Bringing Home Baby

Our sweet little Harpin was 2 weeks old on Wednesday!  I took her to the doctor today and she had exceded the doctors expectations and is up from her birth weight of 8lbs 4 oz and now weighs 9lbs 3 oz!  I'm so glad she is such a good eater!  Anyways, I wanted to post a few pictures from our last day in the hospital and coming home.  I loved seeing Riggs reaction when we brought her home.  He was so EXCITED!

Her going home outfit...the same outfit that my daddy picked out for me to wear home from the hospital!:)

Ready to bring home our little bundle.

One proud daddy!

My sweet family of four:)

Admiring his "sissy Harpin"

"I take sissy's picture"  ( I love those eyes!)

Of course she was a fan of her first bath:/

Welcome: Harpin Reese Anderson, Part 2

Part 2

On Tuesday night of my due date, around 10:45 pm I called the oncall doctor to ask when I should come in. At this point contractions were about 7-9 minutes apart.  But, I was group B positive and needed antibiotics prior to delivery and was a VBAC.  With either of these alone they want you to come in alot sooner than with a first or normal delivery.  

We got to the hospital and checked in about 11:45pm and I was 4 cm and 75 % effaced.  At this point contractions were getting worse, but bearable.  I labored through the early morning on my own while Andrew slept.  I would rather just deal with it by myself and not have anyone talking to me.  The nurse said my contractions were 2-3 min apart lasting about 120 seconds each.  Thankfully, I didn't think they were lasting that long but definitely felt them at the peak of the contraction! I was trying to wait until 2:30-3 am when the doctor said she would be back in to check me and break my water to see how far along I was before I asked for the epidural but the pain was getting unbearable.  I finally asked for the epidural without even being checked and got it around 3:45 am.  

Once the epidural kicked in the nurse checked me again and I was 7cm and my water broke on its own.  At this point we found out that there was meconium in my fluid and I began to worry!  They told us that they would take her right away and try to suction her before she cried or if she cried and was vigorous then not to worry.  This got the tears rolling and all I could do was pray for a healthy baby girl.

After the epidural I felt great on my left side and could still move but couldn't feel anything, but on the right I could feel every contraction and they were getting my more intense.  I was to the point of getting mad and scared because I didn't feel like I could handle it much longer!  Thankfully the anesthesiologist came back in at 4:35 am and pulled back the catheter and bolused me with medication and that fixed the problem, PTL! 

I always thought it was funny when people would say they felt pressure down there like they needed to poop...well at 6:15am I felt that feeling and called the nurse.  I was 9 cm. Shortly after this Harpin's heart rate started having decelerations that caused worry and they put me on oxygen and flipped me from side to side.  At one point, they got me on all fours in the bed...what a sight, especially since I could not move or feel my left leg at ALL!  But, baby girls heart riate liked it and I was willing to do whatever. 

Eventually, they started a little low dose pitocin to try and get me from 9 to 10 cm.  I was checked again at 9:30 am and it was time!  Started pushing at 9:33am and baby Harpin was born at 10:04am!

Harpin Reese Anderson

10:04 am

8lbs. 4 oz.

21 inches long

Praise the Lord for answered prayers!  I kept telling Andrew, "I did it, I did it!" 

 All births and all babies are miracles but it is was so special for us to experience birth this way.  The nurse put a huge stand up mirror and I was able to watch ( I know, I know some people are grossed out by this but I loved it!) And Andrew was my left hand man:)  He had to hold my left leg because I couldn't move it from the epidural.  I have been trying to thank God for each thing specifically as I prayed for each of these things specifically...He is SO GOOD!

Now for pics of our precious baby on her birthday...

Welcome: Harpin Reese Anderson, Part 1

I will try and condense this post as much as possible. Some of this info may be TMI for some but I want to document all the details for my own memory!

Andrew's mom came into town on Tuesday, May 7th and the countdown was on!  I turned 39 weeks that day and in my mind it was TIME for this baby to come, especially since I had Riggs at 38 weeks.  That week came and went and the following Monday I went to work and then turned 40 weeks on Tuesday and still NOTHING!  

That Monday at work I had a little down time and researched some more on VBAC inductions (considering that I was going in to be induced on Wednesday morning if nothing happened before then).  I came across a "trick" so to speak that some doctors will use to help manually dilate the cervix and can sometimes stimulate labor.  With this little info I called my doctors office on Tuesday, May 14 (my due date) and asked about this.  My doctor was out,  but I was told I could come in and see the midwife and have this foley bulb inserted.  After talking with her, she stripped my membranes and inserted a foley catheter bulb into my cervix in hopes that something would happen on its own.  I was already dilated 3 cm and they usually only use it if you are 1-2 cm.  With that said, the midwife said she would blow it up a little bigger and if it happened to fall out on its own during the day then I would probably be dilated to 4 or 5 cm.  

Move ahead to that afternoon and the bulb fell out on its own around 5 pm.  I had felt a little cramping all day but nothing that I thought anything of.  That night (about 8:30pm) we were just sitting watching TV and I felt like the "cramps" were a little more consistent.  I pulled out my handy app on my phone and sure enough the "cramping" was about 10 minutes apart, lasting about 30-45 seconds each!  I finally looked at my mother-in-law and Andrew and said, "I think I'm having contractions!"  I was so excited!  I never experienced any of this with Riggs. And most of all, this is what I had been praying for!  

At my first doctors appointment with this pregnancy my doctor asked me if I was interested in a VBAC (vaginal birth after cesarean) and I DEFINITELY  was!  Since that moment I prayed very specifically for this labor and delivery.  I don't feel like I was cheated of anything with Riggs' delivery but I knew that I wanted to experience birth the way that it was intended!  I am thankful for the fact that I had a healthy baby and ultimately an uncomplicated recovery with Riggs but I wanted to experience holding her right afterwards and nursing her immediately...all things that I didn't get to do with him. And, aside from the bonding I know the risks of surgery and that the complications with surgery are more than the 1% chance that I would have a uterine rupture from having a previous c-section. 

Stay tuned for part 2!

In the meantime, here is a little glimpse...