Kelli and Devan: October 2016

I guess it's about time for me to blog about my newest babe! Kim was born on August 23rd. The overall experience felt so much better and controlled than Nicole's birth experience (sorry kiddo!). I actually still thought I had at least a few more days as I wasn't super uncomfortable-yes, I was uncomfortable, but not crazy uncomfortable. So I was content hanging out with Nicole for a few more days and getting 1 or 2 more days of work in to add time to my maternity leave. That morning, I had decided to take Nicole to the park to play and then do some blackberry picking. I collected some blackberries to save, while Nicole picked them and they all went straight to her mouth. I actually have no idea how many she ate, and in retrospect now, I hope her diapers weren't too bad for those who watched her while we were in the hospital! But anyway, it was a fun morning and a beautiful day, and always great to hang out with my girl. We came home and made Nicole some lunch and put her down for a nap. Pretty soon after she went down, I started feeling some contractions, but not too intense. I thought, hm, maybe something's happening. I texted Devan and told him I thought I was feeling some contractions, but to not worry about coming home from work at this point, as I was sure that we had a long time to go. I was in labor with Nicole for 2 days, so I expected to have to wait for a while. He still decided to come home so I wouldn't have to worry about watching Nicole while I was laboring. Pretty immediately, I started having contractions every 2-5 minutes that suddenly became quite painful. I quickly changed my assessment and agreed to have him come home.

When Devan got home, Nicole had just woken up, and I was in quite a bit of pain dealing with the contractions. Devan swept into action and got everything ready to go for the hospital, and called RaeAnn to see if we could bring Nicole over while we went to the hospital. I still thought he was crazy, and that there was no way we would be admitted to the hospital that quickly. But I didn't have much of a say, nor did I really care at that point. Those contractions were coming fast and furious. We dropped off Nicole at Paul and RaeAnn's (thanks, guys!) and went up to the hospital to get checked by my OB. Turns out (after waiting what felt like forever in a busy waiting room) that I was 6 cm dilated and would deliver soon. It seriously felt like a miracle-I didn't think I could handle the pain much longer. I was quickly admitted to our room, and my nurses were great and got me ready quickly so I could get an epidural. I told my anesthesiologist that my entire birth plan rested on him. My only birth plan was to have the epidural work :). Though the first attempt by the resident only made me numb on one side, the second attempt by my friend Dr. Burks worked beautifully, and I was so comfortable soon after. Relieved of the pain, it was a pleasant waiting game. Devan and I watched a movie, I watched some Jeopardy! while the nurses checked me and gave me antibiotics. After my 2 doses of antibiotics, the OB checked me, and I was completely dilated and ready to deliver. She broke my water and after 7 minutes of pushing, Kim was born! The first thing I thought was that this kid was heavy!