Then and Now...Poolside Thoughts

Today Jaklyn and I went on a walk. The weather in Texas right now is so gorgeous it almost makes up for it being so miserable the whole summer. After we walked a little and got the mail we stopped and sat by the pool for a minute and enjoyed the sun and cool breeze. Jaklyn loves being outside and it was so pleasant to just sit by my baby girl and enjoy life.

I realized that just 4 months ago I had been sitting in this very same chair, enjoying one last relaxing day at the pool with Tyler and awaiting the arrival of our baby girl. I remember despite being huge and achy, being so relaxed and happy, just reading a book poolside. The epitome of relaxed.

While pondering my thoughts turned to my life now, and I was almost surprised to find the same feelings of happiness there was on that day 4 months ago, maybe even more. Is it as relaxed and carefree? No. But it is joyful, fulfilling, and exhausting happiness.

Transitioning to motherhood has been an adjustment, but I finally am finding myself in a good groove (which probably means we're about ready for another schedule change). I've got a few things figured out, and have gained the confidence in myself as a mother to continue to work on the things that are hard. I've redefined my definition of what a "productive" day looks like (often just caring for the baby, eating myself, getting out of the house, maybe showering, and sometimes cooking dinner) and often step away from the to-do list to just spend time with my sweet baby girl before she grows up right before my eyes.

It is a fast and slow paced life all at once, and it has brought me more joy than I have ever experienced. It is a wonderful thing to realize you are truly content and happy with your own life.

Welcome to the World Jaklyn Ann!

·        I'm finally sitting down to finish this story 4 months later, and it's amazing to me how much of the not so fun parts of labor and birth I've forgotten. I look back now and I have so many good memories of the first few days of Jaklyn's life. 

      I woke up the morning of June 22nd with so much nervous excitement. It's a crazy thing to know your baby's birthday (which I was pretty sure would be June 23, since I was scheduled to be induced starting that evening)  Tyler and I puttered around the house, not sure what to do with ourselves until it was time to pick Mom up at the airport. I think we both breathed a huge sigh of relief when we saw her, someone experienced was here! 
     
      I was scheduled to go into the hospital at 8 PM, so we had some time to kill. The anticipation! My mom tried to keep our minds off of it by taking us out to lunch, grocery shopping, and finally she made us dinner. I talked to a friend, took a long shower, and then it was time. Tyler gave me a sweet blessing, I gave my mom one last hug, and we were off! 

   
      At the hospital we checked in and they took us to our labor and delivery room. They gave me my IV to get me full of fluid before starting the Pitocin. Then they gave me the cytotec, to thin my cervix. The cytotec gave me some light contractions, but they gave me a sleeping pill so I would be able to sleep through them.

·         
      At 1:50 I woke up to go to the bathroom, and while I was washing my hands, I suddenly was standing in a lot of fluid. I called for Ty to come help me because I thought my water had broken. Ty came in and helped me back to bed (he thought I had just lost control of my bladder). When I got back in the bed, I could still feel liquid coming out, and we realized that my water had broken. We called for the nurse and she said she had talked to the doctor and he had given the okay to start the medicine to give me contractions, which they hadn’t planned on starting until morning. That started more intense contractions, but I was able to sleep through them for the most part because of the sleeping pill.

·        
      The nurse checked my progress at 8:30 AM and I was dilated to a 2, which was a little disappointing after all the contractions I had been feeling. She said she expected the baby to arrive around 3 PM. Then Dr. Scroggins came in and checked me again, and he said I was at a 4!
     
      At this point the contractions were a little harder to get through, so I decided to get the epidural. Everything went smoothly with that and soon I was able to rest and sleep through the contractions while my mom read aloud to me. A couple hours in Tyler was taking a nap and the contractions started to get pretty intense, even with the epidural. The nurse came in and checked me and realized I had progressed very rapidly to an 8, and was now entering the transition phase.
     
      This part is a bit of a blur, but for some reason the epidural wasn't working on the right side of my body. The pain was pretty intense, so the epidural man came in to give me a little more. In hindsight, I maybe should have just worked through that part since I was so close, because with the extra dose of the epidural I was very numb. It is a very strange feeling to not feel your legs! I couldn't even reposition myself or turn on my side without help. 
     
      Finally it was about 1 PM, I was at a 10, and the nurse announced her estimation was wrong and we would have a baby within the hour. I was about to have a baby. This was the part I was most worried about, since there is not really any way to prepare to know how to push. The nurse coached me and explained how and what it should feel like to push, which would have been really helpful if I could feel something at this point (which I couldn't).
      
      Somehow even though I couldn't feel anything I got the hang of it and Tyler could see a full head of dark hair which kept me going. Pushing wasn't nearly as bad as some people's experiences. I was able to rest between pushes, eat ice chips, and all and all it wasn't as tiring and hard as I expected. I only pushed for half an hour before the nurse told me to stop so that the doctor could make it there in time. 
      
      Everything from here on out happened so fast! The doctor came in, they told me to push again, and then again...and then the pressure in my belly was gone, there was a baby cry, and before I knew it she was on my chest. She stopped crying immediately and looked around at the world. I remember how alert she looked just taking it all in. 



    We stayed that way for a while, me bawling and her snuggled up on my chest. It was truly a moment I will never forget, looking down at this little girl that just moments before had been inside of me. It was so surreal finally seeing what she looked like (just like her dad like I had hoped) and so beautiful. 

     It was just as wonderful as I had always imagined seeing my sweet husband hold our precious baby for the first time, and it still melts my heart. 

    It was wonderful to have my mom there during the birth. She encouraged me and reassured me that everything that was happening was normal. 

    We still hadn't decided on a name when she was born. We had come with two, and said we would decide when we saw her for the first time. When we had spent some time with her we both felt like it should be Jaklyn Ann. 

    The hardest part about the hospital was having to stay an extra day to treat her jaundice. Looking back, I totally overreacted about this (which I attribute to hormones). But I was so distraught we had to stay longer than expected. I cried a lot and the nurses may have thought I was a little crazy. Since it is pretty likely to happen with subsequent children, I will be much better prepared. 

    She came out with the sweetest chubbiest cheeks, and so much dark hair (that is just now starting to fall out and is looking a little lighter). It was love at first sight that has just gotten stronger every day. 

D-day!

It is June 21st, our official due-date! The longest day of the year (in more than one way as we both wait with growing anticipation for this baby to come). And because we are both done with school and work, we took some time to experiment with our new camera and document this officially 40-week bump. 

The blossoms are gorgeous right now in Texas. And this cute boy is so excited to be a dad!

I have been okay at documenting my pregnancy throughout, but I thought it would be fun to do a more thorough recap before she gets here.

How far along?

40 weeks!

How big is she?

The size of a watermelon according to my app. The doctor thinks we are looking at an eight pound baby, but we'll see if he's accurate :)

Total weight gain?

About 25 pounds.

Maternity clothes?

I never actually got any maternity pants, but I'm wearing a lot of skirts and comfy boy shorts now that it is so hot. Oh and I spend a large portion of the day in my maternity swimsuit.

Sleep?

Is okay. I have to switch sides every once in a while for my achy hips, and get up to go to the bathroom maybe 2-3 times, but I fall asleep pretty fast after!

Best moment this week?

Feeling like we have everything together, and Ty being done with his preceptorship so we have some relaxing time.

Symptoms?

Trouble walking, lots of pressure...But the worst is probably the baby moving! I love that she is moving, but wow is she strong! My ribs and sides are getting the worst of it.

Belly button in or out?

Still hanging in there! ;)

Food cravings or aversions?

All of the sugary things!! This week this has meant those old-school neopolitan icecream sandwiches that I hadn't had in forever and had to have!!

Labor signs?

Some mild cramps, but that's about it!

What I miss?

Pepperoni Pizza!!! Seriously. The heartburn won't let me have any red sauce, and I am already planning my first meal after the baby comes. I also miss just being able to plop down anywhere and feel comfortable, these days it takes a little more effort to make my body comfy.

What I'm looking forward to?

Holding my baby, seeing what she looks like, observing her personality. I'm excited to watch Ty with her, and for her to meet our families.

Milestones?

We may have decided on a name? Possibly? We are both extremely decision challenged, and this giving a child a name for life thing has been difficult. We are waiting to see her and hope that the name fits!

Second Trimester

Time is flying! Crazy to think that in just a few months we'll be meeting our girl. Here are some bump pictures from the second trimester.

It's fun to see what fruit or veggie the app says the baby is. This week was a cantaloupe! Although some we have never heard of, and how can a baby ever be compared to a stalk of celery? 

Nicknames: We usually refer to her as "'the baby," although Ty will call her by the name we are thinking of occasionally. Turns out, Tyler and I agree on most things, except baby names. Hopefully she'll have one by the time we go to the hospital!!

Gender: We found out it is a girl!! The doctor had told us at one of our previous ultrasounds that it was looking more like it was a girl than a boy, so it was a little anti-climatic. But, we are super excited!! Bring on all the girly pink things!

Feeling: For the most part, just fine! I have been really lucky. The only complaint is hip pain while I sleep, so I have taken to sleeping with all of Ty's pillows which helps. He is very concerned he won't get them back after the pregnancy. Also, nesting is a real thing! I did a bunch of organizing, rearranging, cleaning, and buying all the things for the baby.

Food: The sweet tooth definitely came back second semester. Now I want all the sugary cereal and ice cream.

Other fun facts: My diaphragm must be getting pretty squished in there, because when the baby moves a lot (or I eat a lot) I let out a huge hiccup. It's bad enough that Ty has started calling me froggy! 

Christmas Break

Christmas break was so fun, and so needed! We were so grateful we were able to go home for two whole weeks to hang with family and friends. In a lot of ways it felt like we had never left! 

I wanted to do something different and special for our parents this year for Christmas. I recently have gotten into water coloring after seeing all of the beautiful watercolor quote wreaths on my Pinterest. It was fun to paint and to make something for our mom's. 

I love how it turned out!!

This one I painted for Ty

We tried to take advantage of all the good eats in Utah that we don't get anymore. Cafe Rio definitely made an appearance, but we may or may not have eaten at Zupas three times in two weeks. We seriously miss it!

                                               
                                                

We also took full advantage of the beautiful weather! It snowed a bunch while we were home and we were in heaven. Yes, we are those people that actually love the snow. We played in it every day, and went sledding with siblings and nieces and nephews. We built this snow fort at Jordan Ridge Park.

While we were home I hit 16 weeks pregnant and we decided to announce our baby officially. My dad took some pictures of us, and it was so so fun to hear everyone's reactions. It made us feel very loved and even more excited about this little baby!

One of my favorite things about breaks is getting all my friends together. I have the best friends, and it's weird that we are all in such different places now! It's fun to see everyone and catch up on their lives. I am so grateful for these girls and hope that we can continue to stay close!! Not pictured: A sisterhood reunion, in which we didn't take a picture! Fail! Love you guys too :) 

Caitlin, Meredith, Andrea, Emily, Reagan, Sarah, Missy, Lauren, and baby Henry! 

We spent so much time relaxing with family, playing games, watching movies, sleeping in, and eating way too much good food. It was glorious. Thank goodness for Christmas Break and a job that is understanding enough to give me 2 weeks off! 

Fall 2015

Fall in Texas is a little different than in Utah, as in it stays in the 80s until about November. We did a lot of swimming and less of the fall leaf drives, hot chocolate, and normal fall activities. So when I found an adorable pumpkin patch in Grapevine we had to make a visit! It made us feel right at home. 

In October Lauren and I had a Halloween Party with all of our Med couple friends! It was a ton of fun, and I wish I had taken pictures of all the creative pictures. We found some simple decorations at the dollar store and we were set! I made this Spider-web bean dip and chocolate chip spider cookies for the occasion. 

I wanted a quick, inexpensive costume that we already had most of the things for...and this happened! I traced the pieces on card stock and we found the red nose at a party store. Can you guess what we are? :) And yes, the medical forceps are actually a straightener. 

The only picture I got of real people at the party...fail. 

I celebrated my 25th birthday! My family still managed to make me feel super special from many states away. Thanks Mom for the awesome package!!! 

True to our usual, we took advantage of every birthday freebie within a 30 minute drive ha. I just love free things! Especially on my birthday! I got a birthday burger at Red Robin, yum. Other freebies included Jersey Mike's, Grimmaldi's, and Coldstone. Perfect for two poor med students. 

Ty spoiled me by taking me to Red Lobster on my actual birthday. (We like to celebrate birthday week around here) It was delicious. I just can't get enough fish! I always get the Salmon New Orleans- a perfect salmon with pico de gallo and spicy grilled shrimp. Makes my mouth water just thinking about it. 

25 will be a big year for me. The year that I will become a mother! I am very excited for the upcoming year.