Hailey Rose

Introducing...

Hailey Rose Bryson

born October 12, 2019

1:26am

8 lbs 3 oz

18 inches

So our little Hailey came as a little surprise to us. A very pleasant little caboose to our family. My pregnancy with her was similar to my previous pregnancies. I knew I was pregnant before I took a test. Throughout the first trimester I think I felt more nauseas than tired this time, but other than that I dealt with the same aches and pains and varicose veins. :P She had an anterior placenta which was a little different and I believe was the reason I couldn't feel as many kicks from her. During her ultrasounds she was always very wiggly though. I also didn't feel as many Braxton Hicks as my last two. I started feeling a few here and there the last couple weeks but not a lot. I do not love being pregnant but I do love what it brings. :)

Hailey was due on the 6th. Scott had cleared that weekend from football games and my parents were going to be home for a couple weeks in-between trips out of state starting that weekend so we really wanted her to come on time. Also, since my C-section my doctors never want me to be overdue. So we were all hoping for another general conference baby. She had her own plans though. After stripping my membranes on Monday, eating pineapple, spicy foods, lots and lots of walking and everything we could think of, she still wasn't coming. We had scheduled and canceled an induction for Tuesday wanting to give her a little more time and then they forgot to reschedule the induction for Thursday, so by Friday we were just ready to go to the hospital and have our baby. I woke up around 5am on Friday to get ready for the phone call from the hospital telling us to come in, but when we hadn't heard anything yet I called the hospital around 7am. They said they were full and to call back at 9am. I called back at 9 and they said they were still full and might not be able to get us in that day. I was in tears, I was frustrated and so uncomfortable and didn't want to go another night being pregnant. Scott had taken the day off so we decided to go walk the mall and get our minds off of the disappointing news. It was good and we enjoyed spending some time with Seth and Caleb before the baby came. That afternoon, Scott rented a movie and got cookies for our usual Friday night movie night and then the hospital called. They told us to come in within the next hour or we might not get a bed. It was around 4, so my mom came downstairs to watch the kids and we were off to the hospital, finally! :)

The hospital really must have been busy that day. Scott and I went straight to the labor and delivery floor and waited at the front desk for at least 5 minutes or so before anyone came by. Luckily I wasn't in active labor or anything. When they finally got us all checked in and settled into a room, I changed into a gown and the nurse checked me and said I was 3 maybe 4cm dilated already. Dr. Jacobs checked me and said I was definitely at a 4. They put an epidural in place (without any drip) just in case of an emergency and then finally around 7:20pm Dr. Bennett broke my water. She also told me as she did it that I was dilated to a 5, so something may have jumpstarted my labor already. Having my water break without being numb was a new experience for me. It didn't hurt at all, but I felt the loss of weight from the water and it was weird every time I moved or shifted more water flowed out. It was like I was peeing but didn't have any control over it. They put a huge pad on me and I was able to walk around still but I leaked a little. So weird. :P

I wanted to see how long I could go without an epidural, and if it went quick enough possibly not have to use the drip at all. I felt like I was doing well and I was handling the contractions pretty well. Scott was being really supportive and I think trying to make up for falling asleep last time during the decision making. I sat on a big ball and just tried my best to relax and breathe through them, but after two hours I was still only at a 6 and they said my contractions weren't normal. I had a weird pattern and they were getting too spaced out so they wanted to give me a little pitocin. At that point I felt a little defeated. I wanted the epidural and I just wanted my baby to come already so I gave in. I laid back in the bed with the epidural going around 10pm and was able to relax and eat some jello. :) I was really hungry. I hadn't eaten since lunch at the mall. Scott and I tried watching a movie and just talked and relaxed for the next three hours. My contractions became more regular and I progressed pretty quickly once they did. And finally around 1am on Saturday the 12th I was ready to push.

They had told me she was a bigger baby than my last two since she was at least 8 pounds. Everett had been my biggest before and was over 8 pounds and I had had to push for 3 hours so I was expecting it to maybe be a little harder like his, but I had two practice pushes with the nurse and Scott helping me and then they called in Dr. Bennett. I pushed through two contractions with her and Hailey seriously just slipped right into our world at 1:26am. :) They handed her to me and the doctor handed Scott the scissors and he cut the umbilical cord despite his request not to do that part. :p

This time was our shortest hospital stay. Recovery was quick. Initially, I had awful shakes that I couldn't stop. I had to hand Hailey to Scott cuz I felt like I was shaking her too much. She did really well though from the beginning. She was breathing fine and she latched on really quickly. The after labor pain was bad. They kept the pitocin going all night which kept me up all night with the contractions. After getting a few hours of sleep, we spent Saturday getting checkups and visiting with family. Scott left and brought all the kids to see her along with grandma and grandpa. Caleb "held" her for a couple seconds before "throwing her" aside to go explore the room. :p Then later Ken and Kyle's families stopped by to see her. Scott went home that night and came back Sunday morning to get us. She had passed all tests and we were ready to go home Sunday morning. And now to get used to being a family of seven! :)