Lachlan Alexander

When Anthony and I got married, we decided that we wanted to wait a couple years before having kids. That all changed about half way into our first year. I had gotten some vaccines mid June 2011 and that same night, I came down with a mild fever and heartburn. After a couple days, the fever went away, but the heartburn progressively got worse, I had never had heartburn in my life, but I figured it was just from the vaccines, I mean, it started the same day, so it had to be, right? I was also super tired, which also started that same night and continued to get worse. After about two weeks, I was at the point where I could barely go downstairs to check the mail without wanting to nap and the heartbun was keeping me awake at night and making me feel super sick. I told a couple friends that I thought I was sick from the vaccines and the first thing they said was to take a pregnancy test. I wasn't pregnant, I took my pill religiously! I couldn't be! But they insisted, so the next morning, I took a test, just so I could prove them wrong...

They were right.

I remember sitting there, staring at the test stick. Two lines. There were two lines! Immediately, I was overcome with emotion: I was going to be a Mum! But this wasn't in our plans! But I was going to be a Mum! But we wanted to wait! But there was going to be a BABY! But But But....

I was so overcome that I burst into tears and ran into our bedroom to Ant. He woke up and sat up to see why I was crying. As soon as he asked what was wrong, I threw the test at him! He asked what it was and through sobs, I said, "There are two lines, it's positive!" 

He said "so why are you crying?" 

I said "I don't know! I feel sick"

"You're not sick, we're having a baby!"

The rest of my pregnancy was filled with sickness, excitement, sickness, back pain, a move from Tennessee back to Florida and more sickness. But we got through it and I wouldn't take back a second of it. 

The final weeks of my pregnancy rolled around and I was praying and doing everything I could to avoid going into labour, in hopes that my mum would arrive in time for the birth.

I went in for my 39 week check up Tuesday February 21st 2012, and after I did the usual routine of peeing in a cup, blood pressure, getting weighed, etc. I went into the exam room and got changed into the super attractive paper gown, only to have the doctor come in, retest my BP and tell me that it was high. She did the rest of the exam and retested and it was still the same, so she sent me to L&D to be monitored. The Dr. said that if it didn't go back down, then I would have to be induced that afternoon, which happened to be my niece's 10th birthday!

We got to the hospital at around 4:30 and they hooked me up to a fetal monitor and blood pressure machine. After 2 hours my BP was normal (thank goodness! I did NOT want to be induced!) but I was having contractions 2-3 minutes apart. I could barely feel them (I thought I was just crampy from having a pelvic exam earlier in the day). My cervix was still very high and the baby was so low that they couldn't even find my cervix so they said it would be about 3 days before I delivered and they sent me home. They put me on bed rest and said to come in if the contractions got so bad I couldn't talk through them.

By the time we got in the car, they had started to get stronger but I convinced myself that it was my imagination because I was aware of them now. Nope, they kept getting stronger. By 8:30pm they were 1.5min apart and lasting a full minute, I could talk through them but was so distracted by the pain that my sentences weren't coming out properly. Well at least that's what I thought, everyone else said I couldn't talk through them. Everyone was telling me to go back in but I refused until my mum finally convinced me at 10:30.

My mother-in-law called the hospital and they told her to bring me back in, so I had Anthony and his Dad give me a blessing, we grabbed my hospital bags and the rubbish bin from the bathroom (I was sure I was going to vomit from the pain!) and we headed in.

My cervix was still very high but had dropped just enough to tell that I was dilated to 2cm. After 2 hours, there was barely any change in my cervix but because the contractions were so strong and close they gave me a shot to help me sleep. It didn't help with the pain but I was sleeping through the 90 second break between contractions. The nurse told me that every time she checked me, she pulled down on my cervix to try and get it moving for me.

By 5am I was still only 3cm but the contractions increased to 30 seconds apart so she checked again at 5:30 and I was 6cm!

At 6:30 I was an 8 so she called the midwife. My waters hadn't broken by 7 and I was at 9cm so she broke them for me. Within about a minute, I had the overwhelming urge to push, but the midwife and nurses were nowhere to be seen! I remember saying "I gotta push, I really gotta push!" and My mother in law disappeared. She came back a minute later and said "she (the midwife) said to push" uhh ok. I was sitting completely upright on the bed, where did she think the baby was going to go??!

Another minute passed before the midwife came back into the room and she realised that I really was ready to push! they adjusted the bed, she and Ant lifted my legs and she told me to push as soon as I felt a contraction start. the first contraction came, I pushed and the midwife said, with more excitement than I expected, "you're doing really well, I can already see the head!"

Next Contraction came and she said she could see him trying to cry! I looked at Ant and he had a look on his face that I will never forget, he looked up and said "you're doing great!" I thought they were just being encouraging, while I sat there and wondered when the pain was going to start.

Contraction number three, I pushed and he came right out! much to the amazement of everyone in the room, including myself! I didn't experience any pain during the delivery!

I couldnt believe that I only pushed 3 times! Our perfect boy was born at 7:37am!

 Even though the labour was so bad (I had back contractions which don't mix well with a spinal injury) I pushed through, with the help and encouragement of my amazing hubby and mother in law. The actual birth was a piece of cake! It didn't hurt one bit and I loved that I could feel him come out! The look on Anthony's face as he watched and encouraged me through the birth was incredible. 

We had gone in there, with a list of 3 names: Spencer, Marshall or Gage and a set middle name: Alexander. we didn't want to name him until we saw him. Well, when I held him, I just wasn't feeling any of the names, in fact, the name that came to mind when I looked into his perfect face was one that Ant had mentioned in passing just a few days before: Lachlan. I told Ant, he smiled and agreed. so that was that, he had a name: Lachlan Alexander Mojica!

I ended up with what they thought was 2 minor tears, which they stitched up, only to discover a more serious tear behind one they had stitched, so they had to cut me open and re-stitch, which was so much worse than the birth! They had to check me hourly for the most part of the day and 2 hourly after that, even through the night. I wasn't allowed to get up even to pee for hours, to make sure I wouldn't need to go to the OR but luckily I only ended up with a small-ish hematoma, the Doctorr was sure the outcome would be much worse! They told me the next morning that they wanted me to stay in at least another night and I started crying because my mum was arriving early in the morning the next day, so they said that if I strictly follow the care routine, could go home as soon as Lachlan was cleared, which was that afternoon!

So there you have it! Our first perfect boy, Lachlan Alexander was born 2/22/12 weighing in at 6lb 15oz and 19.5 inches long <3

Happy Birthday Harper!

     A year ago today, our family of two became a family of three, as we welcomed Harper Marie into the world. What a joyful and wonderful girl she is. Here is her birth story!

     I really didn’t want to be induced, so I was hoping to go into labor on my own. My induction was scheduled for Tuesday, the 11th, at 7 pm, and by Monday, I was feeling like it was never going to happen. My husband and I planned one last date on Monday night. While we were out to dinner, I started getting some uncomfortable contractions. I decided I would start timing them. As the night progressed, the contractions got more powerful and painful.

     We decided to try and get some sleep around 8:30 pm. I slept for an hour maybe, but kept getting contractions. By 11 pm, they were getting closer together and more painful. We tried to ride it out at home as long as possible. We also thought, yeah, this is probably false labor. But when 2 am rolled around and they were not letting up, we decided to call the doctor. The doctor is supposed to call you back and when we still hadn't heard anything by 3 am, my husband said screw that, we are going to the hospital now.

     We got there at 3:30 am, and checked in. The nurse told me that they wouldn't send me home even if I wasn't in labor because I was scheduled to be induced later that night. But when they checked, I was dilated to 4 cm which was a huge upgrade from my 1 cm that my doctor had told me at my last appointment. So, it was official, I was in labor and it happened on its own!

     I got my epidural around 5 am, and it was the best thing EVER! It didn’t hurt really at all like I thought it would. It was sweet relief. My OB came in after that and checked my progress, and I was already 6 cm! She broke my water at that point as well. From then on out, it was pretty much a waiting game. My husband and I discussed our favorite life moments together, and our favorite memories and reminisced over the past. And by 2(ish) pm, I was dilated to a 10 and ready to push. I pushed for about 1 hour and 15(ish) minutes and at 3:16 pm, Harper was born!!

     They put her on my chest and she was perfect (and purple). But, then they noticed that she had some fluid in her lungs, and that she wasn’t able to keep her oxygen levels where they should be. So they took her away to transition (which is in NICU, but the baby hasn't been admitted to NICU). I got probably 30 seconds with her before she was gone.

     My husband spent time with her because I couldn’t. I was having problems as well. I fainted 2 times after my epidural wore off, and was forced to stay in recovery without being able to see Harper. That was probably the hardest part. I wanted to do skin to skin with her and breastfeed her but none of that was able to happen because she was on oxygen and I was stuck in my hospital bed. I could only see her through pictures and videos that my husband was sending me. Harper was finally able to come stay with us the next day, and we were thrilled. It was a pretty crazy long day, but we were so grateful for our healthy baby girl!! I can't believe that she is a year old! What an amazing, hard, and rewarding journey it has been!

Gabriel Owen

Gabriel Owen came in to our lives in a very interesting way. It was unpredictable and totally Gabe!

My husband and I had been married for almost a year when we had discussed having kids. We never officially decided yay or nay but we agreed kids were definitely in our future......four months later I was pregnant.
It was hard to tell my husband because we never really said "Yes, Lets have a baby" and we didn't really actively try to get pregnant, it just happened. I was having a really stressful month at work and never really realized that I had missed my period and I was cramping a lot but nothing was happening. I remember thinking back that it had been a while and I ran to grab my calendar, I counted back weeks and realized it had been 5 weeks. Feeling nervous I waited until the end of work (longest 4 hours of my life) and headed to the pharmacy for the tests. That same night I took three tests and they all lit up like a Christmas tree. I was shocked! After waiting two whole days I finally told him that I was pregnant and he didn't say a word....he was completely silent while I am balling my eyes out waiting, waiting for jumping jacks, yelling, a hooray, a burp....I got nothing. I finally told him to talk because I was freaking out and he simply asked when the confirmation appointment is with our OB. It took him about an hour to recover and he still hasn't gotten used the idea of being a dad.

When it came time to tell my family we decided to wait for our weekly Sunday dinner. We all sat at the dinner table and waited until dessert when we said we had something to say. My youngest brother being the Joker that he is said "you're pregnant" I looked at him shocked and said yes! He felt stupid but they all had a better reaction than my husbands reaction.

All through my pregnancy I had really bad issues with blood pressure, I craved nothing but fruit, hated meats, and I am the reason that Tums is still on the market. I couldn't sleep lying down because of the acid reflux, I literally sat straight up in bed sleeping for the last trimester. My swelling got so bad that all my weight gain was from fluid and I have stretch marks in the strangest places to prove it. I remember my husband had to put my socks on because I was so swollen I couldn't bend over and he literally hammered my clogs on my feet with his fists everyday so I could go to work. As I got closer to my due date our OB decided to put me on bed rest (not fun at all) until the baby came because my blood pressure had spiked so high that I was admitted in to the hospital for 24 hour monitoring.

Gabe decided he did not want to come on his due date, In fact he wanted to stay incubated an extra two weeks. I was not dilating and my OB called my Cervix unfavorable (that jerk). I was so desperate to get him out that after sitting around for 3 weeks I was restless. I turned on Pandora, cranked it so high our dishes were rattling and boogied my big butt around the living room and dining room for 30 solid minutes. It. Was. Fabulous!! 12 hours later I was in labor.....FINALLY!

The contractions started slow and were painful. I got up at 2:30 in the morning and sat on the couch just trying to relax and wait for them to get stronger. I woke my husband up and told him I was in labor but he could go in to work and I would call him when it's time to go or he could stay home. His eyes got huge and he said he would go in to work for half  a day then come home. I called him around his lunch time and told him to come home and get me to take me to our OB because it was just getting worse. When we got to the OB they checked me and I hadn't dilated a bit....man was I mad! They sent me on to the hospital anyway because my BP was so bad I could barely pee and there were signs or Preeclampsia.

They admitted me in to the hospital and because I was so late they decided to go ahead and break my waters. I was crying at this point because of my labor pains and the nurse recommended I have an epidural before my waters are broken, I agreed. After the epidural was placed I was much more relaxed but I wasn't progressing at all so they started me on Pitocin. I was hoping that he was going to be here that night but as the sun started to set we realized that it was going to take forever. The Dr. kept increasing my pitocin drip and the night nurse kept telling me how we shouldn't be in the hospital and that we should have stayed home....she was not a nice lady. The next morning came and still no Gabe. The epidural bag had been replaced 3 times and I had a booster to help with the pain because it was just getting worse and the epidural was only working on half of my body. Finally after the shift change I woke from a dead sleep and told my husband that I need to push. He ran out of the room (there was a dust cloud he ran so fast) and screamed at the nurses that I needed to push. Now it always seems at this point they just slowly come into the room and slowly set things up, I'm all spread eagle ready to push and their smile talking at me to breathe and don't push and breathe and don't push and I just want to kick them and get him out so badly. Finally she is ready and I start to push.....and push....and push....blow a blood vessel in my eyes....continue to push.....and I push....no baby....keep pushing...still no baby. It was like this for four hours......FOUR HOURS OF PUSHING!!!! The nurse was so bored she started to braid his hair!

Finally the Dr. comes in, the nurse explains what's been going on and he feels the need to give me an additional boost of the epidural and for me to take it seriously (because apparently I wasn't for the last four hours??) The Dr. told me we were getting this baby out soon because he was hungry and wanted to eat lunch and the nurses kept telling me to hurry up because they needed to room for other birthing moms (because I totally wanted to take my time and I was in no rush to get the baby out) After thirty minutes of pushing the Dr. asked me if I would like some help and I agreed willingly, He got out the vacuum and after three attempts (Gabe's head of hair kept making it pop off, not comfortable by the way) Gabe's head was fianally delivered and I was able to push the rest of him out.

Gabe four days old

Gabriel Owen was born on September 22, 2011 at 12:46 pm. He weighed in at 10lbs 4oz 22 inches long. The OB was so shocked when Gabe popped out that it took him a good minute to recover, look up at me between my frog legs and declare"THIS SHOULD HAVE BEEN A C-SECTION!!" I had about 20 people in the room during his birth and 3 of them were high school students who I think will never have babies. We donated his cord blood and the amount of blood he collected was a record for the hospital for a year. I couldn't walk normally for weeks and to this day I am proud to say that I gave birth vaginally to that whopper of a child.
After Gabe was born we found out that he had fluid in his lungs because of the labor and that he was struggling to breathe. He was under an oxygen tent for 3 days before we were able to hold and feed him. I was discharged from the hospital without him and that was the hardest thing I had ever had to do as a mom at that time. Gabe's oxygen levels finally came back to normal outside of the oxygen tent, he spent an additional week in the hospital with me by his side while we was given antibiotics for possible pneumonia.

As our first kid he came into this world unstoppable. This kid has the biggest personality and the most contagious laugh. He is my light and I love him. He acts just like his dad and looks so much like his dad it scares me. I love him and can't imagine how we felt so complete and happy without him.