We had lots of opinions on when this little lady would make her appearance.
Every single one, was that she would come early.
Even strangers would approach me,
"That baby is coming soon."
"I bet you are due any day" etc. ;)
The Case man came exactly 2 weeks early, and Rhetter was induced one week early.
My Doctor seemed to think she would be here early as well.
I tried not to think too much about it, as I knew if I got it in my head she would be early, she would surely be late, and I would surely lose my mind wondering!
There were a few things I really didn't want to miss, that were coming up.
My friend Eileen's wedding, My Sprinkle, my sister and friends were throwing for Adley,
and the one thing I reaaally didn't want to miss Case and Rhett's preschool graduation.
Especially because this was Case's last year of preschool, and because it was the last day of school,
and work for me as I will not be returning...that is until Miss Adley is two! Hee!
Well Tuesday morning, was the start of the last week of preschool.
I turned 38 weeks the day before, and was still feeling pretty good,
besides the normal discomforts of the last few weeks of pregnancy.
(Okay, I do admit, I was getting super tired of not being able to sleep ;)
Boys and I came in, and I had some easy jobs while working,
like assembling the little graduation caps, and sitting and filling water balloons.
It was water day, and a fun, crazy day with all the sweet kids.
I forgot to mention, the night before Matt and I hardly slept.
It was one of those rare nights, where each of the boys were up for one reason or the other,
ALL NIGHT LONG.
So needless to say, after working at preschool,
I was exhausted. My plan was to come home, get Rhett down for a nap, and take a nap myself.
Case is very independent during Rhett's naps,
so I let him know he could play and could come get me if he needed me.
As fate would have it, Rhett was just not going to nap.
Meanwhile, I was having a few stronger braxton hicks, as I had been the last few days/weeks.
I asked the boys to come upstairs and play in their room, while Mommy laid down.
They were very good, and played quietly for quite some time as I rested.
I started timing the contractions, and they were right around 20 minutes apart, lasting about 40 seconds.
Hmm.
It definitely caught my attention that they were consistent, instead of very sporadic as they had been before.
At this point, I started texting my sister.
(reads left to right,also helps to look at the time text was sent ;)
...
They were seriously hurting...and I was seriously still in denial.
I think I'm always just worried that the contractions will just fade away,
or that we will head all the way to the hospital just to be sent home.
While texting Amy I started to put laundry away, and move around to see if the contractions were still coming on strong, and they definitely were.
As you read in the texts, Matt was at the gym, and running to Kroger before he was heading home.
I texted him asking where he was, and he replied that he was walking into Kroger.
I replied, "I'm 5min apart and crying"
He immediately called me, asking me if he needed to come home now and take me to the hospital.
I told him we needed dog food and pull ups, and to hurry.
Matt made it home just a little bit before Amy got here.
After talking to Matt, I headed upstairs and started to pack the rest of our bags.
I had packed clothes for the boys, and Adley's bag, but I still needed to get toiletries together, the camera etc.
By this point, the contractions were so strong, and so painful that I had to stop and breathe through them.
Some were definitely strong enough to bring tears to my eyes.
This was all around 6:00pm.
I finished packing, and came downstairs, and said,
"Wait. I don't think I've had one for a while!"
"You JUST had one that you had to stop and breathe through!" my sister point out.
"I just don't know if it's real!"
"Do you want to wait a little while and see if they keep coming?" she asks.
"I'm going to sit down and see if another one comes."
So I sit on our bench in the hallway and wait.
I kept thinking, of course it's not going to come...but it did. It really did,
and I said the words.
"Okay, I think we need to go."
We kissed the boys Good-bye, and thanked Amy over and over,
and we headed to the hospital.
Matt called his Mom, and our neighbor Joe to make sure he could take care of our big dog Gunner.
He had the speakerphone on, which I quickly asked him to take off,
because HOLY CRAP my contractions were hurting and I needed to breathe and focus,
and I didn't want anyone to hear me if I wanted to cuss or scream! ;)
(Actually I tend to be a quiet, breather and eyes closed kind of girl in labor.
I have to completely focus, and internalize for me to handle them!)
I had several intense contractions on the way,
and had to stop walking after we parked, two or three times to get through a contraction.
(I didn't want Matt to drop me off, I wanted to stay with him)
At this point, I was pretty convinced myself that these were in fact, the real thing.
We arrived in a room right around 6:30pm.
A nurse that reminded me of my Granny in her features, asked me the typical questions,
and got me checked in.
However, she seemed a little odd, she kept laughing, and talking to herself...so when she said,
"I'll just be here for a few minutes, since it's almost shift change time!"
I was a little more than relieved...ha!
She checked me around 7pm, right before she left, and revealed that I was 6 CM!!!
Holy crap.
My night shift nurse came in soon after that, and she was adorable.
Young, and so sweet. (Thank goodness!)
I was getting very nervous about getting my epidural in time, as I couldn't believe I was already 6 cm.
She said that the anesthesiologist was just around the corner, and as soon as they got my IV in, and two bags of fluid in me, I could get the drugs.
The contractions were pretty intense, and right on top of each other.
My sweet nurse put a pressurized bag on my fluids, so they would pump faster...
which meant an epidural sooner.
I was starting to feel a ton of pressure, and a quick check later, revealed I was 8 cm.
EIGHT CENTIMETERS AND NO EPIDURAL.
I thought it would seem like forever, but before I knew it that sweet, wonderful woman walked in the room and made the contractions fade away.
But remember that pressure I was talking about?
It was real. Was NOT playing around.
I literally felt like I was going to explode.
Actually, I felt like I had exploded but the explosion was trapped, and didn't have anywhere to go.
It was a horrible feeling.
The contractions weren't there, but the pressure was so intense, I felt like I didn't get any relief.
She was clearly moving down, and getting ready to make her appearance into the world.
Turns out Dr. Voss was the one on call that night,
and if I couldn't have Dr. Youkilis, he definitely would have been my second choice,
as he delivered Case! ...and so I knew him, and trusted him.
He has the same laid back personality as our Dr. Y.
Before I knew it, it was time to push.
The pressure had subsided tremendously, except when I had a contraction,
but I definitely wasn't screaming out in pain anymore.
(Later I told Matt I felt like I was a psycho for screaming, and acting like that,
and he said, "Babe, I promise you weren't screaming that loud, at all.")
I even apologized to the nurse, and she said, "Girl! You are in labor, and you are doing great!"
Apparently my water was about to break at any moment,
"Okay, this baby is going to come out as soon as this water breaks,
it is literally bulging, try to stay still, we have called Dr.Voss!"
(could have explained the pressure!)
(Also, my nurse told me later, that she was prepared to deliver the baby herself!)
I was a little skeptical still that she would come that fast,
even though Dr.Youkilis thought Rhett broke my tail bone during birth,
and was convinced she would come out very easily.
I shared my concerned with Dr. Voss as he rushed in.
He checked me, about the same time my water broke all over the place.
He then said, "Uh huh, you do have a very pronounced tail bone there,
she's still got a while to go."
I told him about the previous two at this point,
and how we had vacuum assistance with both of the boys.
"Well, let's push really hard for about 30 minutes, and see how far she comes,
I'll be back to check on ya."
Crap.
Same story!
I have to admit, I was a little excited about this baby coming out with a few pushes,
but clearly my tailbone was still in tact, and totally in the way.
(Side story: My friend, Kelly Anderson sent me a text while we were on the way to the hospital:
"I forgot to tell you that Sydney (her 3 yr old daughter) said that you would have Adley tonight at 10 o'clock")
As I glanced at the clock, it was 9:30pm, and immediately that story popped in my head,
since he said push for 30 min...
I shared the story with our nurse, and Dr. Voss...they were cracking up!
"Send her up here so she can be our crystal ball! That is crazy!
How wild is that?? :)
So I pushed as hard as I could when the contractions came,
and as we waited on the contractions to come,
we got to know our sweet nurse a little better, loved her so much!
Turns out she is engaged to an engineer, and went to the preschool that I work at when she was a kid.
(Was a different program, but same building)
She said, Engineers are always with nurses or teachers! :)
Such a small world!
Well, Dr. Voss returned to check on me, around 9:40pm.
Asked me if I would like to push a little longer,
or go ahead and use the vacuum.
I quickly answered, "Vacuum."
I had been pushing for about an hour and a half, so I was definitely just ready to meet this girl.
He agreed, and he prepared the vacuum, as the baby nurses returned.
Everyone was getting ready for a baby.
Here we go.
We waited for a contraction after the vacuum was in place,
and literally one push later,
our gorgeous daughter was here!
I burst into tears,
and kept saying,
"Oh my gosh, she's gorgeous! She's so pretty...and so tiny!"
Adley Kate Williams
May 20, 2014
7 lbs 13 oz, 20 in
9:48 pm
We are so ridiculously in love.
Oh darlin', you are so loved.
Especially because this was Case's last year of preschool, and because it was the last day of school,
and work for me as I will not be returning...that is until Miss Adley is two! Hee!
Well Tuesday morning, was the start of the last week of preschool.
I turned 38 weeks the day before, and was still feeling pretty good,
besides the normal discomforts of the last few weeks of pregnancy.
(Okay, I do admit, I was getting super tired of not being able to sleep ;)
Boys and I came in, and I had some easy jobs while working,
like assembling the little graduation caps, and sitting and filling water balloons.
It was water day, and a fun, crazy day with all the sweet kids.
I forgot to mention, the night before Matt and I hardly slept.
It was one of those rare nights, where each of the boys were up for one reason or the other,
ALL NIGHT LONG.
So needless to say, after working at preschool,
I was exhausted. My plan was to come home, get Rhett down for a nap, and take a nap myself.
Case is very independent during Rhett's naps,
so I let him know he could play and could come get me if he needed me.
As fate would have it, Rhett was just not going to nap.
Meanwhile, I was having a few stronger braxton hicks, as I had been the last few days/weeks.
I asked the boys to come upstairs and play in their room, while Mommy laid down.
They were very good, and played quietly for quite some time as I rested.
I started timing the contractions, and they were right around 20 minutes apart, lasting about 40 seconds.
Hmm.
It definitely caught my attention that they were consistent, instead of very sporadic as they had been before.
At this point, I started texting my sister.
(reads left to right,also helps to look at the time text was sent ;)
...
They were seriously hurting...and I was seriously still in denial.
I think I'm always just worried that the contractions will just fade away,
or that we will head all the way to the hospital just to be sent home.
While texting Amy I started to put laundry away, and move around to see if the contractions were still coming on strong, and they definitely were.
As you read in the texts, Matt was at the gym, and running to Kroger before he was heading home.
I texted him asking where he was, and he replied that he was walking into Kroger.
I replied, "I'm 5min apart and crying"
He immediately called me, asking me if he needed to come home now and take me to the hospital.
I told him we needed dog food and pull ups, and to hurry.
Matt made it home just a little bit before Amy got here.
After talking to Matt, I headed upstairs and started to pack the rest of our bags.
I had packed clothes for the boys, and Adley's bag, but I still needed to get toiletries together, the camera etc.
By this point, the contractions were so strong, and so painful that I had to stop and breathe through them.
Some were definitely strong enough to bring tears to my eyes.
This was all around 6:00pm.
I finished packing, and came downstairs, and said,
"Wait. I don't think I've had one for a while!"
"You JUST had one that you had to stop and breathe through!" my sister point out.
"I just don't know if it's real!"
"Do you want to wait a little while and see if they keep coming?" she asks.
"I'm going to sit down and see if another one comes."
So I sit on our bench in the hallway and wait.
I kept thinking, of course it's not going to come...but it did. It really did,
and I said the words.
"Okay, I think we need to go."
We kissed the boys Good-bye, and thanked Amy over and over,
and we headed to the hospital.
Matt called his Mom, and our neighbor Joe to make sure he could take care of our big dog Gunner.
He had the speakerphone on, which I quickly asked him to take off,
because HOLY CRAP my contractions were hurting and I needed to breathe and focus,
and I didn't want anyone to hear me if I wanted to cuss or scream! ;)
(Actually I tend to be a quiet, breather and eyes closed kind of girl in labor.
I have to completely focus, and internalize for me to handle them!)
I had several intense contractions on the way,
and had to stop walking after we parked, two or three times to get through a contraction.
(I didn't want Matt to drop me off, I wanted to stay with him)
At this point, I was pretty convinced myself that these were in fact, the real thing.
We arrived in a room right around 6:30pm.
A nurse that reminded me of my Granny in her features, asked me the typical questions,
and got me checked in.
However, she seemed a little odd, she kept laughing, and talking to herself...so when she said,
"I'll just be here for a few minutes, since it's almost shift change time!"
I was a little more than relieved...ha!
She checked me around 7pm, right before she left, and revealed that I was 6 CM!!!
Holy crap.
My night shift nurse came in soon after that, and she was adorable.
Young, and so sweet. (Thank goodness!)
I was getting very nervous about getting my epidural in time, as I couldn't believe I was already 6 cm.
She said that the anesthesiologist was just around the corner, and as soon as they got my IV in, and two bags of fluid in me, I could get the drugs.
The contractions were pretty intense, and right on top of each other.
My sweet nurse put a pressurized bag on my fluids, so they would pump faster...
which meant an epidural sooner.
I was starting to feel a ton of pressure, and a quick check later, revealed I was 8 cm.
EIGHT CENTIMETERS AND NO EPIDURAL.
I thought it would seem like forever, but before I knew it that sweet, wonderful woman walked in the room and made the contractions fade away.
But remember that pressure I was talking about?
It was real. Was NOT playing around.
I literally felt like I was going to explode.
Actually, I felt like I had exploded but the explosion was trapped, and didn't have anywhere to go.
It was a horrible feeling.
The contractions weren't there, but the pressure was so intense, I felt like I didn't get any relief.
She was clearly moving down, and getting ready to make her appearance into the world.
Turns out Dr. Voss was the one on call that night,
and if I couldn't have Dr. Youkilis, he definitely would have been my second choice,
as he delivered Case! ...and so I knew him, and trusted him.
He has the same laid back personality as our Dr. Y.
Before I knew it, it was time to push.
The pressure had subsided tremendously, except when I had a contraction,
but I definitely wasn't screaming out in pain anymore.
(Later I told Matt I felt like I was a psycho for screaming, and acting like that,
and he said, "Babe, I promise you weren't screaming that loud, at all.")
I even apologized to the nurse, and she said, "Girl! You are in labor, and you are doing great!"
Apparently my water was about to break at any moment,
"Okay, this baby is going to come out as soon as this water breaks,
it is literally bulging, try to stay still, we have called Dr.Voss!"
(could have explained the pressure!)
(Also, my nurse told me later, that she was prepared to deliver the baby herself!)
I was a little skeptical still that she would come that fast,
even though Dr.Youkilis thought Rhett broke my tail bone during birth,
and was convinced she would come out very easily.
I shared my concerned with Dr. Voss as he rushed in.
He checked me, about the same time my water broke all over the place.
He then said, "Uh huh, you do have a very pronounced tail bone there,
she's still got a while to go."
I told him about the previous two at this point,
and how we had vacuum assistance with both of the boys.
"Well, let's push really hard for about 30 minutes, and see how far she comes,
I'll be back to check on ya."
Crap.
Same story!
I have to admit, I was a little excited about this baby coming out with a few pushes,
but clearly my tailbone was still in tact, and totally in the way.
(Side story: My friend, Kelly Anderson sent me a text while we were on the way to the hospital:
"I forgot to tell you that Sydney (her 3 yr old daughter) said that you would have Adley tonight at 10 o'clock")
As I glanced at the clock, it was 9:30pm, and immediately that story popped in my head,
since he said push for 30 min...
I shared the story with our nurse, and Dr. Voss...they were cracking up!
"Send her up here so she can be our crystal ball! That is crazy!
How wild is that?? :)
So I pushed as hard as I could when the contractions came,
and as we waited on the contractions to come,
we got to know our sweet nurse a little better, loved her so much!
Turns out she is engaged to an engineer, and went to the preschool that I work at when she was a kid.
(Was a different program, but same building)
She said, Engineers are always with nurses or teachers! :)
Such a small world!
Well, Dr. Voss returned to check on me, around 9:40pm.
Asked me if I would like to push a little longer,
or go ahead and use the vacuum.
I quickly answered, "Vacuum."
I had been pushing for about an hour and a half, so I was definitely just ready to meet this girl.
He agreed, and he prepared the vacuum, as the baby nurses returned.
Everyone was getting ready for a baby.
Here we go.
We waited for a contraction after the vacuum was in place,
and literally one push later,
our gorgeous daughter was here!
I burst into tears,
and kept saying,
"Oh my gosh, she's gorgeous! She's so pretty...and so tiny!"
Adley Kate Williams
May 20, 2014
7 lbs 13 oz, 20 in
9:48 pm
As our sweet girl got measured, and weighed,
it wasn't long after that we were sending texts, announcing her arrival!
I just couldn't believe she was already here!
13 days early,
labor began I guess around 3pm, so all in all about a 7 hour labor...
and only around 3 1/2 hours from the time we walked into the hospital!
Have I mentioned that I am so glad we left when we did?
So glad I have my big sister to convince me that I'm actually in labor!
Minutes later, I had that precious teeny baby on my chest,
and Matt and I fell even deeper in love with our daughter.
Seeing, feeling and touching your precious child for the first time
is simple indescribable.
The absolute best.
Makes every single moment of pregnancy worth it in one tiny instant.
Take your breath away, overwhelmingly, ridiculously magical.
We are so ridiculously in love.
Oh darlin', you are so loved.
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