Hannah Kayt Todd (birth story)

Our baby girl is HERE!  We are so incredibly in love with this precious miracle.  Before life takes over and my memory gets foggy, here is her birth story.  (Edit:  This was written not long after she was born and not posted until now...two and a half months later. Better late than never.)

It all started about two days before she was actually born...
1/21/15:  I went in at 38 weeks 6 days and was still at 4cm and 80% effaced but she had dropped down some.  We decided to schedule an induction for Friday, January 23 at 7:30am.  I didn't necessarily want to be induced but Tayt was starting his new job in a week and Dr. Webster was going to be out of town that whole weekend and she assured me that Hannah was healthy and ready.  We decided to go out to dinner at Cheesecake Factory after my appointment and take Austin to the Disney Store for an early birthday treat.  I told Tayt as we headed in to dinner that I just wasn't feeling good and things were hurting.  I knew that since Dr. W had just checked me a few hours before, that that could be the reason.  During dinner I began to feel some contractions.  They were kind of sporadic and I tried timing some of them.  I do remember thinking they were real contractions but not too strong yet.  I was still able to talk through them.  After dinner we went home and they slowed down and spread out.  I was able to sleep most of the night and woke up the next morning (1/22) feeling just a few.  

1/22/15:  Austin's 3rd Birthday!  (This was the only date that I was hoping to avoid having her.  I just really wanted my kids to have their own birthday.)  I just needed to make it through the day and then they would be one day apart.  I decided to go to work and see how I felt.  I had a couple contractions while at work and felt light headed and just not good overall.  My team convinced me to go home and I was able to leave a little after 10:00am.  It was perfect because Tayt had kept Austin home from school and just the three of us had lunch together, birthday cake, opened presents, played and then all took a nap.  At about 7:30pm my parents came over to bring Austin some presents.  That was when I started to feel the contractions increase in intensity.  They also began to speed up.  The contractions were stronger, lasting about a minute but about 8-10 minutes apart.  I also thought my water was starting to leak.  I called Dr. Webster's office and they were having phone trouble so I was unable to reach the emergency line.  I called Labor and Delivery and they told me that I should probably just come in.  We left the house about 9:20pm and my parents stayed there with Austin.  I had one contraction on the way and one in the parking lot walking in.  When we got to L&D (9:45pm) we found out Dr. Webster was on call and there!  She actually passed by my room as we were just getting there and we both yelled out at her!  She came in and broke my water, I was 5cm dilated and we were going to have a baby.  Sara and Grant came to our house to stay with Austin and my parents came up to the hospital right after I got my epidural.  The epidural worked great this time and I wasn't feeling any contractions.  Two hours later I was dilated to 7cm.  We thought we had a few more hours but things began to progress quickly from there.  

1/23/15:  We did watch the clock tick by until finally it was officially January 23, 2015!  My kids would not have the same birthday, they would be one day apart!  I felt good about that.  Around 12:15-12:30 Hannah was looking a little stressed on the monitor.  They put oxygen on me, checked me again (I was at 10cm!) and watched the monitor closely.  Her heart rate was dropping.  The nurse set everything up and then had me prepare to push.  I pushed through one contraction and she was coming.  She told me to stop and called to see where Dr. Webster was.  She told her to come now.  Quickly after that, Dr. Webster was there and I was pushing again.  I pushed through two contractions and out came our baby girl.  SHE WAS PERFECT!!  

Hannah Kayt Todd

January 23, 2015

12:56am

6lbs 13oz

19inches long

Labor was fast and easy.  Three hours and three contractions from the time my water broke!  We stayed in the hospital for a day and a half and went home Saturday morning 1/24!  We had lots of visitors, calls, texts and Facebook love.  My favorite moment after her birth was when Austin came to the hospital to meet her.  He had the biggest smile on his face.  He wanted to hold her and kiss her and check her out.  It was the sweetest thing to see my two kids together for the first time.  

Now we have been home for a little over two weeks and I just can't stop holding her and loving on her.  She is a very sweet baby and easy to read.  She is breastfeeding great and sleeping really good.  I can't express how blessed I feel.  I am off work for 13 weeks, which is HEAVEN in my book.  I plan to soak up every minute with my new baby girl.  God is good and I am so grateful for another healthy child.

My cousin Nikki made us another sweet video and I am so thankful.  Here is Hannah's video...

Updates...

I just published Tayt's graduation blog but obviously I wrote it about a month ago.  Since then he passed his NCLEX test and officially became an RN on 1/22/15!  Today he started his job at Parkland and I can't wait for him to get home so I can hear all about it.

Austin turned 3 on 1/22/15!  Happy Birthday to our big boy!!  I took some pictures and will add those soon.  I take him to the doctor on Friday and will be do an official update with stats after the appointment since it has been a while since I have done that!

Annnnnnnnddddd.....Hannah is here!!!!!  Birth story coming up next!  :)

Tayt's Graduation

He did it!!!  On December 12, 2014 Tayt graduated from Collin College's Nursing School!!  It was a long, hard three and a half years (for all of us) to get to this point but I am so proud of my husband for sticking with it and getting it done.  Lord knows I wouldn't have made it through the first semester.  Occasionally Tayt would ask me to look over a paper he had written or review some care maps for clinicals and trust me, they speak a foreign language.  I simply looked at spelling and grammar because the content was way over my head.  Thank God for nurses.

Now for the even better news.  The week of graduation he interviewed for an ER internship at Parkland.  Within 24 hours of the interview he was offered the job!!!!!!!!!!!!  YAY!!  Again, I was a proud wife.  What an amazing experience that will be.  Parkland has an outstanding program where he will get tons of training and hands on experience in critical care before being able to sign a three year contract. 

So at graduation, he was able to walk across the stage knowing he already had a job lined up.  The next step is the NCLEX test which will take place in the next few weeks.  We have been so blessed by this experience and though there were some rough times, our God was always walking right beside us through this season of our life.

Congratulations babe on a huge accomplishment.  You mean everything to me and I am proud to be your biggest fan.  Here's to the next step.  And, get to work...we are going to need a bigger house soon to hang up all of your diplomas!

Video and pictures below....

First Trip to the ER

At the beginning of September Austin had his first trip to the ER.  He fell off the couch and hit the edge of our round coffee table.  I watched the whole thing and as soon as I heard his cry, I knew he was really hurt.  He split his ear wide open and had to get three stitches.  He was pretty upset at first but calmed down on the ride to the hospital and even fell asleep in the car as we drove.  Once there he didn't cry again until they started to stitch him up and was fine again when they handed him a popsicle when it was all over.  I hope we don't have to make that trip again for a very long time.  The ear is healing beautifully and he will have a battle scar to show for it later in life.  All boys have scars like this right?!

 

 

 

22 Weeks with Baby #2 (2 1/2 weeks ago)

 

 

{Taking monthly pictures with a toddler is not the easiest thing in the world.  Seriously this is the best we could do after 50+ shots and bribery with a sucker.  Oh well!)

How far along: 22 weeks (Well, I was 22 weeks 2 1/2 weeks ago!!)

Total weight gain: gained 7lbs

Maternity clothes:  Yes!

Stretch marks: No *knock on wood*

Sleep: Still not very good but a little better than before.  Probably because work is crazy busy right now and I'm exhausted.

Best moment of this week: Girl's Night dinner at Kotta AND Birthday Dinner Party for my friend Amanda (two adult nights in one week...unheard of)

Miss anything: red wine

Movement:  Yes, she is moving around a lot now.  All movements are still very low.

Food cravings: no

Anything making you queasy or sick: no

Have you started to show yet: *see picture above* ;)

Gender: GIRL

Labor signs: no

Belly button in or out: out

Wedding rings on or off: On

Happy or moody most of the time: Happy, with an occasional "moment" here and there.  (Sorry Tayt!)

Looking forward to: cooler weather and the holidays

It's a....................

My sweet sister-in-law Sara asked us months ago if she could throw us a gender reveal party for baby #2.  At first I hesitated because I was worried I wouldn't want to look away from the screen during my anatomy sonogram and then I was worried I wouldn't be able to wait until a party for the big news!  Well she talked me into it and it worked out that I would have my sonogram late Monday afternoon, the sonographer would call Sara and tell her the gender and then the party would be later that night.  I decided I would resist the temptation to look at the screen and I gathered up all of my willpower to wait three hours for the answer!  Tayt didn't trust himself not to look for the "sex" at the sonogram and he decided not to come to the appointmen.  So I was all set to go alone.  I was excited and nervous and really was okay until I left work and headed to the appointment.  Then doubts flooded my head.  What if something was medically wrong with the baby and I was finding out alone?  (That was after all the reason for the sonogram, not really just to find out the sex.)  I called Tayt on the way and then called my mom.  They both told me not to worry and I quietly said a prayer to myself, took a deep breath and headed to the appointment.  Of course the baby looked perfect and has the same perfectly round profile picture as Austin did.  I even stopped the sonographer and made her take a picture of it because it looked so much like the one I had from Austin exactly three years and one day before.  She had a little trouble finding the gender at first because the baby was (and still is) sitting very low.  She checked twice and said with confidence that she knew what it was.  She then asked me what I thought...of course I said boy.  After the appointment she called Sara and I headed home to get ready for the party!

The party was PERFECTLY decorated!  Sara is amazing!!!!!!!  Every detail was simple and beautiful exactly like I wanted it. 

Sara had told Grant and Trent and they took the box and filled with balloons while Sara filled the cake with M&Ms.  No one else knew the gender.  When everyone arrived we opened the box to learn the surprise.  I'll let the pictures tell the story.....

 

It's a GIRL!!!!!!!!!!!

 



I can honestly say that I have never been more shocked in my life.  I was 100% sure that I was having another boy and it took me several days to wrap my head around the fact that we are going to be adding a sweet baby girl to our family.  We feel so incredibly blessed and can't wait to meet her.

{Update:  For a month I was so paranoid the sonographer was wrong and that the baby was really a boy.  I would wake up at night thinking about it and wouldn't allow myself to start planning or shopping.  With Austin we had a perfect sonogram picture to prove it and I had seen "it" several times on the screen.  With this one I just had to take the sonographer's word for it.  Well, that doesn't sit well with a pregnant woman so this Monday when I went back for my next appointment, one month later, I told my doctor that I just HAD to have another sonogram so I could see for myself.  She laughed and told me the sonographer had never been wrong but wanted to make me happy so she sent me across the hall for a look.  Sure enough, clear as day, I saw a baby girl on the screen.  So yes, I was officially the crazy lady at the doctor this week but I feel much better and can finally begin to plan for a baby girl to join us in a few short months!!!!!!!!!!! EKKKKK!!}

18 Weeks with Baby #2

How far along: 18 weeks (and really this picture was taken at 18 weeks 5 days...oops)
Total weight gain: gained 4lbs
Maternity clothes:  Yes!  Much more comfortable.
Stretch marks: No *knock on wood*
Sleep: Not great.  Getting up to pee several times and constantly rolling back and forth from one side to the other.  To be fair, I don't think I'm a great sleeper even when I'm not pregnant.
Best moment of this week: 3 Day Labor Day weekend to just RELAX
Miss anything: red wine and margaritas :)
Movement:  small flutters VERY low in the middle
Food cravings: nope
Anything making you queasy or sick: no
Have you started to show yet: *see picture above* ;)
Gender: We find out next week but here are the predictions....Mommy-boy  Daddy-boy  Austin-girl
Labor signs: no
Belly button in or out: In but starting to move out.
Wedding rings on or off: On....unless I forget to put them on which happens occasionally lately.
Happy or moody most of the time: Happy, with an occasional "moment" here and there.  (Sorry Tayt!)
Looking forward to: Finding out the gender in less than a week.