Katelyn and Heather finished their ballet class that they had been taking since August. Their teacher was not our favorite and I could tell that the girls were losing some desire to attend, but it gave us a chance to talk about finishing what we start. I'm proud of them for sticking it out. Here's a quick preview of their classes:
Every time the girls practiced for their dance performance, the choreography was different simply because the teacher could not remember it. Hence why we all struggled with the class. On the actual performance night, the music did not start when it was supposed to, so there was even more confusion. In the end, the girls were beautiful and LOVED being on the stage. Here's their dance:
We decided to take a little break from dancing and hopefully that will allow me to find a new dance class for them. They sure love the dance spotlight!
December was spent running from one activity to the next, only now we had 4 kiddos in tow. While life was busy, we all made sure to enjoy the sweet newborn snuggles.
The girls had a Read-A-Thon at school and since my parents were still visiting, I was able to leave Aubrey with my mom while my dad and I split up to their classrooms. Zac got to tag along, too.
The kids were able to visit with Santa at our ward Christmas dinner. Katelyn and Heather rattled off a list of things they wanted him to bring while Zac wouldn't even come within 5 feet of Santa. Oh well.
We had to say goodbye to my parents and settle into our new reality. We were so grateful for their willingness to come visit us, watch the older kids, and do so many things around the house. They never stop working!
Oh, and I caught this little gem. Family scriptures at night are never boring with this bunch!
Aubrey's newborn pictures (at 3 days old) turned out so cute! I set up a little photoshoot in my bedroom with the help of my mom but while taking the pictures, I was definitely reminded that my body was still in recovery. Agh! So glad the pictures turned out beautiful and made it all worth it!
We also managed family pictures thanks to the willingness of my parents to step in as photographers. They sure didn't know what all they were signing up for when they came to visit for Aubrey's birth. Hah!
This last picture of Aubrey is a little deceiving. When we got home from taking pictures I realized I forgot to snap one of just Aubrey. I attempted to take one right then, but the temperature outside had dropped and she was ready to eat. So, it wasn't until a few weeks later when I was printing pictures that I remembered to take one. So thing the dress still fit!
I'm so grateful for my beautiful family! Family pictures are a stressful time (ask Paul) but I love having all these memories.
Our family grew to six as we welcomed another beautiful
daughter, Aubrey Mae.Aubrey is an
adorable, sweet little girl and we feel so blessed to call her ours.
In the weeks leading up to Aubrey’s arrival, I was measuring
at 4cm and 70% effaced, then 6cm and 80% effaced.My doctor warned that if my water broke or if
I started having regular contractions, to get to the hospital quickly because
this baby would come fast!As imagined,
we were all very anxious.
All that worry, however, was for naught.Day after day, I had zero signs of
labor.So, we opted for an induction, as
we did the same with our other three children.Each of their inductions was fairly routine and without complications: I
was given Oxytocin, contractions started, I had an epidural, I dilated to 10cm,
I pushed a few times, and the baby was delivered all within a few hours.So, we went into this fourth induction
confident that we would be meeting our baby girl in the same manner.That confidence, unfortunately, dissolved as
the events of that day unraveled.
On the morning of November 28, Paul and I left the older
kids with my parents who had come into town a few days prior, and arrived at
the hospital at 6:30am for our scheduled induction.My friend, who works the front desk of Labor
and Delivery, had decorated my room with a pink banner, Andes mints on my
pillow, and had left a few gifts.It was
such a sweet surprise!
Around 7:30am, my nurse measured me at 4.5cm and said that
my doctor must have been pretty generous on her last measurement of 6cm.Oh well.I was started on Oxytocin at 7:40am, and within 20 minutes, contractions
were 4 minutes apart.These contractions
were manageable, and I was determined that I would not get an epidural with
this delivery.At 9:25am, my doctor
broke my water and discovered meconium in the fluid and that I had only
progressed half a centimeter, now at 5cm.With my water broken, contractions intensified.Again, I worked though each contraction
really well. At 10:10am, my doctor
returned to measure me, still under the belief that this baby would come
quickly.I was only 6cm.My doctor needed to leave for about an hour
to deliver a baby at a different hospital, but she predicted that when she
returned, I would likely be ready to deliver.I was really hopeful!
Soon after she left, I had this overwhelming feeling that I
should get an epidural.This was a
little upsetting since I wanted to go without one and was doing so well at
handling the contractions.I put the
feeling off, but it kept coming back.Knowing that there was meconium in the fluid, I did not want to add any
complications, so I decided to follow this impression and had the nurse send in
the anesthesiologist.The
anesthesiologist arrived at 10:30am and had the epidural in within
minutes.With my previous deliveries,
once I received an epidural, delivery occurred within a few minutes.I informed the nurse of this trend so she
kept a close eye on my progress, but again, baby was just not ready, and the
nurse left the room.
About 20 minutes later, the baby’s heart rate started to
drop really low with each contraction, and while this can sometimes be normal,
what was concerning was that the heart rate did not jump back up to where it
needed to be.Just then, my doctor
returned and rushed into the room, as she had received messages from the nurse
about the heart rate.At 11:20am, she
placed a scalp monitor on baby’s head and put me on oxygen.The heart rate continued to be dangerously
low so my doctor inserted two aminoinfusions at 11:30am to cushion the baby
with fluid and relieve possible stress.
At this point, my emotions were high and I was a tearful
wreck.A handful of other doctors and
nurses ran into the room, as my delivery quickly became quite an
emergency!Baby girl needed to be
delivered right then!At 11:45am, more
personnel entered the room as the NICU team was called and I began pushing,
even though I was only 7cm.Since I was
not completely dilated and the baby had not descended into the birth canal, the
baby was still in the posterior position (face-up).My doctor and the lead OBGYN had therefore, inserted
their hands in an attempt to guide baby’s head down and into position, and to
hold open my cervix so that her head could fit.I pushed with every fiber of my being, but she just did not come.Through all of this, her heart rate dropped
even lower, so the call was made at 12noon to send me immediately to the
Operating Room for a C-Section.The anesthesiologist
rushed in and gave me the full dosage for a C-Section, a nurse shoved an
anti-nausea drink in my face which ironically made me want to vomit, my legs
were taken out of the stirrups for me, Paul was thrown protective clothing, and
seconds later, I was off to the Operating Room.
So many “what-ifs” went though my head as I was wheeled down
what seemed to be a mile long hallway.Just
as I reached the Operating Room and the nurses grabbed my bed sheet to transfer
me to the operating table, the lead OBGYN told everyone to stop, as the baby’s
heart rate began to go up.While
everyone intently watched the baby monitor, I laid on my bed and stared at the
ceiling.My body normally shakes when I
have anesthesia, but with the higher dosage, my shakes were really out of control.A heavy blanket was laid over my chest and a
hot air blower was placed under the blanket in an effort to keep me warm and help
with my shakes.The blower, however,
kept falling down and would blow directly into my ear.With the heavy blanket on my arms and the
dangling wires from my IV, I could not move the air blower myself and I did not
want to disturb the doctors, as I wanted them to focus on the baby.I eventually dozed off and remember the
nurses had to wake me up several times.
At 12:45pm, the baby’s heart rate had stabilized and I was
sent back to my delivery room.I was
then given a peanut ball (a large yoga ball but shaped like a peanut) to place
between my legs and keep my cervix open.I again was in and out of sleep and woke to my doctor as she entered the
room and said, “Lori, say a little prayer.This is your last shot.We need
this baby out right now.” At 2:10pm, the
Oxytocin was increased and my doctor again tried to turn the baby’s head and
push back my cervix.That’s when my
doctor shouted, “ I see hair!We are
pushing this baby out.”
Once more, my room flooded with additional doctors and
nurses.I could not feel anything from
my chest down, so I was uncertain my pushing was even effective.But my doctor kept saying, “Good job, keep
going!,” so I must have been doing something right.After several long, hard pushes, the doctor
said her head was out, and then her body.At 2:18pm, Aubrey Mae was finally born!
The umbilical cord was wrapped once around her neck and once
around her arm.Aubrey was simply
tangled inside and with each contraction, the cord tightened and caused her
heart rate to drop.The tangling also
prevented her from descending into the birth canal, which most likely limited
my ability to fully dilate.Paul had
planned to cut the cord, but my doctor was concerned about her condition, so
she quickly cut the cord and handed Aubrey off to the NICU team.Aubrey was not crying and there were so many
people in the room that I could not see her, and I was terrified, expecting the
worst.However, after a few seconds, she
began to cry.I was overwhelmed by
emotions once again and I, too, began to cry.
The NICU team assessed Aubrey and tested her hemoglobin to check her oxygen levels. Thankfully, despite the low heart rate, her levels tested fine and she was declared healthy, with no potential long-term damage.
The room cleared out, the noise settled, and Aubrey was placed on my chest for about 20 minutes as my doctor repaired a small tear. Aubrey then breastfed for another 20 minutes, and it was then that Paul and I were able to breathe a sigh of relief. We adored her sweet, new presence in those quiet moments, and truly felt so grateful that despite her dramatic entrance, she was delivered safely and was perfect. What a joy and blessing!
We were transferred to the Mother and Baby floor at about 4:15pm and took a little bit of time to get settled. I received this sweet video from my mom of the girls (Zac was just being silly) sending a message to Aubrey:
After dinner my parents brought the older kids to visit and everyone was so excited!
The day definitely did not go as planned, but in the end, Aubrey was healthy, and we are now a happy family of six!
Here's another brief glimpse into our past - this time highlighting the month of November. Well, most of November. Stay tuned for November's main event!
In November:
1. The kids enjoyed some fun at the mall riding on this creature. Not exactly sure what it is.
2. I reached 37 weeks and was officially given the thumbs up to go into labor. I knew however, that based on my track record, that I still had 3+ weeks. The idea sure was nice though.
3. We visited Paul on his Army weekend and he showed the kids some of the vehicles.
4. Yet another pregnancy photo, this one at 38 weeks. And a fun comparison photo. The human body sure is amazing.
5. I spent the afternoon of my due date, November 26, relaxing with my feet up. My parents arrived later that day to stay for several days and help with the kiddos.
6. Finally, one last full day of being pregnant with #4. The next morning we headed in for our induction.
Once again, stay tuned for more unseen photos and details from November's main event!
I'm back at it! I'll keep these posts short and let the pictures/videos do all the explaining.
In October:
1. Zac finished another tumbling class. He loved it and keeps asking to go back. I'm sure there will be another class in the future. Here's a short video with some of his activities:
2. Zac has became obsessed with buckets. He gets all these buckets, lines them up on the floor, and pretends to dump things out. It's quite cute to watch him play. But be warned, no one can touch them! He remembers exactly how he places them! Here's another short video:
3. On my 31st birthday, I reached the 33 week mark in pregnancy #4.
4. The girls brought their school pictures home and boy are they cute! I wanted to hang them on the wall but didn't want to leave Zac out, so with the help of photoshop, I created his own school picture.
5. The girls had a Fun Run at school so I went to cheer them on. Paul and I ran it last year, but there was no way I was running this year. The girls did great!
6. The kids enjoyed playing in the leaves at the neighbor's house.
7. We took the kids to see the new My Little Pony movie. Zac was more interested in running up and down the aisles.
8. We went to a corn maze and had lots of fun!
9. Here's my 35 week pregnancy bump!
10. We had fun playing in some more leaves. Paul and I went on a much needed date. The kids pretended to be mom and dad for a night.
11. We carved pumpkins and dressed up. Halloween sure was a lot of fun with these sassy witches and our Minion bunch.
Much more to come! Hope you enjoyed our flashback!
