I was able to post a few more weekly pictures of my pregnancy with Hudsyn than I was with Barrett… but not many! Hudsyn came a little early too… and I was glad!
This picture melted my heart the night before Hudsyn was born… I didn’t realize it was our last night as a family of three. Of course, I am so happy to now be a family of four… but, we had so many fun memorable times as a family of three.
Her birth was pretty much the total opposite of Barrett’s; although there were a few similarities. I had contractions – stronger ones than the normal Braxton Hicks – pretty much all day Thursday, September 22. I started tracking them on an app on my phone about 11:30 that morning and they were about 40 minutes apart. But, for a while they were pretty much like clockwork. Then they died off a little bit… and came back. I went to Hooker with a friend to get our nails done and continued to have contractions. They were getting closer together, but I still wasn’t sure if they were the “real thing.” Noelle (my friend) was nervous that she was going to have to drive me straight to Liberal from there. Haha. But, we made it home to Guymon and Isaac and I went to bed about 10:30. He went to sleep… but I didn’t. I continued to track my contractions and they were getting stronger and more intense. At about 12:30 I woke him up and told him I thought we better head to Liberal. It took him forever to wake up … I kept having to hit him and wake him back up… I mean, seriously! Wake up! We are having a baby!! He told me later that he wasn’t awake enough to realize what I was telling him. Then, when he finally did realize what I was saying, he had a hard time comprehending. I wish I could sleep that good…. 😉
So, I called my parents to come sit with Barrett – I didn’t figure there was any reason for everyone to drive to Liberal if she wasn’t making her appearance just yet… and I was assuming that because my labor with Barrett was so long that it would be this time too.
On the way to Liberal my contractions got stronger and stronger and I was squeezing Isaac’s hand like crazy. I’m not sure it was quite the dramatic flying trip to Liberal Isaac was hoping to get to have one day, but it was more dramatic than driving over to have Barrett on a beautiful calm rainy night with no contractions or pain. Haha. We got checked in and were walked up to the OB floor – I had to stop several times on the way up for contractions. We got to room 307 (where Hudsyn was eventually born) at 1:24 a.m. Kim Chill was the nurse when I got to the hospital with Barrett and she was there when we got there with Hudsyn – so special!
They checked me and I was only at a 1 ½. Annoying! I had been a 1 earlier that week at my appointment… All these contractions for only that much progress?? Ridiculous. I was trying to decide if I should have my parents come to Liberal or not yet… so I asked if they thought I was going to have a baby tonight. Kim said she wasn’t sure; but, she didn’t think he would send me home at 2 in the morning. Isaac was trying to keep my parents posted but still be there for me… poor guy. The nurses got me hooked up to all of the monitors and I continued having stronger and stronger contractions. Then, I started feeling the urge to push… so they checked me again. I had progressed to a 3-4 within 5 or 10 minutes. Isaac let my parents know they should probably head to Liberal; but, because he is always giving my mom a hard time, she wasn’t sure if she should believe him or not. Haha. They called Meme to come over and sit with Barrett so they could come be with us. Isaac continued to text my mom so she would know what was going on… while I squeezed his hand and gave him orders. J At this point, we were apparently well on our way to having a baby!
Kim checked to see how dilated I was again and said I was an 8. She was certain that she was correct but she asked another nurse to check to be sure. The other nurse as putting in my IV at the time, so when she was done she checked. She told Kim that she was probably correct with the 8 because now I was at a 10 – complete – ready to have a baby. I asked when the epidural would be there… and was informed that I would not be getting an epidural – I would already have a baby by the time they could get there. WHAT!?!? Seriously?
The room was quickly full of people. Some were bringing in things for the baby, others bringing things for delivery… breaking down the bed I was in and preparing for me to birth our baby girl. It was a whirlwind. The nurses told me that Dr. Knudsen had been called, but he wasn’t there yet, so I should try not to push. Oh. My. Gosh. Seriously?? Impossible. I did my best… and made it the entire 25 MINUTES I had to wait for him to get there. When he did, a nurse was holding up his gown for him and he slid his arms in and came right over to me. Two pushes later Hudsyn Rae Lively was born at 2:46 a.m. on September 23, 2016. She weighed 6 pounds 4 ounces and was 19 inches long.
The first thing I heard was “we have a cleft.” I looked at Isaac like “what the heck are they talking about??” He very calmly said “her mouth, but she is fine.” I couldn’t see until I moved further up in the bed – so I still wasn’t exactly sure what was going on… I was so shocked. We were unaware that our daughter would be born with a cleft lip and palate. Apparently this is something that people typically know from their sonogram(s); but we did not. Total. Shock. If I remember correctly, I didn’t actually cry… but went through all of the motions of crying. I was so not expecting this. Of course my mind started racing… how do they fix this? Will she be okay? Does it hurt her? Will she be able to eat? And on and on and on…
They let me hold her for a minute, and then took her to get cleaned up. I never expected labor to go so quickly this time – I was exhausted! I laid there thinking about my poor baby and what the future would hold… although I really had no idea. I remember asking Dr. Knudsen if it was because of something I did? He assured me that it was not… there is really no determined cause of cleft lip and/or palate. But of course my mind continued to race…
Isaac had told my parents Hudsyn was here via text just as they were about to pull into Liberal. They got there shortly after. They had stopped to say hi to Dr. Knudsen and he told them that Hudsyn had a cleft lip and palate and I was pretty upset about it – so they came in prepared. Of course, they were just as supportive as Isaac had been and after the initial shock was over I was okay… I appreciate my parents and Isaac so much for staying calm and reassuring me that everything was going to be okay. I can only imagine how Isaac felt and the things going through his head about his baby girl… but he was calm and reassuring because he knew I needed him to be. He is the best. He is so good at being strong when I am weak. He was by my side the entire time… even when I was barking contradicting orders at him. I love that man.
It is weird how I know I was there… obviously, but it all seems like such a blur. Hudsyn’s birth isn’t as blurry as Barrett’s, but there are parts of it I totally don’t feel like I was present for. Such a weird feeling.
Soon they brought Hudsyn back to us and we all got to snuggle her. At this point it was just my parents and Isaac and I. I’m not really sure what we did other than snuggle our sweet new baby and talk until about 7 when we felt like it was appropriate to start messaging people letting them know she was here!
Then, a little later in the day, Meme and Pa brought Barrett over to meet his new baby sister – and it couldn’t have gone better. I was so nervous that he was going to be super jealous or resentful of her – but he loved her! I was SO relieved. Of course, then he got jacked up and a little wild with his new big brother toys… but what would you expect from a spoiled 2 year old little boy??
Since it went so quick this time we didn’t get any “before” pictures. We got a few after – but everything was such a whirlwind.
Hudsyn and mommy’s first picture together
Holy moly I was swollen…
Her hair looks so strawberry-blondish here..
Time for her first bath
Kim washed her hair in the sink and she LOVED it. She was so relaxed…
Then she sang her “Happy Birthday” – it was the sweetest thing!!
All cleaned up!
Big brother needed some mommy time.
Barrett needed to “hode her.” He’s the best big brother!
I know that God has a plan in all of this – I don’t know what it is right now – but I am certain that someday I will. The entire situation has already made Isaac and I stronger and I know that we will continue to grow and learn from this. And our baby girl will be so strong – she will have to!