My goodness! You're already 3 weeks old! I've been trying to find the time to blog about your birth story, but the past 3 weeks have been a bit of a blur. I guess that's what happens when Mommy and Daddy are adjusting to having 2 kids and are both going to school and working (well, Mommy is on maternity leave for awhile still).
You are a very good and very sweet baby! You seldom cry. Really only if your diaper needs changed or you're hungry. You've been sleeping through the night, anywhere from 6-10 hours, since you were 2 weeks old, and you are very alert and smiley much of the time. Mommy and Daddy thank God for the blessing that you are every day and we also praise Him for being gracious to us and giving us another easy-going baby who is a great eater and a great sleeper. I think He knew we couldn't handle much else at this point in our lives :)
Your story is going to be a little easier to write than Noah's was. Much fewer details and a much shorter amount of time was involved all-around. On Monday, September 22 (my due date) we woke up early, around 7:00. We got all ready and headed to Saltzer so I could go to the lab. I had to have some blood drawn before my 9:00 appointment to be induced at St. Lukes Meridian. Dr. Kaiser had to know if I'd officially contracted preeclampsia and how bad it was in order to decide how to proceed with my induction.
After I got my blood drawn we went through the McDonald's drive through for some breakfast for Daddy and Noah and a fruit and yogurt parfait for me. Then, we headed to Grandma Larson's to drop Noah off.
We got to St. Lukes right around 9:00 and got all checked in. Once we got all settled in and went over paperwork, etc. my nurse got my IV and pitocin started, around 10:20. Thankfully, I was already dilated to a 2 so I didn't have to have a foley bulb or cytotec. I was really quite comfortable for a long time even though I had already been having some contractions and the pictocin upped those pretty quickly. Within a couple hours my contractions were 2-3 minutes apart, but I wasn't really feeling them. Daddy did some homework, we watched tv, I read, we just hung out and relaxed for the day. My labs came back showing that I did have preeclampsia, but it wasn't too severe so Dr. Kaiser said I didn't have to be put on Magnesium. Yes! By about 7:30 pm I was only dilated to a 4 and the nurse was guessing that you wouldn't arrive until about 1:30 am the next morning. I was praying you would come sooner, but wasn't expecting a speedy delivery since I was induced.
Since we thought we'd probably be up all night Daddy and I decided to try and get some sleep before things got too crazy. Around 8:15 pm we settled in for some shut-eye. That lasted for about 15-20 minutes. My contractions were beginning to feel very strong and the pressure was building quickly. My epidural suddenly seemed to be doing nothing as I could feel every contraction and was growing increasingly uncomfortable. I just endured it for a little while. The nurse came in around 8:50 or 9:00 and told me that I had suddenly dilated to a 7 and things were starting to move quickly. She started setting up the delivery table and getting things ready for the doctor. She also told me that the anesthesiologist had forgot to tell me about my bolstering button for my epidural which is why it had mostly worn off and I could feel everything. She had me push it, but it was too little too late. It did not help.
The nurse called Dr. Kaiser around 9:15 and he said it would take him about 25 minutes to get to the hospital. She was telling me not to push until he arrived. I was telling her I couldn't stop. My body was doing it on its own and I seriously thought you were going to be born with no doctor present. Fortunately, he arrived by about 9:35 or so and you had not yet come. I pushed for about 15 minutes and you were born on Monday, September 22, 2014, at 9:50 pm weighing 8 lb. 2 oz. and measuring 20.5 inches long. You were beautiful! (And still are :))
The absolute best part about your birth was the fact that you didn't have to be resuscitated and you didn't get whisked away to the nursery immediately. The nurse laid you right on me and I got to hold you and bond with you for probably at least 20 minutes before they took you across my room to weigh you and clean you up. Daddy and I didn't get to hold Noah until he was 36 hours old and I didn't get to meet him until he was 12 hours old. It was heart-breaking. I'm so glad we didn't have to endure that this time!
Daddy and I couldn't believe how chubby you looked, especially because you weighed 2 lb. 1 oz. more than Noah when he was born and you were a whole inch longer than him. You had a head pretty full of silky, dark hair, your complexion was fairly dark, and you had big, beautiful blue eyes. You were incredibly alert for a brand new baby! You stayed awake and just looked around from the time you were born until about midnight that night.
We stayed in the delivery room for about 1.5 hours and Nana, Papa, and Grandma all came to see you. (Unfortunately, Nana, Noah, Auntie Kristi, Auntie, Kendra, and Uncle Nathan had all been there about 1.5 hours before you were born, but we sent them home when the nurse guessed that you wouldn't be coming for a long time). Then, we moved to our postpartum room where we ended up staying until Thursday afternoon. We were supposed to be discharged around 10:00 pm on Tuesday, but my blood pressure was too high to go home (I'm on medication for at least the next month for this), and then on Wednesday I got discharged, but then you were diagnosed with jaundice so we didn't get to head home until about 3:30 on Thursday afternoon.
Mommy and Daddy were so grateful that my pregnancy and labor and delivery was much more normal with you and that things went much smoother this time around. We are so blessed to have you as part of our family and are so glad that God entrusted us with your little life! It is our hope and prayer that we will raise you in accordance with His will and that our lives will serve as godly examples for you, always pointing you towards Him! We love you, sweet Chloe Raine and are so proud to call you ours!
Love,
Mommy, Daddy, and Noah
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