Sevea's Birth Story

Soon enough I will be talking about the birth of a new baby. Since I didn't have the blog when Sevea was born I thought it would be great to take a trip down memory lane of Sevea's birth experience and put it all down in writing. I've talked so much already about how the pregnancies are different that I am certain the birth stories will be as well. Isn't every birth unique!?!

Let's take a trip back to 2008 shall we. My due date was September 9th with Sevea. Or that is the due date I chose. My first doctor in Alexandria had chosen the due date of September 10th but I stuck with the 9th when we moved since I had calculated that online when I sent out the announcements. And really what is one day :) Okay so back to September 9th. I had my 40 week appointment that morning. I had started feeling some contractions. Troy and I of course were anxious and being first timers had no clue what to expect. So we almost thought we should head to the hospital because they were coming close enough together. Since I had an appointment I just said we should wait and see what the doctor said then. By the time we got to the doctor the contractions had stopped. Unfortunately I don't remember all the details but I was only dilated to 1.5cm and I was effaced but I don't remember how much. It was I think around 80%. The doctor ended up breaking my membranes. This was not fun and did not feel good. She warned me that I could experience some contractions afterward. And boy did I ever. The car ride home was not pleasant. The doctor still thought it would be a few days or so. When we got home Troy headed off to work and since I was on bed rest I was able to relax at home. I took a nap and that really helped with the contractions.

After supper I started to feel more contractions again. But knowing they could stop or just be from the appointment procedure we stuck it out until around 10:00 at night. We got packed up and made our way to the hospital. The hospital was a little drive so we arrived close to 11:00 at night. I was monitored to see if I was making any progress and how things were going before being admitted. Since I was not progressing they decided it was best to send me home. I was dilated to 2cm at this time. I was curious how I was to sleep with having the contractions. The nurse gave me some medicine that would help me fall asleep. So we made our way home at 1:00 in the morning.

It was close to 2:00 in the morning by the time we got home and settled into bed. I had taken the medicine and hoped to get some sleep. However that was not in the cards for me. I laid in bed until 3:30 when I decided to get up and try taking a bath. It felt soooo good. I was in love with the bath even though being 40 weeks pregnant in a normal size tub isn't all that comfy, it sure took the edge off enough for me to relax a little. I sat in the tub for quite some time. Finally I decided to get ready before waking up Troy. I knew it would be best for him to get some sleep if this was going to be the big day. Troy got ready and not wanting to head to the hospital again to only be sent home we waited a while to see how things would go. Finally around 9:00 we decided it was time to go to the hospital. With the contractions I was having I didn't see how they would send me home.

We arrived at the hospital around 10:00. After some monitoring it was decided I would stay. I was now dilated to 3cm. I was given a room and we knew that today was the day we would meet our baby. Things went slowly at first. I progressed to 4cm and then 5cm at 2:00. My nurse suggested we break my water at that time. The doctor agreed and my water was broke around 2:30. Things almost immediately changed at that point. The contractions definitely picked up in their timing and their strength. Everyone thought that I would deliver later that night around 9:00 or so. Knowing this I just didn't see how I could handle 7 hours of that intensity. I had asked for medicine thinking I would get the IV stuff the nurse mentioned but instead an epidural was ordered. Which at that point was fine by me! Troy just so happened to be taking time for a bite to eat and says that my moment of weakness was because of that (not that you are weak if you get one, my birth plan just didn't necessarily include it although I wasn't opposed to it either). The anesthesiologist was quite busy that day so he finally arrived to my room around 3:30. The nurse had me sit up to work through the contractions and try to be still at the same time. This is when I KNEW something was different. The moment I sat up I think she dropped and was ready to come. I felt intense pressure and knew that things had changed. However I had never had a kid and just kept saying something is different, I can't sit still. I can't do it. The nurse never thought that I would have progressed so quickly so she said she would check me after it was done and encouraged me to try hard to sit still. This part of labor was the WORST part for me. It was extremely difficult to sit upright and be still while having a baby want to come into the world. And the worst thing was that the nurse checked me after and I was ready to push. So I never even received the medicine besides the test dose they give to make sure you react fine. All that for nothing! (By the way, I don't blame the nurse....she was great and with things happening so quickly I can only imagine her shock of the situation as well).

The nurse then allowed me to try pushing. After one push I was told that I needed to stop and wait for the doctor. It was 4:00 and it felt like forever to wait. The doctor walked into the room around 4:15. There was a resident doctor helping to deliver the baby so I kept asking if I could push since I figured she could deliver the baby. I was told I had to wait. Finally I was able to push. I pushed 3 times and our darling little girl Sevea Paige Appeldorn was born at 4:24pm on September 10th, 2008. It is something I will never forget and feel truly blessed to have been given the chance to experience it all.

My idea of fun at 36 weeks prego

So some may think I am being sarcastic but I am 100% happy that I got to help with the floors in our basement. I have always wanted to do remodeling projects and this was definitely one I could help with even being 36 weeks prego. It was great to feel involved other than painting the whole basement :) It was also nice for Troy and I. We really worked well as a team and enjoyed the time together.

All was great until I forgot about my finger that was between the rubber block and the hammer :) Minor injury welcomed for the opportunity.

***Hope you enjoy the preview of a little progress made in the basement. Soon enough I'll be able to post completed pictures. I know I said Troy might be dead somewhere if we didn't meet our end of July deadline, but honestly if that happens it wasn't me. haha He has been amazing in how much he has taken on....and with so little complaints. I couldn't ask for anything more so whenever completion happens will be fine with me.

Week 36 and some days update

I promised an update after I had my doctor appointment, so here it is. My appointment went really well. The ultrasound results were nothing my doctor was concerned with. The baby originally measured 40% at 20 weeks and was measuring at 28% at 34 weeks. She said they aren't concerned unless it is lower than 10% and nothing else would cause alarm. She also said that with the size of my first born that the percentages make sense as well. As I told her, I would be surprised with a big baby :) I am now measuring only one week behind so that also was a good sign things are well. The baby still had a great heartbeat in the 140s. This was the first appointment where she checked my cervix. She was quite surprised with me being 1.5 cm dilated and 50% effaced (thinned). I wasn't necessarily too surprised since I have been feeling a lot of pressure at times and also having braxton hicks contractions which I never had with Sevea. So I thought maybe something could be happening versus with Sevea I had no progress at this stage. We definitely have a baby with its head down as she could actually feel it. So what does this all mean...really nothing! She said she was thinking maybe 38 or 39 weeks would be good but hoped she didn't jinx me and now I go to 42 weeks. So really it could be any day just as if I had made no progress. I am hoping to make it to 39 weeks but after my appointment things really sunk in that it will happen soon. Even 3 weeks from now is soon. The baby will be joining us and I definitely had a moment where it truly sunk in.

From here on out I go every week, so my next appointment is Monday August 1st.

Sneak Peek

Sevea has been so excited to help paint her bedroom. We kept telling her with every other room we painted (which in the whole house we have the master bathroom yet to paint...ofta!) that she would get to help with her room. So we had to hold up our end of the bargain. Sevea was the master mind behind the theme. We kept asking her what she wanted and she always said pink with polka dots. I gave her the roller to help with the pink and no more than 5 seconds later she was done (too heavy for her). She would have likely painted all of the polka dots if we let her but I am sure the end result would not be a favorite of mom or dad. She is very excited about her new room and hopefully she can make the transition sooner rather than later!! Again I realized I have a little girl now and not a baby :(

Bare Room Realization

This once was a spare bedroom. Then was turned into the toy room. Now it is bare. I moved all the toys out of the room on Friday night. Everything finally hit me. We are going to be having another baby....soon! I kept thinking I had time. I put this room off. Then it hit me, I only had five weeks left and this baby could really come at any point. I needed to get my butt in gear and make this bare, empty room a little girls room for Sevea. So in between painting every wall of the basement I painted the room. One step to making this room ready for Sevea. Which means the room where she is currently will once again become a baby room. She was very excited about her pink room and she can't wait to see the polka dots. For me my anxiety will decrease once those are on the wall and the bed is moved in. All the other details can be done even if the baby is here. She just needs a place to sleep so the baby can have the crib. Let's hope the polka dots turn out!!

Week 35 Update

It is mind blowing to me to think about the fact that I most likely only have 5 weeks left before we become parents to another little life. Time sure hasn't stood still. We are very excited to get to meet the little one and get to know this life inside me. Troy and I differ this time on our anxiety for the baby's arrival. He was very curious and very excited for Sevea to come. I must have been enjoying the bed rest (great time off work) and loving the pregnancy that it wasn't until the days before her due date that I really got anxious. This time however Troy is more relaxed and I CAN'T wait to meet him/her. No rushing baby though...we still have plenty to do before you make your appearance. Please stay put for 4 weeks for sure :)

One reason I can't wait is because I am very anxious to know who this little person inside me is. Boy or girl? I LOVE not finding out even more this time around. I sit and try to picture who this baby will become and it isn't easy. Not knowing whether it is a boy or girl hinders this. Which I personally love that I can't paint this picture until the baby has been born. The second pregnancy is different though because I have something to compare to. I often get asked do you have a feeling whether it is a boy or girl. Because I feel this pregnancy is so different I assume boy. But I don't have any true feelings either way. Most people have guessed boy (maybe for the same reason as myself) so that further makes me guess boy. I was the same way with Sevea. Others guesses made me think a certain way. When I try to envision the baby I don't see either one but I often feel a sense of comfort when thinking of a girl. I think since all I know is Sevea and since until recently my side of the family was filled with girls, girl is just a natural thing for me. But getting to spend so much time with Grayson surely makes me know a boy would settle into our hearts just as easily.

Boy or girl I was ready for this baby to come last night. One thing I never experienced with Sevea was round ligament pain. I have had my share and then some this pregnancy. At first it was just a dull pain in the groin area and mostly came on at night before bed. A lot of times I could stretch or take some Tylenol and fall asleep with no problem. Recently though I have been experiencing sharp stabbing pains in the same area. It has made it difficult to walk at times but nothing too bad...until last night. We went as a family to grab something to eat and walking back to the car was painful and slow. Troy actually went to get the vehicle and pick me up because I did not feel I could walk any further. Since Sevea isn't always a fast walker and getting her in the car takes time I was able to make it to the car just as he was backing up. After getting home we had planned a trip to the park. Not wanting to leave Lily out of the fun and stay behind myself, I decided to make the trek. It took me twice as long to walk to the park than it took Troy to push Sevea in her truck wagon. Many times I thought my legs were just going to buckle and I wouldn't be able to stand. (Yes I see as how this should have been a sign to not push things further but I have a hard time with limitations when I feel like I can still push through) Thankfully our trip back from the park went a little better and faster. I hope that no woman has to experience this pain. Ouch!! It will be worth it but made me wonder if it continues how I can manage life for the next 5 weeks. Thankfully for now it just occurs at the end of the day.

Other than the round ligament pain I have been feeling great. Swelling is not something I have endured as of yet. It is crazy for me to be wearing my rings at this point. I am thankful! The baby still moves a lot which makes me smile and again thankful. It is fun to experience new things like the hiccups this time around. The baby gets them often enough that Carissa and Troy have both been able to feel them. And I almost forgot Sevea as well! At dinner last night the baby got hiccups and with Sevea sitting right by me she got to feel the baby move for the first time. She thought it was fun! With her on the go playing most of the day, I've just never made it a priority to have her feel the baby move. I am glad she got to experience it before the baby is born.

My 36 week appointment is on Monday July 25th. I'll try for a quick update at that time. As Sevea now will say grow baby grow; look mommy the baby is growing...pointing at my tummy!!

S is for Summer

S is for Swimming

S is for Smiling

S is for Splashing Fun

S is for Snuggling Time

S is for Submerging Daddy

S is also for the slide at the pool that Sevea absolutely loves! S is for Summer and all the fun we have been having. Hope your Summer has been sensational thus far!

Special look at the baby

I had an appointment on Friday to see how everything was going with the baby. The appointment went well. I have been consistently measuring smaller than what week of my pregnancy I am on. This wasn't a concern for my doctor but at this appointment I decided to ask directly that this was fine. She said it should be fine since my measurements have been consistent but to schedule an ultrasound just to check things out. Another reason I love my doctor and I was totally fine with this plan :) We got an appointment for Saturday evening at 5:00. Here is a special look at the baby at 34 weeks:

The ultrasound tech was nice and got us some 3D shots. It was definitely different to see the baby so much past 20 weeks. Even with the normal ultrasound you could just see so much more. We could clearly see the baby smacking its lips. So cute! In these two pictures you can see the nose and the mouth. Right above the nose is the baby's hand in a fist. The tech tried to get the baby to move its hand but no such luck. The tech said the baby was telling us it had a hard day :)

We once again passed on the opportunity to find out the gender. We really love the excitement on the birth day. We found out some other neat things though. The tech said that the baby has some hair. Not a ton but some. So even with a lack of heartburn the baby won't be bald!! haha We also found out that the baby is very low. The tech needed to get pictures of my cervix and the baby was so low that she had to tilt me almost upside down to try to get the baby to move up a little. This was interesting because I keep saying that this one feels so much lower than Sevea. So I guess it is more than just in my head. We also found out that the baby weighs around 4lbs 6oz. Typically a baby gains 1/2 a pound a week so with 6 weeks left the baby could be around 7lbs 6oz. A lot of times the ultrasound estimates high (from what I have heard/read from others experiences) but I am not going to be surprised if the baby comes out around 7 lbs or so. A large baby would surprise me :)

We don't know a lot yet from the ultrasound since I'll discuss it with my doctor on the 25th. The ultrasound tech said that at this stage the measurements aren't as accurate. She said nothing looked alarming but they can't say too much. So we'll find out more at the next appointment. But what a fun special look at our little one that we get to meet so soon!

After swimming lessons fun

It could have been dangerous! Swimming lessons were every Tuesday and Thursday. Perkins has kid's night Tuesday and Thursday. Good thing we didn't have many opportunities to make this a habit. But boy was it a fun night for all of us. Kid's night at Perkins includes getting your face painted, receiving a balloon, and of course a free meal complete with a cookie! Sevea loved every part of the night. It was fun to go enjoy something like this during the week. A nice treat for Sevea and us :)

Hard to see but it is a butterfly and she chose pink!

4th of July Fun 2011

Our holiday weekend wasn't filled with all fun like one would hope but we still managed to take some time to enjoy the holiday when we could. I debated whether I wanted to keep Sevea up for the fireworks since I just didn't know if it was worth it. But I am glad I listened to Troy and let her stay up late and enjoy the experience. She loved the booms! (She kept calling them booms but now will say fireworks) It was really fun to watch her. Even better was the fact that we were watching the fireworks from the comfort of the Zimmer household. Okay not inside, we were outside with all the bugs to bite us. The fireworks were lit in the neighborhood and we had such a good view of them without having to go anywhere but inside once they were done. We just wonder how people get a hold of these professional looking fireworks! We definitely look forward to next year!

Excitement for the small things

Since I've been around my share of kids, when I became a parent I never knew the extreme amount of happiness and delight it would bring me to watch my own child learn and grow. I have always thought it fun to see a child start walking or learn to talk more or whatnot. But until you have your own child I don't think you can appreciate the true amazement of a child growing and learning more. There are SOOOO many little things that I would never have thought were as exciting until I had Sevea. For instance, recently we found that Sevea is becoming more and more skilled in her coloring. Just like all other kids she began with just scribbles all over the paper. But now along with the scribbles she is becoming more controlled and trying to color certain objects and not just the whole paper.

I don't know if you can see it close enough but we were out to dinner and she was trying to color each character one by one and not just scribbling all over the paper. It is moments like these that Troy and I still find so amazing. It is all the small things of her development that make us smile!

Sand and water fun

Sevea received a sand and water table for Christmas from Gma & Gpa A. We finally went and purchased some sand and got it set up. We should have done it sooner. She loves it! She asks quite a bit to play outside with her sand table. Thanks for loads of entertainment for our little girl Gma & Gpa Appeldorn!!

Good practice

Sevea has been asking to go to the hospital a lot lately. She wants to go get her baby from the doctor. But until then she can practice her big sister skills with her dolls....or Grayson! I was feeding my other infant Brea the other day and Grayson decided he was ready to eat early as well. He was pretty content laying next to me on the couch and I played with his lip a little to distract him. I let him suck on my pinkie for just a little bit. Put my attention back to Brea for a second and look what I found:

Sevea's finger was the perfect size because he thought it was the best thing ever. Sucked so hard I didn't think he would give her finger up. Good big cousin should = good big sister!