Makoa's Birth Story

I wrote this post a while ago. It's a long one, but that's so I can remember what happened.

As I mentioned in my last post, I chose to do a home birth for this delivery. Makoa was "due" February 18th. Kaiewa was 9 days late. Consequently, I had been prepping myself throughout the entire pregnancy that Makoa would be the same. Whenever anyone asked when I was due, I just answered with sometime in the end of February. Needless to say I was in disbelief when it was only the 15th of February and Makoa was coming.



We started the day like any other. It was a Saturday, we had some plans for the day but nothing to busy. In the morning we had planned to go to a crossfit competition (just to watch, I was in no condition to compete). It was an all girls competition, and I do have to admit as I was watching, I really wanted to be doing the work outs too. I think my body responded by saying "Fine, I'll give you your work out!" While we were there I noticed some Braxton Hicks, but they weren't anything really strong so I didn't think much of them.

On the way home Tyler and I discussed going out for dinner because we hadn't done anything to celebrate Valentine's Day. We got home had some lunch, put Kaiewa down for a nap, all the while I was still having what I thought were Braxton Hicks. I decided to lay down for a nap as well, and I thought that I'd just see if these Braxton Hicks were coming at any sort of regular interval. Every time I felt one I opened my eyes. I had 1 every 15 minutes for 45 minutes.

I got up from my nap, and Tyler was calling around to find a babysitter. I told him that I thought we probably should stay home that night just to be safe, but I still wasn't sure anything was really happening.

Shortly after at 2:30 my midwife had called to let me know she was on her way home from being St. George and that I no longer needed to call the back up midwife if birth were to start. Before getting off the phone she asked how I was feeling, and I told her that I had been tracking for the last 45 minutes and had some activity, but that I didn't really think it was the real thing since what I was feeling wasn't anything strong. She told me that she had an impression when she got in the car to drive home that she needed to call me first out of all her clients, and that she could be to my house by 5:30. Still in disbelief that this was the real thing I told her not worry about it, and that I'd call her if anything more were to happen.

After I got off the phone I decided to do some things that needed to be done around the house. I cleaned the kitchen, put the plastic on the bed along with junky sheets, put together a bag for Kaiewa for whoever was going to take care of him, got things out for the tub, etc. Through all of that I still had activity going on but nothing too noticeable.


When I finished all of those things, Tyler and I discussed if we should have him go out. We needed duct tape to tape the plastic liner onto the tub. Also, since we were planning to go out for dinner, I thought he should grab that and a few other things to have on hand if this birth was really happening. Finally at 4:00 we thought it would be a good idea for him to go. Our friends were on call to come get Kaiewa for us, but we hadn't decided to have them come.


After Tyler left, I put on some relaxation music and laid down on the couch to track 'contractions' again. They had moved up to 10 minutes apart but were still not strong. The assistant midwife called to ask how things were going, and I told her the timing had moved up. She said that my midwife was coming straight there and she would be shortly behind her. I called our neighbor to see if she could take Kaiewa so that when Tyler got home he could focus on helping me, and we thought that our friends would come down to get him at some point. Tyler called to check in, and I told him things were fine and that I was thinking we had a ton of time if this really was it. Then around 5:00 I called my mom and sister and told them that I thought I'd be having a baby that night. I still was in disbelief that he was really coming.


Tyler got home at 5:25, and I asked him to get the tub together because I thought that it would be nice to labor in it as the contractions picked up. At this point they were still 8-10 minutes apart, and I was thinking I had at least 3-4+ hours to go because with Kaiewa I was at 5 minutes apart, 1+ minute for about 3 hours. My midwife came a little after 5:30, I let her in and had a few contractions. After she had changed and brought in supplies I had a contraction and this was the first one that I hummed through. Prior to this one I had been able to just breath through them. Then I got up and went to the bathroom. On the way back I had another and I was too far from the couch so I just went on all fours on the floor. My midwife pushed my hips in and it completely relieved all pressure that I was feeling, it was amazing! One of the assistants arrived shortly after, and she helped me through a 2 contractions. I was still just humming through them. Then through the 3rd contraction I changed to an Ah, and at the end of it I knew I wanted to push. This was at 5:52 pm.




I asked if the tub was full. It wasn't-so I knew that a water birth wasn't going to happen. I got up on all fours and pushed once. After that I crawled over to lean against the couch. Tyler got me a cold wash cloth because I was getting hot. I pushed again, and then asked for ice because my mouth was drying out. Tyler came back in the middle of the third push and had to put the ice down because Makoa was coming.



Makoa was born at 6:01 pm.

It all happened soooooo fast. If I would've planned a hospital or birth center delivery I would have never made it.



We ended up not having our friends come get Kaiewa. We asked our neighbors to keep him until about 8:00 and then we would come get him. That's what we did and then had Kaiewa meet Makoa.




I did tear, and that took some time to deal with, but all in all it was a great experience. The midwives cleaned up, brought in my dinner, all the while I had been snacking on grapes and drinking water. I took a shower in, and got to sleep in my own bed. As long as circumstances permit, I'll be having the rest of my babies at home.

Pictures are from the wonderful Michelle at Clover and Mustard. She didn't make it for the birth (since it happened so quick) but I'm grateful for the wonderful pictures she was able to get.

Pregnancy #2

Well, I failed at the weekly pictures this pregnancy. We started and then of course life took over and I wasn't very consistent. Here are the ones I did get.

20 Weeks

24 Weeks

25 Weeks

26 Weeks

27 Weeks

30 Weeks

I hate that 30 week picture, but I took it, so up it goes. Then there is a gap to these last few weeks.

38 Weeks

39 Weeks

Similarities from my last pregnancy

- My first trimester was spent sleeping. I didn't really get morning sickness, I was just tired all the time. Luckily Tyler was home on summer break, so I got to nap pretty much as needed.

- I didn't feel the baby move for a long time. I don't know if my babies just are small, but it wasn't until much later that I really felt him move.

- I didn't have too many cravings. In my second trimester I loved fresh fruits and vegetables. Namely cherry tomatoes and cucumbers with ranch dressing. In these last couple of weeks, I can't get enough chocolate. On the drive down to California all I wanted was a fudge-y BYU type brownie, unfortunately it was no where to be found.

- As the end has come closer I've gotten calf cramps at night. I now make sure not to point my toes or stretch when I wake up to change positions at night.

- My emotions haven't been too out of control

Differences from my last pregnancy

- I stayed a lot more active. I was able to continue going to crossfit until about week 38 (at which point I could've kept going but after the workout I'd be completely drained for a few days after). Of course I modified things as necessary. I think this was a  huge, huge, HUGE benefit to my pregnancy. I didn't gain nearly as much weight. I was able to keep up with Kaiewa better. I felt better overall. 

- I had weeks of major food aversion. At every meal I would think to myself- "If I could eat anything at all what would it be?" The answer every time was n-o-t-h-i-n-g. 

- I caught bug after bug. I came down with a stomach bug 2-3 times. I caught a cold twice. Then for a few weeks there it was never ending congestion.

- I haven't had water retention and swelling like I did with Kaiewa. I attribute that to the fact of a winter vs summer pregnancy.

- I've had more heartburn in these last couple of weeks then I remember having with Kaiewa.

- I've had Braxton Hicks

- For weeks my right sciatic nerve and left upper back killllled me. 

- I pee all the time.

- This boy gets the hiccups allll the time. He is always bouncing around in there. 

- I've had these sudden lightening shots in my thighs. I don't know what the baby is doing but it's almost like he just finds a spot and head butts it. They only last a second or two, but man when it happens it is crazy.

- We've really shied away from a specific due date. I set in my mind early in this pregnancy that this baby would come in the general time frame of the end of February. Of course there is a specific date I was given, but I've really conditioned myself to the end of February. If he comes earlier, great! If not, I won't be nearly as upset as last time.

- I haven't had as many questions at my check ups. At first I thought this frustrated my midwife, but then I realized that she understood that I just had a baby not to long ago so there wasn't much I'd forgotten.

- Though the last few weeks of pregnancy are uncomfortable just for the sake of how big the baby is and how much room he is taking up, I am not nearly as miserable as I was with Kaiewa at this point in his pregnancy. Again I attribute that to it being winter, but also to not having gained as much weight.

Birthing Choices

As far as birthing choices I've kind of kept these on the down low because I just haven't wanted to hear unsupportive things. We've continued using a midwife, and I've also been brushing up my HypnoBabies tools to use during birth. We decided against retaking the class from an instructor and to just read through the manual and do the practice as suggested at the end of each section of the manual. I feel like things are coming back to me, and I'm excited to see the difference between the two deliveries. I will most likely have another water birth because I really loved it with Kaiewa. The big thing that I haven't talked about much is the fact that we are having a home birth. I am really excited about it, so if you have bad things to say (sorry this may sound rude) please keep them to yourself. I really loved the birth center. It was perfect for my first birth. It gave me the comfort I needed to feel safe with the unknowns of childbirth. However, this time I know how my body works during delivery, and honestly last time all that happened at the birth center was the actual arrival of the baby. I did everything else at home. So I thought, what's the use in making a drive, when I can stay home and do the same thing.

Other than that we continue to wait for this little guy to join us. Any suggestions on transitioning to two kids and/or ways to help Kaiewa with the transition would be greatly appreciated! We'll keep you posted on his arrival, and then his birth story!

The chaos

I've been meaning to write a post for sometime now. I have not documented this pregnancy nearly as much as I've wanted. Nor have I kept up with all the things that Kaiewa is doing and learning. Nor the comings and goings of our family. Now, with baby #2 due in about a week or so I feel like I need to get as much done as I can before my time is occupied with a cute new baby.

Honestly, I don't even know where to start-the good or the bad...

As most of you know our New Year's was a bit hectic to say the least. The day after Christmas (Thursday) Tyler went to play basketball with some friends while we were down in California for the holidays. We had gone out to dinner as a family, and then he took one car to go play. Kaiewa had gotten a cold and had croup, so on our way home we stopped to get him some medicine. We got home and I put Kaiewa down for the night, then sat down to relax a bit. Around 9:30 my mother in-law got a phone call from Tyler. He said that he had hurt his knee and needed me to look up somewhere he could go. We all thought that he was joking. Tyler does that alllllll the time. It wasn't until after he had gone to an Urgent Care and they said he needed to go to the E.R. that I finally took things seriously.

To make a long story a little shorter I'll sum up the next few events. I went to the E.R. They ordered X-rays on Tyler's knee. The doctor came to tell us that after looking at the X-rays that he had ruptured his patellar tendon and his knee cap was now sitting on top of his femur. He would have to have surgery. We explained that we were from out of town. The doctor told us that we had 7 days to get home and the surgery done. They put Tyler's leg in an immobilizer and handed him a pair of crutches and sent us on our way.

We got to my in-laws and decided to get some rest since it was nearly 2:00am, and that we'd make the necessary calls and decisions in the morning.

       

We ended up leaving the next day, Friday to head home. We decided that we'd break the trip up into two segments-hoping it would be easier for Kaiewa and for Tyler. We left at around 6:00pm California time so that Kaiewa (who still has a cold) would fall asleep for most of the drive. So we loaded up the car and packed Tyler in the back seat with tons of pillows and blankets to support his leg since his knee cap was still just floating around inside his leg. My mother in-law was able to come with us and help out. We drove half way to St. George where our friends the Warmsley's let us stay the night.

We got up Saturday morning excited that we had only 3.5ish hours left to drive. We got about 80 miles from home and our car breaks down. It had run out of oil. We had oil brought to us. We put it in, the car needed a jump, and then we were back on the road. We made it another 10 miles and the car broke down again. And it won't start. So we call our insurance, who gets us in touch with a tow company that will come rescue us (a sick 18-month old boy, an injured unable to walk/move man, and a 34 week pregnant woman) in a few hours. Luckily we broke down right outside an exit. So my mother in-law and I took Kaiewa and started to walk to the gas station near by. A kind man picked us up not long after, and poor Tyler just had to stay in the car the whole time. The tow truck arrived, and he only had room for Kaiewa and I in the cab. Tyler and his mom got to sit in the car while it was on the bed. Talk about bumpy ride for Tyler...

Needless to say we were just happy to finally make it home at 7:00pm that night.

At least Kaiewa was having fun at the doctors

Tyler had his appointment Monday morning with a surgeon, who told us that he would have surgery the next day to repair his leg. We talked to the mechanics where we had our car towed and they said we would need to replace the engine of our car.

Yes I felt like my whole world had just crashed in.

Now about 5 weeks later things have gotten a little better. Tyler is doing much better, but his recovery is a lot longer than most people know. As his physical therapist explained, when the initial injury happened his brain automatically shut down all connection to his leg, specifically his quad. The tendon would heal in 6 weeks, but to rebuild strength and coordination fully with his leg would take 9-12 months. If you know Tyler, you know how detrimental that news was to receive. Sports, activity, and movement in general are his life. He has done well with staying positive and motivated. His biggest goal has been to walk without a brace by the time the baby comes-and he may just get there.

As far as our car, well, that hasn't been as good. We waited to get Tyler through his surgery and some of the recovery before we even thought about what we wanted to do. After a week or so, we finally decided to have the engine replaced. As always with cars, it has been one thing after another. The mechanic ordered an engine, got it put in, and found out that it was a bad engine. So he took that one out, found another, and put it in. Then he couldn't get the car to stay on, so he replaced the alternator and battery. Those were only the big things. Of course there were several little things along the way as well.

Finally after a few weeks of work, he said we could come pick it up. He stayed until 7:30pm on Jan 30th to finish the car and return it to us. Kaiewa and I had gone to get it and started driving home. We made about 10 miles from our exit, and the car broke down again. For the second time in a month I was stuck on the side of the road.

We have yet to get our car back.

The blessing with the car has been that Tyler's assistant principal has an extra car that we have been borrowing. I really don't know what we would have done without it.

Well I guess that was the bad. For my next post-the good!! Kaiewa updates and baby #2!!!!!!!!!!

The Summer (and everything else) in Rewind Part 2

June
- The first week we enjoyed Tyler being out of school. We took Kaiewa to the aquarium, and he LOVED the animals.

- We took off for a 3 week trip. 10 days in VA with my family, and 10 days in CA with Tyler's.

VA Trip:
- We got to meet baby Emmet, and Kaiewa did really well with him. I think he only pounced him a couple of times.
- We took family photos with all the Kala's. What an adventure :) It turned out well though.

- We spent lots of time at the pool. Kaiewa absolutely loved it (once he got use to the temperature)

- We went boating, and I got up on the wakeboard! Way bigger accomplishment than it sounds.

- We went to the air and space museum with my sister Meleana's kids.

- We went to the marine museum with my mom, sister Lorinda, her kids, and two of my brother's kids.

CA Trip:

- Kaiewa was a little sick at the start so we laid low for a little bit.
- Tyler, Riley, Kaycee and I hiked Devil's punchbowl. We decided why not go in the middle of the summer, in the middle of the day, when the sun is highest and hottest. Needless to say I don't really recommend doing that hike like we did :)

- We went to the Zoo, Kaiewa rode some ponies, and got called the cutest baby by Gwen Stefani.

- Uncle Riley went through the temple for the first time.

- Kaiewa and I went to our first Dodger's Game.

- Kaiewa had his first birthday, and it was a farm theme. It turned out really cute and we had a lot of fun. 

- Updates on Kaiewa, he as only nursing right before he went to bed. He was eating pretty much anything and everything. He still ate baby food until right before we left on our trip. After we left he ate it pretty sparingly. He did take his first steps, but I'm not sure when (awful mother I know). He had been really interested in walking before we left. Then during the trip he stuck to crawling. He still napped two or three times a day. He had 8 teeth, four on top, four on bottom. 

July

- Mainly we rested from our travels when we got home. Only to have our family (Parrish, Dayna, Kaycee, and Riley) come and join us in Utah four days after we had returned. 

- While our family was in town we celebrated the Fourth of July, hiked the Gratto in Payson, and hung out with Tyler's Uncle in Lehi.

- Then we had two weeks of down time where we just relaxed, worked out, went on bike rides, went to the pool, and enjoyed summer in true fashion of doing absolutely nothing :) except Kaiewa wanted to do chores...it was wonderful.

- The in-laws came back up at the end of July to send Riley off on his mission.

- We rode the train and spent the day up in Salt Lake the day before Riley left. We went to Temple Square and to City Creek to look around.

- Then on the fateful Wednesday we took Riley to his last meal at Chuck-a-Rama and then dropped him off at the MTC. 

- Afterwards Dayna and Parrish stayed a few days and we went to the pool (Kaiewa's favorite place this summer), took a trip up to Park City, and then morning they left we went out to breakfast at Cracker Barrel and man did I forget how good that place is!

- Kaiewa's update: He weaned from nursing right after we got back. He had no problem, never even whined. I guess he was ready. He started walking a few days after we got home, and has never stopped since. His favorite activities include reading books-he loves turning the pages, pulling everything out of wherever it is-i.e.DVDs, books, toys, tuperware, towels, etc, killing flies-mostly just holding the fly-swatter. He still loves being outdoors. He learned to shoot a basketball. He says daddy (meaning both me and Tyler), nana for banana and all food, moos and woofs. He eats pretty well-the favorites are still yogurt, kid clif bars, bananas, cold cereal, any starches-mashed potatoes, rice, beans, etc. 

August

- The first and second weeks were a little uneventful, we just played around here. Went on bike rides, to the gym, and to a few city festivals. Kaiewa got to ride a pony, look at booths, and we all rode a little train together

  

- Tyler had to take a couple of tests for work, so he was studying a lot. Plus he was getting ready to start a new school year so he was getting ready for that too.

- Right before the school year was starting up we took a last summer trip down to Zion's National Park. We stayed in St. George with our friends the Warmsley's. It was the best trip ever. I was so sad to leave. We ate out a few times (which if you know us is a true treat). Oscars Cafe on the way into Zion's is amazing, and we also ate at Red Lobster. And we hiked to our hearts content. We attempted Angel's landing, but with Kaiewa it was looking to risky. So Tyler and I agree we will go back sometime to finish it. The whole park was beautiful. Now we just have to go to Capital Reef and we will have accomplished our goal of visiting all the National Parks of Utah.

   

- Once school started back up things were CRAZY. Tyler of course was busy with work. I started babysitting 2 siblings 3x a week in the morning and another little girl 2x a week in the afternoon. I still had my voice students, but my choir started back up again, and we were trying to fit crossfit in there too.

- We celebrated our 4th Anniversary. We went out to dinner on Friday night and left Kaiewa at home. Then on Saturday we woke up ran to the gym, and then dropped Kaiewa off with Tyler's Uncle and took off for a day of fun. We first went up to Park City and spent the morning/afternoon at the Olympic Park where we rode the alpine coaster, a zipline (over the ski jumps), and jumped off the Drop Tower (an 80 ft drop). It was sooo fun! Then we had a nice lunch at this cute cafe, and then headed for an hour couple's massage. It was such a wonderful day.

The view at the top of the zipline

- Kaiewa updates: He was walking around like a pro. Eating wise he became a little more picky. He wasn't a huge fan of protein unless it was disguised in gravy or cheesy goodness. Breakfast by far is his best meal, loves everything and always wakes up with an appetite. He added cracker and tractor to his vocabulary. Still doesn't say Mommy. He still loves being outside more than anything-bike rides, walks, hikes, you name it-he's game. Tyler taught him how to kick a soccer ball. Daddy going back to work was a bit of a hard transition because we were so used to playing with him all day every day. 

September

- Things stayed pretty busy with school, babysitting, choir, and voice lessons. Babysitting proved to be a little challenging and made me grateful that children typically come one at a time :)

- We went to a couple Friday Night football games, not my favorite, but Tyler loves to see his students play. 

- My choir had a short 15 minute performance for the city's festival and it went really well. The venue was outside and a little hard to sing in but still I think they did great. It has grown by a few members and that is always exciting.

- Kaiewa and I enjoyed the beautiful fall weather by playing outside as much as we could. We went on daily walks with our neighbors. We did have quite a few rainstorms that we would watch from the window.

At the park with our friend Owen 

- At the end of September my Mom flew in for a visit. She was here for 12 days, but man did they fly by. We did some shopping, drove through the Canyon to see the colorful trees, ate dinner with friends, babysat, took Kaiewa to check ups, got sick, watched Conference, celebrated my birthday, and more. Thanks again Mom! We had so much fun, and Kaieawa sure loved playing with you.

- Kaiewa updates: He is learning so much every day. He says hi and bye, set go! (a new addition this morning), he's kind of starting to say mommy, babble for apple. His favorite song is Wheels on the Bus, complete with hand motions. He has the cutest little run, and loves to dance. He plays the ukulele and sings. He has loved playing the piano for a a while now. He throws his head back when he laughs. When he pretends to talk on the phone, he'll say a few things and then always laughs at whatever he said. He hates getting his diaper changed more than anything in the world, though getting in his car seat is a close second. He still loves bath time. He loves to read stories together, and still is the same with eating. Breakfast is the best with oatmeal, eggs, pancakes, hashbrowns, bananas. His newest addition is eating an apple as long as I bite off the skin. He works out with us by doing burpees and squats. He loves to vacuum and clean with me. He'll throw rocks in the driveway all day if I let him. And so much more.

Well I'm sure I left out a few things out but that is pretty up to date. Now hopefully I can keep up with this blog and not fall so far behind!