An announcement...and a birth story :)

If you're wondering where I've been lately, and why this blog has been so quiet, I promise I have a good reason. After dealing with several days of false labor, I decided to give myself some time off from the blog to make sure I was as ready for Aubrey as I could possibly be, both at school and at home.

You can probably guess what happened next: this sweet girl arrived on November 6, 2015 at 8:04 p.m., after a long and difficult labor. She was born a little over 3 weeks early, and we initially dealt with an extended hospital stay for jaundice, but everything is OK now.

I worked on Thursday, November 5, and had contractions all day long. I timed them, and while they were fairly consistent, they were still pretty far apart. I didn't think too much about it, but wondered if maybe we might be going to the hospital that night. In the afternoon, I began to suspect that my water might be leaking. When I was in labor with Emorie, the doctor broke my water, and this was definitely nothing like that. I called my doctor and they suggested I come to the hospital.

I spent a few minutes making sure things were ready in case I was out of school the next day, then headed home to wait for Michael and make arrangements for Emorie. Upon arriving at the hospital Thursday evening, I was monitored and doctors ran tests to check for amniotic fluid. The initial tests came back negative, and I prepared myself to leave. Doctors wanted to run one more test, and it came back positive.

I was admitted, and spent the night in labor and delivery being monitored. My contractions, while still coming, were not necessarily getting stronger or closer together. In the morning, doctors and nurses made the decision to start me on Pitocin. My heart sank- I am a natural childbirth mama and was worried about how much more intense the pain would be.

I labored several hours more on the Pitocin, and when I still was not dilating at a quick pace, I asked my doctor how he felt about stripping membranes. I knew they would typically not do this prior to 37 weeks, but because my water was leaking, I also knew they had to deliver her. My doctor agreed, and then discovered my water had not completely broken. He chose to break it the rest of the way.

Things began to progress rapidly after that. I remember the nurses coming in and telling me I was dilated to a six. Five minutes after that, I had a strong contraction and yelled to the nurses that the baby was coming. She checked me and ran to the phone. My doctor nearly missed Aubrey's birth, but arrived just in time. After being in labor for nearly 24 hours, Aubrey entered the world in three pushes. She was completely OK, despite some bruising on her head and face, and having to receive phototherapy for jaundice. Her slight prematurity has not had an effect on her, blessedly.

Something funny- Aubrey and her sister Emorie have so many similarities. Emorie was born at 37 weeks, Aubrey at 36 weeks, 5 days. Emorie was 6 pounds 2 ounces, and 19.5 inches long and Aubrey was 6 pounds, 1.4 ounces, and 19 inches long. Both girls had jaundice and had to have phototherapy. Both girls have similar features and were both born with a head full of dark hair. If you want to read Emorie's birth story, you can find it here on our old blog. 

Emorie adores her little sister and constantly wants to hold her and kiss her.

Our hearts are full. Thank you for all the prayers for our family.