I remember thinking on Sunday, Janary 8th, that I just couldn't imagine how my body could last any longer being pregnant. I just felt like I had reached my limit. I think Tyler could sense something was coming, too, because he was acting particularly frantic and very whiny. It's typical for him to cry when I pick him up from the church nursery (he has way too much fun!), but he didn't stop screaming for over an hour, even after we got home.
Sunday evening, Tyler was in his high chair eating dinner while I read Winnie the Pooh to him. I would get up every few minutes to check on the bottles I was sterilizing on the stove. At 6:30pm, I went over to the stove and all of the sudden, my water broke. It was so weird! I just kept saying, "Oh my gosh, oh my gosh, oh my gosh." I looked over at Tyler and he had a huge smile on his face. Thankfully, I remembered to turn the stove off, then I just started running through the house like a crazy woman, trying to find some towels. So, I made it to the bathroom and I called Matt at work. He sounded just as freaked out as I did, and said he'd be home right away. Then, I called my parents to tell them. All the while, Tyler is yelling from his chair, "All done! All done!" When I got myself together a little bit, I got him down and asked him if he was ready to meet his little sister. His response was, "Alwight." Then he just played with his toys and would occasionally say to me, "Water broke?" When Matt got home, he took Tyler to Aunt Cheryl's and Uncle Mike's house for the night while I showered and packed the rest of my things. I started feeling mild contractions around 7:30pm.
We got to the hospital around 8:30pm and the contractions were becoming more intense. At that time, I was the only patient there. In triage, they told me that I was 3.5 cm dilated. When we finally got through all of the billions of questions they have to ask after getting to the Labor & Delivery room, we decided to walk the halls to help speed things along. The contractions hurt pretty bad at this point, so after about an hour of walking, I asked our nurse Caitlin to see how far along I was. I was 5.5 cm dilated. We decided that I would get my epidural at 6 cm (like I did with Tyler), so I figured I would be at 6 cm by the time I actually got it. I sat in the bath for about 30 minutes, then I was answering more questions in the bed for another 30 minutes until I finally got the epidural. The contractions were so intense during this hour that I was crying and could hardly stand it. The epidural was finally in and working by 1am. My nurse checked me at that point and realized that I was actually 8 cm dilated (SO much more painful than the 6 cm I had planned on!). Now that I was feeling good, Matt and I planned to watch a movie and take a nap. But only 30 minutes later, at 1:30am, I started feeling a lot of pressure and I asked my nurse if it was at all possible that I was fully dilated. She said it was definitely possible and checked me again. It took her about 2 seconds to say, "Yep! Her head is right there. Try not to push until Dr. Sundstrom gets in here." So about 10 minutes later, the doctor was there and I was starting to push. About 3 contractions later (only 10 minutes of pushing), Cora arrived at 1:53am. She was 7 lb. 14 oz., 20 in. long, and had a head circumference of 13.4 in.
She hardly cried at all and they laid her on my chest. She laid there for a long time and fell asleep. She was so mellow, and I was able to nurse her within the first hour. It took the nurse a while to get her temperature up enough to bathe her. So, she sat with me for hours. Matt finally got to hold her about 3 hours later.
Recovery was so much easier with Cora than with Tyler. I had quite a bit of pain and trouble nursing her at first. A few days after we were home with her, her doctor said that her bilirubin levels were too high and we had to put her on the "bili-blanket" at home for a few days. She was so lethargic that she wouldn't nurse, and I had to pump for a few days so that she could eat. Now that her jaundice is gone and she is more alert, we are getting the hang of breastfeeding.
Tyler opening his present from Cora: The Winnie the Pooh movie and a pack of M&M's. He seemed like he didn't know what to think when he came to visit us in the hospital.
Going home
My parents drove up while I was in labor and went to my aunt's and uncle's house until we called them to tell them I was ready to push. Cora was born while they were parking the car, so they got to meet her almost immediately. My mom stayed for the week and was so helpful...I can't imagine those days without her there. When my parents left, Matt's parents arrived and stayed for almost a week. They were very helpful and Tyler had a blast with both sets of grandparents.
Tyler has his moments where he is very needy of me, and during the first 2 weeks, I was very emotional and couldn't stop crying because I missed my little guy so much. I'm so proud of him and the way he has been handling all of the changes. He loves to see "Baby Toya", he's always asking where she is, he thinks it's hilarious when she has the hiccups or when she sneezes, he gives her kisses and he gently pats her when he sees her. When she cries, he'll say, "Baby Toya eat nummies?" He has been extremely clumsy lately and has multiple bruises on his face, head and body. The other day was my first day by myself with the two kids, and Tyler face planted into the coffee table. He was crying while I hugged him, and then Cora started crying too. Through his sobs he said, "Baby Toya?" and he walked over to her and said, "I have a boo-boo too!" He's so sweet! He thought she was crying because she had a boo-boo (her belly button).
Tyler Update:
I forgot to record the information we got from his 2 year check up:
Weight: 23 lb. 11 oz(8%), Height: 33 3/4 in.(35%), Head Circumference: 49.1 cm(60%)
He LOVES to sing. His favorites:
Jesus Loves Me: "Je-us yuv me, I know, for bible tell me so."
The B.I.B.L.E.: "The B-I-B-I-B"
The ABC's: "A-B-E-B-E-B-B"
The song my dad made up for us when we were little that goes, "I love my Jenny Benny Boo, I love my [Tyler] too.": "I yuv Benny Benny Boo, I yuv Ty-yer too!"
When my parents were here, he finally started calling them by name: G-ma and G-pa.
When I asked Tyler what I was doing when my water broke (I thought he'd point to the kitchen stove), he thought for a minute and just pointed to Cora. He's so smart!
Last week, he went to the Tallahassee Museum with Matt and his Nana and Papa. I love when he tells me about what he saw, "The emu, the big bear, the wolves, no otter..." (The otters weren't there that day). Matt said that a big vulture on the other side of the fence was just following Tyler along. So, Matt told Tyler to be careful and not get too close. So, Tyler said, "Eat Ty-Ty." That bird probably did want to eat him!
He's always imitating people's words and actions. He saw some kids playing baseball at the park recently, and now he can actually swing a bat and hit the ball. I can't wait for him to play team sports. It'll be so fun.
One day when my mom was here, she told him she was taking him to the store to get him a present. He was so excited. She let him choose between a Buzz Lightyear action figure and a Woody action figure. He couldn't decide, so he came home with both! I don't know if I've ever seen a happier little boy. He was SO excited. He just kept dancing around and laughing. He would hold Buzz out like he was flying and say, "And Beyond!" He must have picked that phrase up from the movies. He is amazing.
Meeting Gigi
First bath at home.
Meeting Great-Aunt Linda
