January 2012

Happy New Year

We had a wonderful time with our family over Christmas Break, but we went home on New Years Eve because we had a lot to get ready before Rachel came and we didn't know how fast she would come, but mom had a feeling that she was going to come soon. :-)

Andrea and Daddy had to celebrate with New Year toys and accessories of course. :-) Thank you Grandma Barclay.

Rachel's Birth

            I had a lot more pre-term labor or Braxton Hicks as they so call it with Rachel.  I had my first set of contractions on the drive down to Manti for Christmas Break.  I was a little worried that she might come over the break, but I knew it would be ok if I took it easy. Christmas break was very nice.  We ate plenty of food, rode four-wheelers, played on the swings, played games, watched movies, opened presents, and much more.  We hurried home on New Year’s Eve, because I wanted to get everything ready for Rachel to come.  The night before Rachel came I had contractions all night long, probably about every 20 minutes, but the next day I needed teach aerobics at the MTC so Steve could get an A parking pass.  I think I may have had her that night, but that I consciously made myself not go into labor until the next day.  The next day I spent getting my syllabi put together for my aerobic classes at UVU.  I took Andrea with me up to my office and organized and stapled everything together.  I remember being in the office and just leaning on the table a few times and breathing deeply to make it through a contraction.  I also remember trying to explain to Andrea that mommy was having contractions and that’s why she was so easily irritated. Around 3:00 I started having regular contractions.  I decided to make dinner, because once you’re in the hospital you can’t eat anything.   Then around 5:00 my contractions were starting to get pretty close.  I still didn’t know when I should go to the hospital, so Steve went outside in the garage to work on his CNC machine and I told him I would call him when I felt like I was ready to go. 

                I kept texting my mom and Kayla because Kayla was coming down to see the birth and my mom was going to come up to watch Andrea.  At about 6:30 pm I texted that my contractions were about 5 - 10 minutes apart.  My mom called me right away and said, “Why aren’t you at the hospital?  You need to leave right now.”  My contractions were getting harder, but they still weren’t consistently 5 minutes apart and I had told myself that I would leave when the contractions got to 5 minutes apart. J  I thought about it for a minute and realized that maybe my mom was right.  I really didn’t know how fast or slow I would go once I got to the hospital, so I might as well be safe instead of sorry.  We called our neighbors, the Hickmans and dropped Andrea off at their house and headed for the hospital around 7:00.  I delivered at American Fork Hospital, so it was about a 20 minute drive to the hospital.  I am so glad we left when we did because contractions are absolutely no fun in the car!

                We got to the hospital and went to a room where they could monitor me for a little bit and check me before they actually admit you.  Kayla and Tyson actually got to the hospital about 5 minutes after we did.  That part seemed like it took forever to me, because I was ready to go to the room to have the baby. I was dialated to a 7 and 90 – 100% effaced by then.  I said, “I’m only a 7 after all the laboring I’ve already done over the past few weeks.”  The nurse said, “You’d be an 8 if I just pushed a little harder with my fingers. You’ll go really fast don’t worry.” I walked past my doctor on the way to my room.  He was already there because he had just delivered a baby.  He came and checked a few times and new that I was really close.  He told me that there was another lady that was already crowning, but she was on an epidural, so he could deliver her first or he could wait with me, because I was un-medicated  and she couldn’t feel anything.  I told him he could go and deliver her baby first.  I wanted to keep contracting until my body was ready.  Steve was there doing counter pressure the whole time, so my contractions really weren’t that bad.

                He delivered the other baby, came back and said, “If I break your water her head will press on your cervix and she will come right out.” I kept saying No, but then after he kept suggesting it I finally agreed.  I turned over and they already had the stirrups up. He broke my water and then said, “Ok, you can push whenever you are ready.”  I didn’t feel at all like I needed to push, so I just kept waiting.  I thought she might drop a little more and then I’d have that huge sensation to push like I did with Andrea.  A few minutes later the doctor said, “You can push whenever you want, what are you waiting for?  As soon as you push she’ll be here.”  I said, “I’m waiting to feel like I have to push.  So, then I decided to do little pushes for a few minutes to try and push her a little further down and hopefully that would bring on the sensation.  It helped a little bit, at least I could feel a lot more pressure.  Then I decided to just go for it and get it over with. J  I started to push hard.  Either my adrenaline was a lot stronger with Andrea and it didn’t hurt as much, or I forgot how bad it hurts, but this time around I understood why people said they hated the pushing part. I had to do a few big pushes and then finally her head came out.  I was so ready to push again and get those shoulders and the rest of her out, but the doctor yelled for me to stop.  So, I waited for a minute as he turned her shoulders just a little bit and then one last big push and she slid right out.  They handed her right to me.  She was a little purple and had a ton of dark hair.  I was so excited to see my beautiful little girl and to have done it yet again.

                Oh, the nurses were very nice to me.  They kept telling Kayla that my laboring was not normal. They said, “She is not only doing a very good job, but she is the most pleasant patient we have ever had.”  I did keep saying funny things in-between contractions.  During the pushing one of the nurses asked if I was going to have seven kids like the family that I grew up in. I said, “Yeah… (breath) maybe (breath)” then went back to pushing.   The nurse said, “Wow, if you said yes while in the middle of labor, then you’re going to have 12 kids.”  I thought that was pretty funny.

                Even though the pushing part hurt a little more this time, the contractions were a lot easier.  Maybe that’s because I knew what to expect and how to have Steve help me with counter pressure, but despite the pain, I would do it all over again and most likely will do it all over again a bunch more times just to have my beautiful children.  They most definitely are a gift from God and I feel so blessed to be able to experience pregnancy, birth, and parenthood.  I know that I have grown so much because of it.

                Rachel weighed 6 lbs. 10 oz. and was 19 in. long. She was the exact same size as Andrea!  She was born at 9:24 pm. It's a good thing we left the house when we did, because she was born 2 1/2 hours later.

 Sorry if this reveals too much, but this is the best picture we got with her just minutes after she was born.

 Rachel's First Bath

 Just before Rachel's first bath.

 All nice and clean.  Steve and I both got to go down and see her get her first bath.  They made me take a wheelchair, but I was able to stand up and watch once we got in the nursery.

 I still can't believe all of that hair.  Everyone kept commenting about it.  It was so cute and even looked frosted at the tips.

 She's so adorable!

 Her first footprints right into her baby book.

 The next morning Kayla and Tyson brought Andrea to see her new little sister.  She actually adjusted really well. She was so cute with Rachel.

 She kept staring at her knowing that she was a delicate little baby.

 She got to bring her own new baby too. Rachel gave Andrea a few accessories for her new baby doll, Maggie.

 Just before we left the hospital Steve fell asleep with Rachel in the chair. Birth takes a toll on not only the mother, but the father also. :-)

This is Rachel's first outfit on her way home from the hospital.

Tausha's 25th Birthday

Kayla and Steve planned a 25th birthday party for me.  It was absolutely perfect.  Even though I just had a baby, I was able to celebrate being a 1/4 of a century old. I earned those years. :-)

 It was so wonderful to have Shantel and Rebekah come. We are all pregnant or just had a baby in this picture.

 Andrea and Mommy play on the floor a lot so Rachel can be included.

Presents from Grandma Bentz for Mommy's birthday.

 Andrea taking pictures of Rachel with her camera.

 Look how small she was compared to the camera.

 She's already so alert.

 Now that we have church at 1:00 we have a lot more time to spend on Andrea's hair. Look how beautiful.

 Mommy was craving chocolate cookies and Andrea was a wonderful helper.

 Andrea and Rachel's first bath Together!

 Grandma Bentz made Andrea a book showing all the different stages of Andrea's life and how she can now help her sister Rachel through all of those different stages.  It was super cute because it completely focused on her, but also helped her be excited for her new sister.

 Finally the sun came out, so I took Andrea to the duck pond.

 Andrea is doing fantastic this semester in dance, so I had to take some more pictures.

 Look at her beautiful flowing arms.

 She got to go for a ride on a train.

Andrea and Matt have the same smile in this picture. :-)