Labor & Delivery

No pregnancy or delivery is the same... supposedly. My pregnancies were incredibly similar even down to the amount of weight I gained.

Labor was another story completely.

I was in labor with Kenzie start to finish 38 hours. I labored 30 hours at home with relatively no pain. Just mild cramping. The last 6 (non-pushing) hours I was at the hospital with an epidural, which left me completely pain free for the remainder of active labor. The last 2 hours were spent pushing out a sunny side up baby, painless, but  it was HARD work!

Labor selfie...

 With Ketcher I was in labor 13 hours start to finish. I woke at 5:30am with contractions that were 10 minutes apart. By 10am the contractions were strong enough to make me breathless and they were 6 minutes apart. I was 4 cm and the doc sent me straight over to the hospital because she could already feel the baby's head pushing down. When I got the epidural they were coming at 4 minutes apart at 1pm. Then things slowed way down. The pain went away with the epidural and I could feel myself getting more and more hungry.

Dan secretly gave me some yogurt pretzels at 4:00pm and then within 10 minutes we could see on the monitor the contractions were coming steady at 2 minutes apart. It's amazing what a little food will do for labor. At 6:00pm the doc came in broke my water and said we are ready to go.

First photo... not happy it took
11 minutes. Impatient already.

Oh the pain! I could feel tons of pressure in my hips. It was excruciating. At 6:24pm she came back in the room in her scrubs and said. "Ready to push?" I said. "I'm ready to put this med button to up my epidural!"  They wouldn't let me, even though I was in tons of pain. They had me push in my next few contractions and 11 minutes later Ketcher James Young was born.

I honestly can't say the faster labor was better, but the recovery is 120% better!  The first 24 hours were uncomfortable and after that, I felt like me again. A weepier, more sleep deprived version... but me.

 My beautiful boy

So far it hasn't been easy but I will get to that later. This blog has been very therapeutic for me and it will continue to get me through the rough newborn weeks. Thanks for reading and for all the support.

My 2 favorite guys.

Hospital Bag - What to Pack

Task for the day: Pack up the hospital bag.

When I packed my hospital bag last time, I WAY over packed. All the lists online and in my pregnancy books are ridiculous. Here is what I am packing this time:


A few hours before
Kenzie was born

Baby Stuff:

• Nail file - They come out with sharp little nails and mittens do NOT stay on at all.
• Receiving outfit - One outfit to bring him home in.
• 1 Newborn Swaddle Sack - I am not great at swaddling with a blanket, so I am going to save myself some grief this time and bring one of the 10 swaddle sacks I have at home.

My Stuff:

• 1 short sleeved night gown - No pants, lesson learned last time when I had to keep taking them off. Short sleeves because of the pokes, blood pressure cuff, etc.
• 1 bag of giant super sized pads - which are still significantly smaller than the diapers the give you at the hospital. If you think I am kidding, I am not. They are actual baby diapers instead of pads.
• Toiletry bag - with makeup, for pictures.
• 1 maternity dress to wear home - I am excited to see my feet again, but I know I will still look 5 months pregnant when I leave the hospital.
• Sleep mask - To attempt to get shut eye at the hospital, even though I didn't sleep at all after Kenzie was born until she turned 6 months. 
• Breastfeeding Shield - Last time I was hoping they would tell me I had to formula feed because I was in so much pain. This $10 shield is my saving grace.
• List of items to grab that day - some items like my glasses, phone charger, ipad, computer, & phone will need to be packed that day so I have a written list on the dresser.
• Snacks - Yogurt pretzels, granola bars, chips, mmm...

What NOT to bring:

• Pants - Do not bring pants, unless you want to get in and out of them over and over and over.
• Something to wear during labor.  Why would you ever want your clothing ruined by the mess of labor? Use the hospital gown during labor and before you take a shower.
• A bunch of stuff for the baby. You will get shirts, diapers, blankets and hats at the hospital, so do yourself a favor and pack light.

That's pretty much it. Short and sweet. Kind of like that baby I will be holding soon!

A few hours after Kenzie was born.