Welcome Delilah!!

So I know Jonas already announced Lila's birth on here, but I figured I would post it in my own words!

I went to my dad's wedding this weekend because I just couldn't stand the thought of missing it. So, I left Shreveport for Atlanta after my doctor's appointment on Thursday afternoon. I didn't get in until 4:30 AM on Friday morning, so I spent most of Friday just resting and relaxing. Saturday morning, around 6:15, my contractions woke me up. The wedding was that night! They lasted for several hours and were consistently 5-6 minutes apart - looking back, I think I may have been in labor then but was able to postpone it because of the wedding. Anyway, after a busy day on Saturday and WONDERFUL night watching my dad get married, I knew I had to leave as soon as possible on Sunday morning.

My mom rode with me back to Shreveport from Atlanta because she didn't want me going into labor alone on the road with a toddler in the back seat. Well, we made it home without any contractions, so I was beginning to think that I would have to just wait out the rest of my pregnancy in misery.

The next morning (Monday), my mom asked me to drink Castor Oil, which has been known to start labor. I couldn't even think about it, because I have read it can make you terribly sick, so I did say that I would take a walk with her, but that would be all I would do to get things going. We drove to walk at the nearest high school, but there was construction being done so we never actually got to walk. I finally just said "Okay, let's get a sitter, go home and wake Jonas up, and just go to the hospital. I'm big and miserable, maybe the doctor's will consider doing the surgery today, even though I haven't had any contractions yet."

So, we did just that. At first, we went straight to Labor & Delivery. I put on a terrible looking face, as if I was in pain (although I wasn't), and said I was ready to have the baby. They said "Well, we don't exactly have any rooms right now. Everybody has decided to have their baby today, so we are just going to have to send you upstairs to the doctor's office for a NST to see if you're having contractions and actually in labor."

Great. I wasn't actually having contractions at this point, so I thought for sure that they would just send me home. I still went upstairs with my mom and Jonas though, just in case there was a small chance. My doctor, of course, was out of town, so I saw another doctor, Dr. Stockrider. I told her I didn't think I was going to dilate at all because I never did with Keegan. So she did a cervical check and hooked me up to the monitor to check for contractions. I was at zero centimeters dilated - completely closed. Just as they got the monitor going, the levels started going up. The nurse asked "You feeling crampy?" I said "No not really, why?" She said "Because you're having a contraction right now!" I didn't know that you could have contractions without feeling them.

15 minutes pass, the levels on the monitor going up occasionally but I could hardly even feel anything, and the doctor comes back in. "Alright, you're having a few regular contractions. Let me check your cervix again... yeah, you're dilated to two centimeters now. We're going to have this baby today!"

I was totally shocked! In 15 minutes, I had already dilated without even feeling a thing. So, we headed back down to labor and delivery and waited about 3 hours for the doctor to come down (she was going to do the surgery right after she got off work, and the work day ended at 5:00). During those 3 hours, I felt all the contractions and they were quite painful. My feet had been so swollen for DAYS at this point.

The time had finally come!! Jonas had prepared himself this time - he knew I would be having a cesarean so he had been watching videos and learning things to know exactly what would be going on so that he could watch it. Last time, he didn't know anything about c-sections, only that they would cut a big hole in my stomach, exposing everything, so he couldn't watch it then - in fact, he looked like he was going to pass out, haha.

But that was very different for me. With Keegan, I didn't know I would be having a c-section so I didn't know anything about them, other then I would have my baby afterwards. I was so exhausted from hours upon hours of contractions, medicine, and sleeplessness, so when the doctor told me I would have to have a c-section, my only thought was "You mean I'll finally be having this baby for sure?? Count me in!" This time, I had time to learn exactly what they did, and it scared me so bad. I was shivering and shaking throughout the entire wait and surgery, I was so nervous.

As soon as Lila was born, at 5:21 PM, I had an extremely intense pain in my right shoulder. I was practically screaming in pain - the anesthesiologist said it was from my uterus being out of place and that it would go away shortly. When it didn't, he gave me pain medicine, which didn't work. This pain lasted about ten minutes, and I can honest;y say I've never felt a greater pain in my life.
So there was Lila - born 18 days before her due date and 8 lbs, 8 oz. HUGE!! All ten fingers, all ten toes, a head full of hair, healthy as can be! I am so thrilled and overcome with joy - she is perfect!
And, needless to say, my mom was extremely happy that she could be there for this joyous occasion! She was very pleased that her daughter was able to fulfill her dream of traveling all that way to be there for the birth of her granddaughter.
Little toes are so precious. One thing, that you can't really tell here but maybe if I pull out both children's footprints at birth, is that Lila has very skinny and long feet, fingers, and toes. Keegan's were (and still kinda are!) short and stubby. This makes me believe that maybe Lila will be taller than Keegan (poor Keegy!). I think Keegan has my height and Delilah has Jonas's. Only time will tell!

Sweet big brother

Fun fact: Both Keegan and Delilah were born on Mondays. I wasn't released from the hospital until Thursday with Keegan, but they released me on Wednesday this time. I am thinking that it was too soon.

The first night was pretty miserable. I could hardly move, I couldn't even roll over in the bed, let alone get up to get diapers or to use the restroom. My mom left this morning so for most of the day it was just the four of us. I absolutely can't lift Keegan (I can barely lift my big newborn!) and per doctor's orders am only supposed to take care of Lila for a few weeks. So Jonas was with Keegan all day, leaving me to fend for myself with Lila.

Throughout the day I got better, but I am still in quite a bit of pain. My stomach contracting back down is pretty bad, along with cramping in the back and along my incision site. However, I am getting around much better now than I was this morning. My brother Colton and two of his friends, Michael and Ryan, got into town at around 7:00 this evening and will be here for a week to help me out. Jonas goes back to work tomorrow morning and will be working until the day of or day before the boys leave, so having them here to help me with Keegan will be so great.

Tonight is night two back at home, but my first night alone with Delilah. So far so good :) More pictures will be coming soon, along with pictures from my dad's wedding. I just have to find the time and energy first.

Delilah has her first doctor's appointment tomorrow. I think she will be getting shots, but I'm not positive. Keegan also has an appointment to get some x-rays taken because on Thursday night, on our way to Atlanta, we stopped in Tuscaloosa, Alabama, to take a break and visit a friend of mine, and Keegan managed to swallow a nickel. I don't want to freak anybody out, but I read that if he doesn't "pass it" (poop it out) on his own in three weeks, that he will need surgery to remove it because it can cause serious damage internally. I have been so worried about him, checking his diapers with no luck. The x-ray tomorrow will see where it is and we will take it from there. I will keep all my readers posted!

If you want to see pictures from Keegan's first few days, click here! Also, to compare her live pictures with her 4D ultrasound picture, you can view that here. :)

Rule #265. Don't gamble.