs had other plans. She is already stubborn just like both of her parents. I can't imagine what a hand full she is going to be as a teenager. So in 7 days the doctor is going to wheel me into an operating room cut me open and take my daughter out. Wow!!! Life will never be the same from that moment on.
November 22nd is going to be a life changing day for me and my family. I have a feeling that I am getting on the worlds biggest roller coaster, lets just hope that I am ready for the ride.

Were In The Single Digits!!

We had an ultrasound on Friday (pics below). Taylor is still breech, which we expected. The ultrasound tech commented on how little room was actually left for her to be moving around in there. The chances of her turning now are ALMOST zero. We have one more last minute ultrasound on Monday the 21st just to double check, then the c-section Tuesday the 22nd. So it appears that Taylor will beat the turkey, if only by a smidgen. There is a 3 day hospital stay with the c-section. I would like to pass along (from Helen) that if anyone comes to visit on the 24th there will be an admission charge of Turkey, Ham, or whatever other goodies you are having or had for Thanksgiving.

We are down to the last minute details now. Got the Christmas tree up so we don't have to worry about that when we get home. Final packing of the hospital bag, installing car seat, cleaning, stocking up on food and other essentials so that hopefully we will have fewer trips to the store this winter. All in all things are rolling along pretty much as expected and in a very short 9 days Taylor will be here to say hello to everyone!

In the image below, Taylor's head is in the center, just off to the left, she is looking straight up in this profile shot.

Goodbye October

Well, Halloween is over and it looks like by the time the next major holiday rolls around we will have a baby. We had a doctors appointment yesterday and he went ahead and set up a day for the c-section. It is set up for November 22nd. We are also scheduled for one last ultrasound on November 11th. IF Taylor has decided to turn by that time then the c-section will be canceled and we will attempt a natural birth. As much as she seems to be moving around in there I am still hopeful that she will turn in time. Either was I am confident that by Thanksgiving we will surly have something to be thankful for. Wont be long now ;)

Below is Helen's latest picture, taken yesterday, exactly 36 weeks.

Update

Just got back from 35 week (although she measures 36 weeks) ultrasound. She is still Breeched. Now weighs 6 lbs 5 oz. Next Dr. appointment Monday I think. Could be Tuesday.

TODAY IS THE DAY!

Well not THAT day, but it is a day none the less. Today is the day that we get yet ANOTHER ultrasound, not that I am complaining about that aspect of it, rather the reason for the ultrasound. When we got the last one done baby Taylor was still in a breached position and quickly running out of space, and time, to move into the head down position. The doc said that he would schedule another ultrasound (today's) and if Taylor had not moved yet we may have to look into some other options or change our plans about a natural birth. In 3 1/2 hours we will know. The doctor did run through the options with us last visit though, and they are as follows.

#1 We could go down to St. Vincent hospital in Indianapolis and have them do an "version". This is where they go in and physically move the baby into the correct position. The risks are that Helen could go into labor on the spot if the baby becomes stressed. Not a huge issue since she so far along. Also this procedure only has about a 70% success rate meaning that there is a 30% chance that the baby will turn right back to where she is now once the procedure is complete.

#2 Wait and see if she turns on her own. However, the doctor said that if she had not turned by today's ultrasound there was only about a 10% chance that she would turn on her own.

#3 C-section. If the baby has not turned before the day of delivery you have a 100% chance of having a c-section.

When the doctor had run through these options with us Helen and I almost instantly decided on option #1, version. When the doctor left the room and the nurse came back in she gave us some other news though. From the nurse "I want to be sure that the two of you realize, because the doctor fails to mention this a lot, that the version procedure is not covered by most insurance." Well.. there went that idea. So we are left with she turns on her own, or we will be having a C-section.

On a side note, I don't think that we will be making it to the due date of Nov. 28th. At the last ultrasound (a little over a week ago) she was weighing in at 5 lbs 13 oz already. Also there will be a full moon on November 11th. I will update on here tonight, once we know more.

Below is the best ultrasound picture from the Oct. 18th. A side shot with Taylor attempting to suck her thumb.

60 days to go!

As the time continues counting down things are slowly coming together. I have now received and pre washed all of our new Fuzzi Bunz cloth diapers. We are starting off with 16 diapers, with me the one in charge of washing we will soon see if that number is sufficient. We had the baby shower and got a lot more goodies. The Dr. appointments are about to change to every two weeks instead of every month. Taylor is very active, kicking and moving around. All in all things are going great! I think that we now have all of the essential baby items with just a couple of big items left to buy like the pack n play and a swing. I was just going through this blog and realized that I have not posted any pictures of the nursery in a little while... I think I will do that now, gotta go take some pics ;)

Taylors bookshelf..

A cedar chest I got our of Grandma's house and redone. She passed away on May 17th this year. I know that she would be happy.. #1 seeing how good that chest looks now lol, and #2 knowing that it will be Taylor's. Also this is the glider that we picked up at a garage sale for $10.

The crib, now outfitted and ready for baby Tay. Also her new bouncer seat.

This is the wall directly behind/above the crib. I can't take credit for this, this was all Helen.

Fuzzi Bunz diaper drawer ready to go.

Taylor's shelf.. also you can see "crib cam" which will be available to view online or on smartphones for family members.

And here we have her new stroller. So just as a quick recap, things are going great, no major issues with baby equipment or putting anything together. Were down to only 60 days and the race is on.. Turkey or Taylor.. which will come first!?

First Blog

This is my first attempt at a blog. This past year has been an adventure that I thought that I would never take. First off I found out that I was pregnant on Dec 4 2010. WHAT A SHOCK that was. Wayne and I never thought that we could have kids. We had been together for 10 years and NEVER used any kind of contraception. That led us to believe that we would be childless. We had both decided that we were going to put it in GOD's hands as to whether we would ever become parents. Needless to say I had a miscarriage on Dec 25th 2010. I have never been through soooooo much heartbreak in my life. What a crappy Christmas!!! I went from one extreme to another, absolute joy to absolute misery all in a day. I was mad, sad, frustrated, and in shock. How could my body betray me like that? How could GOD give me something so precious and take it all away in the blink of an eye? I was sooooo mad at GOD for a little while. I was a mess for about 2 weeks after finding out that I miscarried. If it wasn't for Wayne I don't know what I would have done. He was my rock and my strength throughout the misery. He dealt with the sorrow with me and left me alone when I needed to be alone. Of course to everyone else on "the outside" I held it together. What everyone didn't know was that I would cry myself to sleep every night. I honestly didn't know what I did wrong, or what I could have done differently to have prevented it. Eventually I came to terms with our loss and realized that there was a bigger plan for us.
This was when we decided to FINALLY get married. I knew that with everything that we had been through as a couple that if the loss of a child didn't tear us apart nothing could. We decided to do a wedding and honeymoon/vacation together. Wayne and I decided that we would go to Tennessee to get married. Two weeks before we left to get married, on March 21, I felt a little weird. SURPRISE!!!! I was pregnant again. GOD really does work in mysterious ways. I had told Wayne that I was NOT going to make a doctors appointment until we got back from Tennessee. If anything was going to happen then it was going to happen then. I married my best friend on April 4th, 2011. It is truly one of the happiest days of my life. What more could a girl ask for. I had the love of my life FOREVER now and I had the opportunity to be a mom again. Who knew that life could be this good.
I got a promotion at work on June 14th. This will allow my husband to be a stay at home dad, and raise our daughter. Oh yeah we found out on July 12th that we are going to have a girl. I am so excited that we don't have to worry about who is helping to raise our child. I find it so comforting to know that she is always going to have a parent there for her. Not to mention all of us women out there know that little girls are daddy's girls.
Fast forward to now. I am just 83 short days from my due date. It all seems so surreal to me. I can feel my precious little girl kicking and moving around everyday. It is the most AMAZING feeling in the world. When I first found out that I was pregnant I didn't know if I really wanted kids, now I can't picture not ever being called Mommy. I am so excited and scared out of my mind at the same time. What I do know is that I can't wait for the next chapter in my life. There is nothing better in the entire world than being called wife and mom.

Where is the time going?

It seems like just a few weeks ago that I was yelling at god. Going through the loss of Helen and I's first child (embryo). Now here we are 24 weeks into a second pregnancy. Its over half over already! The nursery is painted, the furniture is going in and its becoming more and more real every day. How will our lives change in November? I have a feeling that they will be greatly enriched. Life may seem to have more of a purpose. Afrer years of thinking (and accepting) that we were not going to have children.. here we are, and time is flying! Just my thoughts of the day. Its been a crazy year. I hope and pray that it ends better than it started... it looks like it will.

24 Weeks, Ultrasound Video

After last weeks disappointment of not getting the ultrasound that we were scheduled for, because we were not scheduled for it... We got it done today. I think this is the last one unless some sort of problem arises. Everything seems well, heartbeat is 163 which has been pretty consistent the whole time and she now weighs in at 1lb 8oz. Only 15 weeks 6 days to go. Enjoy the video of today's ultrasound :)

starting to look a little more like a nursey!

This is the before picture.. just last week.

And here it is today, see.. I was able to get that bad boy together. The crib is setting where the blue lamp was in the before pic. Making progress! Come on November!!

23 weeks along

We were supposed to have an ultrasound yesterday, this would have been the 3rd ultrasound. They was unable to get all of the pictures that they needed from the previous one including the spine and face. However, due to an error by the doctors office they said that we were not scheduled. We had the appointment card but of course it was at home and the doctor is 30 minn away. The ultrasound has been re-scheduled for next Tuesday. I'm not disappointed, that just means that we get a 24 week ultrasound instead of a 23 week one.
The trip was not a complete waste of time though because we went paint shopping. After arguing over the shade of pink that we wanted we finally "agreed" (meaning that I gave in and said fine lol) on a color. When we got home I recruited my dad as a painter and together we had it done in a couple of hours. As I am writing this the doorbell rang and our crib has arrived, so I'm off to put it together now. Will put up a pic once (if) I get it together :)

A little about me

I guess if I am going to start a new blog I should tell a little bit about me. I just turned 30, and it sucks! The twenty's were not to bad, but when you stick a 3 in front of the zero it just seems to hit home a whole lot harder. I try to be an active person but sometimes that just doesn't happen, like this week, WAY to hot to do anything except maybe be on the lake. Having a pregnant wife in this heat doesn't make being active very easy either.
I enjoy doing anything outside and I plan to instill my love of nature and the outdoors in my daughter when she arrives. O.K. Maybe I will give her a few days to adjust to the world first, but just a few ;)
Any advice from people with newborns, who also take them along on outdoor outings would be great. I like to go camping a few times each year, Taylor is due November 28 so by next summer she will be around 6 months. My wife and I also enjoy going to the lakes in the summer where my mother has a summer place. Usually we just stay a night or so but its a nice break from the ordinary.
A couple of weeks ago I took off with my brother in law and went kayaking for the first time. We rented a couple of kayaks and took a 3 hour cruise. We didn't get shipwrecked on any deserted island and neither one of us is named Gilligan, (although I believe if that were to happen I would be Gilligan) It was AWESOME! I figured that I would enjoy it but I fell in love with kayaking instantly! Sooo, now I have me a brand new kayak. One little problem I have run into though. I don't know another soul with a kayak. I got online and sure enough there is a group somewhat close to me for kayaking. I have always been a shy person, and meeting new people, especially in a group, is not something I have a great history of doing. O.K. so I have never done that, but there is always a first right?! So I joined this group online, it only took a click. Now to see if I really have the balls to show up anywhere.
Other things on my like to do list include fishing, and Geocaching. Surly you have heard of geocaching by now. Its been around since 2000 and I have been a geocacher since 2001. If you still have not heard of this sport/treasure hunt check out geocaching.com for a quick lesson on it. Another outdoor activity I enjoy is cycling. Although this year I must admit that I haven't done nearly enough. I'm gonna blame the heat on this one. Speaking of the heat, I need to get back out on the porch, this AC is starting to get to me. Have a great evening/night/day!

Utrasound Pics

These are the latest ultrasound pics of Taylor done on 7-12-11, 20 weeks along.

Cloth Diapering

     So a few of you may have noticed that we have added cloth diapers to our baby registry (link to baby registry on right side of page:)) Yes, we do plan to cloth diaper and we have a few reasons for doing this. First let me tell you that I have read more in the last 6 months about diapers then I EVER imagined I would ever read. I had no idea how many options were available. Cloth diapering is not what it used to be.
     After much research we have decided to go with FuzziBunz brand of cloth diapers. I’m not going to focus so much on brands here, more the reasons for cloth diapering in the first place. Below is my top 5 list.
#1 Expense: “Using Cloth Diapers can save you from 44-68% over the cost of disposable diapers.”
#2 Environment
#3 One size fits all option that is adjustable with snaps. Since this is only our first child, we can reuse them for baby 2 or 3 as well.
#4. Easy to use, see video below (poo warning)





#5 They look cool!

I have been asked about washing them prior to use. Some cloth diapers require extensive washing before you can use them. Something to do with absorbancy. This particular brand you only need to wash once before use. Recommended laundry detergent is Tide Free, or Arm and Hammer Free. These cost about the same as normal Tide and Arm and hammer.

The whole purpose for this blog is to share and learn. If you think I have overlooked anything, good or bad. Please bring it to my attention in the comments on Facebook or on Twitter.

My New Home On The Web

     Thanks for stopping by, my name is Wayne Wyatt and this will be my new home on the web. As some of you may know my wife and I have decided to flip the roles a bit. She will be (the provider) and I will be the stay at home dad (SAHD). This may be a new concept for some of you but in fact this is a growing trend especially in developed western nations. (See Wikipedia article)
     This will be my space to discuss the trials and tribulations of being a SAHD. Blogger is a new site for me so it might take a couple of posts before I get it down 100%. My wife is now 21 weeks pregnant today. We had our anatomy ultrasound last week and were told that we were going to have a girl. They were unable to get good pictures of the spine and lips so we have another ultrasound scheduled for Aug. 2nd, hopefully this will confirm that she is indeed a she.
     The main point of this blog will be to get advice from other SAHD’s (or moms!) and to someday be a reference for any other men thinking about being a SAHD. I know that I will have many questions for my friends, family, and new friends that I have yet to meet. That’s all for now, Its late and I just wanted to get this blog started. There will be much more to come as this roller coaster called life rolls on.