Wednesday, September 11, 2013

Long Birth Story of Skyler Albert Farley

So our little man Skyler Albert Farley finally decided to make his debut on Wed. Sept. 4th at 7:58pm. He weighed 6 lbs. 15 oz. and was 19.5 inches long. ( I accidentally put that he was 19 inches long on facebook.... but I'm too lazy to change it. But ya gotta get that .5 inches in there especially for boys! ;) ) Anyway..... This kid threw me for a loop. So I've had three children before him. I was for sure I would be a pro at this by now. Ya. I guess not so much. After passing my due date, I jokingly told Austin that he better be born on the 4th cause that's our lucky number. Both Austin and I were born on the 4th, we were married on the 4th, Brynnlee was born on the 4th, Tayson was born on the 13th ( but come on 1+3 =4!) and Brayden was born on the 22nd ( Again! 2+2 =4! I'm telling you it's weird! ) Anyway, Tays and Brayden were both induced but the Dr.'s were the ones that chose the day and we didn't realize until later that it all added up. So anyways, even though Skyler was due the 1st I secretly thought it would be really cool if he hung out in there until the 4th. So 5:30 that morning I woke up with a pretty good contraction so I got up and had another one about 5 or 6 minutes later and thought... Yay! This is it! So I got the rest of my stuff together and decided to let Austin sleep until the contractions got a little closer and were more consistent. The longer I was up the more sporadic they became. So they started out fairly close but then went to 10 to 15 minutes apart. But I was for sure it was just so I could get the kids to school and then they would get closer together and we would go to the hospital, have the baby and Austin could be back to pick the kids up from school at 2! It was going to work out perfectly! So when Austin and the kids got up at 7 and he saw that I had pulled my hair up and put some makeup on he asked if it was time to go to the hospital. I told him they weren't close enough yet and lets get the kids to school then I'm sure we can go in. So we got the kids to school but the contractions were still far apart. So we went over to the park and he played with Brayden as I waddled around the park as fast as my chubby little legs could take me to try and speed up labor..... NOTHING! And it was 80 something or other degrees and I was sweating and ticked off that things weren't going anywhere. So we came back home and I took a shower and we waited. I asked him to give me a blessing since I wasn't in too much pain yet and I wanted to be able to actually focus on his blessing. He tried to give one to me when I went in labor with Brynnlee and it didn't work out very well cause I couldn't sit still. ;) Anyway, so the appliance guy calls and asks if he can come over and install our new dishwasher since our other one was busted. I figured why not. Yes I'm still having contractions but they're all over the place... sometimes 5 minutes apart other times 25! It was so annoying. So he came and went and I went and took a nap. I couldn't believe it was past noon and I hadn't had this baby yet! Brynnlee so far had been my longest labor at 7 hours and Tays was 2.5 hours and Brayden 4.5 hours. But with each of my labors before, my contractions were consistent starting at 5 minutes apart and staying consistent until they got closer and more intense and then the baby would arrive. So here we were into the afternoon and still nothing. Austin went and picked the kids up from school and we worked on their homework. They were still all over the place. And they weren't terrible enough that anyone noticed I would just hold my breath for 30 seconds until the contraction was over and then we'd continue on with the homework. Kace and his girlfriend Sierra were hanging out talking to us the whole time and it was just like a normal afternoon. So by 3:00 Austin said he thought we should just go in. I was obviously in labor even though my contractions were totally sporadic. I told him I DID NOT want to be sent home and I just didn't feel like they were bad enough to go in. And I told him I was waiting to start puking and having diarrhea. ( Sorry. Probably TMI but that's how I always knew I was in labor with my other kids.) And I was having none of that! So by 4:00 I sat on our bedroom floor and cried because I was so frustrated that he had stayed home from work only for me to not even have anything going on! He could've gotten a full day of work in! I was so mad at myself that I figured I was just wanting the baby to come on the 4th so bad that I was making it all up in my mind or something. Austin got me calmed down and we went for another walk... this time it was 90 something degrees and I was so angry to be getting all sweaty again when I didn't feel like it was even doing anything! Poor Kace and Sierra were just hanging around waiting for me to go in so they could watch the kids so I was really mad that I was ruining their plans to do anything fun that day too. I told Austin I was done timing them and I was just going to go to our room and pout. So I went and hung out in our room and watched the news and wheel of fortune. The kids were coming in and out talking to me and I would have to stand up every so often to walk through a contraction but they were still 7-15 minutes apart. Finally at 7 I decided what the heck. I was just going to go in and see what I was dilated to and see if they would just break my water and get things moving. So I come out of our bedroom and couldn't find Austin. So I grabbed the bags and started to take them out to the car just as he was coming in from taking the kids to the park. He asked if they were closer together and I said not really but lets just go in anyway. The contractions themselves had started to get quite a bit more painful but I was still waiting for those 4-5 minute consistent contractions to start happening.  Kace and Sierra had gone to get us some food so Austin called him and told him I was ready to go to the hospital so they said they'd hurry. He called him at 7:28 and it took him about 8-10 minutes to get there. Then Austin had to tell him what he needed to do with the kids to get them ready for bed and we were finally in the car and ready to go. I didn't see the exact time, but we think around 7:40. As soon as I got in the car I started shaking. I thought crap. I think I'm in transition, but then I told myself that I was probably just hoping for that. For some reason as soon as we start driving my contractions suddenly became 3-4 minutes apart and very painful. Of course the hospital is across town and we have to go through a million stop lights to get there! So what do I do? Start bawling and saying "I can't handle it" and "hurry drive faster", and "I want an epidural", "I can't do this again!"  and "this is so stupid!" Haha. So anyway the last few contractions in the car I was starting to do my crazy moaning... (Austin said when I get to that point he knows it's only about 5 minutes before I'm ready to give birth! ) haha. So anyway we pull up to the emergency room which of course is packed and he hurries over to the place to sign me in as I'm moaning/ trying really hard not to full out scream,... but kinda screaming..... The police officer grabbed me a wheelchair and some random lady and some little kid came over and kept asking me to please sit in the chair. I knew it would hurt more if I was just sitting so I refused to sit in it unless he was going to wheel me to labor and delivery RIGHT NOW! The poor cop didn't know what to do! Finally he told the lady at the check-in to bump Austin up to the front and get me back now. I kept saying over and over again that I had pre-registered and please just get me to a room! He wheeled me over to another lady who was trying to ask me a few more questions that they needed to fill out before they could admit me. I told her to get me something to throw up in. So I'm on my third contraction in the E.R. waiting room and she finally turns to the other lady and says who cares we'll fill that out later we have to get her to a room. So they start running down the hall pushing me as I'm screaming. (Looking back this is totally embarrassing but at the time I didn't care at all.) They finally get me into a triage room where a lady was waiting and told me to hurry and take my clothes off and get this gown on so she could see how far along I was and then they'd get me to a room. I stood up yanked my shirt off and my water broke and he was coming out! She turned me around and told me to hurry and sit on the bed. I couldn't climb onto it other that just sitting on the edge so Austin had to pull me from behind up to the head of the bed so the poor baby didn't drop on the floor. I was kicking my legs trying to get my stupid stretchy pants off and started yelling for someone to get my pants off! haha again...TOTALLY EMBARRASSING. They somehow got my pants off and I pushed him out with the last contraction. For some reason while I was pushing him out I didn't feel like my pushing was actually doing anything so I started yelling at them to " just pull the baby out!" Wow. Crazy lady. Seriously they probably thought I was on drugs. Poor baby had the cord around his neck so they were just trying to get that out of the way and they were trying to help him out. Apparently I just couldn't wait another second. I can't even tell you how amazing it felt once I felt him come completely out. He was born at 7:58 pm. They had absolutely nothing in that room set up for any type of delivery so they rushed Skyler out and took him to a different room to take care of him before bringing him back to me about 10 minutes later. Then the nurse gave me a shot of pit saying it would help me from hemorrhaging. I had never heard of having pitocin after giving birth so I didn't question it and just said ok. I ended up paying for that for the next 12 hours! The whole reason I didn't want to be induced was because I wanted to go natural without pit. This was my third labor going natural which I knew I wanted to do since I felt so much better after going natural with Tays and Brayden, and had such a better recovery. But with their labors I was induced with pit and it was crazy painful and no breaks. Well having pit after is worse if you ask me! Cause you already have your baby but it causes your uterus to contract even harder than normal after you deliver so I was throwing up and having awful contractions all through the night until it finally subsided the next morning. It was crazy. And the pain pills worked really good for about two hours but then I would be in pain again but they could only give it to me every 4 hours. Awful.  And because we didn't have a chance to fully check in or whatever they had to take us to a labor and delivery room until they could get us all checked in and move us to the actual room we would be staying in until we left. So we hung out in the labor and delivery room for a few hours. Both Skyler and I were disgusting just sitting in our filth not able to shower or anything yet. But they finally weighed him and got us up to our room and they bathed him at 2:00 that morning. I was still throwing up so I ended up not being able to shower until the next morning when I felt better. All in all it was a crazy night but I'm just so glad it is over! Oh. And I had tested positive for the Strep B so I was supposed to have had an antibiotic at least 4 hours before Skyler was born to make sure he didn't get it... so since that didn't happen we had to stay an extra day to wait for his blood cultures to get back and make sure everything was normal.  I guess the moral of this story is, I should've listened to Austin at 3 when he was trying to tell me we should just go in. And each labor is so so so different! Oh well. We finally got to come home on the 6th at around 2:00. It was so nice to be home and not have someone walk into my room every few hours to check my vitals or Skyler's or kneed my stomach or have paperwork for me to fill out. So now we're home just hanging out and everything is good! And if you actually made it through this post wow. I mostly wanted to write it all down so I can remember if I ever even think about telling Austin I want another baby I can just read this and remind myself that 4 really is our lucky number, so 4 kids it is! ;)
Right after they handed him to me.

Daddy holding him

Skyler Albert Farley



I could just eat him up!

I love baby yawns! This is him at one week old. It's gone by way too fast already! He's 7 lbs. 12 oz. and 21 inches long.



Tuesday, September 3, 2013

My bags are packed...

We are now two days past my due date and still no baby.... For anyone who knows me, they know I am sooo not a patient person! But I've surprised myself with how patient I'm being with this. At first it was because I wanted to really deep clean my house.....then it was because I didn't have my bags packed.... then it was because I wanted to wait until Kace got here so we wouldn't have to call someone to come over in the middle of the night if I went into labor.  Well the house has been deep cleaned since last week, the bags have been packed since late last week, and Kace and Sierra came on Sunday....and still no baby. Now I think it's just because reality is hitting that I live exactly 957.62 miles from my mom and I've never had a baby with her not right there. I never worried about having a baby. My mom was less than 100 short steps from my front porch to her side door. I wasn't worried about what time of day or night I would go into labor because I knew no matter when it was she could come over and be with my other kids and I wouldn't have to worry about them at all. And if I ever needed a break she was right there to take the other kids so I could rest or just spend some time with my new baby. Or when I got mastitis (which I've gotten with each child...) She would take care of me when I was sick.  Or if for some reason she wasn't right there, my mother-in-law always was. She only lived 7 minutes away. I think somewhere in my subconscious mind I'm trying to make myself not go into labor because we're in a new place, I have a different Dr., (who I really do like and he actually reminds me of my old Dr., but still isn't my old Dr. who I felt like knew me so well.... I mean he delivered me for pete's sake!) I'm delivering at a different hospital, and did I mention I'm not close to any family? ;) I just know that it's so much easier to keep this little man inside of me than it is going to be once he comes out. Sure I have sleepless nights right now, but I know they will be even more sleepless once he gets here, what if he is colicky, what if he doesn't nurse well, what if he has any problems of any sort, what if I can't take care of my other three and a new baby?! .... I could go on and on. Yup. I think I'm definitely trying to keep this kid inside of me. My bags are packed, my house is clean, the car seat is ready, but I am not! This will be the first time Austin will be able to take a whole week off of work to be with me (and still actually get a paycheck) which will be so nice, and Kace and his girlfriend Sierra are visiting right now, so I don't need to worry about who to call in the middle of the night, but I still have this fear that this time it's going to be different. It will be different. I just hope it's a good different. So when people ask me when I'm getting induced or when I'm FINALLY going to have this baby I can't help but laugh because I refuse to set an induction date, and secretly I'm fine with him staying inside of me. I can deal with the crazy back pain for the rest of my life I'm sure. And the baby has finally moved off my blood vessels he was blocking off to my feet so my swelling has gone way down, so I can deal with that too. I may not be able to get back up off the floor once I sit down, but that's why I have Austin to pull me up, and I am totally rocking the waddling so really I'm just fine. And this little man can stay inside me as long as he wants.... as long as he stays the same size because I obviously shouldn't get any bigger than I am... (I'm shocked I'm actually posting this pic. This is a lady that is two days over her due date people! So think nice thoughts please! ;) )