Miss Colbie Anne

For one of my baby shower presents, a friend of mine gave me a pen and a notebook... It has been such a fantastic gift! I took them to the hospital and was able to jot down thoughts and feelings that I had. I wrote about Colbie's birth and just what an amazing experience it was about 6 hours after she was born. I just wanted to share that little entry here...


November 21, 2012
I just had a baby 6 1/2 hours ago. Little Miss Colbie Anne Cash was born at 1:37 p.m. and weighed in at 7 lbs. 8 oz. and she is 20 3/4 inches tall.
This whole pregnancy has been busy.... Dr. appointments every 2 weeks, ultra sounds galore, weekly shots... and it all came together today.
I went in yesterday for my 39 week appointment. My doctor and I discussed being induced this week because my mom was flying in today, and I didn't really want to be pregnant while she is here. My doctor checked me, and I was at a 4, and she told me she thinks the baby is about 7 lbs. I thought she was nuts!!! My doctor told me there was an opening to be induced for 7:30 a.m. this morning. I took it. After my appointment, I went home, finished my laundry, swept the floors, did the dishes, and took out the garbages. I can't tell you how nice it was to be able to finish up all the little things! I woke up about 4 a.m. this morning, and just couldn't sleep. I had to call the hospital at 5:30 a.m. to make sure they had room for me, and sure enough, they did! Sweet!
I showered, and got ready, woke Ava up around 6:30, and we had breakfast together. We got everything ready and took the girls to my neighbor's house. Nate and I arrived at the hospital around 7:45 a.m. We checked in, got our room (#320), and got settled in.

 

 

I was given Pitocin around 9:30 a.m. and got the ball rolling. Dr. K cam in around 11:30ish and broke my water. It was her day off, but she came in just to deliver my baby. At my appointment yesterday, she told me I couldn't go into labor that night because she had a concert, and she had a hair appointment at 9 a.m. but she would be in after her hair was done. :) After she broke my water, she had to do some Thanksgiving grocery shopping, but she'd be close by. Meanwhile, my neighbor drove to the airport and picked up my mom for me. My mom arrived around noon, just as the contractions were starting to get a little intense. At 12:30, the contractions got super intense, and I asked for an epidural. I really wanted to go natural, but when Dr. K broke my water, I was only at a 5, and I didn't know how much longer it would be before I was fully dilated. The epidural guy showed up around 1:10 and gave me the epidural. His name was Nate and he grew up in Sugar House and went to Highland High (where my dad grew up and went to high school) so it was fun to talk to him in between contractions.
After my epi was in (about 1:20), I told my nurse I could still feel everything on my left side. My right side was totally numb, but the left side was a different story!! It was such a weird feeling having an invisible line drawn down my body, and being totally numb on one side, and feeling the most intense pain ever on the other.... sheesh! My nurse (Nora) had me turn on my left side to try and get the epi to work on my left side by letting gravity work it's magic, but as soon as I turned, I had to push. The pressure to push was so intense, I didn't know if I could hold her in! They called Dr. K (who was eating lunch in the cafeteria) and she came up and checked me... sure enough, I was at a 10, and she gowned up while the nurses got everything ready. I started pushing around 1:30ish, and I am so glad my mom and Nate were there to remind me to breath. It was so hard to breath, and all I wanted to do was get Colbie out of me! My mouth became extremely dry, and my lips felt like they were on fire! Half way through pushing, I asked for my chapstick, and that helped me to calm down a little bit. :) I pushed really well about 3 or 4 times, and then the doc told me to just hold on for a second, but I told her no... I'm just gonna push and get this baby out! Plus, I could feel half of everything, and it felt like I was on fire!!! But after the really big pushes, they had me do a few short pushes, and Colbie arrived at 1:37!

 

I was able to hold her immediately after while Nate cut the cord, and the doc stitched me up (I only had a 1st degree tear... not too bad). I was just able to hold her for a long time. They weren't in a hurry to clean her up or weigh her.... It was so nice to just have those moments together and really let everything soak in. I tried nursing her, and she nurses like a champ. She nursed for about 45 minutes, and then I had to break her off so they could weigh her and what not.

 

Colbie is so sweet and mellow. I fed her twice at night (@ 1 a.m. and 5 a.m.) and she didn't even fuss. She loves to have her hands by her face, but that doesn't come as a surprise because that's how she was inside me. Every ultrasound picture shows her little arm up by her cheeks. She also loves her binkie! She has the cutest little bum! Because Ava and Halle were so tiny, they didn't have a bum crack... it was more like a little hole, so I think it's cute that Colbie has a little more meat on her.

I know Heavenly Father had His hand in the timing of Colbie's delivery. It was such a blessing to have Dr. K there and to have my mom there. This has definitely been the best recovery and the labor wasn't too bad. :) I feel awesome, and Nate was even able to spend the night! Nate was able to take today off, and since tomorrow is Thanksgiving, he has that off too... but he also has Friday off because of the holiday, and he took Monday off as well. This is the longest he has ever been off, and I know it's one of the tender mercies of the Lord.

 

     I was discharged from the hospital around 5 p.m. on Thanksgiving. They had to wait til Colbie was at least 24 hrs old and had to run some tests, and then we were both given a clean bill of health to go home! Hooray for short hospital stays! Her bilirubin levels have been super low, so she didn't need to be under the lights, like Ava and Halle were. :)

 

     I have been blessed to have a healthy pregnancy this time around. However, I was classifed as mild pre-eclamptic. My blood pressure was a little higher than it should be, and I had some swelling and was starting to spill protein into my urine, so I really think it was great timing that I was induced. I am so thankful to my loving Heavenly Father who has blessed me so much.

     Since being home, things have gone so smoothly. My recovery has been awesome. Colbie eats like a champ, and sleeps like a champ too! She eats around 8 p.m. and then around 10 p.m. and sleeps til about 3 a.m. She eats, and goes right back to sleep and wakes up around 7:30 a.m. to eat again. The awesome thing is she doesn't cry, I just wake up to her grunting and stirring...
     Honestly, I never realized how hard Halle was until I've been able to breeze through my recovery with Colbie. I'm sure it has helped that my mom takes care of my other two girls, and I have been able to soley focus on what Colbie needs. Ava and Halle have adjusted extremely well to having their new little sister. They are such amazing helpers, and just give her lots of loves and kisses.

I just love my little family and am so grateful to have three wonderful daughters and the most fabulous husband. I can't even imagine how different my life would be without them!