So let's just say this pregnancy was far from easy. I found a few common themes among third time mothers and the most frequent comments were that third time pregnancies were rough. Was it my increasing age? My prior weight I was trying to work off with yoga? The fact that I had carried two other almost nine-pound-babies before? All of the above.
My body hurt all the time. I couldn't bare to sit on the floor, cross my legs, and even rolling to my other side in the middle of the night gave me the worst aches. And to top it off, at around 30 weeks I was diagnosed with gestational diabetes. Awesome! So now I couldn't eat carbs, I had to check my blood sugar four times a day, and I wrote down every little thing I ate. I credit my beloved little sister for really giving me all the knowledge I needed {she has type 1} and if I ever texted any of you in my wrath, thank you for listening.
From the start of this pregnancy I felt like I wouldn't last a whole 40 weeks. Caleb was a week late, Lilly came on her due date, so it only seemed fitting that this one would come early {also my body wasn't having it}. When I went to my 36 week checkup I was already dilated to 2cms...which means something but also means nothing...you could be at 2 for weeks...who knows.
After a weekend of waddling around {and playing with my awesome brother, his wife, and my nephew, who were in town from Houston}, I knew I wouldn't be lasting another month.
I spent the first day of September like any other, texting my girl Melanie about my tired body, whining about the two big kids, discussing Etsy shops and blogs, failed Pinterest attempts, and our mutual love of Starbucks.
My brother had spent the morning at the HB Pier with his crew, so he was on his way over to say "until next time". But after I helped Lilly out of her afternoon bath, I realized my water was slowly breaking {at 36 weeks, 5 days}. I told him I'd see him later, have a safe flight...and he showed up barging in, ready to deliver this baby if needed! Seriously, I had a plan and I didn't want to interrupt his last day in SoCal {and I really like sticking to plans}, but after telling TJ what was going on, he made me let Sean drive me to the hospital. I couldn't get a hold of Grandma to watch the kids, so I desperately called my friend Jenna to come sit with them until she came..."I'll be there in 8 minutes" she said. And she was.
My brother is a hilarious ball of energy, so the car ride to Hoag went something like this; "Okay what's the best way to get there? Do I need to go faster? This rental car goes super fast, wanna see? Are you sure you don't want me to drive thru InNOut? You're not going to be able to eat for a while. I'll deliver this baby on PCH if I have to!"
Fun Fact...I'm wearing my friend Melanie's maternity shirt...she wore it when her water broke with her first.
After checking into labor & delivery, we waited around thirty minutes for TJ to arrive from work, and we said our goodbyes to the Houston Gresches and thanked them for their service. Seriously, how divine was that timing?!?!
TJ's mom finally relieved Jenna and took over watching the big kids {not to mention cleaned my house from top to bottom}...and I was ready to get baby number three out of my belly!
Our labor and delivery room had a pretty nice view of Newport...thanks Hoag.
After being checked in, hooked up to the Pit, it felt like we had been there forever. Contractions were only slowly starting, and since I knew I'd be going the epidural route, I wasn't about to be a hero and let them get too crazy, so I asked for it after a nice visit from Christy and rerun of Conan.
4 cms was all I was after the epidural, so my body had a lot of progress to do.
After eleven hours of being in the hospital, my awesome L&D nurse noticed I had another bag of fluid that hadn't quite ruptured, which was probably why I wasn't progressing. After much poking and prodding, I went from what felt like 4 cms to 8 cms...FAST. And my epidural was wearing off. NOT what I signed up for! I was lying on my side trying to breathe, while having the worst case of heartburn, at 8 cms, just praying the song "Jesus Jesus Precious Jesus" while I waited for the epidural to kick back in.
My nurse basically said if I sat up right then, she'd come flying out, so I did everything to wait for my OB's ETA of 20 minutes...
More pressure than I'd ever felt from either kid was coming and fast. My OB arrived, I sat up, pushed five times through two contractions, and she was out. So fast.
Clementine Caylee was born on 9/2 at 4:35am, 6lbs 10oz, 18inches {which I guessed exactly on}.
Her first name means mercy.
Her middle name is a juxtaposition of Caleb + Lilly = Caylee.
She is the sweetest surprise.
Because she was ONE DAY shy of being full term, we had to stay in the hospital an extra day. We weren't going to let the kids come, we thought it'd be too much for them, but I couldn't stand to not see them a whole other day...
It was a good thing we tackled going on elevators last month!! They sure did love the view of North Orange County.
Caleb was pretty smitten with her.
And I was blown away that Lilly wanted to hold her too. Way to go, big kids.
We finally busted out of there on the 4th.
And it's been pretty great.
We've been on a dinner rotation from family and friends and our awesome Beachpoint Church. Can I just say how amazing that is?? I have people knocking on my door who I've never met before, delivering delicious meals! We are filled to the brim with diapers, wipes, new/old baby gear, and newborn clothes {that none of my 8 pounders could ever wear}. We are tired and cramped in our too-small-for-us duplex, but we are thrilled with this amazing blessing from The Lord.
Jesus, Jesus, how I trust Him!
How I’ve proved Him o’er and o’er;
Jesus, Jesus, precious Jesus!
Oh, for grace to trust Him more!
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