Ramona's birth story: Hours 10:00 pm - 10:31am

Part one here

10:00pm:

My water breaking was the mental edge I needed! I asked the nurse, " Does this mean
I won't have to get Pitocin?" She said she thought that might be the case but they wanted to see how my body progressed. Well thankfully my body did just that! I went from 2 or 3 cm to 7 cm in a matter of hours! 

11:00 pm-2:00 am 

8-20-15

I walked the halls with Becca and Rory, swayed back and forth during contractions and took a hot shower. Every hour or so I had to return to the room for the nurse to get a good read on Mona's heart rate. During that time, while I had to stay close to the monitor, I swayed and used the meal table on wheels to help stabilize myself. Rebecca made me a wash cloth with lavender oil on it so I could breathe it in during contractions, that helped me so much! She also massaged my lower back a lot! I apparently had Pandora on. haha! I couldn't even tell you what station it was on, or what music was playing. Rebecca also had small battery operated tea lights around the room, and the lights turned down low. It helped the room feel relaxing and calm. 

2:30 am:

Had a dilatation check from my nurse Kim. I had requested on my birth plan, not to get updates on how much or how little I had dilated, only because I've heard how discouraging it can be. But my nurse asked me anyways... do you want to know what you're dilated to? I couldn't decide so she told me anyways... I'll never forget hearing those words come out of her mouth! " You're at a seven." 

!!!!!! What. That was so encouraging!! So we called my family back to the hospital. They couldn't believe I had progressed so quickly! 

3:00 am to 8:00 am

I stayed in bed the rest of the morning, trying to find a comfortable position to lay and labor in. Unfortunately at some point in the early morning my nurse had me start pushing, and after a half hour realized part of my cervix was still too thick. So i stopped pushing and we waited. 

I love this photo... Its my sister and Mother in law outside of my hospital room, my Mother in law's ear, pressed to the door... (insert heart eyessss)

Ps: THANK YOU DAD for these photos!!

8:00 am- 10:31 am   

I pushed for about 2.5 hours plus the half hour prior. It was unbelievably intense. I asked for something about an hour in, to help me with pain. The nurse gave me fentanyl. It is a muscle relaxer. It didn't relieve any pain but did help me relax between contractions. Since Ramona wasn't in the right position the nurse Kristy had me pushing in all sorts of positions to try and flip her. None of them felt good expect using the birthing bar. They connected a sheet to the birthing bar and during the contractions I pulled on the sheet and sent all of my energy downward. It was the exact same birthing position my sister labored and delivered her son, in as well! :-D

Ramona's Birth:
At the very end of pushing, my Doctor called in extra nurses, and so at one point we had a total of 6-8 nurses 4 of which were standing by. I had no idea what was going on, and it worried me a bit. It also gave me the encouragement to get her out! I gave the last push, so anxious to meet my baby and know what we had!!! The cord was between her legs, so Rory couldn't see the gender! They removed the cord, and He looked at me and said with such light and joy in his eyes, " Babe, we have a girl!" It was the sweetest look in his eyes, it just melted my heart. Brings tears to my eyes as I type.
The nurse had to cut the cord, which is something I didn't want them to do, I wanted the cord to drain fully and we had also planned for Rory to cut the cord. But they were concerned because her shoulder was stuck coming out, so they were worried about her little body. They showed her to me ( I couldn't believe that head of hair!) She was so gorgeous.
I was blown away that I had a daughter!! They took her to a table to inspect her and make sure her little shoulder was ok. 
Birth and labor are so unbelievably intense, having a few moments to simply gaze at my little girl from a few feet away, was such a good time for me to process and for it to hit me! 
And then they laid her on my chest.
The moment they laid her on my chest, it was the most natural feeling I've ever felt. It was like, "Oh yes. You. You who have been part of me for almost a year. You are mine." It was like my heart was outside of my body. I finally got it. Being a Momma is one of the greatest gifts God will ever give me.






More to come!

Ramon's Birth Story! Hours 4:00- 10:00pm

As you would come to expect, " free" time is limited over here in the Simmons nest, but I knew I wanted to write this out before I forget too many details! God given amnesia is starting to set in, THANK GOD, or else I might never have wanted to give birth to another child. Back labor is NO joke.

-_-

4:00 pm August 19th:

My Mom, Rory and I met my Dad (who drove down from the bay area) at Kaiser, here in Fresno. MANY hours and prayers lead up to this day. I was almost a week late, and we were there for my induction. Something I dreaded and was so against, but for many reasons, we decided it was time, and left it in the Lord's strong hands, trusting that everything was in His timing and Will, even with the supposed help of meds.

4:30 pm:

Getting settled into our room, at this time it was only Rory and I in the room. My Mom, Dad and later my Mother in law, were in the cafeteria, waiting on a word from us. Right when we arrived two women gave birth, so we waited a long time to  be seen. The staff at Kaiser is amazing, and made sure we were informed as to what was going on, and made us laugh and helped me to relax a lot! Eric & Jen were our nurses who got us checked in. At this time we still had our doula hold off on coming to the hospital, since there was obviously no reason to need her at this point. And my family was in and out visiting, my mother in law left after picking up Karie, to return at a later time, once we called her.

6:30 pm 

My sister Karie arrived in Fresno!!! My mother in law and Dad went to pick her up at the airport and she quickly joined us in the room! We visited and enjoyed catching up with her. I was so glad to have her there! *Fun fact!!*: She also was 6 days late with her first born, Jonah, and I flew in the day before He was born, just like she did, and was able to be there at his birth! It was God's plan for us to be there at such significant events in each others lives!! We couldn't be more thankful for our experiences...plus Jonah and Ramona! hehe I swear I didn't plan that! :-)

7:00pm

My first 1/2 dose of Cytotech (cervix softening med) The plan was that the nurses would administer two doses, three hours apart. The first dose didn't feel like it did anything, at this point I was laying in bed, visiting with family members. 

9:00 pm

First full dose, second dose altogether, of the meds. administered orally, we called Becca to come in, figuring things would pick up soon. This worked out well for her since she is married with two small children. Once she arrived we visited and got her acquainted with my sister. We all enjoyed some quality time together while things were still calm. 

10:00 pm

Rory and Rebecca went to the car to get some of her supplies. I had the sudden urge to use the restroom, and as I got up, liquid spilled all over the room as I made it to the bathroom. I was thinking to myself, " Wow Rach, you made it this entire pregnancy without peeing on yourself and all of a sudden you can't hold it in anymore?!" hehe silly first time Momma! I'm trying to clean up and take care of myself in the restroom alone, and I realize I should call someone. Thankfully there's a nurse call button in the restroom, so I alarm the nurses and let them know what was going on. I figure this might be my water breaking, but there wasn't a ton of fluid. They did a neat little test with a strip of paper, and confirm it was in fact my water breaking! 

Now is an exciting time to stop. Will continue when I have a few free moments! Thanks for reading. And now a bunch of cute photos of my gorgeous daughter! 

first dinner date: Cattlemans

 one of our favorite nurses! Jen

One week old! Hello World!

our sweet little hippie chick

 my favorite outfit!

She already has such great feed, wake, sleep stretches!

40 weeks!

Here we are folks! Full term! Any day now Baby ;)

How far along: 

40 weeks

( my technical due date is still friday, but I go by today because of how baby was measuring, we're praying baby comes Aug 12th, Wed, because Rory's Dad's birthday was on Aug 12th and He passed away 10 years ago, so it would such an honor to have baby then!)

How far to go:

any day now!!!!

Sleep: 

Slept great last night! Didn't even get up to pee! Most nights I get up about once to pee, and sometimes my legs get sore, but otherwise I'm sleeping great. Can't wait to sleep on my stomach again so soon!

How do I feel:

I feel good for the most part, told my Mom today that I feel like a over stuffed Thanksgiving Turkey! I was feeling a bit off earlier in the day, lethargic and overstuffed. I'm feeling more balanced now. I feel a lot of pressure in my lower areas, I can feel baby's head in my birth canal, so there's a lot of pressure and sitting on anything too firm will leave me sore after awhile. My lower back has also been hurting and sore, quite often recently.

Dr. Updates: 

Dr. Burgo's checked me at my apt. Thursday and I'm 2 cm dilated!! No effacement. My Bp was perfect and I shared with Him that I don't not want to be induced unless medically necessary and He fully agreed with me. :-)!  

Mama thoughts: 

I'm so ready to get this show on the road!! So anxious to see what we're having and meet our baby! I'm also so excited to see how my birth story plays out! I hear so many stories and am to the point with learning about pregnancy/labor and hearing stories, that I don't want to hear or learn anymore, I'm just ready to do it!

Additional Information: 

Our baby is the size of a watermelon. It's the official end of your pregnancy — though your baby might not have gotten that memo. Hang in there. His skull bones are not yet fused, which allows them to overlap a bit if it's a snug fit through the birth canal during labor. This so-called "molding" is the reason your baby's noggin may look a little conehead-ish after birth. Rest assured — it's normal and temporary.

Weight:

25 lbs

39 weeks!

How far along: 

39 weeks

How long to go:

1 week

How do I feel: really good! I didn't honestly think i'd feel as well as I do, being at the bitter end of my journey. I'm so grateful, to say the least. 

Movement:

relatively normal, lots of movements at night. 

Mama thoughts:

I'm doing everything I can to get this baby out this week naturally. Induction is an ugly word in my world right now, but The goal of having a healthy labor and delivery and baby, is more important then the journey. I know I have to keep that in mind. Drinking lots of raspberry leaf tea and pregnancy tea from this wonderful company. And doubling my date intake in my morning smoothies. Eating lots of spicy foods and excising daily, either swimming or walking. 

I am also thankful to say that I have not heard from my Doctor. He said if the labs came back with any negative results, He'd be calling me right away and tell me to head into L&D to be induced. So not hearing from Him is such a blessing. I have an ultrasound tomorrow and another Dr. appointment Thursday and will update as soon as I can. He will be checking me for dilation as well.  

Sleep: 

Sleep is good! I try to go to the bathroom as much as I can before I get to  sleep so I don't have to wake up too often to pee, but it's usually once a night.

Nursery: I'm in love with our baby's nursery!!!

I'm beyond grateful for my friend Shadon, who after reading my blog entry last week, text me letting me know about a changing table pad she heard about on FB, used that was going for $5!!! The gal who was selling the changing pad, lived just minutes away from me and I went over there as soon as this sweet gal gave me the go ahead. She also included a sheet! What a doll! And a huge thank you to Shadon!!! What a need fulfilled! What a blessing. Makes my changing table feel complete!  We put up curtains and it really brings things together. I feel really set up for success in there! I purchased a storage ottoman (grey) with a gift card, from Target, to keep next to my rocker, stocked with nursing essentials, coconut oil ( to be used as nipple cream), water, nursing pads, etc. A great idea from my sister. It's so transitional! It's a foot stool and a storage cube.  It's top is also firm enough that I can put a glass of water or iced tea on top, so I can keep hydrated while nursing. I also have that adorable little yellow basket filled with burp cloths, a few soft blankets, and little terry cloth wash cloths, and my Breast Friend is next to the chair too. 

I also put in a few succulents and a soft light in the nursery and a few prints i've been wanting to hang up. It's such a calm room.

Additional Info:   Baby is Full-Term

Congratulations! At 39 weeks pregnant, you've got what is officially considered a full-term baby. Your baby now weighs around seven to eight pounds and measures 19 to 21 inches.

Baby update: 38 weeks

I'm updating today after a Doctors appt. that i had earlier today. I want to remember all the little things and big things that happen over this journey, for my Child's sake and mine. My doctor is concerned about my blood pressure. He thinks the number is higher then it should be at this point, and a concern of his is Preeclampsia. Which is high blood pressure, protein in the urine or liver, kidney problems. Baby Center explains: " The condition most commonly shows up after you've reached 37 weeks, but it can develop any time in the second half of pregnancy, including during labor or even after delivery (usually in the first 48 hours)." 

A lot of times this occurs at the very end of pregnancy without any notice. I never had high blood pressure, so there's no major indications to look for, it does really come up quickly sometimes and without notice. It doesn't always mean induction or cesarean, but it can. It depends on the severity: " The more severe the condition and the earlier it appears, the greater the risks for you and your baby. Most women who get preeclampsia develop a mild version near their due date, and they and their babies do fine with proper care."  With all of this in mind, my doctor sent me to the Lab for blood work, and had an ultra sound ordered for early next week, if baby's size is too high, or the lab work comes back with negative results, He will have me go in right away, labor will be induced right away.  Hearing this was a bit heart breaking. I want to have a natural labor. But I'm keeping my mind open and know that blood pressure isn't something you mess around with. My highest priority is the safety of myself and my baby. I will put my desires on the back burner and just hope for the
Lord's Will in this story. I pray that His Will be done and that He leads my doctor and I, in the wisest choices. I came home and cried on the couch, and prayed. I left this over into the Lord's hands, and felt prompted to read Psalm 91, knowing it's been a source of comfort for me in the past. It reads: 

Psalm 91

1 Whoever dwells in the shelter of the Most High
    will rest in the shadow of the Almighty.[a]
2 I will say of the Lord, “He is my refuge and my fortress,
    my God, in whom I trust.”

3 Surely he will save you
    from the fowler’s snare
    and from the deadly pestilence.
4 He will cover you with his feathers,
    and under his wings you will find refuge;
    his faithfulness will be your shield and rampart.
5 You will not fear the terror of night,
    nor the arrow that flies by day,
6 nor the pestilence that stalks in the darkness,
    nor the plague that destroys at midday.
7 A thousand may fall at your side,
    ten thousand at your right hand,
    but it will not come near you.
8 You will only observe with your eyes
    and see the punishment of the wicked.

9 If you say, “The Lord is my refuge,”
    and you make the Most High your dwelling,
10 no harm will overtake you,
    no disaster will come near your tent.
11 For he will command his angels concerning you
    to guard you in all your ways;
12 they will lift you up in their hands,
    so that you will not strike your foot against a stone.
13 You will tread on the lion and the cobra;
    you will trample the great lion and the serpent.

14 “Because he[b] loves me,” says the Lord, “I will rescue him;
    I will protect him, for he acknowledges my name.
15 He will call on me, and I will answer him;
    I will be with him in trouble,
    I will deliver him and honor him.
16 With long life I will satisfy him
    and show him my salvation.”

What a comfort these words are for me.

Oh see how that belly grows!

38 weeks and counting!

 How far along:

38 weeks!

How long to go:

2 weeks ( or less or more) I like to really say anyday now though. I called Rory at work the other day, He was having a tough day, and He said, " I really thought you were calling to tell me it was time!" haha no babe not yet. He's so anxious to meet His sweet baby. As am I! I felt an overwhelming sense of love for the baby during church yesterday! I just can't believe it's so close! All these weeks and months! It really is a long journey!

What do I miss:

Beer, wine, cocktails. Moving freely and easily. Working out! I cannot WAIT to sweat it out at Zumba after this baby comes out, I seriously dream of getting back to the gym and really going for it... I just adore working out and I want to get some intense cardio in ASAP. I also really miss school... something 14 year old me would SCOFF at! I start again at the end of October and really cannot wait to get back into the classroom! 

Weight:

+24lbs

Cravings:

BBQ meat. tis the season though. last week I think I a beef brisket lunch sandwich three nights in a row while working, I can't get enough protein right now! especially the bbq'd smothered in sauce type ;-) Thankfully at family dinner last night we had BBQ'd turkey burgers and hot dogs. Cravings satisfied. Also turkey deli sandwiches and salt and vinegar chips. YUM! 

Still drinking SO MUCH ice water and chewing soft ice, all day! I just LOVE chewing ice.

Movement:

The other night while I was sitting up in bed, Rory got to feel a really good " roll" movement across the very top of my belly, I imagine it was a little foot stretching, since baby is headed downwards! That was a special movement! I imagine when I interact with this little one for the first few weeks, I see the way baby moves, It will make a lot of sense what I was feeling while baby was still curled up inside of me. 

Nursery:

I have a fun project I've asked for Rory to build for the wall in the nursery. I also still want to hang some succulents and get a large fig leaf plant for the corner to add some clean green. I also plan on picking this baby up, or something very similar either at Target or Home Goods,  both places I have G.C. to, for a place for my feets when I'm in the rocker, and a storage for nursing essentials, which my sister Karie suggested I have close to the rocker, since the first few weeks are spent nursing so often. I also need to pick up a changing table pad and cover, and Rory needs to fix a few broken parts on the changing table, we got it free from a neighbor, " previously loved."

Dr. Appts:

I had an appt last friday with my Doctor. Everything's looking good. Baby is in the 85% of growth and height, so I imagine we don't have a small baby on our hands! Never thought we would :-) My appts will be weekly now that I'm getting so close to my D.D. So I'll have an appt. this friday. 

Sleep:
Sleep hasn't been that hard these last few days thankfully! And I've been sleeping in a lot and resting during the day! I want to make sure and not do anything too intense, because as my doula reminded me, you never know when you're going to go into labor and you don't want to start off exhausted. Wise woman. :-)

How do I feel:

HUGE!! VERY pregnant. " how much bigger can this belly/baby get?!" That about sums it up! ;-)

I still feel really great 90% of the time, so no complaints here, just observations about my belly and the size of the baby! I had my last day of work on Saturday! I am really excited to rest and nest till my Momma arrives in one short week and two days! I have a list of things I want to accomplish while she's here, the list grows daily. I hope we have a little bit of time before I have the baby, to deep clean, and spend quality time together walking the block and putting away my last minute goodies.

On another note: I'm really looking forward to not being pregnant anymore! Some women are miserable during pregnancy and others it's the best they've ever felt, i've felt neither extreme, but more so in the middle, thankful I'm not miserable, but also not super stoked about sharing my body with another for such a long time! I really do look forward to being me again and having freedom and physical mobility back ;) Sometimes Rory has to help me out of bed because at this point it's a joke how big this belly is and how incapable I am of doing certain things. Oh and let me tell you! I dream of the first beer and real sushi roll I get to consume! CANNOT WAIT! 

Momma thoughts:

I picked up this little cutie for our " if we have a boy" blog photo and insta-nouncement, and I have a sweet little floral headband for our " if we have a girl" announcement. :-) Rory is trying to think of a fun way to announce to anyone who's in the waiting room, what the baby is, and our doula thought of a really sweet idea: She said when the nurses print the baby's feet, we can bring along blue and pink ink pads, and have them do a set in the respective color, on a while shirt that Rory can keep and wear to announce the gender! I loved the idea. 

Additional Information: 

Baby is the size of a winter melon. Your baby is producing surfactant, which will help him take those first breaths while you're producing colostrum, the precursor to breast milk. Your little one isn't quite so little anymore, weighing close to seven pounds and measuring nearly 21 inches long. Only two more weeks (or plus two more, max) before your baby makes his or her appearance!

This series of photos titled: Getting ready for baby!

Rory figuring out the carseat

How I "eat"  my five dates daily: Smoothie!

My co-workers threw Rory and I a sweet little baby shower on the patio at work yesterday after church! we ate lunch, and visited, and opened all sorts of lovely gifts! they showered baby with so much love!! We left feeling so blessed.

The hilarious text Rory sent me yesterday after He finished installing the car seat in the pathfinder. It really does make it that much more real, seeing the sweet little seat in my backseat. Soon our little one will fill those tiny cushions.