We are a month out from our son’s second birthday, so I thought it would be fun to share his birth story. If you have not read any other posts in my pregnancy series, you can read them here…Pregnancy Series: Initial Signs & First Trimester, Second Trimester Recap, Third Trimester Recap.

Unfortunately our son did not want to come on his own like my doctor had anticipated. His head had been extremely low for weeks leading up to his due date, however my body was just not ready or showing any signs of readiness (dilation/effacement). I went to my last appointment on his due date (December 28th) and was presented with two options. Option one, we could wait it out for a week to see if he came on his own (advised that it was unlikely). Option two, we could check into the hospital that evening to begin inducing. Mason and I decided we would induce, based off my doctor’s recommendation and headed to the hospital that night around 9:30pm. It was such a surreal feeling to know it was actually happening!

Once we checked in we were taken to a birthing room to get situated for the evening. They hooked me up to two monitors to watch the heart rate and contractions. They also inserted the base of the IV, so they could start Pitocin early in the morning. Throughout the evening I would have nurses insert pills to help soften the cervix and hopefully jump start the process. I was not expecting someone to come in every couple of hours, which made sleeping almost impossible (along with nerves).

The next morning around 6am they checked to see if I had any progression, and I had only dilated to a 1.  A nurse tried to prepare us for a long day ahead and made sure we knew there was a lot of work to do. She told us that realistically we probably wouldn’t begin pushing until 7-8pm that night. Within the hour I began Pitocin (around 7am). I was told I would be checked every 2 hours with the goal of a 1-2 centimeter increase in dilation.

Around 9am I progressed to a 3 which was a huge relief that my body was responding. The doctor decided we were going to break my water which was another thing I was not expecting, and such a weird feeling to experience (also uncomfortable). After my water was broken my contractions picked up significantly.  When they checked me at 11am I knew I wanted the epidural. I had thankfully progressed another 2cm to a 5 and decided to order the epidural before the contractions got even worse. I had no idea there was a wait time and that it didn’t happen immediately.

The anesthesiologist came in around 11:45am. He had me sit on the edge of the bed and lean over. He gave a local shot (felt like a bee sting) and then hooked me up and let me know it would take around 20 minutes to kick in. Once it did it’s magic, it truly was a game changer for my overall experience. I did have a “hot spot” so I still felt some contractions on my right side, however it was nothing like before! I was also unaware that they insert a catheter after the epidural. There were so many wires and things hooked up to me, it was wild!

Mason and I got to relax and enjoy just hanging out with each other. He would leave the room to eat since I could only have ice after midnight, and kept both families up to date. The nurses decided to check me after 3 hours since I was moving at a slow and steady rate. Around 3pm they came in hoping I would be at a 7. Right before they came in I felt extremely sick which I hadn’t experienced throughout the day. The energy completely shifted while the nurse was checking me. She told us she needed to call our doctor immediately and could feel his head. I asked her how many centimeters I was and her response was “umm..a ten”. I felt like my body was telling me it was time, and we went into a slight panic mode.

The nurses began preparing the room and Mason was doing everything in his power not to pass out. Our doctor was at another hospital so we actually ended up waiting an hour before pushing. Once she arrived she explained how the pushing would go (during a contraction) and prepared me mentally. My first push was at 4:05pm and I was holding our son at 4:20pm. It was such an out of body experience and something I will never forget!

Stay tuned for next post discussing recovery and all the “fun” that entails:)

Blessings,

Jac

With the new year approaching and the season of thankfulness, I began thinking about how I actually practice gratitude. I think it is easy to say we are thankful for certain things, but a lot more difficult to practice the feeling and mindset of gratefulness. Don’t get me wrong, being aware of your blessings is amazing in itself. However, I personally believe gratitude is a muscle that has to be practiced and used just like anything else. Today I wanted to share some things that have helped me switch my mindset and create a daily appreciation and feeling of gratitude.

As always, I would love to know anything that you practice or do in your day to day life!

1.Wake Up Distraction Free & Think About Present Situation

It can be so difficult to start your day in the right mindset, but can alter and transform the reality you experience. Do you immediately start looking at your phone when you wake up? Are you instantly being overwhelmed with emails, texts, or social media. If that is the case, I highly encourage setting some personal limits of parameters to the start of your day. I am currently practicing looking at my phone to turn off any alarms and then really thinking about where I am and appreciating ALL that I have.

For example, as I wake up I will think….

I am so grateful to wake up in a cozy bed with an incredible husband next to me. What a gift it is to have a roof over our head in a home we love. How cool is it that I get to stay in my pajamas and work for a couple of hours while the boys sleep. I can’t imagine not having electricity or plumbing to get ready in the morning. I am so fortunate to have these things I take for granted on a daily basis….

I will continue feeling appreciation and gratitude as I get ready for the day and create a positive head space and mindset.

2. Appreciate The Little Things

As you start your day and really focus on your current situation, think about ALL the little things in your life that other people would do anything to have or experience. For example, if you are able to get out of bed and put one foot in front of the other pain free you are extremely blessed! If you have food in the fridge and clean water to drink, you are blessed! Notice the things we tend to forget or expect….it will make a huge difference!

3.Write It Down & Say It Out Loud

Dedicate 5-10 minutes out of your day to write down things you are currently thankful for and then say them out loud! If you need to, repeat your list a few times OR give a reason why! Allow yourself to FEEL it.

4.Lift Up Others

Think about others and lift them up. You will constantly keep perspective of what is important and be reminded of how blessed you are.

5.End The Day Positive

No matter what happens throughout the day, try to end it by thinking of the positive. Find one moment that you felt grateful for and focus on that before you go to sleep. Repeat that moment or thing over and over in your mind and channel your feelings/energy toward it.

 

Blessings,

Jac

If you have not been following along my pregnancy series you can read post one and two here (Initial Signs & First Trimester & Second Trimester) Today, I wanted to share my third trimester experience and things to make note of/be aware of.  For me personally, the third trimester was not bad and I had a really great pregnancy. The recovery and postpartum were truly the areas I was not expecting or really prepared for overall, along with ALL the hormones.

Usually the third trimester is where things start to feel uncomfortable or you are just over it, depending on your experience. Your skin will become extremely itchy with the stretching, so you definitely want to have products to lather your belly in! I used an oil and body better every night that I actually started using at the beginning of my pregnancy. Also maternity clothes were 100% my best friend!

Frequent bathroom trips were the norm during these 12 weeks as our son would move and sit on top of my bladder. I would often wake up during the night with extreme leg cramps. They were basically the worst charlie horse I had experienced times 1,000. My doctor had me take supplements to help combat the cramping and looked at anything else I may need to supplement in (blood work).  Workouts definitely became harder, as I would experience shortness of breath after a warm up. I still continued making it a priority, however listened to my body and modified when needed. My cravings in all honesty didn’t really change from the second to the third trimester. I treated myself occasionally but ate how I normally do throughout both.

One of the neatest experiences is seeing and feeling your child dance around in your belly. It is so wild to see limbs poke out and to see your body respond to them! You will also get to have another ultra sound in the third trimester which is SO different than the the other two! Seeing their actual face and what they look like inside of your belly is incredible! I am so thankful for technology and everything we are able to use it for!

9 months (36 weeks)

Prenatal Care Third Trimester

• Regular check-ups every 2 weeks until 36 weeks. Weekly check-ups after. Once you are weekly you will have your cervix checked where the doctor will feel inside. They are looking for any dilation or effacement.
• Blood work
• Strep B culture (Swabbed like in a women’s check. If you test positive you will take antibiotics during delivery)
• 3rd ultrasound
• Tdap vaccine and flu shot if applicable (also recommended for anyone around newborn)

Third Trimester General Information/Considerations

• Final payments to your provider (excludes all hospital costs)
• Lock in a pediatrician (they will come to hospital for initial check)
• Gather hospital bag items and know what your hospital provides (ours basically had everything needed besides personal items)
• Schedule/take any desired classes offered through hospital (we took a birth and newborn class that also included breastfeeding)

I will say a month or two before my due date I became extremely nervous and anxious about delivery. The unknown scared me and I found comfort in a lot of prayer and a good mindset. My only advice is to keep an open mind and go with the flow. My delivery was not what I had anticipated or expected, and that is okay! I knew the only things that mattered were a healthy baby and Momma!

I will share my delivery experience in the next post since little man did not come on his own! What were some of your third trimester experiences? I would love to know!

Blessings,

Jac