Marisol is Here!!

A little early but we couldn’t image our life without this little piggy! When they say every pregnancy is different they aren’t lying. The end of this pregnancy was rough and it really did feel like I was pregnant FOREVER!! I guess that is what happens when life throws you lemons while pregnant. But this little piggy is the best present we could have received after the season of life that we have just endured.

Telling Marisol’s birth story was not something that I originally intended to do but so many people have asked I figured why not…

At my 38 week appointment, my blood pressure was a little high and my levels for preeclampsia were also elevated so the doctor at the office elected to send me to the hospital to have them checked again. Jamie was already home with our kids and running the daycare, so with a phone call to his work, he was able to take off the rest of the day. He elected to stay at home and run the daycare because we really didn’t know what the doctors were going to say once I got to the hospital. I called my godmother, who was already off of work, to go with me to the hospital.

Once at the hospital the doctor decided to induce me, I was already 38 weeks and the cure for preeclampsia was delivery and she saw no reason to wait. We decided to do a slow induction, she originally wanted me to take an oral drug that would induce labor but when the pill came I was already starting to contract on my own so she decided to give me pitocin instead.

I think Jamie had one of the more comical reactions when I called to tell him that I was being induced. When they decided to induce me it was right about lunchtime in the daycare so to not stress him out I texted him and told him to call me when he got everyone down. When he called he was a little stressed because I guess lunch didn’t go too well. I gave him the news and told him that we were going to close the daycare at 3. He couldn’t understand why I wanted to close. I finally had to tell him that he needed to come to the hospital like NOW!! I ended up calling his mom to go to the house and run the daycare for the rest of the day. When she got there he was running around like a chicken with his head cut off! She made him get a shower, pack a lunch and get in the car. I honestly don’t think he expected that we were going to be having a baby within the next day.

Labor and Delivery

At my appointment (7:30 am, January 13th), I was 1.5cm dilated. At noon they started the pitocin. They started very slow and I was dilating about 2cm every three hours. Except for the five-hour stretch where I didn’t dilate at all. At 2 am on the 14th I was about 4 cm and the doctor broke my water. At this point, I was maybe feeling every thrid contraction but they were manageable, just a little cramp/pain here and there. I was tired and hungry, I had only had a protein shake for breakfast on the 13th and was living off of apple juice and jello.

At 5:15 on the 14th, I felt like I needed to poop so the nurse checked me again. I was 6cm, I had barely dilated anymore. She asked if I was ready for an epidural and I wasn’t sure yet. The contractions were there but I was managing ok. After she left Jamie and I talked some more. The contractions weren’t bad but I was dilating so slow I wasn’t sure if I was going to be able to make it another six plus hours to deliver this baby without being able to relax. When the nurse came back in at 5:45 I asked for the epidural, she called it in and started to prep somethings in the room. Within minutes, I was telling her that I needed to PUSH!!

She told me to breathe and that she would check me again during the next contraction to see if she need to call the dr or if I was going to be pushing for a while. Halfway through the contraction, she was on the phone with the doctor who came running in the room taking off her jewelry and throwing on her scrubs. She apologized for not getting in to see me before I delivered (she had just come on shift). While the nurses and the doctor finished prepping the room they told me to breathe through the contractions and DON’T PUSH!! Once they were ready I was allowed to put my legs in the stirrups. Three pushes later Marisol was born.

Not long after that, the anesthesiologist called to see if I still wanted that epidural. lol

We stayed in labor and delivery for a little while and I finally got something to eat. From there we were moved to Mother Baby. We got some breakfast and took a nap. Around lunchtime, Jamie’s mom came and Jamie went home to see the kids and give Grand Dad a break. Jamie came back after dinner and we were discharged the next morning. I was itching to leave, I had everything staged and ready to go by the time Jamie got back to the hospital.

From the very beginning of this birth story, we knew that Mom was playing a role in bringing this little piggy into our lives. After my appointment and before I left for the hospital I stopped at home to get my purse and something to do while I waited at the hospital. While home the neighbor (Mrs. Sherrie) stopped by unannounced to just “check” on me, something told her she needed to come down and make sure I was ok. I also got several text messages from aunts and cousins checking in to see how I was doing. My cousin Ashely even joked that tomorrow was the 14th and when I sent her a picture of my hospital room she was SOOO excited!! My godmother had already taken off of work to help her dad, who then didn’t need her. Mom wanted everyone to know that Marisol was coming and wanted to make sure we had the support we needed.

And to make this birth story even more special, Marisol was born on the 14th of the month!!! Henleigh was born on May 14th and the boys were born on June 14th. Making the 14th a very special day in our house.

For each of our kiddos, we have had Bella Baby Photography take their pictures in the hospital before we are discharged. Honestly, it is less stressful for me and I don’t have to worry about bringing a bunch of extra “stuff”. So I can’t take credit for these but we LOVE them!!