She was born on July 22nd at 1:03 a.m. 7 pounds, 14 ounces and 19.5 inches long. I couldn't imagine what my second baby would be like, especially a little girl?! It was so surreal for me and a dream come true really.
I always assumed I would have a house full of boys and I was totally good with that. I wanted at least 3. I could see our future of football games, them wrestling in the living room, not being able to keep enough food in the house, and each one being taller than Jeremy (Bahaha). I love having a boy, he loves and snuggles me like only a son can with his mommy.
Throughout my pregnancy I had a feeling we were having a girl. My heart told me girl, my mind told me boy (based on the McNair history). I tried not to let my mind wander too far with the idea of a little baby doll :) but I will always remember the day we found out! When we went in for the ultrasound I was pretty sure I knew what we were about to hear. Once she said our baby was a girl, we second guessed her every way we knew how...but she told us she was positive. No question. Jackson was a little upset at first. He wanted (still does) a little brother. We explained that he was Mickey Mouse and she was the Minnie of our family and he grinned so big. As time went on he came around even more to the idea. He started wanting to pick out dresses and toys for her. He involved himself in all the talks of our future. When he met her he was smitten and he still is! He "knows what is best" for her most of the time :). I love it. She has been the perfect addition to our family and I am so proud of big brother...he says the next baby will be a little brother though!
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| Thursday July 18th, the day I was for sure she had dropped |
The Saturday night (July 20th) before my water broke I was having contractions very regularly and less than 2 minutes apart. I had been having Braxton hicks for at least a month (never had those with Jack that I knew of) but these seemed tighter/stronger. They weren't painful but they were more intense. I had lots of energy that morning but by late afternoon I felt like I was coming down with something. I rested on the couch for awhile with Jackson and eventually felt better. We played Chutes and Ladders and I really focused on him, just in case I was in early labor and would be heading to the hospital. Jackson went over to mom's, so as planned Jeremy and I put the car seat in. I sat up front thinking about my contractions but I didn't say much because I didn't want it to be a false alarm. I thought about how ironic it would be if I went into labor the next day, because with Jackson we put the car seat in the night before he was born.
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| At Mom's. Probably about 9 hours before my water broke! |
We went to Mom's house, along with Grandma and Grandpa, for dinner and watermelon. Everyone watched as my belly would tense up in the front and stick out. I told them then it seemed like something more was going on, time would tell....
Around 7:00 a.m Sunday morning I woke up to the undeniable feeling of my water breaking. I opened my eyes and laid there for a second in shock. Finally got the nerve to stand up and confirmed that this was the real deal! I woke Jeremy up and told him I was getting in the shower and that my water had broken. His response was "nuh uh" and I said yep!! He was 'up and at em' so quickly lol. I called my mom (woke her up) and hopped in the shower. She was here by the time I got out! I called Grandma and Grandpa and they were equally excited. I tried to take my time and stay calm, but as contractions picked up I got more anxious. I still wasn't in pain at all though.
Bags were already packed weeks ahead of time, laundry was caught up and my clothes were laid out (again my just in case plans from the night before). We headed to Little Rock wondering how this was going to go down and so excited to meet our little princess. What would she look like? What would labor be like? Would I be able to deliver her naturally? Would the epidural hurt and not 100% work like with Jackson? I called the hospital on the way up there to let them know I was a VBAC patient and that my water had broken, so they were expecting me. The on call doctor happened to be one of the original ones I wanted to see anyway, but my insurance wasn't accepted at his clinic! So I lucked out.
Jeremy dropped me off at the door to the hospital and went to park the car. I sat there patiently waiting as people passed by me. It was strange, just calmly sitting there through the contractions as people were going about their day, saying hello, having no idea I was in labor :) We checked in and I got into the gown and hooked up to the monitors. I was only at a 1.5 cm I think? They didn't want me walking too much until my dr was ok with it. Uterine rupture is the main risk of a VBAC. We waited awhile and I didn't dilate much, only to a 2 (still wishing I could have walked more). They started pitocin at a low dose. Contractions started to get a little painful. The nurse okayed the birth ball for me to bounce on. That helped for awhile there, I think some of my visitors were confused haha! Especially Jeremy's grandpa. He didn't understand why I was bouncing on a big purple ball!
As contractions got me to the point that I closed my eyes through them and didn't talk...my favorite nurse Nancy (from my previous stay in labor and delivery in June) gave me Stadol. It helped some but not enough. My doctor recommended the epidural. If I had to go in for a c-section it would also be handy for it to already be placed anyway. He did an ultrasound to see her estimated size and one estimate said 8 pounds 5 ounces one said 7 pounds 15 ounces. Very close!
**I was in the hospital in June because I didn't feel her move and that scared me. They monitored her and she was great, but for some crazy reason I started having very regular contractions for the first time while I was there on the monitor! Then my pulse and bp were all over the place so I spent one night on the baby floor in the antepartum unit and then 2 nights on the cardio floor. My cardiologist wanted to monitor me for a couple of days and everything was fine. My heart was mildly enlarged but post pregnancy it went back down**
When they came in to do my epidural I was so nervous. I had been pretty calm up to this point. The pain was manageable and I expected that, I was happy and good! Since my epidural had gone so badly with Jackson (4 tries and it still didn't fully work) this was my fear. So she came in and was very reassuring and nice! Jeremy got to stay in there with me too, which I loved. When they did my scheduled c-section I got my epi alone, in the cold OR right before surgery! Anyway, the girl did perfect. It didn't even hurt and I felt great. I couldn't believe it! I was so happy with a little hint of mad at the people that did mine the first time. The difference was unbelieveable! Really the whole day went by quickly to me for some reason, but time went very fast from this point. They kept increasing my Pitocin every half hour, and all I felt was some tightness no pain. I had reached 4 cm at some point and my doctor went and took a nap. I think it was about 9 or 10 p.m. Usually things speed up after 4 cm, but not for me. They had me maxed out on Pitocin because my contractions were exactly where they needed to be but I wasn't progressing. She had dropped some but I wasn't dilating more. They didn't want to increase Pitocin anymore because it could have put us in distress. Also, my blood pressure was high. I can't remember how high but I know I was having to try to rest now and relax more. They had the lights dim and I wasn't talking much. My doctor came in and checked me and I was maybe 4.5 cm. In the beginning when I talked to the doctor, we agreed we didn't want to take any unnecessary risks. If he thought it was time to call it quits and take her, I told him I would trust his judgement. It did surprise me though, that he said a c-section was going to be my best bet at this point. I guess I figured I had awhile to go still. So I said ok (disappointed and worried) and it all happened pretty fast.
It wasn't emergency surgery or anything like that, but anesthesia came on in and increased my epidural. Rolling back into the OR felt like a dream. I wasn't looking forward to it, afraid it would hurt, and of course the idea of being cut open isn't the best. I still prefer the "unplannedness". Less time to worry about it and not much I could do but stay in bed. I got chills so bad this time! I shook through the entire surgery and about an hour afterwards. It was uncontrollable. They put warm blankets on me but it didn't help. I had no pain though! Lots of the normal pressure and pulling, which isn't exactly comfortable, but it was way better than my first surgery. It took a little longer, but Jeremy said he was very thorough ha! Mom was in there too but I think she could barely stand to watch.
Proud Poppa waiting to hold her
Nana getting a good look at Miss Anni!
As contractions got me to the point that I closed my eyes through them and didn't talk...my favorite nurse Nancy (from my previous stay in labor and delivery in June) gave me Stadol. It helped some but not enough. My doctor recommended the epidural. If I had to go in for a c-section it would also be handy for it to already be placed anyway. He did an ultrasound to see her estimated size and one estimate said 8 pounds 5 ounces one said 7 pounds 15 ounces. Very close!
**I was in the hospital in June because I didn't feel her move and that scared me. They monitored her and she was great, but for some crazy reason I started having very regular contractions for the first time while I was there on the monitor! Then my pulse and bp were all over the place so I spent one night on the baby floor in the antepartum unit and then 2 nights on the cardio floor. My cardiologist wanted to monitor me for a couple of days and everything was fine. My heart was mildly enlarged but post pregnancy it went back down**
It wasn't emergency surgery or anything like that, but anesthesia came on in and increased my epidural. Rolling back into the OR felt like a dream. I wasn't looking forward to it, afraid it would hurt, and of course the idea of being cut open isn't the best. I still prefer the "unplannedness". Less time to worry about it and not much I could do but stay in bed. I got chills so bad this time! I shook through the entire surgery and about an hour afterwards. It was uncontrollable. They put warm blankets on me but it didn't help. I had no pain though! Lots of the normal pressure and pulling, which isn't exactly comfortable, but it was way better than my first surgery. It took a little longer, but Jeremy said he was very thorough ha! Mom was in there too but I think she could barely stand to watch.
So...at 1:03 a.m. I heard the music to any parent's ears, my baby's first cry. It was so sweet and precious! The doctor told us afterwards that the cord was loosely around her neck a couple times. Thank God she didn't drop any more than she did.
She had some sweet people waiting to love on her! Granny Faye, Mim, and Aunt Katlyn. They made it all night with us!
We definitely pulled our first all nighter with our girl. When we made it to out room and got settled in the sun was about to come up! What a day...
