The Story

Two months later, and I finally found a little bit of time to tell the story...

I told Michael that a lot of husbands buy their wives "push gifts" now.  Michael is an awesome husband and listened to his wife.  Even though he is all of the way on the other side of the world, he was still able to send me a little gift.  Chocolate covered strawberries...yum, yum, yum!  

And he must have really felt bad for not being here because he sent me TWO gifts!  What a great husband!  We just wish he could have been here for the birth of his baby girl.  Bristol, when you read this, please know that you're Daddy would have done anything to be here for your debut.  However, he is one of the few heroes we have left in the world and had to tend to something bigger.  Don't worry, he will make it up to you when you are requesting ponies and rainbows later in life!  ;)   

My c-section surgery was scheduled for the 0845, so my parents and I got up bright and early.  One of my B.F.F.'s came to watch Joey so both of my parents could be with me.  

Getting all ready!  My doctor is a UNC graduate, so I had to make sure to show my gang sign!  Go Wolfpack!  I had a spinal to numb my body.  I did not like this one bit.  It was such a weird feeling.  I actually freaked out in the operating room because of all of the strange feelings.  The nurses and my mom all thought that I was upset about Michael not being there and having a baby and blah, blah, blah, but it was because of all of the weird physical feelings.  So weird.  After the nurses removed Bristol from the room, the docs actually knocked me out.  I suppose that's so I could get a little rest and calm down. 

*******GRAPHIC PHOTOS BELOW*********

It only took the docs a few minutes to pull Bristol out of me!  She came into the world screaming and yelling!  There's no doubt in my mind that she wanted everyone in that room to remember her!  She "arrived" at 945 AM on July 12th, 2012.  

Bristol Fay weighed 8 lbs, 8 oz and measured 19.5 inches long!  Dr. Mills (my Carolina doctor) commented several times about how big she was.  She was delivered at 39 weeks...imagine if I would have went to my due date or later.  Yikes.  

**********END OF GRAPHIC PHOTOS***************

My Mom was in the operating room with me.  She sat with me until they removed Bristol.  After that, Mom had strict instructions to stay with my baby!  Michael and I are both afraid of our baby getting snatched.  I know, I know, most hospitals, including ours, have monitoring devices and alarms to prevent baby snatching, but you never can tell.  Do you know that a week after Bristol was born, I saw a news report about a lady trying to snatch a baby at some hospital in another state?!?!!  She did not succeed due to the alarms, but still, you can never be too careful.  

Our first meeting.  :)   B was kind of ugly when they took her out of my womb.  I actually thought karma for talking crap about other people's babies had caught up with me.  Then when they laid her on my chest, I realized karma hadn't found me yet.  She was beautiful and perfect!  

We stayed in the hospital for 4 days, and 3 nights.  I healed much faster with this c-section than I did with Joey's.  I was up and walking around in no time.  I had a lot of visitors, which was really nice.  I did not get to Skype with Michael, but we did get to talk on the phone a few times during those first few days.  He was so heartbroken that he could not be here for the birth.  The sacrifices our military give up.  

Bristol is great.  She did not have any jaundice.  She dropped down to 7 lbs, 12 oz, but then gained an entire ounce overnight!  Guess my milk came in, huh?  She does have a blocked tear duct, but the doc said that usually works itself out in a few months.  

I was really REALLY glad I went home to have my baby.  I do not know how I could have had a major surgery, have a baby, and care for my active toddler alone.   Thank you to everyone in North Carolina that helped us out.  You will never know how much it means to Michael and me!  

The End

Man, I am behind on this blog!  Things have been so crazy and hectic, and, now, we're finally here at the end.  I wanted to update this blog so I wouldn't forget any details before we start the next chapter!  :)

36 Weeks, 3 Days at the Kenny Chesney/Tim McGraw Concert in Charlotte, NC

 So, at my 36 week appointment, the doctor informed me that they would take Bristol by c-section on my due date, July 19th, if she hadn't already come on her own.  If I went into labor before July 19th, then I could try the VBAC.  This was upsetting news because I didn't feel like we were giving baby girl enough time to come on her own.  I wanted to wait until at least 41 weeks before we did a c-section.  The doctors did not want to induce me, though, due to an increased chance of uterine rupture.  

37 Weeks

When I went to my 37 week appointment, I was all prepared to argue and fight with the doctors about taking Bristol by c-section on my due date.  I was ready to fight tooth and nail to wait until 41 weeks.  However, I got the bad news that stopped the debate before it could even  really start.  The doctors finally received my records from Alaska.  My previous c-section surgery was done with a single suture versus a double suture.  The hospital I will be delivering Bristol at will not let a patient with this type of suture have a VBAC due to an increased chance of uterine rupture.  In addition to this policy, there is not an anesthesiologist on duty at all times since this is a smaller hospital.  It would take about 30 minutes for this specialist to arrive at the hospital if he/she was needed.  Since there is an increased chance of uterine rupture with VBACs, the lack of an on-duty anesthesiologists is risky. 

 I was devastated when I heard this news.  All I wanted to do was cry.  I can't believe I went 37 weeks believing that I would be able to try a vaginal delivery.  When I went home and did my own Google research, it seemed that the chances of uterine rupture were only a slight bit higher with the single suture.  It seemed that the suture argument was just an excuse for some doctors and hospitals to use so they do not have to do a VBAC.  This research only made this news harder to take...probably why you shouldn't Google anything medical!  I also kept thinking about the anesthesiologist thing.  If I would have stayed in California to have this baby, I probably could have had my VBAC due to being in a much larger hospital.  However, I certainly would not have had the amount of help that I have here.  Ahhhh, trade-offs! 

I am still having a really hard time with this news, but it is what it is.  I was seriously pissed off about this and did not want to hear any of the good reasons why having a c-section wasn't so bad.  However, one of the good reasons that does make me (and Michael) smile is that I will have the prettiest and most pristine vagina in the world since no babies will have ever barreled out of it!!!  Hahaha!  This is something good since my husband will be home from a long deployment relatively shortly after having this baby.  I have a friend that I had to wait several months before she was good to go down there after her vaginal delivery. On this note, I will be discussing birth control with the doctor ASAP!  No Irish twins here, please!  

38 Weeks

At my last appointment, 38 weeks, I found out that I will definitely be having my baby on July 12th.  Since this will be a scheduled c-section, they do not want me to go into labor naturally.  This will cause stress on baby and me.  My doctors do planned surgeries on Thursdays, which, coincidentally falls exactly on the day I turn 39 weeks.  39 weeks is also an optimal time to take the baby out of the mother because the baby is supposedly fully developed, not too big, and ready to go.

For four days prior to my appointment, I had been having very severe menstrual-like cramps.  These were so bad that I almost called the doctor to find out if I needed to go to the hospital!  When the doctor checked my cervix, the baby's head was right there!!  My cervix had not opened or dilated at all, though.  The doctor said that we would still go with the c-section on the 12th, or if I went into labor before then and was really far along, like 8 or 9 cm dilated, we would proceed with a VBAC (if my uterus was going to rupture, it would have already ruptured by then).  If I was only 1 or 2 cm dilated, we would do a c-section.  The doc said that the reason I was cramping so badly was due to the baby getting settled into my pelvis. 

Third Tri

Baby girl had her first hiccups last week!  Joey had these all of the time while he was in the womb, and I didn't think baby girl was going to have them since I hadn't felt them yet.  However, I felt the little "tap, tap, tap, tap, taps" a few days ago!  

Not sure if I had shown this yet, but Bristol received her first tutu a  few months ago from our dear friend, Jackie!  I squealed with delight when I opened this package!  So pink.  So frilly.  So girly.  So not boy! 

I took my one-hour glucose test for gestational diabetes Friday.  I forgot how nasty that drink is!  Yuck!  I'm really hoping that I pass so A) I don't have gestational diabetes and B) I don't have to drink that drink again!  Hopefully, I get the results sometime this week.  I have my last appointment with my Cali doctor next week, so if I do have to take the three-hour test, I would like to take it before my check-up appointment so I can have the results.  Our trip to North Carolina is in just a couple of weeks, so I'm trying to get everything in order!

We are 28 and a half weeks today!  Welcome to the third trimester, baby!  And let me tell you, this trimester has come in with a bang!  I am so exhausted!  The 4-6 hours I might have been getting during the first two trimesters are doing nothing for me now!  I'm trying to take naps when Joey naps because I know when baby girl gets here, those mama naps will be non-existent.  I'm also getting a little hungrier, but then I take a couple of bites of food, and I'm stuffed!  (Now, if I can just keep that eating pattern after I have baby, I may just lose some of this weight I put on after I had Joey.)

I also already feel like I'm nesting.  Since we will be in North Carolina for the last few weeks of this pregnancy and birth, I'm in overdrive trying to get everything in order and cleaned and ready for our return.  When I return to my house here, I will have a toddler and a newborn, so I want to have things as easy as can be when I get back.  Hopefully, Michael will be returning to us not long after our return to Cali, so I want the house to look good for him, as well.  Luckily, I have a couple of more weeks, so I've been doing a little each day so it's not too overwhelming or I don't overdo it.  Just enough pressure to get my procrastinating self moving, but not enough pressure to stress me out!  :)

Daddy and Summer Vacay

So, Michael will be deployed for the birth of TBD.  He leaves this spring and won't return until sometime in the fall.  We had decided for me and Joey to just stay in California due to housing issues, among other things.  This was seriously stressing me out since we just moved to our new home and we haven't really made any good friends quite yet (at least that will be here during the summer).  My parents had planned on coming out here for the delivery and some time after, but what if I went into labor early?  What if they got here and I went two weeks late?  If my parents weren't here yet, who would watch Joey?  How would I get myself to the hospital?  What if I have to have a c-section and am in the hospital for a few days, would someone be able to care for Joey that long?  O.  M.  G.   So many concerns!! 

Even though we had made our "final" decision, we continued to discuss the situation. We had heard that if you are vacant from your base house for more than 30 days, then you would lose the home.  I did not want to give up our home and move to my parents for the entire deployment (which is usually 6-8 months long) because that would be so much change for Joey.  Say goodbye to Daddy, move across country, get used to grandparent's home, get used to extended family, welcome new baby, share mommy, say goodbye to extended family, move into new home, and welcome daddy back all within a 6-8 month period.  That is an awful lot of change for anyone, especially a little kid.   This was our main hang-up.  

Then, I heard some wives saying they went back to their family's home for 4-5 months while hubby was deployed and they kept their base house.   Do what?!?   If this was true, then this would solve our problem!  I called the base housing office and finally got this nasty rumor straight.  We CAN be vacant from our home for a few months...I just need to sign a waiver stating that housing can enter our house if an emergency arises.   It probably didn't hurt that I told them our situation...hubby deployed, I'm pregnant, we have a toddler, just moved here and no real friends yet, AND I may have to have a c-section!  They probably said "Heck yes, let that girl leave for a little while!  She could be a liability if we say no!"

So, Joey and I are going to be staying in North Carolina at my parent's house from the end of May (I'll be about 32 weeks prego) until right after Labor Day (TBD will be about 6 weeks old).  We don't lose our home, we get to see our families and friends, and I can get some RELIEF and help with my crazy toddler and soon to be newborn!  I am so freaking happy and relieved!  We'll actually get to be around family for part of this pregnancy.  The fam will get to meet TBD in-person versus just reading a blog or seeing pics.  This is really going to be a win-win situation...well, except for Michael.  He is so bummed that he is going to be away from us and for the birth of his new kiddo.  This is part of the military lifestyle and lot of military families go through this...that doesn't make it any easier, though.  We'll be doing lots of letters and photos, and hopefully, some Skyping.