SHE'S HERE! Our Birth Story

SHE'S FINALLY HERE!!!

Our little darling made her debut!

Little Miss Rowan

June 18, 2013

5:11pm

8 pounds, 20 inches

Virginia

We couldn't be more thrilled to have her with us at last! She is such a miracle; a true dream come true.

& already such a daddy's girl!

Here's how our girl came into the world:

Remember that story I told you about how I thought I'd peed my pants on the walk on June 17th?

Well, at about 3 am on June 18th I awoke from my sleep with realllllyyyy bad abdominal cramps. I tried to fall back asleep but I couldn't! In the course of an hour these cramps started coming in intervals.. there was no doubt in my mind: these were contractions.

Not wanting to wake Rob until absolutely necessary, I paced through our apartment until about 6 am, keeping time in between the contractions. They were irregular, but already mostly 5-7 minutes apart. I kept a log on my phone and sent it to my BF Ashley, an RN. Luckily, she was up and working... and she told me to get to the hospital!

When Rob woke up and saw me pacing in pain he knew it was time. I called the birthing center and told them my situation and the nurse told me to come in and get checked out. In no hurry, because I all the sudden had cold feet, I took my time getting my things together and showering while Rob frantically got his things together in excitement.  

By the time we left the apartment at about 7:45 am the contractions were already 3-4 minutes apart and getting progressively more intense. I got all checked in and hooked up to a contraction monitor. Of course, my once frequent contractions slowed down to like, 12 minutes apart and the nurse said I was only one centimeter dilated. She said OB doctor on-call wanted me to get up and walk around and see if we could see some progress before she made her rounds in about 2 hours.

The 2 hours came and went and we walked through the halls of the birthing center- we were the only ones there! The OB on-call came in at about 11:30 am to check me out- still only one centimeter. She said to give it two more hours and if nothing progresses she'll send us home. Before she left, she asked if I had experienced any "leaking fluid" and I said 

"I don't think so, but last night I felt a little something. It was only a little so I'm sure it was nothing"

duuuhhh. SO dumb. She had the nurse run a test to see if it was some of my water and what do you know IT WAS!

All of the sudden we went from possibly going home to the doctor saying:

"Okay we're going to need to induce labor to get things moving; lie back, we're going to break the rest of your water"

WHAT. 

I was not prepared for this. We were not prepared for this. Rob held my hand and all of the sudden there were four nurses in our birthing suite hooking me up to all sorts of things. The doc broke my water, and, let me tell you, that was an experience. Suddenly, I was dilated to 3.5 centimeters. They started pitocin through my IV and the contractions came back slowly but surely.

The nurse, seeing the look of pure shock on our faces, smiled and said

"you get to meet your baby today"

...

At about 2:30 pm, after about 12 hours of labor, I finally caved and pleaded asked for an epidural.

I was only 4 centimeters dilated but in so much pain from that pitocin!

I was so out of it I wasn't even scared of that enormous needle going in my spine. Rob and our nurse held my hands and by 3 pm the anesthesiologist got me all set up - pain FREE! It was amazing. I was even able to doze off a bit - but not for long.

My own OB doctor took over my case and said that the baby was not coming down as much as she'd like, the contractions were still not as close together as they wanted them to be, and that Ro's heart rate had started to decline. She said they would keep and eye on it for the next hour or so. We were obviously concerned but hoped for the best. 

She came back in after about an hour and said she was really uncomfortable with her low heart rate. She tried to get her to move but even that didn't really help much. That, paired with the fact she wasn't dropping, our doctor said she wanted to go ahead and do a cesarean. She reassured us that, although relatively urgent, this was not an emergency and they wouldn't be rushing through the procedure. She said she was assembling a very experienced surgical team and they were going to take really good care of us.

We were both so scared. I started to cry. I didn't want anything to happen to our sweet baby! & this was not going to be a routine c-section. I know Rob was trying to stay strong for me, but when I saw him come back from the hallway to call our families, I saw that he had been crying too! We said a prayer and got ready to meet our little girl.

ready to go!

Within the hour, we were all ready to go into the OR. They wheeled me back first and put the spinal meds through my epi. Completely numb. The team was so nice and made me feel really comfortable. They let Rob into the room with me and he held my hand.

After a little while, the anesthesiologist by my head said 

"You're going to feel a lot of pressure on your chest, like someone is standing on you"

from the other side of the curtain, I heard my doctor say 

"She's about to be born... She's opening her eyes!" 

I didn't really feel the pressure he was talking about, but all the sudden they lifted her up from other side of the curtain and we heard her very first cries... which sparked our first proud-parent tears!

Rob watched as they got her all cleaned up. I couldn't see anything; I just laid there wondering if that really just happened. I couldn't believe it. The nurse walked over and placed her swaddled in Rob's arms. 

It was the most beautiful thing I'd ever seen. Rob was just beaming, of course.

I can't remember who put her on my chest.. I think it was Rob... by that time I was a little out of it.

I remember saying 

"Oh my God! Hi, baby! She's so cute."

doesn't she look happy to meet me?

Not really what I planned on saying.. but I was so exhausted and on such a baby high I was sort of speechless. One of the team members offered to take our family picture, and I'm so glad he did!

our first family photo! just a few tears of joy...

I got to hold her for a few minutes and then they gave her back to Rob. A nurse led him back to our birthing suite where they were going to clean her up a bit more get weight, height, etc. I stayed in the OR while they finished up the procedure (I actually fell asleep!) Then I was off to recovery! I stayed there for about an hour , where they pushed on my belly every 15 minutes (ouch!). 

When I finally got back to the birthing suite, Rob & Rowan were waiting for me! Rob was holding her like he'd been doing it his whole life. It was so sweet. I have to admit, I was a little jealous of their bonding time while I was dealing with all the surgery stuff :/ But SO grateful for a happy healthy girl and successful surgery!

 

My nurse quickly put Ro on my chest just under my gown and I finally got my bonding time with my little girl.

pretty fresh after 14 hours of labor, eh? ;)

Later that night, Rob's mom, dad, and brother came in and got to meet her on her birth day! 

We were so grateful to have had them there to celebrate with us.
& share in the new-baby cuteness!

 

Since then, I've been recovering well and we've been adjusting to life with a newborn. 

We are SO in love with our little girl.

Thank you to everyone who kept us in your thoughts & prayers. We so appreciate you lifting us up in hopes of a happy, healthy, family :) & most importantly...

Thank You, God!

xox,

    Riley & Rob (& Rowan)

39 & 40 weeks.

I know, I'm back-tracking here.....

These weeks were a blurr.

I felt like I was going to be pregnant forever! We expected her to be born early with the seemingly inescapable stress it would put on my kidney.. but so far the pregnancy had no effect. So our OB said there was no rush to get her out because full term babies are generally the healthiest! 

She was hoping I would go into labor naturally so we wouldn't have to have an induction. I guess there's an increased risk of c-section with that. Which, wouldn't be a problem for normal people... but because of all my previous abdominal surgeries, I have quite a bit of scar tissue and my internal anatomy is a little skewed- which makes things a little tricky.

The NSTs still looked good and I pretty much laid low in the apartment, relishing my last few days of sleep and watching Netflix. (Have you seen White Collar? We're obsessed!)

On the 17th I was pretty motivated, though. I just all the sudden got this burst of energy and motivation to clean and organize. I hear they call this "nesting". It is a natural occurrence for most mother's to 'nest' right before their baby comes - weird, right?!

Instead of resting as I had been for the past weeks few days, I made a list of all the things we needed to take to the birthing center when it was time to go (hospital bags, phones/chargers/pillows, etc.), washed all the towels and sheets, cleaned the kitchen, organized the cabinets, cleaned the pots & pans, sanitized the microwave, cleaned the stove, swept, dusted, sanitized the sinks, put away the laundry, straightened up the nursery, baked some scratch-made lemon scones & peach cobbler, and made a homemade supper.

WHEW!

my scones! pretty, right?!

not too shabby considering I was waddling around at 40+ weeks pregnant .. and I had started at noon and was done by 5pm!

When Rob got home we ate dinner and then decided to go on a walk. About 50 yards into the walk I felt a gush of fluid...like I had peed my pants (TMI I know, but it's important to the story). There was only a little, so I didn't think it was my water breaking, but it was enough to freak me out so we turned around and went home. 

 continue to the birth story for the rest! :)

Cravings: Peanut Butter

the old standard. love those PB&Js

Misses: My Body 

Not that it was so great before. But, I had made it all the way to 37 weeks before I had any ...dun dun dun... stretch marks! I thought I was going to escape pregnancy without them. No such luck. But if that's the worst of my pregnancy troubles, I'll take 'em!

xox

    Riley

P.S. Rob and I celebrated Father's Day.. even though she wasn't here quite yet!
Happy (belated) Father's Day to all the daddies out there :)

38 weeks.

& we thought she'd be here by now!

NSTs still looking great. BP has come back down (110/65 ... wooohooo!) so an induction is on hold in hopes I can go into labor naturally. I have another NST tomorrow so hopefully that will go well, too. We've been taking walks every night and eating plenty of spicy food to try and expedite her arrival! We're waiting on little miss Ro... whenever she's ready!

 I'm still feeling great, just a little fatigued. Rob has been on edge the past week; every time I take a deep breath he asks if I'm in labor. Every time I call him during the work day he answers, "are you in labor?!" I really think he would've preferred an induction so he could plan! The suspense is killing him!

I am not as impatient as I have been. I'm just enjoying the short time we have left just the two of us :)

We just keep praying the process of bringing her into the world goes as smoothly as possible.

We even took a little picnic and walk through the VT gardens to relax and really enjoy each other's company :)

that hot pepper jelly with that creamy havarti .. to DIE for  <3

Cravings: Sleep

I have not been sleeping well... too anxious I suppose!

Misses: Sleep

yeah, I know, get used to it...

xox

    Riley

37 weeks.

almost there!

but, losing steam on the blogging front.

I've been so busy living life, trying to enjoy the last few moments of my pregnancy, and preparing for our little one.

like making homemade baby wipes: http://www.thenewlighterlife.com/homemade-baby-wipes/

& making/freezing meals to make life a little easier while figuring out how to care for our newborn: http://www.marthastewart.com/351778/vegetable-enchiladas

37 week BUMP picture &  Rob "practicing" using the car seat. hahahaa

Rearranging/decorating the apartment has also taken a back seat to the more pressing tasks at hand - it's under construction/a work in progress, as usual.

That's okay though, because what makes a home a home is the people you share it with, right?

& I fall deeper in love with my roomies every day :)

To be clear, we started this blog because we were starting so many new chapters of life all at once... so far away from our friends and family. It was a way for us to creatively share our experiences and, really, a fun way for me to journal this time in our lives. In the beginning, I said I would only try this blogging thing for as long as I liked it and wanted to do it. When it started feeling like I was obligated, I slowed down a bit.

We'll for sure be sharing the last few weeks (or days!) of the pregnancy & the birth story for purposes of completion. We're unsure if we'll continue after that. While I'd love to share those precious moments with my baby girl with you all, I'm more concerned with living them with her. Ya know? For those of you who really know the situation, she really is a miracle. And I want to make sure I don't miss a second of those fleeting moments. 

Anyways,

At my NST yesterday, my BP was elevated and I almost passed out on the table. I literally had a nurse fan me with a People magazine. Thankfully, the test still indicated a very active and healthy baby! Since I am considered full term, and this being a high risk pregnancy because of history of transplantation, the stress on the kidney is the main concern since she could safely be delivered at any moment. If at my next NST on Thursday by BP is still elevating, my OB is going to consult with my Nephrologist and discuss scheduling an induction. We've been so blessed this far with such a smooth pregnancy; we trust our team of doctors here who have taken great care of us :) 

THANK YOU to all those who have kept our little family in your thoughts and prayers throughout the pregnancy. Please continue to pray we all make it through delivery happily & healthily.

with no pain. ;) I'll be clenching my pink rosary in one hand and probably breaking Rob's hand with the other..

Cravings: key lime everythinggg

it is practically summer, you know!

so yummy! you gotta try!

Misses: my people

my mommy, my family, my friends. I will survive, and we sure love being our own little family out here in VA, but it sure would be nice to have some company during this time

xox

   Riley

36 weeks.

We'll get to the big 3-6 in a minute...

Right now I'd like to focus on 27.

Happy 27th Birthday to my husband, my best friend, the love of my life, father of my daughter, the taker out of the trash, the snorer, the jokester, the best man in the whole wide world! I'm so glad you're mine.

photo cred: Through Her Looking-Glass Photography

I won't get all mushy here, I have a card for him with all that kind of stuff.

TODAY IS ROB'S GOLDEN BIRTHDAY!!!
27 on the 27th.


This weekend we spent a lot of time eating out and about. Per Rob's request, we took a day trip over to Charlottesville and went to a couple of our favorite restaurants, and explored a few more wineries and breweries.

First we went to The Shebeen Pub & Braii. It's THE COOLEST South African Pub. The place is just brilliant. The food is amazing. So different. So tasty. So well done!
I couldn't have the Key Lime Pie Martini like I did last time (which is to die for) but I'm already planning a trip back in the fall to enjoy that!

Lord have mercy this food is AMAZE!

Then we went off to Starr Hill brewery just outside the city. Rob wanted to check it out and do a tasting. The outside of the building was... shady. Inside, the place was hoppin' and Rob really enjoyed the beer. I really enjoyed the water. It's always good to support your local brewers! It's really cool to see local guys doing what they love. You should check one out near you!

Starr Hill Brewery

Next we headed out to Blenheim Vineyards. We've been out on the VA wine trails before but somehow missed this gem the past couple times. This particular winery is owned by Dave Matthews of the Dave Matthews Band, a Charlottesville, Virginia native. The place was GORGEOUS. It had an amazing view of the vineyards and mountains in the distance. Rob did a wine tasting here, too and said the wine was some of the best, ever. Next time we're in the area I'm packing a picnic and posting up here for the day. I did not want to leave!

this ham loves to model

On our way back into Charlottesville city center, we stumbled upon Trump Vineyards.. a mere half mile from Blenheim. We just wanted to stop in and see the property since Rob had already done a tasting of their wines at the Fork n Cork a few weeks ago. Boy, were we glad we stopped! The place was very quaint, very clean. and had a stunning view of the mountains. I was expecting it to be some big, overdone, estate but was pleasantly surprised at how well done everything was. Nice, but understated. Just a beautiful setting & good Virginia wine, or so I hear -_-

    

gorgeous view!

Dinner was served at The Virginian. Our second favorite Cville restaurant after Shebeen. The food is just SO good. If you're in the area and want to stop in, it's practically right across the street from the Rotunda on UVA campus. Order the stumble down mac n cheese. Thank me later.

crab cake sammie & fried chicken. welcome to the south.

Wow, it looks like all we did was eat & drink. ACCURATE.

minus the drinking, for me, obviously.

Overall, the birthday boy had a great weekend complete with German Chocolate Cake and, since it just so happens to be Memorial Day, the day off!

He is used to sharing his birthday with the holiday and always makes an effort to take time and pray for those who this day is all about. Thank you, Armed Forces your families for all your sacrifices. Thank you especially, to those in our own families who have served and sacrificed! We are so grateful.

God Bless You.

onto baby things...

36 and I am tired.

And ready for this little girl to be here already!

The full moon did not induce labor as I was hoping, but I have been having plenty of Braxton Hicks.

Twice-weekly NSTs are still going great. We had a 36 week growth ultrasound and finally got some 4D imaging. Biggest surprise? This little girl looks like her DADDY! She still has a few more weeks to cook so hopefully there's a little time for my genes to kick in ;) JOKING.

**green eyes green eyes green eyes**

She weighs in at an estimated 6.5 pound already and has some pretty chubby cheeks!

our sweet girl at 36 weeks.

She always kicks when Rob is close to me, like she can feel his presence or something. Whenever he puts his hand on my belly she starts to kick, almost like she's saying 'hi'. It is the weirdest, sweetest thing. Rob loves it, of course. He can't wait to meet his little girl. He even calls her his 'princess' ... so I guess that makes me the Queen ;)

Cravings: Chocolate.

Lots of it. hence, the German Chocolate Cake for "Rob's birthday" ;)

Misses: Wine

Can a girl get a glass of Pinot, please?

xox

   Riley

35 weeks.

thirty-five! eek! getting so close!

Sorry we are a little behind on blogs these past few weeks... life is crazy right now!

We are busy busy busy getting ready for Rowan and trying to be outside as much as possible enjoying the beautiful Virginia spring weather!

so long, midwest! 

I hope all the mamas out there had a great Mother's Day! I celebrated my first Mother's Day, too! Even though I haven't given birth..yet... I was not going to say 'no' to a nice brunch and well wishes from friends and family. I spent the whole day thinking of my own mommy and wishing her a happy day in Heaven <3

mom & me 1991

We also worked a little the nursery; It's really starting to come along nicely. We're doing the best we can to make it our/her own in our little apartment :) I just love sitting in her room among her things and trying to imagine how different it will be when she is finally here! Here's a sneak peek or two:

daddy loves rfw

mommy loves rfw .. & maxi dresses!

this is def NOT Rob giving me a foot massage... ;)!
unaware that I am capturing this moment with my sweet sweet man <3

In other baby-related news, we have our meet and greet with our pediatrician next week and some more OB appointments coming up... including our 36 week ultrasound! Maybe we will finally get our 4D picture!? Weight gain still at bay at 21 pounds gained.. which reminds me: is anyone willing to lend me their insanity/p90x dvds? Please? :) I have Jillian Michael's 30 Day Shred but I like to mix things up a bit.

 I have been going into the OB office twice a week for NSTs. I guess that is normal High Risk Pregnancy protocol. We've been very blessed to continue to get GREAT news this far. She is doing beautifully- as am I. It is remarkable how smoothly everything has gone throughout the pregnancy - I sure hope I'm able to say the same about labor & delivery!

Thank You to everyone who has kept us in your thoughts & prayers!

Cravings: nothing specific

but I'm still constantly hungry ... :)

Misses: SMC

I cannot believe it's been a whole year since my fellow 2012 SMC Belles and I graduated from undergrad! 

What a crazy, busy, wondeful, world-turned-upside-down year it has been! All the posts from the 2013 smick chicks made me so nostalgic. Cheers to the good ole days and congratulations to all the new alumnae!

xox 

    Riley