Newborn Pics

Professional newborn pics by Crystal Jo Foto. Thanks to the Pentons for getting us the photo shoot as a gift. Whit breaks the "newborns aren't always cute" rule for sure!

The Birth of Whitney Anne

Alright, I'm over it. I get in these moods where I want to blog but then I'm always stopped by thinking, "oh, people don't care and I don't want to talk about myself all the time." Well, I come to find out that people DEMAND information about a baby you just had. So I'll do my best. But first, I'm going to recount the birth story --partially to help me remember!

Due Date- May 7th: Ryan had his brother, Kyle's, bachelor party extravaganza all day so he was gone. I called my mom that morning and kind of played the "I'm lonely and 9 months pregnant" card. She came down to Cbus and we spent the day shopping. You're the best, mom. We were at JoAnn's fabrics so my mom could get more baby fabric (easter dress for next year? Done...yes, before she was born.), and my mom was freaking out every time I said I had a contraction. I'd been having them off and on all week, but they weren't that painful so I didn't think much of it. I remember telling my mom that I had heard that the non-painful contractions could go on for weeks but when you feel the contractions in your back, it's the real thing. I said this and literally 5 minutes later, I got one that really hurt deep in my back. Was I mental? Nope, because there came another one 15 minutes after that. I went to bed at 11pm and woke up at midnight because the contractions were waking me up. Was I going into labor? I tried to sleep, but couldn't because the contractions kept waking me up. Watched tv. Tried to doze off. Gave up and got up for the day.

1 Day After Due Date- May 8th: We headed to my sister in law's college graduation. We arrived Ryan-Holliday-time= LATE and squeezed our way in with the rest of the fam. The chairs were close together, it was hot (outside), I was tired, I was having contractions....... I took one look at Ryan and we immediately got up and squeezed our way back out. There was no way I could sit through a 3 hr college ceremony like that. Is it bad that I was glad I was pregnant so I could walk around instead of sit there? I am sooo ADD when it comes to stuff like that. Like father, like daughter. The contractions were happening every 10-30 minutes, but they weren't as painful as the ones the night before. I was hungry, so we walked to KFC...yes, during the ceremony. When we got home that evening I noticed the contractions were getting painful again, but I laid down to try to take a nap because I was so tired from missing the night of sleep. It was only 10 min. and a contraction came along. A bad one. Oh no. They started getting worse the later it got and I started realizing that there was no way I could sleep through them. But it was night time and I w astired! I spent the entire night laboring... contractions less than 10 minutes apart every time. No breaks.

2 Days After Due Date-May 9th: The last thing I wanted to do was go into the hospital and get sent home. That would have made me feel like a wussy first time mom. But, it happened. I showed up in the morning, they checked me, and I wasn't dilated. Not even at all. With contractions that close together and that painful! The nurse offersed me a sleeping pill to help me sleep. That actually realllly ticked me off. A sleeping pill was not going to allow me to sleep through those contractions. I would have needed knocked out. She thought I was a wussy first time mom! Ah.

This day is an absolute blur. I labored all day with contractions less than 10 minutes apart. Bad contractions. Horrible. I'd have the 5 or so minute break in between each one... but all that did was help me to gear up for the next one. By that evening, I was so physically and emotionally drained. I was a wreck. I couldn't lay down during contractions because it made it worse. I had to stand and bend over on a ball, the bed, whatever. I couldn't breathe, or talk. I could barely move during those contractions. SO PAINFUL. SO SO PAINFUL. SO TIRED. SO SO TIRED. I can't do it. I can do it. I can't do it. I can!! I couldn't eat because I felt like I would throw it up during contractions. I spent hours and hours in the shower with hot water hitting my back. I watched the minutes pass and tried to give myself rewards for making it an hour.... things like, you can go upstairs at 4am or you can wake Ryan up at 5am or you can call the doctor at 6am. I think I am pretty tough. Maybe not, but this was by far the most challenging thing I have ever gone through. It was a marathon. A 3 day unbearable- pain- with- no- sleep marathon. Exhaustion takes on a whole new meaning to me now.

I called the doctor for the second night in a row and told her that this is crazy, I know I am in labor... how could I not have been dilated at all? She said I had what they call prodromal labor. Basically, you're in labor, but it's not causing you to dilate. It can last anywhere from 2-5 days. She sees it about once a year with first time moms. I was on day 3... there is NO WAY I was making it another 2.

Maybe this is TMI, but I could actually feel her head dropping when I felt up there. The pressure was unbearable. If I would not have been dilated when I went back in to the hospital, then that's it, cut her outta there. I was losing my mind.

3 Days After Due Date- May 10th: 7am rolled around and we headed to the hospital. I had not slept in 3 nights.... If you were ever wondering if it is possible to do that, now you know. I seriously wanted to punch out the window in the car on the way when I was having contractions... every 4-6 min. I needed to stand up! But you can't stand up in a Honda Civic. THEY ARE ADMITTING ME, I thought. No questions asked.

The check-in at labor and delivery in the hospital is so awkward to me. You go up to the window and they are like " Hi, can I help you?" Uh yeah! I'm in labor! HELP ME. Of course, right when I got up there I had a massive contraction. I was standing there for a full minute trying to keep my composure by grabbing on to Ryan and the wall.

I went in.. she checked me... and said "oh hunny, you're 5 cm! good job!" I cried. I wanted to hug her. I felt proud. And all I could think about is an epidural. Yes, the same epidural that I was planning to originally not get. That was until I went into labor for 3 days.

The rest of the story? Easy. Had the epidural at 9am... laid there and felt literally nothing for 3 hours. Want to know what I thought about? All the women of the world who had similar labor stories to me and didn't get an epidural because they didn't have an opportunity to. They were just as emotionally and physically drained as I was, but they couldn't take the easy way out. Thank you, Lord, for epidurals. I LOVE EPIDURALS. But you know who might love them more than me? Ryan. Poor Ryan had to watch his wife labor for 3 days and nights. There was pressure for a couple hours and the end was obviously uncomfortable, but 15 min. of pushing and out she came! Out into this world to change our lives forever. More on that in the next post. :)

I love epidurals ...........

xc girls came to visit the first night....love them


welcome to world, lil Whit!

The Aftermath: The 2 days in the hospital was like vacation. Laying in a bed that reclines up and down with the push of a button, a cable tv to watch while you're in it, and people bringing you food. AND, most importantly, the reassurance that your new baby is in good care at all times in case something went wrong. Plus, you want to take a nap? Send your baby to the nursery.

Amazingly, I felt really good. The nausea went away almost immediately and I had this extra energy that had been zapped from me during pregnancy. Yes, even after not sleeping for 3 days. As I walked through the halls, I would see a lot of women hobble around. They looked tired and exhausted. I felt so energized. I did it! And postpartum must be my thing!

And then we went home.

The first 2 nights I got up with Whitney in the night. There's no point in 2 people getting up, right? Ryan might as well get a good night of sleep. I don't know about you.... but the middle of the night is not my thing. I get irrational. I get the creeps. And I get very emotional. All while my husband sleeps peacefully in bed with no idea of what is going on.

Day 3 at home I felt overwhelmed. My world was completely consumed by breastfeeding around the clock. Even though Ryan and my mom were both there, I didn't feel like I could nap because what if she was still hungry? What if she choked on her spit-up again? At night, I would not be able to get back to sleep after I got up to feed her. And I would wake at every little sound she made on the monitor. I was thinking about my old life... my old, easier life where it was just me and Ryan....and I wanted it back. I got clingy to Ryan. I got teary about everything. Every heard of baby blues? Supposed to hit around that time. And it did. So, after my emotional breakdown about how I had a hard time with the night duty because I was so irrational, we came to a solution:

Ryan took full "monitor duty" which meant the monitor was on his side of the bed and he would wake me up if she cried.........like I would be sleeping. Then, he would go and get her and bring her into the bedroom with us. I would feed her in bed and then tap Ryan to take her back to her crib. This changed everything. He was somehow a part of the night situation and I was so relieved. I slept the best I had in a week for those short stretches of time and started to feel myself again. It took about a week and then one day I said, "this is silly, I'll go feed her in the nursery." And I got up and fed her in the nursery from then on.

Whew. That sums up the birth story. Stay tuned for pics/videos of the life of 3 month old Whitney!