Today my sweet “baby”
turns TWO! It’s amazing how time flies
when you have kids. However, it does
feel like just yesterday I gave birth to her and she was placed in my arms for
the first time. Tears me up thinking
about it! Lakelyn has been the greatest
blessing for both Luke and I and we can’t imagine her not in our lives.
I felt like
today would be the best day to post her birth story since I never have before.
Happy Birthday
Lakelyn Olivia! Mommy and Daddy love you
so much!!
Your dad and I
found out on March 14th, 2011 that we were expecting. Both your dad and I were very
surprised. After the initial shock we
were both really happy and knew that everything happens for a reason. We didn't get to see the doctor until May to
confirm that mommy was pregnant. When
both your dad and I went to the first appointment, we were very nervous, but we
got to hear your heart beat and that was so amazing, I almost cried. Once we heard your heart beat it immediately
set in that you were real in there and our lives were going to be changed
forever. Both your dad and I were so
excited and couldn't wait to tell our parents.
We told our parents and siblings first and then we told our
friends. Everyone was so excited for us!
I had a very
easy pregnancy. I only got sick once and
I think it was because I hadn't eaten when I took my vitamins. I gained weight slowly and went on with life
as if I wasn't pregnant. I was very
lucky to have such an easy pregnancy. I
only went home "sick" one day from work while I was pregnant with you
and I think it was more because I was getting a cold then pregnancy
related. I had an anterior placenta so I
didn't feel you move until later than most moms feel their babies kick. As you got bigger I felt you kick and move
around more. Your dad was a great
support person the whole time I was pregnant with you. At around 35 weeks I was ready to meet you
and was beginning to get anxious. Your
dad and I started walking more and I bounced on a ball to try and get you out
into this world. I had read online that
acupuncture worked for some women to make them go into labor. On November 17th I went to see a doctor who
could perform acupuncture to help induce labor.
He told me that he had seen a woman the week before and she went into
labor on her way home after seeing him.
This isn't something I would typically do but was desperate to have you
soon. Plus your dad and I wanted to have
you before Thanksgiving so you could meet your grandparents and be able to
travel to their house for your first Thanksgiving.
That night I
woke up at 11:50pm to go to the restroom and after I walked out of the bathroom
my water broke. I stood there for a
minute and your dad asked if I was okay.
I told him I either peed my pants or my water just broke. He asked if I was sure and my water continued
to pour out of me and so we knew it was time.
I got in the shower and took my time getting ready. Daddy was very anxious to get to the
hospital. After we got everything around
and finished getting ready we left to go to the hospital. We got to the hospital at 1:50am on November
18th, 2011. The hospital checked me in
and confirmed that my water had broken and I was dilated to 2 centimeters. Your dad and I waited until we got into our
labor room to call our parents to tell them you would be coming soon. I called grandma and grandpa Larkin at
3:30am. I told them to take their time
but wanted to let them know I was in the hospital and we were going to have
you. Of course they were so excited that
they left immediately and were to the hospital by 6:30am! Daddy called grandma and grandpa Loewen and
told them the news. They had gone to the
Lake the night before so they were 4 hrs away.
They had to get the Lake house ready for the winter and then left to
come and see you.
Once we were
moved to our labor room it was a waiting game to see when you would be making
your arrival. Time seemed to go by so
slowly and I progressed with you slowly.
The contractions began to get stronger and the pain was increasing. At
12pm I got an epidural and the pain immediately began to get better. At 4pm I told the nurse I was feeling a lot
of pressure and wanted to know if they could increase my epidural. The nurse had forgotten to give me the button
for the pain medicine but after she checked me I was 8 centimeters dilated and
it was time to push. We were so excited
because we knew we would be getting to meet you soon! When the doctor arrived I began to push. After 2hrs of pushing and no luck of you
coming out, I was exhausted! After
several pushes later the doctor told us she could see your head and you had
lots of hair. Your dad looked and saw
your hair and that was motivation for me to get you out. But after several more pushes with no luck my
doctor had another doctor come in and they decided they wanted to try and get
you out with suction. We were told there
were serious risks of using the suction and this scared both your dad and I. Your dad asked if this was safer than having
a c-section and the doctor said a c-section was not needed and that this is
what we were going to do. We were told
by the doctor that we only had 3 chances to get you out with the suction. We anxiously worked through three tries with
the suction but they didn't work. After
the tries to get you out with the suction and no success we were so worried.
I thought I
couldn't go on any more, but the doctor told us I had to keep going and you
would be coming out normal. After
another 45 minutes of pushing, you were finally born. I pushed for 4 hours straight just to see
you! Once you were out, I was so
relieved to see you and hear your voice even though you were crying. Your dad and I were so happy and instantly
fell in love with you. You were born
November 18th, 2011 at 8:33pm. You were
20 3/4 inches and weighed 8lbs 3oz.
After the nurses
cleaned you up and checked you, we were able to let everyone in to see
you. So many people came to see you and everyone
was so excited. Grandma and Grandpa
Larkin, Great grandma and grandpa Fisher, Uncle Gibson, Uncle Nick and Jenny,
Grandpa and Step Grandma Hinerman, and Grandma and Grandpa Loewen were present
the night you were born and all got to hold you. You were so sweet daddy and I couldn't
contain how excited we were to have you safely in our arms. Once everyone left we were all moved to a
post partum room and tried to get some sleep. The next morning came very early
and doctors came in and out all morning checking on both you and I. You were doing great and passing all the
tests that were being ran. You did
however have some jaundice and they wanted to place you under lights to make
that go away. I was in a lot of pain and
needed daddy's help getting around. Your
daddy got to change your first diaper and said it looked like you had pooped
sticky black tar! Lots of friends and
family came by to see you. The hospital
came by in the afternoon and had your first professional pictures taken. We put you in an outfit with your name on it
that Grandma Vicky had bought you. Your
dad and I thought you were the prettiest baby we had ever seen. Your daddy could not get over how pretty you
were and loved holding you!
The next day we
had a scare. Daddy noticed that when you
were sleeping that your whole body would tense up every 30 seconds and it was
very rhythmic. We had the doctor come
and look at you. They took you to the
nursery to run some tests. Both your dad
and I were very scared and didn't know what to think. The doctor soon brought you back and said
that they ran some tests and everything was normal. Your dad and I were not happy with the answer
since you were still doing this and it didn't feel normal to us. Your dad and I were worried because what we
read online looked like you may be having seizures and thought something may
have happened because of the suction they used on your head and it not
working. The hospital had the head nurse
from the neonatal unit come down and see you and then talk to us. She told us she thought you were fine but if
we wanted to run some more tests we could but it was our choice. Of course we wanted to make sure you were
okay so we went forward with the test.
They hooked your brain up to an EEKG machine to watch your brain waves;
they also put you under the blue lights for your jaundice. They told us they were going to hook you up
over night for 12hrs and then look at the results. You were transferred down to the NICU and
hooked up. Your daddy and I came to see
you as soon as we could. When we got
there you were hooked up to the machine and still doing your twitches. We were so worried for you. We saw you every 2 hrs until morning
time. Each time we saw you the nurse
told us that you looked normal and couldn't see anything abnormal. This made your dad and I so hopeful that
everything would turn out okay. In the
morning we went to see you after a group of doctors got together to review your
test results. We were told that
everything looked normal and you could come home!
Your dad and I were so excited! We were so happy to know what you were
healthy and we got to take you home.
While the nurse got you ready to go home daddy and I got ready to
leave. Daddy packed the car and then we
came to get you to buckle you into your car seat and take you home!
Once we got you
home we were so unbelievably happy. We
couldn't get enough cuddle time with you and we took so many pictures!
