Hi everyone! So I know that Chubby Spin Instructor has fallen a little by the wayside in the past few weeks due to an important life event. I look at my fellow mommy bloggers and am always like "how DO they find the time to blog, take care of multiple kids, go to the gym, cook for their families and just literally stay sane?". But finally, our sweet munchkin made it into the world, a little earlier than expected, and I am finally happy to share with my blog family!
Meet Lila Evelyn "Lila Eve" Davis! She was born on June 1st, 2015 at 5:32 PM, weighing in at 4 pounds, 7 ounces. She was a teeny tiny but VERY boisterous little girl that came into the world roaring to life. And a head full of dark brown hair. And just the sweetest spirit. It was a life changing day and it's been filled with so much joy. She has her mommy and daddy wrapped around her little finger already and I literally feel like a big ball of mush when I look at her every single day. I've already cried HUGE tears on her sweet little baby head multiple times vowing to be a good mommy.
Her birth was definitely a bit of a surprise for us starting at around 34 weeks. We knew based on her gender ultrasound that she may be small due to the way the umbilical cord was attached to the placenta. But were told not to worry. Everything about my pregnancy was textbook and super easy. I gained an appropriate amount of weight. I felt so healthy and vivacious all the way through. I walked a ton and ate great. I did have debilitating heartburn and reflux, which unfortunately sent me reeling to the kitchen sink multiple times a week, but, that was to be expected. I cried in the bathroom floor vowing no more children on one particularly bad episode :) Jarrett was a trooper all the way through. We breezed into our 34 week ultrasound without a care in the world and were like "oh yay, we have 6 more weeks, everything is fine, we still have time to hang pictures in the nursery and put together her pack and play!".
WRONG.
First off, I went to that appointment on a Friday after work alone, because I just felt like everything was so routine. Jarrett was at work awaiting the normal updates. As I laid on that table watching her little sweet face on the screen, I was also side-eyeing the ultrasound tech, who had started chewing her bottom lip and saying less to me. Immediate panic set in, so I started asking her lots of questions. The size issue had reared it's ugly head again and LE wasn't growing like she was supposed to. She was weighing in around 4 lbs 8 oz. My doctor was not in the office that day, so I met with one of her partners, who then informed me that I would need weekly ultrasounds, and non stress tests due to her size, and that she was coming out at 37 weeks. Would not stay in utero until 40. I wouldn't go into normal labor like I had planned. And that I may wind up with a C section. These were all things that I had in the back of my mind as possibilities, but were totally opposite of my natural-no drugs "I can squat-press this baby out, I got this"-birth plan.
Insert shock and immediate flow of tears down face here.
I tearfully called Jarrett and started informing the parents, work contacts and close friends. Like the planner that I am, I immediately readjusted my work schedule and started going into baby prep overdrive. Each week at the doctor was like my first time there, because there was no progress with her growth and it literally was like a "keep a hospital bag in the car" scenario.
Finally at our 36 week appointment, our doctor went ahead and set our date for induction, and we had a week left as a family of 2. We checked into the hospital on Sunday May 31st to start the induction knowing she would be born sometime on June 1st. A doctor with the BIGGEST MAN HANDS (for a woman) inserted the Cervadil and I was super convinced that sent me straight into labor. No such luck. In fact, nothing happened for about 6 hours until 1 AM when I started having mild contractions for 4 hours. I didn't sleep, but Jarrett managed to. I was too excited and scared to sleep.
6 AM, out came the Cervadil, stopping all contractions. And then my doctor checked me. Not dilated at all. I was super disappointed but oh well. Plus the nurse let us know that the baby's heart rate had dipped some overnight so we knew that she may not be tolerating things well. I got a shower and put on some makeup. And then started Pitocin. The nurses started cranking that up throughout the morning. I was doing ok until they started getting stronger and closer together and I literally couldn't talk. And I immediately felt weak. In my head I was like "I squatted 155 pounds at my fittest, SURELY I can have this baby without pain meds". Nope. And to this day, I admire the ladies that can do it, because it was a trip for a few hours. Around 11 AM, I caved and went for the epidural. 30 minutes later of nakedness and talking with a really nice anesthesiologist, I was feeling like I was on cloud nine. A very tired, but very happy cloud nine. My water was broken after another exam and I laid in a pool of my own fluids for a few hours watching the fetal monitor as my sweet daughter was jolted around and continued to not tolerate labor well. Lots of nurses ran in and out of the room. I was too drugged up to feel anxious any longer but I knew that things were not great down there.
Finally around 1 PM, my doctor made the call for a C section at 4:30 PM. In hearing these words, I was already prepared in my head for this to happen, and I accepted what I knew was the safest way to get her into the world. And managed to relax and spend the last few hours with Jarrett as we knew her arrival was closer. Even in my exhausted state, I remember looking at him scared and afraid but knowing life was about to change forever. I wish I could have captured that moment in a time capsule forever. What an amazing man to stand beside me through all of what was already a long-drawn out labor and delivery. (I'm like blinking tears back while as I write that).
We FINALLY suited up for surgery around 5 PM. I felt like I was pumped full of fluids to the point that when that blood pressure cuff squeezed my arm, I thought my fingertips would explode. 15 minutes later and lots of pressure on my abdomen, Miss Lila Eve came crying into existence and that was the happiest sound of my entire life! They brought her tiny self over to us and I dissolved into a mushy, emotional first time mommy and Jarrett could not wipe the smile off his face. She was laid up on my chest for skin to skin and we snuggled while some fun activity occurred on the other side of that drape. She was teeny but measured normally elsewhere and everyone in the operating room loved her instantly too. They took her and Jarrett out and he actually spent 30 minutes with her while they closed me up. When they wheeled my bed in, he had her up against his bare chest doing skin to skin and once again, I dissolved into tears and snorty snots and was so in love with the both of them all over again. We spent as much time with her as we could that night until my sister informed the nurses that I was falling asleep holding the baby because I was so exhausted. She stayed in the nursery so we could get some rest after 24 hours of a crazy labor.
We spent 4 days in the hospital getting to know her, trying to breast feed, and getting cabin fever together. I was pretty out of it due to all of the drugs from surgery, but I spent those days learning her little queues and resting. Since she was so early, she would not latch onto me and I was immediately hooked up to a breast pump each time she fed. And then I had 3 nurses trying to shove my goodies into her tiny mouth and she just was NOT having it. We tried all sorts of contraptions and had to supplement formula, which made me die inside a little, because I was so pro-breastfeeding the entire time, but knew it may not work out (Today, after a lot of work and tears shed, I'm packing away our rental pump to return it. That's a whole other post for a different day, but I was at least able to give her some of my own milk for a month, but it wasn't enough to sustain her). I learned quickly that having your offspring ripped from your body 3 weeks early would cause you to cry or get angry at a rapid pace, so I definitely had my hospital meltdowns, but I had so many sweet friends come and visit us while we were there. If I could have skipped out of that hospital without popping my stitches, I would have.
We have settled into life at home with our sweet baby and though I'm sleep deprived and I forget to brush my teeth most days, I could not imagine life without her in it. She is a wonderful baby, she LOVES laying on her daddy's chest to fall asleep, she is spunky to be so tiny, and is gaining weight after so many attempts with breast feeding and pumping. She's a good sleeper and eater and just a beautiful, sweet soul. We've been taking her to weekly doctor's appointments so make sure she's beefing up and she's almost 6 pounds now, which is a huge milestone for us. I really could throw a party because it took some work to get her there. Next to marrying my best friend, she's the best thing I've ever done. ALL of the grandparents are super in love with her and are spoiling her already. Between all 4 of them, we've hung pictures, shelves, had multiple dinner brought our way, and been allowed to run some errands and SLEEP. We even had our first date night last night and it was amazing.
In the midst of my sweet girl arriving, my precious grandmother, Granny Price, passed away 2 days before she was born. I truly think she was trying to hold out to meet her new great granddaughter, but her tired body gave out after 95 amazing years. We gave Lila Eve her name, "Evelyn" as her middle name, and I really think that my child definitely inherited her spunk and feisty personality. She is strong like her great-Granny. Though I miss Granny and was so sad to miss her funeral, I know she was able to kiss and hold my sweet angel before she made it down to earth. And that thought gives me so much peace knowing that they were able to meet each other. What a beautiful circle of life that brought my baby to me and sent my sweet Granny onto heaven to reunite with my Grandpa and other family members.
Thank you all for letting me share her birth story. Like I mentioned before, this blog continues to evolve every time I write. I have 9 more weeks left of maternity leave so I hope to be able to write more in the coming weeks and get back to more regular posts. I've already planned some posts on living with a newborn, losing the baby weight (can you say FARMS/fat arms), and getting back to clean eating. Which surprisingly hasn't been that hard, I've taken great care of myself now that I have a little one to be my daily inspiration to be my best. And apologies in advance, but there will be a gratuitous amount of pictures of this sweet girl from now on, because she's so STINKING cute and changes every day. Much love to all of you and Chubby Spin Instructor is back! Happy Saturday!
