Labor + Delivery + Meet Ella

What a difference this labor and delivery was. With Harper I had a 25 hour labor that started with my water breaking. With Ella, I woke up at 3am July 11th with horrible contractions and lots of pressure. At first I didn't believe I was in labor as I thought she would never come on her own. I was supposed to be induced the day before at 39 weeks 6 days - but never got called in as they were too busy. Well it didn't matter as she had plans of coming on her own anyways. Funny how things work out sometimes. When I woke up with contractions they were very painful and were coming every 7 mins but quickly went from 7 to 5 minutes apart. I still stuck it out at home until 7am before calling my mom to come over to look after Harper. Boy was that a mistake. At this point my contractions were 3 minutes apart and I was terrified I had waited too long and I was going to have the baby in the car! I was bursting into tears with every contraction, which made for an interesting car ride to the hospital. Let me tell you - riding in the car while experiencing painful contractions is by no means fun. 

We arrived to the hospital, Fraser wheeled me up in a wheel chair as I could barely walk. They immediately took me into a room as I was crying with every contraction. The nurse checked me out, I was 4cm dilated and she informed me they were admitting me - well duh. A nurse came in to give me my IV and boy was she terrible at that task. She couldn't get the needle in as there was a "vessel" in the way..she was literally digging around in my vein - I was screaming. Im normally really good with needles but holy Hannah. Fraser went white and almost passed out because he watched the entire thing. In the end I didn't end up with an IV in - but had a very green and sweaty hubby breathing heavily next to me in a chair. Another nurse came in and gave me an IV in the side of my arm. At first I was nervous as I never had one there before but it hardly hurt and she had zero issues. Thank goodness. Once that ordeal was over, they wheeled me to the delivery room and checked me again as I was having some of the worst pains I've experienced in my life - including Harpers labor. I was 6cm's dilated - went from 4 to 6 in a matter of 45 minutes. I felt like I was dying. I had the most intense urge to push. The nurses knew I wanted an epidural but had to wait until my bloodwork came back and for a clerk to ask me the standard questions. I was screaming for them to hurry up. The nurse left to see if my results had come back and I had several super strong contractions and was pushing - it was like I had no control over me body. It was terrifying. I stared to bleed and panicked. The nurse came running in and offered me gas while the anesthesiologist was on their way. What a trip. The room was spinning, I felt nauseous and at one point I thought I was going to pass out from the pain. Thankfully the anesthesiologist came in shortly after and saw the state I was in. She told the nurse to check me to make sure I wasn't fully dilated. I was 8cm's. I was dilating at a crazy rate. She asked me if I wanted to bother or of I wanted to just start pushing as it most likely wouldn't take much longer for me to be fully dilated. I believe I very assertive and slightly angry "NO" came out of me. I immediately had flash backs of Harpers delivery and pushing for 3 hours, needing forceps to get her out - and the damage she caused. There was no way I was risking feeling all of that. I got the epidural  which was a challenge as I had to stay perfectly still while experiencing my body being torn into two - or at least that's how it felt. A few minutes later and I started to feel some relief. The nurse checked the babies heartbeat and we heard a loud pop - my water broke. She checked me and I was fully dilated. I went from 4cm to 10cm in less than 3 hours. Luckily I was able to rest for an hour since I finally had no longer wanted to push - to labor down. The hour flew by and they were getting me ready to push. She came super fast - 10 pushes and she was out. Barely broke a sweat. Such a nice delivery compared to Harpers entrance into the world. 

What a difference when you labor super quickly - the contractions at least for me, were about 100 times worse. Yikes. I should have gone to the hospital sooner!

In the end we had a beautiful, healthy little girl. Weighing in at 8lbs 1 oz and 21" long. Dark hair, dark blue eyes. Just like when her sister was born. 

We got to leave at the 24 hour mark which was great. Came home for Harper to meet her little sister. She was not too sure about her but warmed up within the next few days. 

Now for lots of pictures:

Overdue + Induction

 

Well my due date has officially passed, I am now 4 days overdue with baby # 2. I didn't expect to make it this long in my pregnancy with health issues and past stresses, but here we are. Baby girl has until this Wednesday to make her debut or I am being induced sometime on Wednesday (6 days overdue). My OB wasn't going to make me wait until I was 41 weeks to book an induction date, probably because of the fact that I have been in pre-labor for the past two weeks (constant contractions) and I am 3 cm dilated and 80% effaced (as of last Thursday). I am really nervous about being induced, only because I never experienced that with Harper (my water broke when I was 5 days overdue). I'm hoping it won't be anything major being that my body has already started gearing up. I know a lot of women that had to be induced at 41 weeks due to no dilation or effacement - which makes the process a little more difficult. With me being dilated and my cervix thinning, they will break my water and hopefully my body will do the rest.

Surprisingly I have had a ton of energy and have been nesting like crazy. Fraser's officially home for the next three weeks which eases my mind being that he can chase after Harper while I clean and organize the house like a mad women. I usually feel really good in the morning and go down hill pretty quickly throughout the day.

We've been busy playing and entertaining Harper - making use of every last moment we have as a family of three. This past weekend was so beautiful, so we spent a lot of time with Harper outside - going for walks and playing in the backyard. Here's a bunch of random pictures from the weekend:

These were some cute shots I got of Fraser and Harper touching my big belly:

Also some quick picks of the nursery. I still have lots to do in her room, but I wanted some progress shots:

It's been a busy last week, getting any last minute things finished before the baby is here and now it seems we are at the end. If I don't go into labor tonight (which would be cool if I did because then both babies would have been 5 days overdue), we will spend tomorrow just relaxing with Harper and triple checking our hospital bags for Wednesday. We cannot wait until we meet this little lady and to finally see what it is going to be like to be a family of four.

Big Ol' Belly

 I cannot believe we are going to have another sweet little girl literally any day now. That being said, Fraser took some quick pictures of Harper and I, with the big belly since this will be my last time being pregnant. I do wish we took some pictures earlier in my pregnancy as right now I feel like a whale, understandably being that I have a full grown baby who still continues to get bigger, inside of me.

Harper still loves my belly. She knows there's a baby in there and if you ask her where her baby is (her doll), she will come over to me and lift my shirt up to point to my belly. She always puts her ear up against my belly, almost as if she is trying to hear her sister, and will usually give my belly a kiss before putting my shirt back down.

Fraser and I were talking this past weekend about how excited we are for this baby to make her appearance and how crazy it will be to do it all over again. But we both looked at Harper and were quickly reminded that she too is still a baby. She is 18 months old this month and although she is running around the house, saying a new word every other day, she truly it still in the baby stage.

Fraser always says to me before we go to bed, how amazing she is - and I think this is why he is truly excited that we are expecting another girl; another daddies girl.

It's crazy how different this pregnancy has been from my first. Not only was I a lot sicker in my first trimester, but the pains I've experienced my final trimester have been brutal. I think partly due to the fact that I have an 18 month old to chase after but also how I've carried this baby. I have been experiencing contractions on a off this past week which is torture because it makes me think she's on her way and then they just abruptly stop. I really hope I don't go over my due date this time around but who knows what will happen.

 

 

This past month of my pregnancy has been hard, dealing with lots of stress due to family drama has caused me to struggle both physically and mentally. There's been multiple days where all I have done is cried, unable to shut off my brain to everything that was going on around us. During a time that is supposed to be full of excitement and happiness has been full of dread and stress.Thankfully this whole experience has made Fraser and I stronger as a couple and has shifted our focus back to what truly matters to us - each other and our girls.

 

Love these two to pieces and cannot wait for our other sweet girl to join our family - hopefully sooner rather than later ;)

Mother's Day, Hair Cut + Contractions

I hope everyone had a wonderful Mother's Day weekend. I sure did. Not only did Fraser spoil me but he also made me relax and do pretty much nothing all weekend. My Mother's Day gift was a little shopping spree at one of my favourite stores, Home Sense. He also had me order in whatever food I wanted for dinner as he felt I shouldn't have to cook on "my" weekend. Pfff, okay, sounds good to me. Haha! So I requested Chinese food and it was delicious!

My weekend started off with a hair appointment - I was about 2 and a half years over due :) I got 12 inches cut off and donated it - which always feels awesome. I was very happy with the end result.

Fraser took a before picture of how long my hair was - it was touching my bum!!

Harper was apparently not in the mood for a photo ;)

One of my favourite clothing items currently with the weather warming up, has definitely been maxi dresses. I am too big to fit into a lot of my maternity clothes (my belly usually sticks out the bottom), so dresses it is! This picture was taken at 36 weeks 3 days.

Yesterday was a little rough for me. I started having painful contractions at around lunch time that were all over the place. I had to call Fraser and have him come home as I was a little worried. At first they were so inconsistent, happening every 20 minutes, then every 10 minutes, then every 30 minutes. About 4 hours after they started they stayed at 10 minute intervals for about 3 hours. This is when I was wondering if this little girl was going to make an early appearance. I did everything, drank lots of water, had a warm bath, a warm drink and tried my hardest to get comfy and relax. Finally at almost 10 o'clock at night, the contractions got further apart and then finally stopped. Being 37 weeks I would have no concern of her coming, however I always think it's best for them to be in the womb as long as possible.

I'm very curious to see when this little babe is ready to come out!

Spring Baby Haul + Mommy Daughter Time

 I have spent the entire week with Harper, even though I should be in bed taking it easy, due to my mom being sick. It's been an awesome week getting to spend lots of quality time with my little lady. She has been SO good, allowing me to relax all while getting to hang out with her. She has been a little cuddle monster lately, which normally you're lucky if you can get two minutes of cuddles on the couch with her. It's like she knows I'm not feeling well. 

I can't even explain how much I've enjoyed our quality time this week. I know things are going to drastically change in the next month when peanut # 2 is here, so spending time with my first babe means so much to me. I still get frustrated that I can't always keep up with her - especially outside. It's been so beautiful out and I always want to take her for walks to the park but it's just not possible. I last maybe 30 minutes outside chasing her around and playing, before I need to go lay down due to excruciating pain. This has caused me some stress at times and I become a little emotional. Fraser is always good for making me feel better and reassuring me that I'm doing a good job (Ugh, I love him) - but I still wish I could run around with my babe.

 Harper is still obsessed with my pregnant belly and I'm 100% convinced she knows that there is a baby in there. She will come over, lift my shirt up and place her ear on my belly and then follow up with a big kiss. It's honestly the sweetest thing ever. I think she is going to love being a big sister.

On a random note, I am still obsessed with her adorable chunky feet. I LOVE her cute little toes and how ticklish her feet are. I could just eat them!

Hello Dad Onesie - Green Leaf Onesie - Red Onesie - Polka Dot Onesie - Pink Faux Leather Sandals - Silver Sandals

Harper needed a new spring/summer wardrobe which meant I could do some shopping for her. I love love love the onesies from Baby Gap. They are so stinking cute and easy to throw on her with some cute shoes or sandals. I went a little crazy with buying her new shoes/sandals - like 15 new pairs? AH, I have a problem, but when Old Navy has their baby shoes on sale AND 30% off..there is no resisting. My favourite ones I've bought her are the pink pair (pictured above), if they came in my size, I would be rocking them too. It's way to easy for me to shop for Harper because I love dressing her up!

The babies nursery is so close to being done, Fraser just needs to hang her little book shelves and a wall shelf for above her changing area/dresser. I plan on doing a whole blog post dedicated to the girls rooms. So exciting!