Saturday, January 31, 2015

Ian's Birth Story

I love having this blog as a record of my life. Today's post will likely be one of my absolute favorites. Just like I've reread Isaac's birth story about 100 times, I will have this typed out to read and relive over and over and over again. First, I've got to get all the details down before my brain gets murky. Sometime soon, I hope to post a blog of the pictures that our birth photographer took... they are seriously amazing.

Before I can tell you about the day Ian was born, I've got to include the few days leading up to birth day, because the lead up is pretty important. See, originally, I had planned to have a baby on January 26. It was a great plan. My sister would be here in town and wanted to be at the delivery, so not only would we have an extra set of hands, but she could actually be at the hospital when Ian arrived (Casey was in Haiti when Isaac was born). All of the troops (my doctor, CRNA, and nurses) were aware of my grand plan. It was a great plan.

And obviously things didn't exactly happen that way.

I went to my 39 week appointment on Tuesday morning (1/20) feeling no different than I had at most of my previous appointments. Four days earlier, I'd seen my doc at a 38 week appointment and was informed that I was already 3cm dilated (but funneling), 50% effaced, and the baby was floating around -2 to -1 station. Between this appointment and my 39 week appointment, I spent a long weekend at home, resting, napping, and not contracting... because remember, I wanted to stay pregnant until the 26th. So imagine my surprise when I saw Dr. Canterbury on Tuesday morning and my cervix had changed. I had been keeping track of my blood pressures at home, which were a little bit higher than my normal. I'd lost 3 pounds in 4 days and was feeling a lot more low pressure. All signs were pointing to baby.

And then my doc says, "lets have a baby tomorrow."

And then I cried. Cried in the office. Cried on the phone. Went back to work and cried at the nurse's station, the break room, the locker room... I wasn't mentally prepared to have a baby. I had to mourn the loss of my big plans. I had to mourn the loss of my one kid life. Oh my gosh, what was I going to do with my 2 year old?!? Who would take care of him while I was in the hospital?!? Plus, it would be Wednesday, so who would lead youth worship?!? So many questions to answer and so little time. My charge nurse was gracious enough to let me go home from work early so that I could get all my ducks in a row before coming back at 5:30 the next morning. I was thankful to have an afternoon to spend with my little boy. The weather was beautiful, so we went to the park until Dad got home and then we all went out to eat as a family of 3.

Very early the next morning, Jordan and I woke up, loaded our bags, drove into Corpus Christi, and walked up the back stairs through the staff entrance to L&D. The weather was terrible that morning. A cold front was just beginning to blow in and it was very foggy and misting rain. My dear friend and coworker, Bobi Jo was already there getting my room stocked and ready to go. I was a total bundle of nerves... I told her to disregard my blood pressures for a little while! I changed into my gown and was put on the monitor. Bobi Jo started my IV and shortly thereafter, started some pitocin. Once she was finished and my lab work had been drawn (with a high white cell count! Its likely that I wouldnt have been pregnant much longer regardless of intervention!), I took a few minutes to put on a little makeup and tried to relax. It was a little after 6am.

Nothing much happened between 6am and 8:30 other than lots of non-painful contractions. It was just like my labor with Isaac. I could always tell when I was having contractions, but they were never painful. At 8:30, Dr. Canterbury came by and broke my water. My cervix had not changed any further since being checked in the office 24 hours earlier. The fluid was clear (yay!) and the uncontrollable gushing was just as disgusting as I remembered. Because it was a busy day on the unit, I went ahead and asked for my epidural, knowing that there'd be a little wait time involved. I still wasn't hurting, but wanted to make sure and get it before the big time contractions really kicked in. About an hour later, I was sitting up for my epidural. Dirk did an amazing job once again... totally painless, just some strange pressure and sensations during the procedure. Before long I was getting heavy and numb, with the exception of still feeling pressure with each contraction. This was strange, because it was exactly what I was feeling before my epidural was placed. A quick touch to my stomach or legs confirmed that my epidural was indeed working, but I was feeling some pretty substantial pressure with every contraction.

After giving it a little time (and getting a touch more medication), the epidural seemed to take effect and I was only feeling pressure with every third or fourth contraction. It was about 10am and I was 4-5cm. Not a whole lot of change yet from early in the morning and I wondered if this would actually be another long labor like Isaac's. Jordan's parents had arrived by this point and we sat around and chatted for a little while. I needed a lot of help to move around, but Bobi Jo was awesome at making sure I was 100% comfortable. Shortly thereafter, I started feeling more pressure again. I was not interested in being any more numb, so I just shrugged off the occasional discomfort. Then I started noticing on the monitor some little variables (dips) in the baby's heart rate. Something was happening. It was about 11:30 or so at this point and Jordan's parents were talking about going to get lunch... and all I could think was that they needed to leave SOON. The baby was definitely on the way. I tried to play off the growing pressure, but as soon as they were out the door, Bobi Jo was in the room to check my cervix. I was 7-8cm! It was around noon at this point. She said the baby was still high and that I had a lot more cervix on one side, so she flipped me over (we L&D nurses like to call it the multip-flip. Works every time.). Within the next 2-3 contractions, I felt like I needed to push. Bobi Jo was hurriedly setting up my room for delivery and calling all the people who needed to come. Dr. Canterbury was in the hospital, but the charge nurse was in a meeting and my nursery nurse was on her way to the hospital. Just as I am really starting to have to breathe with my contractions to keep from pushing, my boss walks through the door.

Talk about poor timing.

She seemed perfectly oblivious to my discomfort (which was still not painful, just that overwhelming urge to push), and decided to make small talk while I was panting through my contractions. I couldn't very well tell my boss to get out of my room, so I attempted to make small talk as well... and I probably did a very poor job. As soon as she made her exit, Bobi Jo was back to check my cervix again. I was 10cm dilated and the baby was low enough to nearly see the hair color. It had barely been four hours since my water was broken. We were still waiting on the delivery team to arrive, so she turned my pitocin off and I continued to breathe & blow my way through contractions, although I could feel the baby getting lower and lower with each one. Bobi Jo called Beverly (the nursery nurse) and told her to come straight to the room, don't even change into scrubs!

After what seemed like an eternity, everyone was at the bedside. Dr. Canterbury was there along with Bobi Jo, Edie, and Beverly. Somewhere along the way, we added Annabelle and Kendra too. I was surrounded by the people I love most, many of whom were also there for Isaac's birth. I was put into stirrups and prepped for delivery... and I was more than ready to push at that point.

Three short contractions later, HE was born.

The baby I'd prayed over and dreamed of and loved from the very beginning was here. And it was a boy!!!!!!

Before I could see him, Jordan announced to the whole room that it was indeed a boy! Ian Michael had arrived at 12:52pm and I was absolutely overcome with joy. I don't think there was a dry eye in the entire room, and through my own tears I saw and held my little boy for the first time. Jordan cut the cord and we both marveled at our little brother.... and he was certainly little!

After delivering a 9+ pound Isaac the first time around, we were more than shocked to learn that Ian weighed in at a very normal 7 pounds and 4 ounces. He was 20 inches long and absolutely perfect. He had long arms, big hands and feet, kissable lips, and a sprinkling of light brown hair. He was beautiful and I was instantly in love. I know it sounds cliche'd, but it was as if he had always been a part of my life and our family. Despite leaving the gender a mystery until birth, of course it was Ian... it had always been Ian.

Once again, the Lord answered the prayers of my heart, just in ways that didn't necessarily make sense at the time. He knew exactly what I needed, who I needed, and when I needed things to happen.   It didn't look anything like the grand plan that I had in mind; it was better and sweeter and bursting with evidence of God's provision for our family. We are so richly blessed and thankful for our sweet Ian.

Wednesday, January 28, 2015

Ian: 1 Week Old

At this time a week ago, my legs were still heavy from my epidural, but our little boy had made his speedy entrance. I'm working out his birth story in my foggy brain, and hoping to get it down very soon. In the meantime, I'm wondering where the last week has gone.
Just a few hours old
Doing what he does best... sleeping!
A brief bright-eyed moment
Funny Faces
Life has really been sweet. I had forgotten how wonderfully dreamy those newborn days were. All the snuggles and smells are divine. I'm trying to be mindful of my fleeting time with Ian being this tiny, even if our little moments are while the rest of the house is dark and quiet. I've learned that Ian loves cuddling and snuggles, nursing, and sleeping. Shockingly, he's not a fan of diaper changes or burping.

We've survived our first visit to the pediatrician and little brother passed with flying colors. Not only has he already regained his birth weight, he even gained an additional 3oz by day 5 of life, putting him at 7lb 7oz. This is a pretty huge deal, considering Isaac had lost almost an entire pound by day 5. Even though Ian was TWO POUNDS smaller than Isaac at birth, he has very long arms and huge hands and feet. I wonder if he will catch up to his brother one day soon. The similarities don't end there; I see a lot of Isaac in Ian... same lips and chin, same large eyes, some similar facial expressions... what do you think??
Isaac is the top photo and Ian is the bottom (sorry for the repeat!)

Tuesday, January 27, 2015

It's a Boy!!!


Introducing
Ian Michael Mims

Born January 21, 2015 at 12:52pm
7lb 4oz   20in long

We are all happy and healthy and blissfully in love with this little boy. I cant wait to share all the details of his incredible arrival. For now, I'm drinking in every little moment of sweetness and praising God for His incredible blessing.

Tuesday, January 13, 2015

Baby Shower Number Two for Baby "Nims" Number Two

I love my coworkers.


For real. They are the greatest group of strong, intelligent, sassy, loving, compassionate, real, hard-working women that I know. The world of nursing is a funny one... everyone seems to know a nurse, has a cousin or a neighbor who's a nurse, or at the least has interacted with a nurse at some point in their life. Working as a nurse is complex, tiring, difficult, sometimes heart-breaking, and often extremely gratifying. I consider my nurse coworkers to be like a second family. The nature of our occupation makes it impossible not to become close friends. We work in close proximity for 12 hours at a time and rely on each other in stressful, busy situations. When one of us stumbles, we all join together in big ways to help out.

In short, I love my coworkers.

They never cease to amaze me. And most recently, surprised me all over again with an incredible shower for baby #2. I have insisted for the last several months that we didn't need anything for baby #2, that we had all of our "gear" still from Isaac. Despite this, these ladies rallied around me and literally showered me with incredible things. I am so very very humbled and thankful.


Funniest cake ever. Notice the spelling error! This made me laugh until I thought my water was going to break! The sweet coworker who ordered it insists that she corrected the spelling multiple times and in the end, it still came out wrong! So stinking funny. And it has stuck! Word of the blunder has spread throughout women's services and this baby is now lovingly referred to as Nims by anyone and everyone I know at work. I honestly love this and couldn't be more tickled to have such a great little nickname and story to tell this baby when he/she is older.






 The goods! This isn't even all of it... didn't I tell you I was totally humbled by the outpouring of love (in the form of diapers, wipes, and other baby necessities.) THEN, as if that weren't already enough, these ladies pooled together and bought us a gift certificate for birth photography! Love!!! I just get a little misty-eyed thinking about the memories that will be captured... this baby's first moments, our reaction to this sweet little surprise, and most of all, the time when Isaac meets his little brother or sister for the very first time. This isn't something that I would've ever chosen to spend money on myself, so I'm extremely grateful that my L&D family would do something so thoughtful.




The greatest CRNA ever.


The greatest CRNA ever plus the two day shift preggos.


The cake was DELICIOUS by the way. Luckily, I went in for my 37wk appt & weigh in BEFORE the party! Haha!


I can't thank these ladies enough for the ways that they love on me, Jordan, Isaac, and Nims! I must get working on the dozens of thank you cards... pronto!!!

Monday, January 12, 2015

38 Week Update

We are officially on baby watch! I'm 2 weeks away from my due date and ready to go. I've knocked a lot of things off of my 35/35 list and am essentially only "waiting" until our family gets into town. And by "waiting," I mean keeping fingers and legs crossed as long as I can! Either way though, I can't wait to meet this baby!!!! I guess I can go ahead and make my own predictions, although I fully anticipate being just as wrong this time as I was with Isaac. I was certain that Isaac was a girl and that "she" was around the 8 pound mark.... and then 9lb 6oz Isaac comes out and shocks us all. This time around, I think I'm having another boy and that this baby won't be as big as brother Isaac.

We will find out soon!

I got this shot with my sweet high school small group girls after Sunday School. Check out that bump action!
Total Weight Gain: I've exceeded thirty pounds. Insert crying emoji.

Fetal Size: Full size baby. If this baby comes close to Isaac's size, it's already in the 8 & 1/2 pound range. But like I said earlier, I don't feel quite as "big" this time around as I did when I was pregnant with Isaac.

Movements: Lots and lots of movements all day long, much of which feels L-O-W. My fundal height had dropped at this weeks appointment, and I can totally understand why!

Symptoms: I've been battling a cold all week which has overshadowed any pregnancy-related complaint. Other than that, all the typical 38 week feelings are there: some occasional contractions, insomnia, fatigue, etc. Some days I'm starving and some days I can't fit more than a bite or two in my stomach. Some days I feel like I pee every 15 minutes. By the end of a 12 hour shift, I can no longer see my ankle bones for all the swelling. Nothing too exciting or terrible.

Gender: A surprise!!! We have names picked out for either sex: Ian Michael or Natalie Anne. Just like Isaac's middle name is a family name, both Michael & Anne are family names. Ian is the scottish variant of John, which means "God is gracious," so my husband gets to fulfill his desire for a meaningful, Biblical boy's name (just like Isaac). And then we just like the name Natalie. For no fancy reason other than we just plain like it. Ha!

Cravings: Nothing in particular, although cheese usually always sounds good.

Aversions: Ugh. Water. I try to keep up with the amount of water I should drink each day and it's getting SO old. Not only that, my heartburn/reflux seems to get worse with a stomach full of water. Oh well, bottoms up!

Next Up: If I don't deliver in the next few days, I have some last-minute appointments to take care of. Also, my doctor will check my cervix on Friday. Also, my GBS swab last week was negative! Hurray!


Wednesday, January 7, 2015

My Firstborn

It seems like the blog has seen its share of pregnancy related posts. And with good reason; at 37 weeks along now, it feels like my entire world kind of revolves around this coming baby.

With the exception of my firstborn.

I thought i'd spend a little time updating the world on my sweet Isaac. For at least a few more weeks, he's still one of my very favorite subjects to talk about.... and something tells me that's not ever going to change.
Making funny faces in the tub.... 
...and on the couch!
First off, Isaac is a chatterbox. There's very little time during the day where he isnt trying to talk about what's going on in his world. He constantly surprises me with his expansive vocabulary as well as his perception of the world. Oh, and he has this incredible little memory! It's becoming harder and harder to talk about him without talking in "code." I just love how expressive and verbal he is though! He has a lot to say! And in true boy style, he can have entire conversations that consist solely of growls and roars... like tigers, monsters, dinosaurs, and sharks.

Bet you didn't know sharks say "Rawr!"

Isaac loves cars (the movie and the matchbox variety) and Curious George. Occasionally he will tolerate Veggie Tales, Monsters, Inc., and Toy Story. He could "pway cars" all day long. Recently, he has started insisting on napping and sleeping with some of his cars. We compromise by setting his cars along his side table and chest, so they can "watch him sleep"... because he also insists on having a hoard of stuffed animals and blankets in his bed. He is hilarious.

Going along with bedtime related things, I wake up each morning hearing him on the monitor saying, "Moooommmmmmyyyyyy! ....ARE YOU?!?! Moommmmmm ....ARE YOU?! (Where are you?)" It's so sweet and silly and funny. He stays in bed until I open his door, and he'll greet me with a "Hey Mom!" and then rocket out of bed.

Annnnnd he's also two. Which has really started to rear it's stubborn, loud, tantrumy, ugly head. For so much of the time, he is sweet and funny and a big helper. Then there are moments where he makes me want to bang my head against a wall. Parenting a toddler is such a mind game, and it is emotionally draining! Some days are tough and I just pray that consistency, discipline, love, and a lot of chocolate will get me through the difficult days.

He loves bath time more than most any other time of the day. Often times, more water ends up outside the tub than in it. He got a few dozen new bath toys for Christmas, which have been a huge hit (thanks Aunt Jennifer!). I haven't even attempted potty training yet, but he is proficient in peeing in the tub, so there's that.

I adore my little buddy and I seriously couldn't be more excited thinking of him as a big brother.

Thursday, January 1, 2015

2014 in review

Happy 2015!!!!

We hope you have a blessed year! It is going to be a big year for my family, considering anytime now, we will be adding a new member to the Mims clan. I'd say that we have lots of other things on our plate, but honestly, all I can see right now is baby #2. And that's not because I can hardly see the keyboard around my pregnant belly. I've had fun looking over the past year's posts and pictures. It's hard to believe Isaac looked so little! I only blogged a measly 70 times, which breaks down to only 5.8 blogs/month.... it's been a busy year! It's nice to reminisce about the good times and see where the Lord has taken and grown our family this year.

Here's a quick recap of 2014:
January: Girl's Retreat 2014 was held at a fantastic waterfront home and we studied Gods at War. It kicked off a really wonderful small group of girls that I've met with regularly ever since.

February: Student Life Conference and Passion 2014 kept us away from home two weekends in a row. Also, Isaac and I went on a whirlwind trip to Austin to visit some dear friends.

March: While Jordan spent spring break traveling the southeast with our students, I spent spring break with Isaac. This was also the month I started the journey towards becoming a Fetal Monitoring Educator (which didn't become official until November! Sheesh!) and we took a family trip to Austin to spend the weekend with another set of dear friends. Lastly, this was when our stubborn little boy decided he wanted to walk (finally) and ever since hasn't stopped moving.

April: One of our two 2014 trips to Augusta was in April and I was able to celebrate the pregnancy of an especially dear friend.

May: We learned that our family would be expanding! Positive pregnancy test and a due date of 1/25/15! I also ran my one and only race this month.

June: I rolled over into a new decade! 30 years old as of 6/4. Hubs turned 31...Old man. We also took our first Isaac-free vacation, spending a long weekend in San Antonio.

July: Jordan and I celebrated our 8th year of marriage. This was another busy month where we spent almost as much time away from home as we spent at home. Isaac took his first trip to the zoo and we took our first lengthy road trip to visit friends in north Texas.

August: This was a pretty quiet month, which was well appreciated after a busy summer.

September: I took a rejuvenating mommy only trip to Nashville to visit my sister and her husband.

October: My sweet boy had his second birthday! It was perfectly low-key where we spent the whole day doing and eating exactly what Isaac loves. He also moved out to his big boy room and the nursery was stripped down and rearranged to prepare for baby #2.

November: Second trip to Augusta and my first baby shower for kiddo #2. Instead of flying this time around, we drove the trip and it was a huge success. We celebrated Thanksgiving with our Houston family.

December: We celebrated Christmas and continued prepping our home and family for baby #2.

It was a wonderful year! Here's hoping for another fantastic year!!
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