Saturday, September 6, 2014

Jane's Birth Story (a year later...)

Now that baby #2 is almost here, I'm going to post about Jane's birth!  Hopefully it won't take me quite as long to write about the next one's birth.  I don't like forgetting some of the little details!

Everything about my pregnancy with Jane was pretty standard.  The only thing that ever worried me was a UTI that I never actually felt the pain of, and it was gone as fast as it came once I started taking antibiotics.  The midwives I saw kept saying Jane was on the small side, so naturally everyone, including myself, assumed she would come later than her due date, which was July 17th.  Well, she decided to make a fashionably late entrance by coming a day late.  Little drama queen.

My mom was able to come a couple days before the due date and I am SO glad she was there.  Andrew and I had no idea what we were doing and would have starved to death and just straight up lost our minds without her there.  Andrew's side of the family was in New York having a wonderful time at their family reunion, so those family members who normally live close by were not so close anymore to help us out if we needed it.  Buuut I guess that's our fault for having a baby during the family reunion that had already been planned about a year in advance :)  So having my mom here was really awesome.

The due date came and everything was fine and dandy.  I just felt ginormous, like most pregnant women feel in their last few weeks of it all.  Andrew came home from work and my mom made some lumpia for dinner.  One of my favorites!  Dipping it in that sweet chili sauce... mmm.  Delicious.  Since it's a little on the spicy side, I blame that for getting things started that night.  

So around 9 that night, we were just hanging out watching a TV show and I started to feel real crampy and uncomfortable, so to the bathroom I went!  I think my water actually broke while I was sitting there, but I hadn't experienced this thing called child birth, so I had no idea what was going on.  So I told Andrew and my mom that I thought something was happening (ha), and I was having some contractions at that point too, I think.  I called the hospital and they said to wait a bit before coming in, especially since this was my first, and she really didn't think my water had broken (to this day, I still think it had!).  


So began the hour or two of pacing and extreme discomfort.  To me, contractions felt like REALLY intense period cramps.  There have only been a few times where I have had such bad period cramps that I felt like throwing up, and this was beyond that.  I just felt sick to my stomach and had to keep walking.  So I was pretty much useless, and Andrew did a pretty good job not freaking out, though he did leave to get some gas and stuff... but I think it's OK that he took a few minutes to himself before watching his wife endure one of the most difficult and painful things in life, which in turn changes his life completely :)  He did that pretty early on, and my mom was here (again, thank GOODNESS!).  She was timing the contractions.  Once they started to be about 7 minutes apart I called the hospital again and they said we should come in, especially since they were rather intense contractions.  

So we left around 11pm to drive a good 45 minutes to an hour to get to the hospital.  I was worried about handling the contractions in the car, because it was NOT comfortable sitting down during the contractions. In fact, I was dreading it.  Heavenly Father was very merciful and answered my prayers, because I swear I practically fell asleep in the car.  How I could sleep through contractions is unfathomable, but something happened to help me just keep my eyes closed and be relaxed enough to feel like the drive took only 10 minutes.


We got to the hospital around midnight and they got me in a wheel chair and up to a delivery room.  There was a woman in there that had to ask me a bazillion questions, so in between contractions I'm trying to answer all these questions.  And goodness, she was taking her sweet time!  Andrew was getting more annoyed with her than I was, but she just didn't realize that things were moving pretty quick for me.  A few different nurses came in and out getting things ready and checking stuff, and I can't remember if the midwife on duty either was on her way or was really busy.  There was one nurse that was really awesome, she was super calm and kinda took charge.  She could probably tell that I was kind of freaking out because, well, child birth is scary, and I was hyperventilating a little bit (a lot).  That's one thing I am hoping to do better with the next time around.  Practicing your breathing really is important!  At one point she checked to see how dilated and effaced I was and she was like WOAH! And that's when people started getting things ready in a more timely manner.  Jane was coming fast!

The midwife, Mary, finally got there around 1am and she was seriously awesome.  So calm and quiet, and she was rubbing my back most of the time.  So major points for that.  I think she wanted me to try to go to the bathroom at one point, so we hobbled over there and man, it felt good to just sit there and crouch on the toilet.  WAY better than sitting on the bed.  I've had a bad back ever since taking a bad spill off a horse a few years ago, and having a weak core from not working out much during pregnancy (and having my ab muscles split to fit my giant uterus...) didn't help the back pain that contractions give you.  

Oh, before this I was asking for the epidural.  Mary said the anesthesiologist was really busy and probably wouldn't make it for about another hour, and I was mortified.  It all just hurt so bad!  So the whole time I was just hoping and hoping he would come, but he didn't walk in the door until I was already pushing.  A little late there, buddy!  But it all turned out for the better.  I was able to learn that I could get through the contractions and pain on my own, which I think is something to be proud of.  I don't have anything against mothers who choose to use drugs during child birth (heck, I was begging for that epidural!), but that pain is really something different, and it really has helped my feelings as a mom to know that I can get through that, with the help of a massaging midwife and a husband's hand to squeeze :)  Having a baby, naturally, with an epidural, a c-section, whatever it is, is HARD WORK.  Congratulations to all women out there that do it!

As I was sitting in the bathroom I started feeling that I should probably start pushing.  So I climbed onto the bed and stayed on my hands and knees, because like I said, sitting on my butt and having all that pressure on my back and tail bone was NOT working for me.  So hands and knees was way more comfortable for me.  And gravity was working with me too while in this position.  So thank you, Gravity.  

I started pushing probably around 2am, and that was some tough pain.  But to me it was a lot less painful than the contractions.  Part of it was probably because I knew it meant that things were close to the end.  Baby was almost here!  As I'm pushing and Jane was starting to crown, Mary was like "Her head is coming!  Want to reach down here and feel her head?".  She probably would have smacked me and thought I was the sassiest and rudest person on the planet if she saw the look I had on my face when she said that.  I just said "Um, no."  I was not in the mood to do that.  Which is kind of sad, I guess.  Child birth shouldn't just be all about getting through the pain.  But I just wanted to keep pushing and get her out so I could get to recovering and hold her whole body!  So I continued pushing and that was that :)


Andrew was at the head of the bed most of the time while I was pushing.  He didn't want to see everything going on at the other end, which was fine by me.  I was surprised at how easily my sense of modesty and privacy flew out the window once I was in those late stages of contractions and actually pushing.  I'm a very private person, so it really was weird.  But I'm thankful that Andrew stayed by my head, so that he only had to see the beautiful faces I made while I was pushing.  Also, I'm pretty sure my hair was a huge mess.  I wish I could be one of those moms who is gorgeous throughout the whole birthing process.  Oh well!  

My mom was also there by my side the whole time, though she didn't want to be too pushy as she let Andrew and I go through this experience together.  But even just her presence was very comforting.  I'm so glad she was there to see Jane be born and to be one of the very first one's to hold her.  

So after about 15 minutes of pushing Jane was here!  I wouldn't have had any tearing, but apparently at the last second Jane stuck her hand up there to try to help get herself out.  Typical Jane.  Just HAS to do it all herself! :)  I held her as Andrew cut the chord and they stitched me up and got me all cleaned up (a shower never felt so good).  They wheeled me to the recovery room, and then commenced what seemed to be the endless cycle of nursing and sleeping.  But it does end eventually, and it's bittersweet.  


My mom and Andrew were exhausted, so my mom drove home to sleep and Andrew tried to get himself comfortable on the couch in the room.  I wanted to decide on her name before either of us fell asleep, but poor Andrew, I don't think he was fully conscious when he said OK to her name being Jane Eloise.  When he woke up he asked, "So did we name her Jane Eloise??" haha  He wasn't upset about it, but next time we'll definitely take our time and make sure it's just right.  

We stayed there for about a day and a half and then went home.  It was so strange to be going home with a whole other person in the car.  So weird to think that this little person is completely dependent on Andrew and I.  I'm not a huge kid or baby person, they just always made me nervous (still do).  But having one of my own has really taught me a lot about children, and myself.  I have had a lot of lessons to learn, and obviously more to come.  Jane was sent here to Andrew and I for many reasons, and one of the most important ones was to learn to love.  I know a lot more about love now than I ever did before, and it's something I have desperately needed.  


Thank you, Jane for choosing our family.  You make your father and I better every day because of it.

As for her name... Jane is a family name on the King side.  I have a great-aunt named Jane, and I believe there are some other ones down the line, though I'm not sure if it's just on my dad's side or also my mom's.  Andrew and I both really loved the name Jane, whether it was a family name or not.  So that was an easy name to decide on.  Eloise comes from the name Lois.  Andrew and I both have grandmothers named Lois.  We thought it would be a good way to bring in a family name, but also make it unique to us.  I think Eloise is just the cutest name.  I would've been happy with it as a first name!  But I love the name Jane Eloise Brandt as much as I love the little girl it belongs to :)


Now that you've read through all of that, here are some recent pictures of Jane. 

^Jane and her cousin Ella.

^Hangin' out in the little pool we got her.

^We saw some barrel racing at the Horse Center a few weeks ago.  She obviously loved it.

^She wants to be just like the cats.


Baby #2 is due in about a week and a half, and I can't believe it!  We'll see if this one is on time like Jane was.

After 2 years of marriage and nearly 2 children later, I finally was able to change my last name!  We went to the DMV the other day to do my license and one of the ladies there thought Jane was so cute and then realized I was pregnant and muttered something under her breathe.  So some people might think we're crazy for having 2 children only 14 months apart, but it's what is right for our family right now.  Sometimes it seems crazy to me too, especially since our financial and living situations aren't exactly what we wish they were.  And things will definitely be hard.  But we are so happy to have another little one joining us, and for Jane to have a sister so close in age to grow up with.  It'll be much more of a blessing than a burden.  In fact I wouldn't call it a burden at all.  Heavenly Father has blessed us with something that some people never get to have, and I am so thankful for that, and will always try my hardest to be.

Sorry for all the different thoughts in this post, but I hope you've enjoyed reading about Jane's birth, even if it is more than a year later :)
And thank you to all of the family and friends that have showed so much love for Jane.  It means the world to all of us! 

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