looking back...

malerie was asking about my history of pre-term labor, so i thought i'd backtrack and review said accounts a little bit.  it's crazy to think they ever happened.  the first experience (in 2006) was the only serious one, and even then things turned out rather well.  in this first picture i am 33 weeks along.  this was my second visit to tri-city hospital, my first being two weeks before.  i had previously been admitted to the hospital by my doctor, gerald white, md. due to early spotting.  he sent me to the hospital to be monitored to see if i was contracting.  i happened to be contracting quite a bit so i was given terbutaline pills and the lovely betamethasone shot (in my rear).  the pills are to stop contractions and the shot to help develop the baby's lungs, should they be born early. 

after being in the hospital for about five to six days the hospital/my doctor decided to send me home, still on strict bedrest. 

so i went home, staying down for about three days.  then one morning i got up to use the restroom.  after doing so i returned to my doomed futon/bed/seat/couch/bedrest area.  upon sitting down, i felt a small pop.  i stood up slightly and a little bit of water came out.  the more i tried to walk or do anything more came out.  luckily my mom was there and stephen was only a minute away (at school).  we called him to come home, cause i needed to go back to the hospital.  off we went!

after being re-admitted to the hospital i was hooked up to an iv with antibiotics (to try and keep infection away).  i was at the hospital three days after my water broke, and then...around ten or eleven at night the contractions were starting to get consistent and stronger.  i was in labor!

roughly six hours later sienna jo baker was born, weighing in at 4lbs, 1oz and was 16 inches long.  she was breathing pretty well on her own, amazingly.  this bottom picture is me just an hour after birth.  i remember feeling completely at peace and so relieved that all that drama was over.  i was remember that apple juice they gave me to drink tasted like the most expensive and delicious thing in the world. 

sienna was whisked away to the nicu where she stayed for three weeks.  she was just a small little thing that needed to gain some weight and needed to learn how to eat, breathe and suck at the same time.  once she completed those things, she got to come home. 

i pumped those three long weeks and was lucky enough to get two bad breast infections.  those are miserable!!

~fast forward thirteen months~

i was pregnant with our second daughter.  i had spotting (yet again) at 28 weeks and was sent to scripps encinitas by my awesome obg, robert biter, md to be monitored (considering my history).  i was contracting, but not much.  hours later i was sent home on strict bedrest.  after a week i was put on partial bedrest (which honestly really freaked me out considering what happened with sienna, but i did it anyway).  every time i contracted i would lay down.  

~fast forward three more months~

i was sure looked out for in many ways, because little miss chloe wasn't born until three days before her due date, coming all on her own.  after eighteen hours of grueling natural (bradley method) labor i finally arrived at a ten!  i pushed for three hours (without having a real urge to push...which i knew was not right) and had no progress.  at this point i was completely exhausted and apparently my heart rate was a little too high.  so i consented to have an epidural (after all that!).  right as they're in the middle of giving me the epidural did i have the urge to push....ugh.  

after resting for about thirty minutes dr. biter came in and had me push some more, this time with him helping guide chloe down the canal.  every time i pushed she would descend and he would guide her down the middle (for some reason she was staying on the right side of my belly).  inbetween pushes she'd go right back up there.  lack of progress for sure.  i pushed for another hour and we were all tired and not sure what to do.  

after some serious consideration and prayer, stephen and i decided that it would be best at this point to do a cesarean (boo).  definitely not my first choice, but i'm grateful that both chloe and i were healthy and safe and doing well. 

the cute little stinker, miss chloe eve baker was born weighing in at 8lbs 6oz and 21 inches long.  more than double sienna's size!  she came out with thick, dark brown hair...later growing in totally blonde. 

look at that conehead!  i love that she already has rolls on her arms too.

chloe with dr. biter. 

this third time around things have been going so smoothly.  i'm so grateful that i'm healthier in this pregnancy than ever.  i actually eat healthy food (as opposed to my other pregnancies, i ate whatever).  i also exercise a little bit, mainly walking fast.  i'm also sure to do my kegel exercises and to do yoga whenever possible.  

feelin' good!

so there it is...a little long-winded.