baby James- a birth story {pt 3}

 James' birth story- part 1 

James' birth story- part 2

The nurse returned just minutes after my doctor left and she stayed in the room with us to help me through the contractions, bless her! I felt her pressing on my belly, pressure points I'm assuming, as she encouraged me and told me how great I was doing through the contractions. The pain continued to increase and I was losing relief in between contractions as the pressure was building down there. I felt pressure when it was time to push with Mia, but no pain because of my epidural. It was shocking to feel pain with the pressure, ugh, I was so miserable! I started to tell my nurse about the pressure I was feeling when I suddenly developed the shakes, but a severe case of the shakes (severe in my opinion, ha ha! I had the shakes with Mia but they just felt like small tremors and my teeth chattered a little bit.) My hands crippled/seized up and I went into a major panic about that! "Look at my hands! Oh my gosh, why are they doing this?! I can't straighten my fingers! Are they going to be stuck like this forever?!" I can't remember what she was saying to me but I do remember Eric trying to straighten my fingers out. I don't know if he thought I was doing it on purpose, or if he was just trying to help me calm the heck down by straightening them (but they would just cripple back up. It was the weirdest thing!) My blood pressure cuff tried to take my blood pressure but my arm was so tense that the cuff wouldn't loosen because it couldn't get a read on me. My nurse asked me to relax so that it could take my blood pressure and loosen up as I was crying to her that I thought my arm might fall off between the pressure of the cuff and my crippled hands, ha ha (but it wasn't funny in the moment, I was stressing out!) I told her I didn't know how to relax... I had no idea what my body was doing and I couldn't control it! Next thing I knew she was pulling out the oxygen and asking if I could hold it to my mouth or if she should strap it to my head. I couldn't move my arms so she strapped it to my head, asked if I needed an extra blanket (that's when I realized how hard my teeth were chattering, but I wasn't cold! I was over heated it felt like) and explained that even though my doctor had just checked me, she would check me. Just then the anesthesiologist came in. I saw him darting around the room for a minute while explaining that he was going to try another medicine, and if that didn't work then he would redo my epidural. The nurse checked me at the same time when she jumped up and said, "DON'T PUSH with your contractions! You are at a 10! I need to go call the doctor and see what he wants to do! Again, DON'T PUSH while I'm gone!" And just like that, the room cleared and it was just Eric, me and the pain alone together again. (That all happened in just a couple minutes of my body going into shock, or whatever you want to call it, it happened so quickly!) 

 This was after everything settled down. We were all relaxing, which meant TV for Eric, ha ha!

I felt a weird sense of validation as Eric and I checked the time and realized that in just 20 minutes my body had progressed from a 6 to a 10 with no epidural. I finally had an explanation for the world of hurt I was feeling (as if I needed an explanation, I was in labor for crying out loud! I later remembered that I was on pitocin, another reason for the extreme pain when I was only at a 6.) but it also makes me frustrated to think about the big, fat epidural bill that's coming my way... it totally let me down... is there a discount for that?! ha ha! My nurse came back awhile later to a new patient! The medicine had kicked in and I was pain free again, my hands had relaxed and my shakes were back down to a minimum. I was laughing and joking when she came back and I could see the surprise on her face- I'm a pleasant person to be around when I'm not in pain ;) She told me that the doctor wanted to have me "labor down" and hold off from pushing for awhile. Even though I was at a 10, the baby was still high up (common when a version has been performed) and he wanted the baby to come down lower on his own so that I didn't exhaust myself from pushing. I ended up "laboring down" for two more hours, which was annoying because I thought it was go time, but I was able to get some much needed sleep in that time! 

Side note: I was extremely disappointed to see that I had missed dinner. The kitchen closed at 7 and that was when I received the news that it wasn't time to push yet. I made a plan with the nurse that she would bring me a fruit plate when I finally delivered and Eric would go get take out. I was STARVING and much of my conversation that day revolved around food, ha ha! 

At 9PM my doctor finally came in and told me it was time to push! I could feel pressure from the contractions but it was harder for me to push this time around! First of all, I forgot just how hard it is to push a baby out- such hard work!! But I suspect that going from feeling everything to feeling nothing but a bit of pressure made it more difficult for me to feel where I needed to push. The doctor and my amazing nurse were super encouraging and helpful with the push process, thank heavens! His head was finally coming out when the doctor told me to stop pushing as he unwrapped the cord from around the baby's neck saying with his Indian accent, "you naughty little boy!" ha ha. I won't ever forget that! I was actually extremely nervous the whole time he was breech that the reason was because of the cord, but Eric said it wasn't tight around his neck at all. Then I felt him slide the rest of the way out (at 9:29PM) and he was finally in my arms! 

James was so quiet as he laid there, like he was taking it all in. He was such a sweet boy, perfect in every way! The nurse took him to clean him up, weigh him, etc. I asked the doctor how long I pushed for and he told me, "oh, probably 5-7 minutes!" I said, "wow, that was the LONGEST 5 minutes of my life!" He laughed at me and explained that I pushed for that little time, but it was probably a half hour in total with waiting time in between contractions. That made so much more sense :) I tore "a little" so the doctor worked on stitching me up while I watched them take care of my baby across the room. Eric was so attentive following them from the scale, to the warming bed and taking lots of pictures with my phone! James weighed 6 lbs 14 oz (Mia weighed 7 lbs) and was 19 3/4 inches long (Mia was 19 1/2 inches). 

They finally brought my baby to me and I got to cuddle him and soak up skin to skin. The room slowly cleared until it was just Eric, me and James (and my fruit plate, bless my nurse!) and we got to enjoy our sweet, wide eyed boy for the next couple of hours. He was so awake and alert and we loved every second of his newness! James Wendell Brinkerhoff was finally here and we couldn't have been happier!

Let Me See You Sparkle Photography

baby burrito {Summer Infant Swaddle Me}

If you ask me, there's nothing quite like a newborn baby burrito! So tiny and snuggly! I love wrapping James up and in a swaddle and watching him instantly relax into his "safe" place! It's obviously very familiar for him and comforting to be swaddled (confined space, ha ha!)
There's also nothing quite like the strength of a newborn AND the learning curve of wrapping that swaddle just right... which is where our love for Summer Infant Swaddle Me comes into play! These swaddles made the transition so much easier on all of us! The Velcro allows us to wrap James up quickly with little chance of him breaking free of the swaddle (because seriously, why do they always wriggle out of the swaddles when they love it so much?!) We have listened to friends swear by these Summer Infant swaddles since we had Mia, and I'm so glad we were finally able to try them out! So is James ;)

Swaddle Blankets c/o Summer Infant Swaddle Me (Similar color scheme here or sport print here)

Dainty Layers Jewelry {giveaway!}

"The most precious jewels you'll ever have around your neck are the arms of your children."

I have to admit that since becoming a mom, I couldn't love that quote more! But that being said... beautiful jewelry definitely doesn't hurt ;) I am so excited to introduce you all to Dainty Layers Jewelry today! 

Dainty Layers Jewelry is completely made by hand in her Florida studio! Her shop is full of gorgeous, dainty necklaces that are perfect for layering! The set I'm wearing is a hand stamped disc with my initial (I can't wait to add Eric, Mia and James' initials to this necklace!) and a skinny hammered (by hand, of course) bar. She offers gold, rose gold and sterling silver necklaces/sets! I adore mine and highly recommend checking them out!!

Be sure to check out my Instagram for a chance to win this exact necklace set from Dainty Layers Jewelry for yourself!! Good luck, xoxo!

pumpkin patching

I am the kind of girl that likes to be on the go and Mia is the same way! Before James was born, we got out of the house almost every single day, even if it was just an hour or so at the gym! What can I say, Mia and I thrive on adventures and being active! That being said, I'm also the kind of girl who believes in soaking up that 6 weeks post baby and letting my body heal! But both Mia and I were going absolutely stir crazy (even though my parents and Eric's parents had been here and taken Mia out on multiple occasions) so I jumped at the opportunity to get out of the house when Eric suggested going to a car show! I couldn't help but google pumpkin patches after seeing so many fun photos on Instagram and discovered that there was one just minutes from our home, and not far from the car show! Thank heavens for Eric who can't say no to his girls ;)
We hit up the car show and didn't stay very long... it definitely wasn't Eric's favorite. But it was so cute to watch Mia walk around holding Eric's hand, patiently looking at the cars (she's much more patient than I am, ha!) and thinking about all the memories Eric will make with Mia and James when it comes to car shows and working on his own Chevelle with them! And I think James' outfit was totally perfect for the occasion ;)
Next we hit up the pumpkin patch and Mia was in heaven! She played in the tractor tire playground, hugged goats (yes, I was horrified but Eric scrubbed her down) and claimed the mini horse in the petting zoo, jumped on some bouncy thing while I fed James (she's obsessed with jumping so that was a life saver to keep her occupied!), went on a little train ride, walked through the corn maze and picked out a pumpkin! She had so much fun and never wanted to leave! Too bad this momma can't hang like she used to... I'm looking forward to the day that I have my strength and energy back ;)

"It's too heaby!!" while grunting and carrying it to us, ha!

Necklace (that she insisted on wearing even though it didn't match, ha!) c/o Love Blooms Here

Mia obviously hated it... ha ha! Saturday was the best family day! Thanks to Eric for making it possible, I definitely wouldn't have made it out of the house without him! I can't wait for many more adventures with my family of FOUR!

baby James- a birth story {pt 2}

 James' birth story- part 1 

Suddenly I felt tingling across my forehead and other weird sensations through my body as they gave me different meds. I could feel my body stabilize as I steadily felt better. When I opened my eyes again my nurse said, "I've never had anyone drop that low, that quickly!" with a nervous laugh. My doctor's reply? "I'm really surprised she didn't throw up!" Thank heavens I didn't throw up... I can only imagine how much worse that would have made things, ha ha! A few minutes later, after making sure I really was stabilized, the room cleared out except for my doctor and two nurses. My doctor got right to work with performing the version to flip baby boy. It felt like he was massaging my belly (so weird to feel that even with my epidural) when I suddenly felt the baby turn (but no pain) and saw the movement through my belly. Weirdest thing ever! My doctor wanted to immediately break my water to help prevent baby from turning back to breech, but I had to be on an antibiotic for 4 hours before he could, so the nurses strapped a girdle to my belly and then the waiting game began.

During those 4 hours I was able to relax and rest my eyes (but I never fully fell asleep which was a bummer), Eric watched TV, paced our room and snuck out for a bite to eat. We were bored out of our minds, ha ha! My doctor came in at 11:30, checked me and I was still at a 3 (depressing!) then broke my water. I asked him how much longer he thought this would take because I REALLY wanted lunch. "Do you want something to eat?!" he asked. "No way! Can I have something to eat?!" He totally got my hopes up for a split second until he said, "well, probably not..." ha ha. WHAT THE HECK, MAN?! My nurse smacked him for me ;) But then he asked me if I wanted any apple juice and normally I wouldn't want that, but I was starving so it actually sounded amazing! I told him no though, because I thought that would be the right answer, ha ha. He explained that the glucose might feed my muscles a bit and help speed up delivery when the time came and told my nurse to get me some juice, otter pops if they had them or jello, then he left. I have to write this all out because that conversation lasted less than 2 minutes but I can't even tell you how heavenly that juice and jello was, ha ha! It totally made life happier for a couple hours for me ;) As soon as he walked out of the room I suddenly felt a ton of fluid gush out. Disgusting, I know! But for those few minutes after he broke my water, nothing really happened. My poor nurse... the fluid just kept coming! We were SHOCKED! But she said it totally explained why he was able to turn so much at 39 weeks "he was probably doing backstrokes in there!" she joked. She also referred to his "Olympic size pool" awhile later... It was such a surprise (and really gross) to have that much fluid come out, especially since my belly wasn't measuring any bigger (in fact, the nurses all kept commenting on what a tiny, little belly I had), but it was kind of a relief for me to understand how and why he was still flipping all around in there!

Just as Eric and I were about to lose our minds from boredom, my doctor came back around 3 to check me. I was SO discouraged to learn I had only progressed to a 4. Then he broke the bad news that he probably wasn't going to be able to deliver my baby since he had been at the hospital for 24 hours. Break my heart! (Am I the only one who gets attached to a doctor during all those months of pregnancy? Ha!) He told me he had some paperwork to do so if it was go time before 5, he would come back and deliver! I told my nurse that we had to do something to get the show on the road because 5pm was my new goal to have this baby! I was extremely mobile even with my epidural so she told me to change positions every 20-30 minutes. I alternated from laying on one side, sitting up straight and rocking side to side, then laying on the other side. My epidural ran out during this and my nurse had to change the bag. Shortly after that I started noticing pain with every contraction instead of just the pressure. I let some time pass before calling my nurse to see if the pain would go away but it only got worse. I called her in and she explained that my metabolism was probably burning the epidural off a lot quicker because of how active I was, instead of most women who just lay there (because they are too numb to move) She showed me how to push the button for an extra shot of meds, and told me to let her know if I didn't feel any change after pushing it 3 or 4 times. Oh boy, did I feel change! Not the change I wanted though, the pain became more intense! It was shift change so my previous nurse told me she would send in my new nurse and go find the anesthesiologist. My new nurse came in a few minutes later just as I started to cry during a contraction. I don't know how, but I managed to feel embarrassed through the pain about crying in front of her... what a good first impression I was making, ha ha! But seriously, who cares about first impressions during labor?! She told me she would go find the anesthesiologist and quickly left the room. At this point I was a hot mess, curled up in the fetal position on my side and telling Eric how badly this sucked! I tried squeezing his hand through one contraction, but that brought me no relief and actually hurt him, so that was out. I asked him just to touch my arm through each contraction because it somehow helped to feel the reminder that I wasn't alone in that room through the pain. I was NOT prepared to handle this pain, especially since I had experienced no pain from the very beginning. UGH!

The tears kept flowing as I tried to breath through each contraction and I really couldn't have been a bigger mess! The new doctor (my doctor's partner) came in just then to tell me that my doctor had called to check in at 5 and apologized again for not being able to be there to deliver, introduced himself and who knows what else he said. I basically told him to leave me alone... I couldn't even see straight (my eyes stayed closed as much as possible) let alone talk through the pain... He reminded me to breath through the contraction and told me he was going to check me. If I was at a 10 we would start pushing, if not, he would find the anesthesiologist. I thought I was crushed before when I found out I hadn't progressed much, but when he told me I was only at a 6 I seriously wanted to cry! Oh wait, I was already crying ;) ha ha! I felt so defeated and so... weak! How do people choose to do this natural?! Why was the pain so great to me when I was only at a 6?! Why was a I paying for an epidural when it wasn't doing it's job?! THIS SUCKS! (I never swore once during this process, but "this sucks" came out of my mouth a lot, ha ha!) The doctor told me he would go find the anesthesiologist with an apologetic tone of voice then left the room. He was the third person to tell me that... WHERE WAS THE FREAKIN' ANESTHESIOLOGIST?!

 Let Me See You Sparkle Photography

I had to... I had to stop it here! Things got very intense for me after this and there is still a mouthful to share! But I promise that the next segment of James' birth will be the final segment :)