My Birth Story (Part 4 of 4): Abigail Remi Kline January 11th, 2017.

Daddy’s little girl

Once you were born, Mommy knew it was important for you to have that special skin to skin time with her, allowing us to bond and help you with breast feeding.  But she also knew how important it was going to be for you to do the same with your Daddy, they say there is something about the Daddy’s heart beat that is beneficial and soothing for baby.  The amount of pride in his eyes as he sat in that chair with his shirt unbuttoned, holding his baby girl for the first time was simply priceless, the entire pregnancy, your Daddy could not wait to hold you and smother you with kisses!

From the moment you were born, your Daddy did not take his eyes off you!  Wherever you went or whoever took you, Daddy was right by your side making sure everything was ok!  You were eventually weighted, measured and had your oxygen levels checked after we had our bonding.  You weighed in at 7lbs 6 ounces, measured 19.5 inches long and had a perfect O2 score of 100%, an absolutely healthy and perfect baby!  One of the first things I heard out of what seemed like everyone’s mouths was how much you look JUST like your daddy!!  Daddy loved so much to hear this, he would beam with joy every time someone mentioned it, and for good reason!  However, Mommy could not believe that after 9 months of carrying you, 12 hours of Labor and all that pushing, you came out a spitting image of your Daddy (not in the slightest bit upset either)!!

 

Finally ready for your first visitors!

Since your Mommy did not get the epidural or any other type of pain medication, within an hour she was up and walking around, ready to eat, hold and snuggle you as if she did not just spend the last 12 hours laboring you!  It wasn’t until about 2 hours after having you that we were ready to have visitors, I felt those first two hours alone were entirely too important for your Daddy and I to worry about having to sharing you!  Once we were ready for visitors, your MeMaw, PawPaw and Kakky were anxiously waiting in the waiting room to meet their newest edition, and the first family members to come in!   You were their very first Grand and Great Granddaughter and they had been waiting all day to get their hands on you.  The amount of Joy and pride they all had in you was amazing, you see Mommy is an only child and Kakky’s only Grandchild; so I knew you would be VERY loved and spoiled!  Finally getting to see everyone’s faces when they met you for the first time was amazing, I could already see and feel the love.  You were their pride and joy before you were ever born Abigail, they would brag about your growth, show off your ultrasound pictures and talk about how much they were going to love and spoil you once you arrived!

Just Mommy, Daddy and Abigail

After all our visitors left and it was just us, the new Kline family…Party of 4 (counting Savannah), we honestly couldn’t believe you were all ours, that we created you and brought you into this world.  We spent the next two days being monitored in the hospital, making sure you were not jaundice, ensuring you passed the hearing test and your blood sugar was good.  Honestly Mommy was ready to go home the next morning she felt so great but at the time didn’t know you didn’t by law have to stay, so I can promise you with your future brother or sister we will be home next day if all goes well!

 

Headed Home!

It was the morning of January the 13^th, we were finally given the ok to take our little bundle of joy home to meet her big sister, Savannah!  Your Daddy got everything packed up and loaded in the car, you were given your first sponge bath since birth and we put you in your adorable little going home dress…  And just like that we were finally home bound, no more beeping monitors, nurses checking in on us or people bugging us; just Abigail, Mommy, Daddy and Savannah.

 

Meeting your Big Sister Savannah!

Your big sister has been loving on you and anxiously waiting to meet you since you were in Mommy’s belly.  Mommy could lift her shirt up and tell Savannah to “give Abigail a kiss” and she would go right to my belly and give you a big slobbery, wet kiss (which she still does today).  I will never forget after we got you settled in your new home, we placed you in your bassinet to sleep and Savannah was so interested in you she just wanted to stare at you through the bassinet.  Your Pawpaw showed her that she was actually able to lift the cover on the bassinet, allowing her to see you through the side.  From them on she was glued to the side of your bassinet.

I am so excited to watch the two of you grow up together and you share your major milestones with her.  She will be with you for your first steps, first bike ride and first day of school.  More importantly, she will always be your best friend!

The End…

Your Mommy and Daddy love you so incredibly much Abigail Remi, you are everything we could have ever hoped and prayed for!  You have been such an amazing baby, so strong, smart, funny and a blast to raise.  I have enjoyed watching you grow both physically and mentally over the past months and I know that the best has yet to come!  We treasure every second we have with you and I can’t wait for all the years of adventures and memories to come!

WE LOVE YOU,

Love Mommy, Daddy and Savannah

My Birth Story (Part 3 of 4): Abigail Remi Kline January 11th, 2017.

Almost time!!!

Crystal had me lay on my side for my next contraction with my legs closed to ensure you weren’t coming out before Dr. White was able to make it to our room.  I remember her talking to other nurses saying if she needed to deliver you she would, your head was crowning and you were waiting for nobody to make your grand entrance.  There were Nurses were coming in and out of my room, asking whether or not I was still going strong with no pain meds (all very proud and happy to hear!) and before I knew it all the nurses were excitedly yelling Dr. White’s name as he came barreling through those doors, ready to deliver you!

 

Where’s the Doctor!!!

As soon as he entered the room, he immediately put his gown and gloves on, turned on the big, bright spot light above me and we were ready to go!  In my birth plan I had mentioned that I wanted to look into a mirror when your head began to crown, figured it would give me that extra boost I needed to keep going strong, knowing you were just right there!  Well I got my mirror all right, I was expecting a small hand held mirror that they would hand me and then take it back.  Nope, they wheeled out a 4-foot mirror and placed it at the foot of my bed for me to see everything…  for the entire birth!  I could tell at this point your Daddy was starting to get a little worried, he had never seen Mommy in so much pain and despite all his motivation and help, there was truly nothing he could really do!

*On a side note*

Everything that mommy had expected to happen during labor and delivery was WAY off, I expected my legs to go in stirrups, which would hold them back and up for me and the doctor…  Well instead your Godmother Kristie and Daddy were each handed a leg to help hold back (Mommy found this very funny for some reason, since Kristie was there to simply take pictures and be a fly on the wall haha)!  I also expected for there to be only a few nurses and Dr. White in the room…  There were WAY more people, but I am thankful for all the cheerleaders I had. I was very adamant on not allowing anyone in the room other than your Daddy while I was in labor because I did not want anyone to see me in pain.  However, I did want pictures of the journey documented but didn’t know how to go about that.  So Kristie volunteered to be in there with us to take pictures and that was it…  As you can tell, she got/ saw way more than she bargained for!  I am beyond thankful though that I had her in that room with me.  She lightened the mood, helped your mommy stay cool by fanning me during heavy contractions, she made me look pretty and helped me brush my hair and freshen up after I delivered you!  She was a true champ and the true definition of a best friend; one that I can only hope you are lucky enough to find.

 

TIME TO PUSH!!!!

So, by now I was fully dilated (10CM) and ready to push you out, no more crossing my legs or fighting/ breathing through a contraction without pushing.  Before I even got a chance to process what all was going on, I looked up and around my room to find at least 9 nurses standing around; some ready to help clean up during and after, some to weigh/examine you and take care of mommy…  but the rest were there to cheer me on and offer encouragement as I came to the end of my journey of delivering you without any pain medication!  I will never forget the amount of support and energy that filled that room as I was coached to push and hold my breath for 10 seconds every time I got a contraction!  Everyone kept telling me “you can do it”, “OH I see her head” or like your Daddy had to say “You got it champ!”  My go to person throughout the entire process was of course your Daddy, but also Crystal!  Whenever I got exhausted or overwhelmed I turned to her for encouragement and advice and boy did that work.  I was going through the video and rewatching it all after the fact, laughing at myself saying “again”, “you sure”, “am I almost done”!   There is no way to ever be able to describe all of the emotions, pain and excitement simultaneously running through your body.  As time progressed, you were making progress however, I struggled with being able to birth your head out.  Because of that, the doctor had to perform an episiotomy (they snip you to allow passage of the head) to help you out and not compromise your blood pressure.  I honestly do not remember the Doctor doing this, or even saying “hey I am going to have to snip you” (Daddy said I agreed to it!).  Only reason I found out was because after I delivered you, I saw him with some yarn looking material going up and down like he was sticking something up and when I asked what the heck that was for, he reminded me!!  HAHA oops.  They don’t take any mercy on you down there either and your poor Daddy happened to look over at just the right time to witness it all!  I am pretty sure the picture below was taken just as this was happening… based on his facial expression!

 

Just a few more pushes and she’s here!

Once this was done it was smooth sailing for you to come make your debut!  It only took about a dozen more pushes before you came out!  Because Mommy didn’t take any pain meds, I was able to feel every single contraction and knew when my body needed me to push.  After a few hard and strong pushes, your head came out!  This scared your Daddy quite a bit because you were blue from the lack of oxygen (since you hadn’t take your first breath outside mommy’s belly yet).  They say the worst part is pushing the shoulders out because they are wide; however I found this the easiest.  After your head came out, I was able to push your shoulders out in 3 pushes.  Next thing I know, I hear the most amazing sound, the cries of our healthy baby girl taking her first breaths.  The next moments were some that your Daddy and I will never forget.  You were delivered at 7:28 PM and immediately placed on Mommy’s chest for skin to skin bonding.  The amount of pride, excitement, joy and love I had in that moment was surreal, it was as if time had stopped and all I could do was stare at you in disbelief.  Amazed you had finally entered this world and that your Daddy and I were able to create such a perfect little human being!

My Birth Story (Part 2 of 4): Abigail Remi Kline January 11th, 2017.

Getting to the hospital/ Getting examined

Once we arrived at the hospital around 9:30 AM, mommy was still feeling great (so no speeding down I4 was necessary for daddy), I could feel some light contractions but nothing too serious.  For that reason, I was worried that this all might be a false alarm; my water which I thought broke never did or the “contractions” I was feeling weren’t true contractions, just Braxton hicks.  Once I checked in, a nurse had called me back for an examination as well as monitoring for you.  I had explained that I believe my water had broken earlier this morning around 8:00 and my contractions seemed to be around 5-6 minutes apart at times.  Because I came in so happy and calm, the nurse was talking to us as if we would be going home and it was not yet time to have you.  However, once she checked to see how dilated I was, she was shocked to discover I was 5CM!  She could not believe how happy and pain free I was and just like that the next words we heard were “You’re having this baby today!”  You see, mommy was very active her entire pregnancy (Running, going to the gym and walking), ate as healthy as she could (with plenty of cheat days) and did a lot of research about how to have a healthy and natural delivery.  It is because of this research that I decided it would be healthiest for both you and me if mommy did not get an epidural (a shot in my back to not allow me to feel pain/contractions) and allowed my body to feel the contractions so I knew when to push.

Being admitted!!!  It’s baby time!

I was quickly admitted to the hospital, signed about a dozen papers and walked (yes, I refused to be wheeled a few rooms down the hall) over to room 402, where later that evening we would be welcoming you!  Once we got settled into our room, I was hooked up to an IV of antibiotics because although I tested negative for the Strep-B test at my 30-week appointment, in my first trimester I tested positive early on. I then presented the on staff nurses with my “Birth Plan”.  Stated in there was the fact that nobody other than Joe and Kristie were to be in the room during delivery and most importantly not to ask or mention an epidural!  I was DETERMINED to do this naturally with the help of your Daddy and the nurses who were so excited for it!!  When the shifts of nurses changed over, there was one nurse whom I will never forget, Crystal.  She was beyond excited that I had chosen to have you naturally, without any pain meds; she actually said I was the first mom in over a month she has seen who willingly chose to not have any pain medication for delivery (I was just slightly proud of this and it most definitely helped boost my confidence)!

 

Passing the time until she arrives

By now (around 12:00 P.M.), we had made all the important phone calls, Kristie was on her way and I had created a group chat with close friends and family to have your Daddy keep them up to speed on my progress.  Mommy was bound and determined to not labor in the hospital bed, so the nurses gave me a bouncy ball to sit on that would help the pain during contractions.  Things were going along smoothly; however, I was not progressing/ dilating quick enough; since my water broke that morning they wanted you out within 24 hours in order to keep you safe.  So when I was checked around 2:00 P.M. Dr. White said I was only at 6CM and if I had not progressed more by 4:00 P.M. they were going to have to give me Pitocin in order to keep you safe and me avoid a C-section.  Although I was Completely against getting the Pitocin, I was more concerned about your health (blood pressure and whether or not you were under any stress). It was now 4:30 and the doctor was still in the operating room performing a C-section but said by 5:00 he would be in to check me and approve the Pitocin.  Mommy was beginning to get nervous at this point, thankfully I was hooked up to the monitor that was able to track both mine and your blood pressure; assuring me that we were both ok!  Your daddy and Kristie made sure they both kept me entertained by cracking jokes and playing none other than Carrie Underwood on their phones!

My Pitocin was finally administered through my IV around 5:30 PM, I was informed of the heightened intensity my contractions would bring and how quickly it would allow my laboring to progress.  It was no sooner than 30 minutes I felt my first major contraction of the evening, an intense cramp like no other.  While these contractions may have been painful, they were short lived and simple reminders to me that I was that much closer to meeting you with each one I was able to breathe through!  It wasn’t until this point that the contractions began to hurt my back, thankfully that amazing nurse I mentioned earlier, Crystal, showed your daddy and Kristie pressure points on my back and hips to hold/ press, alleviating the back pain during my contractions.  My back pain only lasted for about 30 minutes and I truly believe that was because I continued to stand and bounce during each contraction while having help with pressure points.

 

THE TIME HAS COME!!!!

As time progressed, the contractions were getting stronger and stronger; and mommy wasn’t allowed to push until she was 10CM dilated, despite feeling the urge.  I quickly hit 9CM around 6:45 PM and boy were those contractions strong by now!  Although mommy’s water “broke” early that morning, it was just a slow leak, meaning my entire water hadn’t broken yet.  All of the sudden after one of my strong contractions I felt a sudden burst, that was the rest of my actual water breaking; finally felt that “gushing” and “Popping” feeling of your water breaking (pretty cool actually!).  Mommy was so excited because she believed that once her full water broke she was ready to push!!  But somehow I managed to still have a quarter of my water still inside, meaning I had to breathe through (not push!) a few more contractions before the rest broke.  However, at this point I suddenly got an increasingly strong urge to have to push every time I had a contraction.  Well when this sensation began, Crystal checked to see how I was coming along and before she even got the chance your little noggin was beginning to show (SCARY for nurses because that meant you were coming soon), and Dr. White was still finishing up in the OR!  From this moment on things got very frantic and very real but Mommy made sure she remained clam and in good spirits, knowing the next few hours were going to be a whirlwind of emotions and pain…

My birth story (Part 1 of 4): Abigail Remi Kline January 11th, 2017.

The night before

It was the night of January 10^th, 2017 that your mommy was beginning to feel some pressure and what she thought could possibly be contractions.  They say that right before you deliver, you begin to “nest”, and I did just that.  After I got home from work, I managed to cook your daddy and I dinner, prepare a dinner for the following night, make brownies and clean the house!  That is an awful lot for a 9-month pregnant woman to do!  Your daddy even swears he was nesting that day as well; at the time, he was working at AutoZone, there they have a whole back space of batteries and supplies which haven’t been cleaned out in years.  Well, all that changed the day before you were born, your daddy got that entire store cleaned, just like mommy did the house!  That night I began to realize what I was feeling were indeed contractions.  I was unable to sleep, not in pain just simply uncomfortable.

The Morning of

It was about 5:30 in the morning on January 11^th when mommy started to time the contractions she believed she was feeling.  They were sometimes 6-7 minutes apart and other times longer, this lasted for a few hours.  Then as time got closer for Daddy to leave for work they were between 5-6 minutes apart.

I felt great, so I told daddy to go to work, I would keep him posted.  I called your God Mother, Kristie to let her know that I thought I might be going into labor soon!  She had agreed to be in the room with your daddy and I while I gave birth since I wanted pictures to document the special day.  After your Daddy went off to work I made sure I got up and got ready just in case, I straightened my hair and put on some make up.  It wasn’t until about 8:30 when I was making the bed that I had felt a trickling of water leak, almost as if I had peed myself.  I quickly realized it is possible my water had broken, although I was slightly confused because you always hear the water breaking being described as a “pop” or “gush of water” being released.  Your Pawpaw just happened to come over about 15 minutes after this had happened, I told him I thought my water had broken (he was Extremely excited!!) but did not want your Daddy and have him leave work for a false alarm.  We decided to call Dr. White, the OB and see what he thought I should do, however since they were not open yet, I had to wait for the answering service receptionist to get the message to him.  Within 5 minutes I received his phone call instructing me to go straight to the hospital!  So I immediately called your daddy back and told him to hurry home it was time to go to the hospital (he has never gotten home so quick in his life!!!).

The trip to the Hospital!

I was so incredibly excited, I made sure I gathered our hospital bag, your folder with some important documents and mommy’s birth plan and most important; your car seat to bring you home in!  And it was just like that, that your mommy and daddy were waving bye to Pawpaw and Savannah, hoping to return with our sweet baby girl in tow!  On our way to the hospital, I could not help but keep rubbing my belly; knowing this was probably the last day I would spend with you inside, kicking around.  But that meant we were just one step closer to you entering this world and your daddy and I beginning our journey as parents.