Rory's Story

WARNING: Yep, its another birth story. Don't read if you don't want to. But definitely skip to the end for the pictures. :)

I wasn't feeling quite as stressed this time around as I was last time. I knew it was possible for things to work out fine. I knew that not all birth stories have sad endings. We did make plans to have another induction though based off my past history, still better safe than sorry. We scheduled it for exactly 39 weeks (Thursday, November 20th), my mom booked her plane ticket to come in 2 days before that so she could watch Jax while we were at the hospital, and I made a list of all the things to get done before that day.

On November 17th I woke up around 1am feeling a bit (a lot) crampy. I drank a lot of water and laid on my side hoping it would go away because I was so tired. That didn't help, in fact they were getting worse. So I took a warm bath. That didn't help either. But that could also be because our tub is SUPER shallow and didn't really cover much of my stomach which was where the pain was. Around 5am I called the hospital to ask their opinion because my contractions were now about 8 minutes apart and getting super strong. They told me to wait until they were 2 minutes apart to come in. So I laid back down hoping it would get better because 2 minutes seemed really far away and these things were no joke! Well they didn't get any better so I got up and decided to pack my bag (David was asleep this entire time and was oblivious to the fact that any of it was going on, but I figured one of us should get some sleep). David finally woke up around 7 and started trying to figure out of this was the real thing or not. When I stopped talking mid sentence, closed my eyes in pain and started breathing deeply because another contraction hit he figured he better call work (school) and tell them he wouldn't be there. I felt really bad because it was his first day of school and I didn't want him to miss anything, but his leadership seemed fine with it. The next thing on my list was to figure out what to do with Jax. We had carefully planned for my mom to be with him. He hasn't ever really had a babysitter other than family members for longer than a couple hours because of his health issues and I wasn't sure there was anywhere that he would be able to go for an undetermined amount of time. Luckily we have an amazing church family and a friend from our previous ward who lives close to the hospital volunteered to keep him for the day. She was truly an angel and I felt really comfortable leaving Jax with her. She made the day so much easier on me and I am so thankful for that.

Anyway, around 9:30 I called the hospital again. Contractions were only 6 minutes apart, but they were very strong so I asked if I could just come in. They said sure, so I told them I would be there in about an hour or so because I still needed to drop my son off. We finally made it to the hospital around 11:15. They put me in a triage room to determine if I could be admitted or not. David said even if they tell us I am not quite far enough he was going to tell them we are staying anyway because we already had to go through the trouble to find someone to watch Jax and he called in to school so no matter what we were having a baby. Luckily the answer was yes. Once we got settled into our room the anesthesiologist came to talk to me and had me sign all the forms. Then the nurse suggested I walk around for awhile to get things moving a little faster. So we got up and walked. We noticed as we did laps that we were the only ones in labor and delivery which was pretty interesting. Usually the hospital is full. After about 45 minutes of walking I decided I had had enough and wanted to get some sleep since I had been up since 1am. So we called back the anesthesiologist. Now, I am not new to epidurals. This was my third one, but this guy must have been nervous or something because he had the hardest time placing it. Finally he got it right, gave me the initial bolus bump that they give to make sure it is placed right and said he would check on me in 20 minutes to give it time to work.

20 minutes later he came back and I told him it wasn't really working. He said it probably just needs more time. I told him that the other 2 times I needed the bolus administered twice for the epidural to start working. He told me I don't and that I just need more time. Around this same time the nurse hooked up the pitocin because it was now around 3:45 and I had no change despite the fact that my contractions were now 4 minutes apart. The pitocin made the contractions 1-2 minutes apart and the epidural still wasn't working and I was so tired from being up all night I was just sobbing to David most of the time about how all I wanted was a nap. I bet he loved that. The pain was getting MUCH worse so the nurse turned off the pitocin and went to track down the anesthesiologist (who had actually gone home and a new one had come on shift) because she agreed that I needed some rest. The anesthesiologist decided that she was going to re-place the epidural catheter instead of just adding another bolus. The anesthesiologist left to get her cart and the doctor came in with the resident (who had so far been the one handling everything) to say that they would start the pitocin when the epidural was fixed because I had not progressed much since I got there. I asked her if she wouldn't mind checking because with my last two babies when contractions felt like this, it usually meant I was VERY close. The resident tried to object by telling the doctor that she had just checked me 30 minutes before and didn't want to do it again but the doctor made her do it anyway. And to her surprise, we were ready to go. So the whole replacing of the epidural thing got scraped and it was decided I would just get another bolus instead (which is what I wanted in the first place). So I got that while the doctors got everything set up to have a baby. Thankfully the bolus worked and after much less push time than with Jax, Rory was finally born at 5:24 pm. (By the way, my contractions were about 4 minutes apart-for some reason they never get to 2 minutes apart on their own. They were about 4 minutes apart with all of my babies when it was time to push. Good thing I didn't wait until they were 2 minutes apart because I would have had a baby in the car).

About an hour later David left to get Jax from our friend's house to bring him back to the hospital to meet his sister real quick and hug me before they both went home for the night. I really missed having David there with me all night, but since my mom wasn't here yet to watch Jax, David taking him home was the best thing for him. I really missed Jax too. It was the first night I had ever been away from him. But luckily things went well so I only had to stay in the hospital one night. Now that we have settled into life with two babies at home, I wouldn't have it any other way. My days are VERY busy, but they are worth it. xoxo

Newborn photos will be coming soon :)

Your Very Best Gifts

I took a finance class in college. It was required by my major and I hated it. I think I got a C. Uggh, so embarrassing. Every day though, our professor would give a devotional before class started. Sometimes it was religious in nature, sometimes just uplifting words, but it was always positive and I enjoyed all of them. Around Christmas time the professor walked in and played Josh Groban's version of "Little Drummer Boy". I had never really loved this Christmas song (the rum pu pu pums annoyed me) but as the music filled the room I really paid attention for the first time and I began to love the song. Now it is one of my favorite Christmas songs. I love the simple words about a young boy who wanted to give a gift to the Christ child but didn't have the means to get something that he thought would be fit for a King so instead he brought the one thing he did have to offer, his drum. He played that drum the very best he could and Christ smiled at his offering. Because no matter what it is, if we offer the best of what we have, that is pleasing to the Lord.

The Holiday's are still hard for me. There are still little moments that grip my heart in so much pain it takes my breath away for an instant-when I catch a glimpse of the first angel we bought for our tree the Christmas after D3 was born, when I pulled my baby's stocking, the one he has never used, out of the Christmas box to hang with the others, and when I think about sweet mother Mary who also had to say goodbye to her little boy far too soon. This year I was also looking forward to seeing Jax enjoy the magic of Christmas time. Last Christmas I thought ahead to this year and imagined him being excited about presents, Christmas lights and Christmas cookies. But because he is still at the level of an 8/9 month old, none of it means anything to him yet. This hurts my heart a little too. Not that he doesn't understand Christmas, but that he has so many challenges.

Some days I feel like I have nothing to offer back. Some days I feel so exhausted from caring for Jax and his disabilities and a newborn baby, as well as dealing with the hole in my heart left by my first sweet babe that I feel like all the parts of me are used up and I have nothing left to give. But on those days I can still offer even more patience when I feel mine has been all used up (which is pretty much every day). I can offer love. I can offer kindness to my little family and those around me.  I can offer a faithful heart and spirit. I can offer extra time, and Christ will accept that as enough because it is the best of what I have to offer.

In reality, no greater gift has ever been given then that of Christ himself. His life, His love, and His sacrifice will never be matched. But we can share the gift of Christ through how we choose to live our own lives-by how we love and how we sacrifice.