Tilly's Birth Story

The day I never thought would arrive finally did.. we had our sweet baby girl June 21, 2014. 

I'll start with a little back info to get things going.  I had my 39 week appointment on Wednesday, June 18 and left a little discouraged.  I was still just a little over 1 cm and there was no sign that I would be having her soon.  With that being said, once you are at that stage, the baby could come any day, but with no sure signs I was still a bit let down.  We left our doctor's appointment with another one scheduled for the next Thursday (a day past my due date) and left it as we would discuss options if I made it that far.  A few hours later as we were on the way to the airport to pick up my mom, I started having awful contractions, but they were so random.  They were about 10 minutes long and then would stop for 30 minutes, so not your typical spacing.  This happened most of the way to the airport and on the way home.  I didn't have any Braxton Hicks contractions or any labor signs my whole pregnancy so I wasn't too sure what to think of these.  Luckily for my pain sake, they stopped once we got home and I felt normal, just tired.

Fast forward to Friday.  I hadn't felt anything else since Wednesday night and felt pretty good (as good as you can at this point).  This was Lance's inventory day for the month at work... aka torture day.  My poor husband works so many hours and this day is the worst of the whole month.  He never knows how long it will take, and this month he was at work from 5:30am-11:30pm.  Yes, 18 hours.  I stayed awake all night until he got home so I could see him after his long day.  Once he got home and we all visited for a bit and then got ready for bed, it was around 1:00am.  As we are getting in bed he says exhausted, "Honey, please don't have this baby tonight."  Oops.

Around 1:30am (only 30 minutes later) I wake up coughing really hard.  I got up to go to the bathroom because during the cough I thought I peed some (yes TMI, but that is pregnancy lol). As I was up in the bathroom I noticed I felt really off.  I got back in bed and started having a contraction.  It lasted about a minute and then went away so I thought, ok maybe I am in the clear. Nope, about 30-45 seconds later it came back even more intense and I just knew this was it.  I woke up Lance and said, "I am so sorry but I think something is happening!" haha I just felt SO guilty that of all nights, it was this one.  He half asleep rubbed my back and mumbles, "you're fine just go to sleep." lol poor guy.  Right as he says this I get another contraction and felt a pop so I jump (as fast a pregnant girl can) out of bed and as soon as I stood up my water broke.  Me jumping up woke him up and he leaped up as I said, "Ok this is it.. it's baby time."  From that moment it was game on.  He threw his clothes on and ran to wake up my mom.  I on the other hand, just kind of stood in the same spot wondering how I was going to clean up the floor without making a bigger mess! haha  As they started running around getting ready, we got the floor cleaned, I got dressed, made sure my bag was all ready, and of course, had to make the bed and straighten up the room. I know, I'm weird.  By the time we left around 20 or so minutes later the pain was unreal.  As my mom is driving us to the hospital, Lance is timing my contractions and they are a minute long, every 30 seconds on the dot. I was getting no break.

We get to the hospital around 2:30am and they immediately get me sent back and in the triage room.  The nurse checks me and indeed my water broke and I am at 3 cm. It's baby time!  At some point as she is drawing my blood and getting things ready she asks about my plan for pain, I think I said something along the lines of GIVE ME THE EPIDURAL NOW! haha.  I have never felt pain that bad in my life. I could barely breathe and would just sob through the contractions. Maybe I am a wuss, but the women that go all natural are troopers.. and a bit crazy! :)

Finally around 3:30am I am moved into L&D and hooked up to everything. Since it was the middle of the night, my blood work was checked quickly, my IVs were already going, and it was epidural time.  Normally they wait and do them in between contractions, but since mine were so fast, I just had to get it through them.  As they came in with all the paper work to sign, I scribbled my name in about 1 second and could've cared less that the paper probably had about a million warnings on what could go wrong.  I hunched over, clenched my nurse, and got the most amazing shot ever in my spine.  I honestly have no idea if it even hurt because of the contractions. About 10 minutes later I was pain free and a happy camper.  I will say, I HATED feeling numb.  I was getting so claustrophobic and it took so strong on my right side that is was completely dead and made my skin crawl.  Now, pick battles.. labor pains or numb legs.. I'll take numb legs!!!  After the epidural kicked in and I relaxed a bit, the nurse checked me at 6am and I was close to 5cm.  She said things were going good and I could just relax because now was the waiting game.  I think I took maybe a 30 minute nap and then it was time for the nurses to change.  I must say, every nurse I had there was amazing, and I LOVED my nurse that helped delivery.  She also had a student with her that day and she was the sweetest girl.  They stayed in and chatted with us quite a bit.  Around 8 am she got done changing my bedding and gown (labor is not for the modest or squeamish) and decided she would check really quick and just see where I was. Well holy cow, she looked up with wide eyes and said, "girl, you are at 10cm!".  Lance, my mom, and I all were like.. wait what? Already???  At this point she told me she wanted me to do a practice push and see how the baby was going to do.  She didn't want to come down just yet, so the nurse propped me up and said to let gravity shift her the next hour and then we would try to push.

Around 9:45am she comes back and has everything set up for delivery.  She said she wants to get my pushing started to see how it goes and then will call the doctor in a little while when necessary.  Well, let's just say I pushed for 2 contractions and she had me stop so they could run and get the doctor because Ms Tilly was coming NOW!  The doctor came in and suited up about 5 minutes later, I pushed through 2 more contractions (around 10 minutes of total pushing) and at 10:01 am, our little princess was born.  All day long the doctor and nurses were just amazed and commented on how my labor was so fast and easy and they couldn't believe it.  My theory is, since I was so miserable and in pain for so long during my pregnancy, my labor gave me a break and let me just slide on through! It was honestly such a blur that we all somehow got through on about 30 minutes sleep from the past 48 hours.

1:45am- Water Breaks
2:30am- 3cm
6:00am- 5cm
8:00am- 10cm
10:01am- 10 minutes of pushing and baby girl arrives.

It was such a surreal moment when she came out and they placed her on my chest and I knew just moments ago she was in my belly.  The human body really is a miracle.  It's still so crazy to have her here with us after feeling her grow in side me the past 9 months.  She has to be the cutest baby I've ever seen and is the sweetest little thing.  She loves to snuggle her mommy and daddy, that's for sure.  She LOVES her sleep.. and then to eat, poop, and sleep again. What a life! :)


And now.. a few pictures from that magical day! (and a little snuggle one thrown in).

We love you little bit!



39 Weeks Bumpdate

How far along:  39 weeks- AH!

Size of baby:  Watermelon- 19-22in, 7lbs

Gender:  Girl

Maternity clothes:  Comfy is key for sure! Maxi dresses, or Tshirts and pj shorts (that somehow I can still squeeze my big ole pregnant butt into) are my main attire these days.

Sleep:  Same. The hip pain I have when I wake up is excruciating. It's horrible!! Million potty breaks, as she is completely smashed in my poor bladder.

Symptoms:  Hot, big, so much lower pressure, and lovely shooting pains down LOW.

Miss anything:  Yes, yes, yes

Movement:  This little bit likes to go crazy starting at about 9pm every night. I hope this isn't a sign of her habits on the outside world, uh oh!! and let's just say her movements now hurt like the dickens!

Food cravings:  Nope

Anything making you queasy or sick:  No

Have you started to show yet:   My stomach is OUT.OF.CONTROL

Belly button in or out:   Still all the way in there.  It's very shallow, but never got flat or "popped". Yay! lol

Wedding rings on or off:  Good ole fatty swollen fingers. I tried to put it on the other day and let's just say that was a bad idea..

Mood:  Ready for this baby!

Best moment of this week:  We have the house all in order, some last minute supplies approved from insurance and arrived yesterday.. now we are just waiting on little girl!!

Looking forward to:   My appointment is in about 45 minutes.. I hope we have LOTS of progress.   Also.. my mom arrives at 6:50pm tonight! She'll be here for the next few weeks, so Tilly needs to get here ASAP so we can enjoy lots of help! :) -- But I'm really wishing for a 22nd baby!

Man's Best Friend

 

 

 

Top: Clyde & Bonnie

Bottom: Molly & Ginny

 

 

 

These were my 4 babies for the past few years. The top are my NC dogs, which Lance has had since they were puppies, and I took over as Mommy 3 years ago. The bottom are my MS babies that we've had since they were pups.  Clyde is 15, Bonnie was 12 1/2, Molly was 13, and Ginny is 12.  I knew there would come a time when we would have a sad few years since they were all so close in age and getting old, but I was hoping that somehow they would be super dogs and live forever!

 

 

 

 

You might have seen yesterday I posted we had to put down our sweet, but crazy girl Bonnie. Or as I called her (and Lance hated- Bon Que Que).  This dog ruled the roost.  She was a mean, bossy little thing.  I will admit she made me mad at least once a day with her crazy barking, staying under my feet always tripping me, and her little attitude, but I loved that feisty little dog. She had her sweet cuddly side and she was our Bon Bon.  Her story is a bit harder because we didn't think we were anywhere near losing her.  She might have been close to 13, but this dog could have lived 5+ years.  She was as hyper and energetic as they come. Lance always said she was tough as nails.  About 2 or 3 weeks ago, we noticed that she got super mopey and just wasn't wanting to do anything.  This dog LOVED, and I mean loved, to be on the back deck at night and eat bugs. Yes, eat bugs.  We would turn the light on for her so they would all attract by the door and she would jump up like a bunny for hours and catch them. I know this is weird, but it was her thing! haha  When she got to where she didn't even want to do that, we knew she was feeling rough.  Now she has been on thyroid medicine for years and years, and when her levels get off, she gets this way.  So honestly, we didn't think too much of it.  We scheduled her appointment at the vet since it was almost her yearly checkup time, and asked them to get her thyroid levels.  About 2 days before her appointment, Lance noticed a red lump on her poor little bottom. We just assumed maybe it was a hemorrhoid and heck, that could be what was making her mopey! I mentioned it at the appointment and as the doctor checked it out, he said it was actually a tumor! What?!? Then he found another red growth in her mouth and 2 lumps on her chest.  He took a sample from the lumps and they weren't cancerous, so he just scheduled an appointment for the week later to take the red ones off and didn't seem too concerned.  As that week went on, she got worse and worse.  She wouldn't eat (this was definitely a concern since this dog LOVES food) and then 2 days before her appointment she was constantly throwing up white foam and was wheezing, as we could tell it was hard for her to breath.  By this point we knew it was something bad, but hoped for the best. Also, we found another red lump that had grown within the week in her mouth and her whole body was starting to be covered in hard knots.  When I took her yesterday morning, I informed the vet of all her changes and I could tell then he was concerned.  He said to leave her there and they would do chest xrays first and call me with the results before they did anything to her.  At 10am I got the call that she had a massive tumor in her chest/lungs area and she had a rapid growing form of cancer in her lymph nodes. The spots he tested last week they didn't have cancer cells, now did. We could go to a dog oncologist, or put her down.  Of course I completely broke down and told him we would get back to him after I talked to Lance.  I called Lance and he came home, knowing what we had to do.  We made the decision to put her down as we knew how bad she had gotten and how much she was suffering.  The vet kept her on oxygen all day and with pain medicine, so we knew she was comfortable those last few hours.  As we got there and told him our decision, he then told us he 100% agreed that was the right thing to do. He said never in his years of practice (and he was late 50's/60 years old) had he seen a cancer spread and grow that fast.  The tumor in her chest was already the size of a baseball.  We said goodbye to our sweet Bonnie and brought her home to bury.

 

Losing a pet is one of the hardest things to go through.  It's so weird being here at home today and not have her following me around and constantly being under my feet, or asleep in the room I am in. I feel so terrible for Lance, she was his baby and I know how hard this is on him.

 

 

 

 

We also said goodbye to this amazing dog earlier this year, Molly.  She was definitely getting into the "old lady" dog category, but her death came very quickly too. She got sick and was put down within a matter of weeks as well. I think it was a bit easier that I have lived here for over 2 1/2 years now, so I wasn't in the same home with her anymore, but it was still devastating losing my Molly Bolly.

 

 

Now we have these 2 pups left. Clyde and Ginny. 

 

 

 

Yes, Clyde- our 15 year old OLD MAN dog who cost us almost $2,000 a few months ago when he ate a penny. Clyde, who we never thought in a million years would outlive Bonnie.  This dude is a trooper. He honestly doesn't know who he is or where he is half the time, but he is trucking along.  You guys better hang out, because I can't handle anymore sadness right now! It's still hard to believe Bonnie won't get to meet Tilly.  I thought she would be around a few years with her, and now that I could have her any day, Bon Bon is gone.  Sometimes life just isn't fair.

 

I hope Bon Bon and Molly are playing it up in doggie Heaven together (even though they were both the attitude dogs, so they might not get along haha)!! :) :)



38 Weeks Bumpdate

 

Same outfit as 2 weeks ago, but oh the difference 2 weeks make.  This belly is OUT OF CONTROL.

 

 

How far along:  38 weeks.. ah!!

Size of baby:  Watermelon- 19-22in, 6.5lbs (all same as last week?)

Gender:  Girl

Maternity clothes:  Squeezing into what I can!

Sleep:  Keep this same from last week-- Still sucky. Hip pain, shoulder pain, wake up to numb arms/hands, bathroom breaks about 7 times a night. Fun stuff!

Symptoms:  HOT. So, so hot!! Big, uncomfortable, can't bend or do most anything that requires me to move lol

Miss anything:  Ahhh where to begin?

Movement:  She is still going crazy in there. She's trying to break out! :)

Food cravings:  Nope

Anything making you queasy or sick:  No

Have you started to show yet:   I think my stomach will explode any day now..

Belly button in or out:   Still in!

Wedding rings on or off:  Off and jumbo sausage fingers for the win

Mood:  Exhausted

Best moment of this week:  I was FINALLY dilated at my 38 week checkup yesterday.. hallelujah, this baby is being cooperative!!

Looking forward to:   My mom will be here a week from tomorrow and of course.. having this baby!!!!!!!

37 Weeks Bumpdate

 

Not the best picture, but it shows my painfully large belly!

How far along:  37 weeks.. full term, woohoo!

Size of baby:  Watermelon- 19-22in, 6.5lbs

Gender:  Girl

Maternity clothes:  Same as before.. almost all maternity, then whatever tshirts and tanks I can stretch over this jumbo WATERMELON (ah) belly!

Sleep:  Still sucky. Hip pain, shoulder pain, wake up to numb arms/hands, bathroom breaks about 7 times a night. Fun stuff!

Symptoms:  Whew, everything.  I look like someone pumped me up with air- My poor face is so fat, eh.  Every week I think there's no way my stomach can get any bigger, but it does. This must be a 20 lb baby! haha

Miss anything:  Oh so much..

Movement:  She is still a rolly polly in there. Lots of painful movements now that I have a full grown baby hanging out in my belly.

Food cravings:  Nope

Anything making you queasy or sick:  No

Have you started to show yet:   I am officially HUGE.  When I went to the grocery store on Monday, literally within a minute of being in the store 3 people stopped and asked when I was due as they stared at my belly all wide eyed.  Then when I was checking out, the manager ran over and loaded all my groceries on the belt for me as he said, I don't want you going into labor here!   Oh, and the best.. Saturday we were at Walmart and the cashier says, "Oh honey, you look miserable."  Why yes, yes I am! ha

Belly button in or out:   It's still in there.

Wedding rings on or off:  Off :( Got my cheapo band to wear so I don't look like a single teen mom! haha

Mood:  Lots, but so anxious!!!

Best moment of this week:  We had our hospital tour last night and it was so crazy how real it made it all. Next time I'll be there, I'll be having a baby! ah!! Also, I have never been in a hospital as a patient, so it's kind of scary.  Thank goodness everyone seemed super friendly and the rooms are very, very nice at our hospital!

Looking forward to:   I have my appointment in about an hour, so fingers crossed I have something going on this week. Everything was at 0 last week.. no fun!