Birth Story- Kinleigh Lynn Dearing

It's been 2 weeks since my world changed forever. I'm finally starting to get some normalcy around here so that I don't feel guilty about playing on the computer a bit. I don't want to forget the details...here is the story of Kinleigh's birthday!

We arrived at the hospital (January 7th) around 6am to start the induction. The nurses let us into our room, but we couldn't get started until about 7:15 because another induction had progressed really quickly and the hospital was short staffed. It took about 30 minutes for the pitocin to kick in and contractions to start. I was at a 1.5cm when I arrived, which was assuredly an "okay" starting point.

I had already planned on getting an epidural at a certain point, but I wanted to wait until I was progressed pretty far. For the next 6 hours, I walked laps, sat on the birthing ball, moved around, etc. The contractions started getting pretty strong, and I was SURE I was progressing quite nicely. Around 1:30pm, the doctor checked me, and....I was a 2. I was so frustrated and starting to think that the induction wasn't going to work. The doctor had to wait until I was between a 3 and 4 to break my water due to a weird angle with my cervix. I didn't know how much longer I was going to have to wait, and felt a little defeated. Justin gave me his best Coach Taylor pep talk (too many Friday Night Lights episodes the week before) and we just kept at it.

Me pretending I'm giving birth on the ball. I'm a weirdo. Don't judge.

Around 3:30, they checked me again, and I was at a 3. The doctor broke my water (OWWW) and the contractions immediately intensified. Again, OOWWWW. I opted to get the epidural---I didn't want to chance a quick progression and miss my window to get it. The first time he put it in, only half of my body went numb. I will tell you that the hardest part of that entire labor process was sitting bunched in a ball while my contractions were piggybacking and I felt like puking. The actual epidural was not near as scary or bad as I thought.

The epidural kicked in around 4:00 and it was sweet relief. I applaud anyone who goes natural, because I can't imagine not having the drugs. They checked me at a 4.5, then I took an hour nap. When I woke up, I felt some kind of strange pressure. The nurse checked me again, looked up at me, then said "So...we are having this baby now!!!" I had progressed to a 10 during my nap!

Suddenly, everything got crazy. People were coming in left and right, equipment was being wheeled in, and I was being taught how to push. I had no idea what to expect, and couldn't really feel much. From the first push, my sister saw Kinleigh's head, which motivated me to go into "Get this baby out now" mode. 15 minutes later, my girl was born.

I bawled like a baby. Justin lost it. My sister was sobbing while taking pictures. We were all just a mess. From the second they place Kinleigh on my chest, I knew my life would not be the same. Justin got to learn lots of fun things about her while the doctor stitched me up. We are so in love with our little girl!!!

Thank you to everyone who has called, texted, dropped by, etc. We feel so loved and supported. We couldn't do this without you!

The Waiting

Well, our doctor's visits have shown lots of fluid improvement. Kinleigh is still rolling around in there, and for the time being we have to just wait. Our official induction date is January 7th at 6 am. Because I hit 39 weeks next Saturday, they wouldn't induce me a day before, and evidently they don't induce on a weekend. So, yay.

I confess that I am very conflicted emotionally right now. Ever since they brought up the problem with the fluid, I just want her to be born so that I can see her and know that she is okay. I have this huge fear that something is going to go wrong inside of me and I won't have any clue or idea. I was so sure that she was going to come at any time! I got all of my to do list taken care of, and now I have nothing to do but sit around and watch the clock, thinking each little cramp or jab could be a contraction.

I am also nervous about delivering a huge baby. If the estimate is correct, then she probably weighs over 8 lbs by now. I'm 37 weeks 6 days as of right this second, so if she goes all the way then it's likely she could be 10 lbs!!! That is scary, people!

All that to say, the main thing is that she is healthy. I'm trying my best to surrender that whole need to control the situation to God and just let Him take care of my baby girl. She will come when she is ready. I know this. I just can't wait to meet her!!!

Counting Down the Days!!

Dear Kinleigh,

 Words cannot express how ready your daddy and I are to meet you. We went and saw you for the last time on Monday when I was 36 weeks along, one week from being full term! They said that your head was measuring almost 40 weeks in size, and that you probably already weigh 7.3 lbs!!! Girl...stop drinking all that fluid! No wonder it feels like I'm carrying a bowling ball inside. It looks as though there is a possibility that we might be meeting you sooner than we thought. The doctor told us that you don't have alot of stuff to swim around in, and that we need to go back on Friday and see if there was an increase. If there isn't, we might be meeting you this weekend. Woah.

 Needless to say, things have been pretty crazy around here trying to get ready for your arrival. I stopped working last week, and had to take care of Daddy because he was puking his guts out. Your Memaw came over yesterday and today to help me get your room ready, and we had the house cleaned from top to bottom so that you can come home to a clean house. I know it's silly, but I just want things to be perfect for you. You have no idea how much you already mean to us. You respond to your daddy's voice and start kicking up a storm when he talks to you and puts his hand on my tummy. I can see your elbow, bottom, feet, etc. literally pushing against my stomach. It looks crazy! I want to know everything about you...what you look like, your little personality...I can't wait to hold you and stare into your sweet face. I want you to be as healthy as possible. So, whenever you are ready to come see us, please hurry!!! I love you little girl.

 -Mommy

I never blog EVER.

So, I had originally planned on being super cute and blogging letters to my baby, pregnancy stats, etc. Well that hasn't worked out. 20 weeks after I started the blog and I've done nothing. I am now 33 weeks and life is CRAZY. Here are the high points:
 -We are having a girl.
 -Her name is Kinleigh Lynn Dearing and she will be presh.
 -I have gained a bazillion pounds.
 -I have had 2 showers so far, and I just feel so appreciated and loved! Kinleigh's room is coming together.
 -Since this summer, we have all but renovated our house. It actually is looking more and more like a home, and less like a storage closet! A garage sale helped this come to be. I think the best part about being pregnant is seeing Justin get ready to be a dad. It's like he was born to do this. The way he cares about our baby makes me love him that much more. It has been a really long road, but in 4 short weeks I will be full term and then we can count down till baby time!

 The hardest part, besides just the physicality of it, has been my hormones and just some of the life changes that have already taken place. It's kind of scary not knowing how I will react to certain things that happen. I cry a lot and am often in a funk. I'm super happy but just out of control of my emotions. All of this has affected us being social...we have had to just concentrate on keeping each other sane, keeping the baby healthy, and working. I feel like we have become super introverts...but hopefully the people in our lives understand. When Kinleigh is born, I promise we will be more available (as long as you don't mind a carseat full of baby dragged along). Closing this post out will be my countdown till I'm done working for a LONG time! 19 more work days until Christmas break/maternity leave. Lord, please let this work time fly by!!!!

Things are Changing...

I've decided to start a new blog for family and well, more personal, updates. We have been on a huge roller coaster this year. Justin and I got married in June of last year, and swore up and down we wouldn't even think of starting a family until a year later. Well, of course, plans never go how you think, and only months later we were feeling that "pang." Thus began the ups and downs of trying to have a baby. I now know way too much about ovulation, schedules, hopes, loss, grief, and renewal. Finally, in early May, I went to the doctor because I had ridiculous fever and coughing. The doctor was recording my stats, notice a lack of a monthly friend in my life, and suggested I "take the test." Justin bought one and I stared at it for about an hour before I finally caved. It took about .5 seconds for the test to look like this:

Needless to say, we were shocked anxious freaking out super excited! It was really difficult to keep it under wraps, but we kept our news secret until we got a heartbeat from the doctor and a scan of this little marshmallow, due January 12:

Let's fast forward several weeks...I'm now 13 weeks along and feeling like it's taken me forever to process having this baby. I'm finally at a place where I can confidently take belly pictures, write blog updates, etc. So here we go! Follow me as we start this crazy adventure together.