Being pregnant with McKenna was pretty similar with Avery. In ways it was easier this time around, but harder since I had Avery to run after and take care of.
I also got sick a lot. I got the stomach flu twice and lots of colds. A little over a week before my due date I caught a nasty cough. It was painful being so pregnant and made me not sleep so great. After eight days of coughing and having a hard time breathing Ben took me to instacare. It was the day before my due date and I wanted to be healthy for labor and the new baby. I had gotten some virus going around so the Dr. gave me some cough syrup and nasal spray. Then Ben and my dad gave me a blessing. I am grateful to have a dad and husband that hold the priesthood! Love them both!
The next day (my due date Monday June 9th) I had an appointment and I was still only at 2 cm. My doctor asked if I wanted her to strip my membranes and I said no. I really wanted to be healthier. She then said again that I was measuring small and wanted me to have another ultrasound. That would have made five ultrasounds this pregnancy, but I asked if it would be okay not to since I had already had an ultrasound in April for the same reason and they said I was measuring on time. So we didn't schedule one.
That night Ben took Avery up to Layton to give me some rest. Our house was a disaster since I hadn't really had the energy to clean much the past week, but decided to color my hair instead of clean. I figured she would probably be late like Avery and would still have time to clean before she came.
That night I was woken up by a weird dream at 2:30 and couldn't decide if I had a contraction or if it was part of my dream. I went to the bathroom then went back to sleep and once again had a weird dream and another contraction and knew for sure that time that it was real. Ben had fallen asleep on the couch so I went and woke him up and told him we were going to have a baby today. I told him to go lay in bed and I would stay out in the family room. I figured I would be in labor for a long time like I was with Avery even though my contractions had started strong and really close together. Soon I really couldn't even get up and stand or walk. I pretty much crawled everywhere. I wanted to wait as long as I could before going to the hospital since I was only at 2 cm when we got to the hospital with Avery, but my contractions were right on top of each other and my back was in major pain. I had Ben push on my back which helped a lot, but I was also having shooting pains down my legs. Ben helped me pack my bag so we could leave as soon as his sister got to our house.
We got to the hospital around 4:30. We signed in and then they had me change. I was taking my time thinking I wouldn't be dilated much. The nurse asked me if I wanted an epidural and I told her yes. She asked me some other questions then checked to see where I was at. With kind of a surprised voice she told me I was dilated to 8 cm. I couldn't believe that only after two hours of contractions that I was at an 8. I got a little worried that I wouldn't be able to get an epidural. She went quickly to set up my room and they got me in there pretty quick. She told me the only thing keeping the baby in was that my water hadn't broke yet. I got the epidural and it definitely slowed me down.
Here I am after I got the epidural:
The epidural had taken away a lot of the pain of my contractions, but I could still feel each time I had one.
Ben wanted to get a picture of him feeding me ice.
The ice helped a lot with my coughing.
My doctor came in a little after 7 and broke my water. Then shortly after I started pushing. I could still feel when I was having a contraction so I knew when to push. I was able to feel everything which was pretty neat. It was painful, but I am glad I was able to have that experience. After pushing for almost 30 minutes she was born at 7:46 AM. We found out she was very small weighing only 6 lbs. 1 oz. and 19 inches long giving the reason why I was measuring small. It was a much better experience this time. I loved being able to hold her longer and stay with me and not be rushed to the NICU. I was able to nurse right away and she was a champ at it!
After an hour they went and got my bed and had me transfer over. I was able to crab walk into my new bed by myself since the epidural had worn off a lot. They rolled me to my new room and played a lullaby for us in the hallway.
After she had two feedings they gave her a bath.
I loved having her in the room with me and just be able to watch her the whole time.
I had great nurses and definitely liked Riverton Hospital more than Jordan Valley where Avery was born.
My mom brought Avery in to meet baby sister. She wasn't too interested. She loved wandering around the room and messing with everything more. She even pulled the missing baby switch without us knowing and made two nurses rush in. She did it again on her second visit as well. She didn't really want to sit on the bed with me, but luckily we were able to get a family picture.
Showing a little interest:
I meant to take more pictures of visitors, but only got one of my brother Dan and Amy
We finally agreed on the name McKenna when we got to the hospital, but still were trying to figure out a middle name. I had wrote a few ideas down, but we couldn't really agree on one. Ben mentioned to give her my middle name and I wasn't too sure of it. I gave it some thought and then agreed to give her my middle name as we were ready to be discharged.
Home with McKenna:
Avery being a good helper:
McKenna weighed 5 lbs. 13 oz. when we left the hospital. So tiny! I had to take a picture of her next to Avery's baby doll.
She does great at tummy time.
It has been a different adjustment with two kids, but hasn't been too hard. Avery will fuss sometimes and pull my finger when I am feeding McKenna and will point to her swing telling us to put her down sometimes. She has also asked to hold her a couple times, but for the most part she just does her own thing. We are excited for McKenna to be here and we love our little girls so much! Being a mom is the best!
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