The Day Before Hadley
I love that we got to pick Hadley's birthday. She was born on Harper's half birthday, so they are exactly 4 1/2 years apart. 3 is my favorite number and both girls were born on the 3rd. And Harrison was born on the 2nd, which means that their birthdays make up mine: 3-2-3. I don't know why this makes me so happy. Probably because I'm a huge nerd and love numbers. But hey, it's the little things. :)
I had high doubts that I was going to make it to my c/s date. The last couple of weeks I was having so many contractions and tons of pressure and felt like I was going to go into labor at any moment. Clearly after 3 kids I still don't know my body very well or what it's like to go into labor on my own. Ha!
In hindsight, I am so thankful that I didn't have her any earlier. As miserable as I was at the end, it was a huge answered prayer for God's protection. The 2 weeks leading up to her birth were extremely stressful for our family. Harrison missed almost a week of school due to strep followed by mild pneumonia. Just when he was finally better, Harper came down with the exact same thing the following week. She had a high fever for 6 days and her doctor said that if she wasn't fever free for 48 hours before Hadley was born, then she would have to be quarantined. Which would have been devastating for her and for me. She had been counting down the days until she could meet her baby sister for months and the thought of her not being included in that day made me so upset. She was still sick, but thank goodness her fever finally broke 3 days before she was born so we were out of the contagious window.
The day before Hadley's birthday was a whirlwind. I had my pre-op appointment at the hospital and then Rick and I grabbed a quick lunch. We knew it was going to be the last "date" we'd have for a while so we savored the peace and quiet :)
And it was extremely fitting that I lost my entire lunch in the car an hour later. I didn't really make it a habit to take pictures of my vomit, but I felt extreme joy through the defeated tears knowing that this was the last day I would have to carry these fashionable barf bags with me and I felt compelled to document it. I'm sure Rick felt just as joyful that we were at the end of this journey after being trapped in the car with me while I heaved up my lunch. Lol. What a sexy way to end our date. Good riddance, miserable pregnancy!
After lunch, we picked up Harper from our friends' house and took her to her follow up appointment with her pediatrician. She was finally acting like herself again after a week of being sick so I wasn't really worried.
Or at least I wasn't really worried until everybody else was. Her oxygen saturation wouldn't go above 90. That's a good way to get expedited to see the doctor right away, in case you were wondering. He came in and was not his normal joking self at all. I got the same sinking feeling I got last time she was hospitalized with RSV and pneumonia. He listened to her lungs and said they sounded very bad. He sent her for an immediate chest x-ray. I couldn't be in the room with her since I was pregnant so I'm so glad Rick was with us. I sat outside the room and just prayed and prayed that she wouldn't need to be admitted. I couldn't even wrap my head around how that would even work. I couldn't imagine my sweet girl in the hospital and me not able to be by her side. It would have definitely not been the birth experience we had all been eagerly anticipating. I was so anxious and worried and if I'm being honest, MAD. After such a difficult 9 months for our whole family I just felt like COME ON! Throw us a freaking bone already! Not the most honoring way to talk to God, but hopefully He appreciated the authenticity?
The chest x-ray confirmed pneumonia. After more breathing treatments in the office her lungs sounded a little better. She had already been on a round of antibiotics for the strep, and he also wanted to give her oral steroids, a shot of antibiotics and a z-pack to really try to knock it out. He knew our situation and that we were having a baby in 14 hours so he wanted to avoid hospitalization. He was also encouraged by the fact that she was acting normal. She was laughing and jumping around and I honestly had no idea she was as sick as she was. He said to monitor her closely, check her oxygen sats, and do breathing treatments every 4 hours.
I think that day was probably one of the most stressful of my life. My anxiety and racing thoughts were all over the place. I was worried about Harper. I was nervous about Hadley's birth. The kids were staying the night with my mom and for some reason I always have irrational anxiety when they aren't home with us at night. Rick could sense I was a mess and swooped in and took over before I completely derailed. He ordered me to get dressed and get in the car, and then he took me here:
Yep, that is my husband, getting a pedicure. He normally wouldn't be caught dead in a nail salon. This is such a good testament to his character and how lucky I am to be his wife. Instead of letting me stay home with my destructive thoughts he provided a great distraction and exchanged them for a pretty awesome memory together on the night before our Hadley Claire was born. I cherish this man and am thankful that he loves me so well!
I had high doubts that I was going to make it to my c/s date. The last couple of weeks I was having so many contractions and tons of pressure and felt like I was going to go into labor at any moment. Clearly after 3 kids I still don't know my body very well or what it's like to go into labor on my own. Ha!
In hindsight, I am so thankful that I didn't have her any earlier. As miserable as I was at the end, it was a huge answered prayer for God's protection. The 2 weeks leading up to her birth were extremely stressful for our family. Harrison missed almost a week of school due to strep followed by mild pneumonia. Just when he was finally better, Harper came down with the exact same thing the following week. She had a high fever for 6 days and her doctor said that if she wasn't fever free for 48 hours before Hadley was born, then she would have to be quarantined. Which would have been devastating for her and for me. She had been counting down the days until she could meet her baby sister for months and the thought of her not being included in that day made me so upset. She was still sick, but thank goodness her fever finally broke 3 days before she was born so we were out of the contagious window.
The day before Hadley's birthday was a whirlwind. I had my pre-op appointment at the hospital and then Rick and I grabbed a quick lunch. We knew it was going to be the last "date" we'd have for a while so we savored the peace and quiet :)
And it was extremely fitting that I lost my entire lunch in the car an hour later. I didn't really make it a habit to take pictures of my vomit, but I felt extreme joy through the defeated tears knowing that this was the last day I would have to carry these fashionable barf bags with me and I felt compelled to document it. I'm sure Rick felt just as joyful that we were at the end of this journey after being trapped in the car with me while I heaved up my lunch. Lol. What a sexy way to end our date. Good riddance, miserable pregnancy!
After lunch, we picked up Harper from our friends' house and took her to her follow up appointment with her pediatrician. She was finally acting like herself again after a week of being sick so I wasn't really worried.
Or at least I wasn't really worried until everybody else was. Her oxygen saturation wouldn't go above 90. That's a good way to get expedited to see the doctor right away, in case you were wondering. He came in and was not his normal joking self at all. I got the same sinking feeling I got last time she was hospitalized with RSV and pneumonia. He listened to her lungs and said they sounded very bad. He sent her for an immediate chest x-ray. I couldn't be in the room with her since I was pregnant so I'm so glad Rick was with us. I sat outside the room and just prayed and prayed that she wouldn't need to be admitted. I couldn't even wrap my head around how that would even work. I couldn't imagine my sweet girl in the hospital and me not able to be by her side. It would have definitely not been the birth experience we had all been eagerly anticipating. I was so anxious and worried and if I'm being honest, MAD. After such a difficult 9 months for our whole family I just felt like COME ON! Throw us a freaking bone already! Not the most honoring way to talk to God, but hopefully He appreciated the authenticity?
The chest x-ray confirmed pneumonia. After more breathing treatments in the office her lungs sounded a little better. She had already been on a round of antibiotics for the strep, and he also wanted to give her oral steroids, a shot of antibiotics and a z-pack to really try to knock it out. He knew our situation and that we were having a baby in 14 hours so he wanted to avoid hospitalization. He was also encouraged by the fact that she was acting normal. She was laughing and jumping around and I honestly had no idea she was as sick as she was. He said to monitor her closely, check her oxygen sats, and do breathing treatments every 4 hours.
I think that day was probably one of the most stressful of my life. My anxiety and racing thoughts were all over the place. I was worried about Harper. I was nervous about Hadley's birth. The kids were staying the night with my mom and for some reason I always have irrational anxiety when they aren't home with us at night. Rick could sense I was a mess and swooped in and took over before I completely derailed. He ordered me to get dressed and get in the car, and then he took me here:
Yep, that is my husband, getting a pedicure. He normally wouldn't be caught dead in a nail salon. This is such a good testament to his character and how lucky I am to be his wife. Instead of letting me stay home with my destructive thoughts he provided a great distraction and exchanged them for a pretty awesome memory together on the night before our Hadley Claire was born. I cherish this man and am thankful that he loves me so well!
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