Kaitlynn's Birth Day Story

Thursday, August 20, 2009

Kelly and I headed to our doctor's appointment around 9:00 Thursday morning. We were not expecting what was about to become one of the most exciting days we'll experience together.

We had our normal vital checks -
My BP was normal: 112/72
My weight gain: 27 lbs total
Kaitlynn's heart rate: 159
Fundal Measurement: 37cm
Dilation: still just barely 1cm

Doctor Walters talked with both of us about our previous days' visit to the hospital because of the continuous contractions & pains that I was experiencing for a long period of time. Because of our past two hospital trips, contractions/pains, and the fact that my body was not dilating at all (barely 1cm), she began discussing a few options with us. She first asked me how I felt about a C-Section. I told her how I was planning on having a vaginal delivery and had no thought towards a C-Section. She told me that the only difference between the two was I would feel pain upfront with a Vaginal Delivery verses pain afterwards with a C-Section. I really didn't want to go through with surgery because I thought it would seem like I was just "throwing in the towel." Yet, Dr. Walters explained to me that I wouldn't be giving up since I've already been experiencing prelabor for 2 weeks now and most likely would have 2-3 weeks left of it. Because I couldn't seem to make a decision, she then decided to ask Kelly what he wanted to do. He simple said that he was tired of me being in so much pain and wanted to have the C-Section. Dr. Walters told us to sit tight and she would call to arrange our surgery for 5:00pm that day! WOW!

I looked at Kelly and became very emotional. I told him I couldn't believe we would be meeting our baby girl that afternoon. We spent a few minutes talking about our excitement and nervousness over the news we just received. Kelly was able to calm my fears and we were ready to go meet our baby girl. Dr. Walters came back into the room about 10 minutes later to explain that our surgery was set for 5:00pm and we needed to arrive at the hospital around 2:00pm to wait for a room and get prepped. We thanked her, said we'd see her soon, and headed out the door to finish a few things at home!

We spent some time calling family and a few close friends to let them know of the upcoming exciting news. My mom was on her way down at this point, my dad was in Statesboro with some customers hoping to head back early afternoon, and Kelly's parents were heading down hoping to see us before surgery. We also spent some time getting a few things done around the house since our parents were staying here to take care of Willa while we were in the hospital. We were not looking forward to staying there for 3 nights.

Little did we know how fast it would go by and how thankful we'd be
for the time we were there!!

1:00pm rolled around and my mom got to the house. We spent some time explaining in more detail everything that went on at our doctors appointment. It was good having her at the house before we had to leave for the hospital.

1:30pm came - Kelly and I grabbed our bags and left for the hospital while mom took Willa for a long walk. ::::I was not happy having to leave my 'baby' girl.::::

2:00pm - We arrived at the hospital, we checked in with Labor & Delivery for the 3rd time this month! The lady at the desk actually remembered us from being there the day before!! Pretty amusing.....sort of! After checking in, we waited for just a while for a room to be ready. Supposedly August 20th was a very busy day in labor & delivery!! Lots of babies being born :)

3:30pm Once we were able to go back to our room the nerves kicked in again. We met our nurse, who was amazing! She was prepping us in a labor/delivery room before moving us to surgery. My mom was also there for a few minutes before Kelly's parents arrived. Our parents were able to spend some time with us in our room for about an hour before I received my epidural. It was so comforting to be around family before my surgery!!


Me and my mom before surgery

First, I was hooked up to the monitors, had blood work done, had an IV started in my left ARM, not hand - thank goodness - and waited on the epidural. I was very nervous at this point, but Kelly was by my side the entire time! The nurse left for a short period of time which gave Kelly and I a few minutes to catch our breath, and get ready for such a life-changing experience. He sat down on my bed and said a pray for us and for Kaitlynn as we prepared for our upcoming surgery. His prayer & God's comforting grace relieved my fears and worries over the surgery and I was able to go into the room with confidence and knowing that Kelly would be by my side and God was keeping the three of us completely safe!

**Kelly & I waiting on the epidural and spending a few last minutes together before meeting our baby girl**

4:30pm - Once the nurse came in who would administer the epidural, I began getting very nervous. I hate pain and anything to do with it. Yes, an epidural takes the pain away but you have to experience receiving one before that happens :) However, God was so good to me because I got a local first through a shot to numb the area for the epidural. It was fabulous! I had no idea what to expect from the epidural, but I thought it was hilarious when I couldn't move my legs.


Kelly & I ready for surgery and to meet our baby girl!

5:00pm - My nurse came in, rolled me down the hallway to the surgery room and had Kelly wait outside for about 5 minutes while they got me prepped and ready to go. Those were the longest 5 minutes I've ever experienced! I was not a fan being alone, but once Dr. Walters - my OB - walked in my nerves calmed a bit and then Kelly was finally let back into the room. We were prepped and ready to go! Things went very quickly. They doctors checked twice to make sure I was completely numb to pain before beginning the C-Section. I was not able to feel an ounce of pain, however you feel tugging, pushing, and pressure. It feels a lot different though since there is no pain involved. Regardless of all the pressure, I knew I'd be okay! Kelly was sitting right with me the entire time - he never left my side, never let go of my hand, and kept talking to me during the entire surgery to help keep me calm. I will never forget the first thing he chose to do once our daughter was born. After they showed us Kaitlynn over the drape, they took her to get cleaned off and asked Kelly to come watch. Before he ever left my side, he leaned in - told me how proud he was of me, how much he loved me, and gave me a kiss. That was when I told him I was okay and wanted him to go be with our daughter since I couldn't be with her quite yet.

*AMAZING*

5:23pm - Kaitlynn was born and welcomed into the world by me, Kelly & our fabulous team of doctors & nurses. I saw a glimpse of her before they took her and cleaned her off. I told Kelly to go see her for me, which he did, as well as take several pictures. I was crying at this point - so emotional from the experience and anticipating meeting my daughter for the first time. Before Kelly & Kaitlynn went to the recovery room without me, he brought her to me so I could finally see her and meet my precious child. When they left, I cried again and started talking to the doctors to pass the time while I was being stitched up, stapled, and cleaned.


Our daughter, Kaitlynn Leane Crawford
Born on 8-20-2009
5:23pm
Weight: 5lbs. 14oz.
Length: 19.5 inches

5:45pm - I finally made it to the Recovery room and was reunited with my amazing husband and beautiful daughter. We were down here for about 2 hours. They wouldn't let us go up to our postpartum room until I could move my legs! It took forever for the epidural to wear off, probably because I supposedly asked for some extra pain meds during surgery :) Again....me & pain = terrible enemies!! These two hours were breathtaking, very memorable, and so special to both Kelly and I. We enjoyed being together with Kaitlynn for such a lengthy period of time! This was a new start to our family - the addition of our first child.


After Kaitlynn's first bath in the recovery room

Mommy & Kaitlynn

Daddy & Kaitlynn

Meanwhile....my parents & Kelly's parents had been waiting in the Waiting Area since 4:30pm - they had no idea they'd be waiting 4 hours with a planned surgery before seeing us and meeting our daughter! Thanks everyone for being so patient and waiting :) Also, sometime during the "waiting" time, Ginny - a good friend of mine - showed up as well, so she got to partake in the waiting game with our parents!

7:45pm - Finally, we were taken upstairs to our postpartum room. Our families had no indication that we had already gone upstairs. We were with the nurse right away and were not able to go get them until 8:30pm.


Our first family picture -
Kelly, Kristen & Kaitlynn Crawford

8:30pm - Our parents + Ginny were finally able to come into the room to see how all of us were doing. Everyone wanted to make sure Kelly & I were doing okay, and then finally meet our daughter. She was so precious and we were excited about everyone finally meeting her!! Everyone stayed until about 9:15pm and then headed out for the evening. It was great being able to see our families and let them know we were okay, but it was also nice having some time to get to know our daughter and begin learning how to take care of her!! Little did we know this would be a night of no sleep......

Nana Watson

Nana Crawford

Grandpa Watson


Papa Crawford

Ginny Sneed came by for a visit as well :)

Between nurses & techs coming in the room, Kaitlynn learning how to breastfeed, having mine & Kaitlynn's vitals taken, receiving pain medicine, having liquids & popcycles brought in, and Kaitlynn not adjusting quite yet to the bassinet = no sleep for me or Kelly. I do have to say - Kelly was amazing the first night as well as every night since the birth of our daughter! But, this first night, even though I was having a tough time sleeping myself, he took the initiative of looking after our daughter and letting me lay in bed and rest, whether with my eyes closed or open and alert. He was so attentive to her & her needs, except for the feeding part of course :) But, as attentive as he was to our daughter's needs.... multiply that by 100 and that's how attentive he was to me during our entire hospital stay and ever since we've been home!

Long first night....Kelly looks a little more refreshed than me,
but I guess since I went through the surgery, that's normal :)

But....Kaitlynn definitely makes our
long nights worth it!!

God REALLY new what I needed in a husband and he blessed me with Kelly - the most amazing husband and man I could have married. I can't go through parenthood without him and he was right there beside me during the entire hospital stay and will be beside me throughout the rest of our lives as husband & wife, and as parents!

To end such an emotional day & a new story in our lives....the C-Section was wonderful! I will have to have C-Sections for each pregnancy, but after experiencing this past one, I definitely am looking forward to going through pregnancy & surgery for Kelly & I to meet our future children when God blesses us with them in his timing!

Another week.....more contractions - The End is in Sight!!

38 Weeks!! Only 14 days to our "due date."

Another week has passed with more contractions! Overall the past week has been relaxing and enjoyable for both Kelly and I. This past weekend we really tried to space things out a bit to make sure I got some much needed rest.

Friday evening we went out on a date to one of our favorite "chill" restaurants - La Paz and then headed to Cold Stone Creamery for some ice cream! Everyone can probably guess the ice cream trip was definitely Kelly's idea :) or......maybe mine!! Once we got home from our date, I got my p.j.'s on and hit the couch with my body pillow. I ended up falling asleep around 7:30pm and woke up a little after 10:00pm just long enough to move to the bedroom. I was blessed to have slept until 6:30am Saturday morning. Last week I didn't get much sleep because of the constant visits to the bathroom, contractions + cramping, and indigestion. Yes - my indigestion has decided to show it's ugly face again! Little did I know that Friday was God's way of preparing me for another long, sleepless week!!

Saturday was spent relaxing around our home, running a few errands, and then heading to our Sunday School summer party at the Abernathy's clubhouse. It was great spending a few hours with the couples from our Sunday school class, but I was exhausted afterwards! Before heading home we stopped by Ru San's for dinner - Kelly loves sushi and I enjoy their fried rice & chicken/shrimp options. We also had to make a trip to Walgreens to pick up some more Gaviscon for my indigestion! After we got home, we watched 'We Are Marshall' that we have DVR'd the night before.

We spent Sunday morning at church, had lunch with some of our good friends, then headed home for a nice Sunday afternoon nap! We were planning on fixing some shrimp pasta for dinner, but after waking up shrimp pasta just was not doing the trick for me. Kelly & I headed out to KFC - his choice - for dinner, and then stopped by Dairy Queen for the Girl Scout Blizzard - my choice - for dessert :) I waiting in the car while Kelly went in and got our dessert - I was on the phone catching up with one of my bests, Mary. She's about to take part in a trithalon out in CA. She is doing her trithalon through Teams in Training
to help raise money to stop leukemia, lymphoma, Hodgkin lymphoma and myeloma. She was about to head out for another practice swim in the Pacific Ocean - all I was wondering about was the sharks?!?! What a trooper!

Monday rolled around quickly and Kelly headed back to work. I'm not a fan of Mondays for that reason, but I get over it pretty quickly! Kelly ended up coming home at lunch because I was not feeling well at all. I felt as though I had a really bad head cold - probably from the lack of sleep I've gotten over the past two weeks. He fixed me a grilled cheese and let me nap in his lap for about 20 minutes before he had to leave and go back to work. Monday night rolled around and so did another "episode" of horrible contractions & menstrual-like cramps. Kelly wanted to get me into the bathtub since that usually seemed to ease the pain, but I couldn't seem to move off the couch. Instead, he got my heating pad, and I took some more tylenol and waiting them out for 20 minutes. As the 20 minutes past, the cramps eased up a little but didn't fully go away this go-around. Kelly fixed me a cup of hot chocolate while we watched another episode of Extreme Makeover: Home Edition, then headed to bed. Thankfully I slept pretty well Monday evening except for the restroom visits every two hours :)

The rest of the week was pretty low-key. I was able to get a few household chores done... a little bit at a time. Monday I did two loads of laundry, Tuesday I vacuumed & went to the grocery store, and Wednesday was supposed to be spent in the bathrooms - my favorite! :) Everyday chores are definitely getting harder because of the contractions & pain, but it was SO good to feel productive!!

Wednesday was a very different day! I headed out to my bible study at church - The Mother's Club from 9:30 - 12:00. Once I got home my contractions kicked in a bit and the pain increased greatly. After an hour of pain & contractions that didn't stop, I called my doctor who told me to head straight to the hospital. I called Kelly, he headed home & picked me up. We ended up staying at the hospital for about 10 hours. They hooked me up to the monitors, gave me several bags of fluids through an IV and started me on some crazy pain meds. By 11:00pm my cervix had done nothing regardless of the contractions (2-3 minutes a part) and the pain I was in. We were asked to stay over night and continue to receive pain meds & fluids, but I chose to head home and sleep in my own bed.

It's Thursday morning - Kelly & I are heading to our doctor's appointment at 9:00am. I'll be sure to post some updates once we return home!!

37 Weeks - Full Term!

Kelly and I are 37 weeks today! We have finally made it to full term.

This past weekend, Kelly had one of his high school buddies down for the weekend. It was going to be a pretty uneventful weekend, but we ended up doing a lot of different things!! While the guys played golf on Saturday, I headed to my Infant CPR & breastfeeding class at Northside Hospital. Both classes were very informative and I am glad I participated in both! After Dustin left on Sunday, Kelly and I headed to church and then went for the membership class. As you noticed in my previous post, we're officially members of Johnson Ferry Baptist Church now!! We have prayed & talked about becoming members since around March of this year. We are blessed to have such a wonderful church family and an amazing place of worship!! It'll definitely be a great place and atmosphere for our children to grow and learn.

Since my hospital visit last week, I have had several increasing episodes. Sunday evening I was in a lot of lower abdominal pain - felt like horrible menstrual cramps. I curled up on the couch, couldn't move, and all I wanted to do was cry. So - I laid there and just let the tears flow. Kelly had no idea what was going on nor did either of us know what to do. He kept asking me a lot of questions, but I didn't have any answers. Finally after a few minutes of being in agonizing pain, he grabbed my phone and we called my OBGYN practice. The doctor that was on call - not my regular OB - called back within 5 minutes. She talked me through the pains, told me to take some Tylenol, drink a big glass of ice water and to call back if the pain didn't ease off or if it did and came back. After getting off the phone, Kelly got me into a warm bath to soak for a while - the bath, Tylenol & water seemed to ease the pain. Thankfully the rest of the evening I just had normal, mild contractions unlike what I had experienced earlier that evening. However, with the contractions I also was experiencing a lot of dizziness and nausea. Thankfully I never actually "got sick," but even feeling like you are isn't much fun! I got into bed and tried to get some rest - not much was accomplished Sunday evening sleep-wise.

I ended up calling my doctor on Monday afternoon just to inform her about what went on Sunday evening. Since she wasn't the doctor I spoke with, I thought it was worth the call after the amount of pain I was in. It turned out to be a good idea that I called - they told me any pain like that they definitely need to be aware of. I'm supposed to monitor my contractions throughout this week until my appointment on Thursday - if things get bad again like Sunday evening or if my contractions come closer together than 12 minutes a part, they told me to call them. It definitely eased my mind to talk with them and to know what to look for so I know when to call if that's needed.

Unfortunately the same scenario happened Tuesday evening and last night. Last night also included a burning sensation which was horribly uncomfortable. However, through each episode and evening I thought I couldn't manage to get through, my wonderful husband was by my side helping me the entire way. The pain felt unbearable at times, but he calmed my nerves & fears of the unknown and worked through it with me.

Speaking of doctor appointments - we had our 37 week check-up this morning at 9:00am. Here are some updates for you from our appointment!

BP: 109/71
Weight: no gain = still at 23 lbs. total
Heart rate: 156 BPM
Fundal Height: 36cm.
Dilation: 1cm
We're finally making progress!!


Extras:
Because of everything going on this week, Dr. Walters not only checked for dilation, but she hooked me up to the monitors again. I was hooked to the monitors for about 30-40 minutes because Kaitlynn decided to sleep. This normally wouldn't be a big deal, but I am having steady contractions, 2-3 every 5 minutes. They are not increasing in strength or length, but they are quite uncomfortable at this point. Because of the amount of contractions, Dr. Walters wanted to make sure Kaitlynn wasn't in stress. When a baby moves, that means they're happy. Well, I just explained that Kaitlynn is a late sleeper :) Dr. Walters decided to push around on my abdomen - which is not comfortable when you're having contractions & cramping - to get her to start moving, which thankfully she finally did!

At this point, because I was having 2-3 contractions every 5 minutes and only dilated to 1cm, Dr. Walters asked us about 6 times if we wanted to go to Northside for fluids & pain medicine. I told her each time "no" - that I did not want to go to Northside again until I was there to stay & meet my baby girl. She told me to continue drinking plenty of water and take Tylenol every 4-6 hours to help ease the pain of my contractions.

She did tell me that I was "one of the lucky ones" to experience these types of contractions for a couple weeks before labor. They have been going on for about 10 days now. That made me so excited! HAHA - definitely not!

As a side note - I can continue going about my day as normal - no bed rest needed. The more active I stay during the day = the more intense contractions I have at night when I slow down. So, pacing myself is a good idea because the contractions are not going anywhere until Kaitlynn is born.

Our next scheduled appointment is next Thursday, August 20th at 9:00am.

God's movement in our lives

Kelly and I started visiting Johnson Ferry Baptist Church exactly one year ago today! Our first Sunday was 2 weeks after our wedding - last year is was August 8th, this year the calendar day falls on August 9th. We have really enjoyed being a part of our Sunday school class - 2X2 and going to the worship services. Bryant Wright has an amazing heart for ministry and his sermons are completely biblically based.

We have felt very led since March/April of this year to join the church. We've spent a lot of time talking and praying about this decision and finally took a step forward today! Exactly one year to date from when we first started going to the church. We met with decision counselors this morning after the 10:00am service and then headed to the membership class this afternoon from 3:00 - 6:00pm. After the class, we signed our commitment form of membership. Kelly & I are both so excited about our decision of membership for us and our future family. Johnson Ferry is exactly the place of worship we've prayed for and we're looking forward to spending a lot of our time there.

Johnson Ferry Baptist Church

Maternity Pictures

Kelly and I had our maternity pictures taken Sunday, July 12, 2009 in Hayesville, NC. We were 32 weeks pregnant at the time. Brittany McConnell did our pictures for us - she also did my bridal portraits and wedding pictures last year!! Looking at them over and over definitely makes me so much more anxious and excited about Kaitlynn's arrival! We cannot get over how soon she'll be here. We are so excited about meeting our daughter and sharing our new "bundle of joy" with our family and friends!!

Here are some pictures for your enjoyment!

36 Weeks - pictures

Left: 35 Weeks...........................Right: 36 Weeks

A few more pictures from 36 weeks:

36 Weeks and a Hospital Visit

Today was more than ordinary....

This morning, Kelly and I had our "36 week" appointment. Today we are 35wks+6, so just one day shy of starting our 9th and last month of this pregnancy! First of all, here are some updates from today's appointment:

BP: 118/70
Weight: no weight gain
Heartbeat: 156
Fundal Height: 35cm

Extras:
While I was at the doctor, I explained to them the pain I have been in the past two days. They decided to hook me up to some monitors to check for contractions. I had no idea what to expect! Kaitlynn's heartbeat was all over the place ranging from 130 - 160 BPM. Dr. Walters monitored my contractions for about 20 minutes and decided to send me to the hospital. Even though I was not dilated and my cervix was still closed, she was concerned with the frequent contractions that I was having plus the pain I was feeling.

Kelly & I got to the hospital around 1:00pm, checked in, was moved to a Labor & Delivery Holding room where we were hooked up to yet another monitor, but this time I had the luxury of receiving an IV. I HATE needles! The contractions were pretty regular when we got to the hospital - about 8-10 minutes apart, but very strong. After I had the IV going for a while, the fluids helped slow down the contractions to about 12-15 minutes apart. My doctor on call came in and checked me once more - still no dilation and my cervix was closed. We got everything unhooked and removed, was able to get dressed and then sat down for a discussion with the doctor. She told me I could go into labor at any point from here on out. She gave me signs to look for so I would know when to call my doctor and when to come back to the hospital. She told me things could happen in 2 days....or 2 weeks, but that when I do come back in, if nothing else - all the paper work is done :)

As excited & nervous as we were today, we definitely could use a little bit more time preparing and spending time together before our daughter arrives in this world. Today was a great preparation for things to come in the next couple of weeks! We know what to expect and how things will be handled. I'd definitely like to make it through one more week so I'm considered "full term" before Kaitlynn arrives!!

Our bags are packed....Kaitlynn's things are washed....and we're ready to be parents! Now it's time to just sit back and relax while Kaitlynn decides when to make her real, official debut :)

I go back to the doctor next Thursday, August 13th - 9:00am