WEBVTT 00:00:13.019 --> 00:00:17.179 Welcome back to No Manual on Momcast, where we're 00:00:17.179 --> 00:00:20.039 here just to tell real stories of real motherhood, 00:00:20.179 --> 00:00:22.980 to laugh, cry together, make you feel like you're 00:00:22.980 --> 00:00:27.339 not alone in this crazy journey. In today's episode, 00:00:27.760 --> 00:00:31.370 we're welcoming the new member of the crew. Cruz, 00:00:31.710 --> 00:00:34.810 Laura's new baby boy. And she's going to tell 00:00:34.810 --> 00:00:38.210 us all about the story to get him here. And you 00:00:38.210 --> 00:00:39.950 were definitely going to hear lots of baby grunts. 00:00:40.329 --> 00:00:42.609 Lots of baby grunts. Maybe two little babies. 00:00:42.990 --> 00:00:46.329 A few cries here and there. So we're excited 00:00:46.329 --> 00:00:48.789 to hear Laura's story. I actually haven't. I 00:00:48.789 --> 00:00:51.170 mean, you've told me bits and pieces, but I haven't 00:00:51.170 --> 00:00:53.030 heard it. So this will be the first time for 00:00:53.030 --> 00:00:55.259 me hearing it, too. Yep. Do you want to start 00:00:55.259 --> 00:00:57.340 with your mom moment of the week? I would love 00:00:57.340 --> 00:00:59.960 to. So actually I'm going to go back to like 00:00:59.960 --> 00:01:03.100 the week of giving birth and I was going to tell 00:01:03.100 --> 00:01:08.060 this mom moment in the story of birth story but 00:01:08.060 --> 00:01:10.760 I want to share it because I'll share it earlier. 00:01:12.060 --> 00:01:13.980 But whenever it was time for me to go to the 00:01:13.980 --> 00:01:19.290 hospital we talked on your episode, Erica of 00:01:19.290 --> 00:01:22.269 Zeta's birth story about like putting Lloyd down 00:01:22.269 --> 00:01:24.409 to sleep for like the last time as an only child. 00:01:24.870 --> 00:01:27.170 And so that is the mom moment I want to talk 00:01:27.170 --> 00:01:32.989 about. And so I was induced. And so I'll talk 00:01:32.989 --> 00:01:35.730 more about that. But putting Colt down for like 00:01:35.730 --> 00:01:40.930 his last nap as an only child was so emotional. 00:01:41.409 --> 00:01:46.000 I Wasn't expecting it to like I think it'd be 00:01:46.000 --> 00:01:48.939 a little bit emotional But yeah as we were leaving 00:01:48.939 --> 00:01:50.599 for the hospital and I was like putting Lloyd 00:01:50.599 --> 00:01:53.560 down Stewart has pictures and I'm just like full 00:01:53.560 --> 00:01:56.079 -on ugly crying. Oh my gosh I wish I wish we 00:01:56.079 --> 00:01:59.120 would have like taken pictures or something of 00:01:59.120 --> 00:02:02.180 the moment because it is something so special 00:02:02.180 --> 00:02:05.260 that I'll hold on to but it also was like the 00:02:05.260 --> 00:02:08.759 saddest moment for me so we like we put Colt 00:02:08.759 --> 00:02:11.060 down and obviously he has no clue what's going 00:02:11.060 --> 00:02:14.099 on right and Michael and I usually don't put 00:02:14.099 --> 00:02:16.919 him down for a nap together gotcha, but like 00:02:16.919 --> 00:02:19.659 we decided to put him down for his nap together 00:02:19.659 --> 00:02:22.719 and both Michael and I are just like full on 00:02:22.719 --> 00:02:27.659 I'm like ugly crying and Michael's like we're 00:02:27.659 --> 00:02:30.780 doing like his prayer before his nap to put him 00:02:30.780 --> 00:02:33.099 down and I could tell like Michael's like choking 00:02:33.099 --> 00:02:36.340 on his words and yep and Colts like what the 00:02:36.340 --> 00:02:40.919 heck is even happening and it was just so So 00:02:40.919 --> 00:02:43.719 emotional and Colt, yeah Colt's like, okay guys, 00:02:43.979 --> 00:02:46.780 like I'm gonna take my nap. See you later Deuces. 00:02:47.259 --> 00:02:49.979 Yeah, and I'm just like crying and like holding 00:02:49.979 --> 00:02:52.840 Michael and holding Colt and it was a whole thing, 00:02:52.840 --> 00:02:57.300 but it was so sweet and so special and so sad 00:02:57.300 --> 00:03:00.400 and Like I just want to hold on to it forever. 00:03:00.840 --> 00:03:03.060 But yeah, that's my mom moment. What about you? 00:03:03.800 --> 00:03:07.479 Um, so mine's more of like a funny mom moment. 00:03:07.900 --> 00:03:11.530 So Stuart usually handles bath time and somehow 00:03:11.530 --> 00:03:13.870 he's becomes, I mean, not that I'm surprised, 00:03:13.969 --> 00:03:15.810 but he's super dad and he can bathe both kids 00:03:15.810 --> 00:03:18.370 at the same time. I don't know how he does it. 00:03:18.610 --> 00:03:21.210 I haven't attempted it yet, but he does it every 00:03:21.210 --> 00:03:23.650 time you have bath time. Yeah. And so usually 00:03:23.650 --> 00:03:25.370 while he does that, like I help him get them 00:03:25.370 --> 00:03:28.870 ready and then he gets them in the bath and I 00:03:28.870 --> 00:03:31.169 go and like tidy the house or take like 30 seconds 00:03:31.169 --> 00:03:34.319 myself, whatever. So the other day it's bath 00:03:34.319 --> 00:03:37.300 time. I'm like downstairs tidying and then I 00:03:37.300 --> 00:03:42.680 just hear Stuart yell and Lloyd start like sobbing 00:03:42.680 --> 00:03:45.900 and So I like obviously perk up and then I can 00:03:45.900 --> 00:03:48.400 tell like okay, nothing like everyone's okay 00:03:48.400 --> 00:03:50.819 So I'm gonna like finish what I'm doing and then 00:03:50.819 --> 00:03:52.719 after I do Lloyd's still crying somebody should 00:03:52.719 --> 00:03:54.379 probably check in make sure everyone's okay, 00:03:54.879 --> 00:03:57.759 and I like walk upstairs and I'm like walking 00:03:57.759 --> 00:04:00.979 up to the bathroom and just hear Stuart say Lloyd 00:04:00.979 --> 00:04:03.900 buddy I like I know this is a bummer but I just 00:04:03.900 --> 00:04:06.439 told you you can't play with Zeta's poop water 00:04:06.439 --> 00:04:10.840 so Zeta had pooped in the bath and Lloyd wanted 00:04:10.840 --> 00:04:13.699 to play with the poop water and obviously Stuart's 00:04:13.699 --> 00:04:16.060 not gonna let that happen so this is more of 00:04:16.060 --> 00:04:18.180 his moment but just like walking up and hearing 00:04:18.180 --> 00:04:21.370 that was maybe the funniest thing way I could 00:04:21.370 --> 00:04:23.550 have learned about what happened. Cause Lloyd 00:04:23.550 --> 00:04:26.689 was still like full on crying. Cause I'm sure 00:04:26.689 --> 00:04:28.050 it was just like it startled him that Stewart 00:04:28.050 --> 00:04:31.029 yelled at him. Stewart's like a very calm, cool, 00:04:31.129 --> 00:04:35.189 collected, like he doesn't yell. So yes, that 00:04:35.189 --> 00:04:37.730 was it. That's hilarious. Lloyd couldn't play 00:04:37.730 --> 00:04:40.129 with the poop water and Zeta pooped in the bath. 00:04:40.310 --> 00:04:42.990 That's like kind of a double whammy right there. 00:04:43.269 --> 00:04:47.730 Yeah. Oh my gosh. Well, you know, two kids is 00:04:47.730 --> 00:04:49.860 quite the journey. And we'll talk about that 00:04:49.860 --> 00:04:52.600 on another podcast. Yes, we have that ready to 00:04:52.600 --> 00:04:55.500 go. Yeah. So where do you want to start with 00:04:55.500 --> 00:04:58.519 your birth story for? So I probably want to start 00:04:58.519 --> 00:05:03.000 like my pregnancy really was fairly smooth. I'm 00:05:03.000 --> 00:05:05.040 so grateful for that. And were you surprised? 00:05:05.139 --> 00:05:06.459 We might have talked about this already, but 00:05:06.459 --> 00:05:07.920 were you surprised finding out you're pregnant 00:05:07.920 --> 00:05:12.680 this time? Yes. Oh, yeah. Very surprised since. 00:05:13.399 --> 00:05:16.120 with our infertility journey, we just didn't 00:05:16.120 --> 00:05:19.420 know if we could get pregnant naturally, which 00:05:19.420 --> 00:05:22.680 this time it was natural. And so we were very 00:05:22.680 --> 00:05:26.699 surprised, very happy, but we were not planning 00:05:26.699 --> 00:05:30.860 on having kids this close in age. But obviously, 00:05:31.120 --> 00:05:33.019 God has a plan for everything and it works out 00:05:33.019 --> 00:05:34.759 the way it's supposed to work out. And we're 00:05:34.759 --> 00:05:38.910 so, so grateful. So I'm super thankful for a 00:05:38.910 --> 00:05:42.810 smooth pregnancy. Obviously, it's been exhausting 00:05:42.810 --> 00:05:48.310 with or it was exhausting with Colts being anywhere 00:05:48.310 --> 00:05:52.310 from he was 11 months whenever we got pregnant, 00:05:52.310 --> 00:05:57.470 and then he's now 20 months. So he's just a terror 00:05:57.470 --> 00:06:00.519 in a good way. Right. It's that tough stage. 00:06:00.819 --> 00:06:03.420 Oh, yeah. Oh, yeah running it all around wanting 00:06:03.420 --> 00:06:06.680 to jump off everything So i'm so grateful for 00:06:06.680 --> 00:06:08.720 a smooth pregnancy, especially for that reason 00:06:08.720 --> 00:06:11.500 chasing a toddler around But really i'll jump 00:06:11.500 --> 00:06:14.980 ahead to my 39 week appointment is when things 00:06:14.980 --> 00:06:18.699 kind of started to change So I went in for my 00:06:18.699 --> 00:06:23.100 39 week appointment they at this point checked 00:06:23.100 --> 00:06:25.319 my blood pressure like they do at every appointment 00:06:25.319 --> 00:06:29.399 and It was a little more elevated than it had 00:06:29.399 --> 00:06:34.699 been. So it was like 130 something over, I think 00:06:34.699 --> 00:06:37.860 it was like 90. Okay. Yeah. And so they were 00:06:37.860 --> 00:06:41.399 like, you know, that's kind of a red flag to 00:06:41.399 --> 00:06:43.540 us a little bit that like things are starting 00:06:43.540 --> 00:06:47.459 to get a little bit higher, which either means 00:06:47.459 --> 00:06:50.439 like, okay, labor's like going to happen about 00:06:50.439 --> 00:06:54.420 to start. Yeah. Or you could be preeclampsic. 00:06:54.639 --> 00:06:57.329 So you may have preeclampsia. That's not a scary 00:06:57.329 --> 00:07:00.290 thing to hear at all. Yeah, right. I know. So 00:07:00.290 --> 00:07:03.810 my doctor, she said, let's go down and have you 00:07:03.810 --> 00:07:05.870 get some labs, and then we'll take a look at 00:07:05.870 --> 00:07:09.470 those labs. And so I went and did that, got the 00:07:09.470 --> 00:07:13.470 results back within 24 hours. So this was on, 00:07:13.750 --> 00:07:16.529 I think it was on a Monday or something. OK. 00:07:16.990 --> 00:07:20.990 And is this after? We had talked and you thought 00:07:20.990 --> 00:07:22.970 maybe you were in labor. Was this before or after 00:07:22.970 --> 00:07:27.670 that? This is after, after that, yeah. I thought 00:07:27.670 --> 00:07:31.329 I was in labor multiple times, had contractions 00:07:31.329 --> 00:07:33.649 that would be pretty consistent and then they 00:07:33.649 --> 00:07:37.129 would just stop. And they weren't super painful 00:07:37.129 --> 00:07:39.550 where I was like, okay, I need to go to the hospital 00:07:39.550 --> 00:07:42.029 right now. So we just monitored things at home. 00:07:42.769 --> 00:07:44.829 And then they would just stop out of nowhere. 00:07:45.850 --> 00:07:49.920 Which is almost more annoying. Yeah, yeah. And 00:07:49.920 --> 00:07:52.439 so I think this was, yeah, like on a Monday or 00:07:52.439 --> 00:07:55.680 a Tuesday that I had this appointment, got the 00:07:55.680 --> 00:07:59.079 labs within 24 hours. And there was definitely 00:07:59.079 --> 00:08:02.319 some numbers that were kind of alarming, like 00:08:02.319 --> 00:08:05.980 the protein in my urine was, I think it's supposed 00:08:05.980 --> 00:08:11.699 to be under 200 and it was like 744. So it sounded 00:08:11.699 --> 00:08:15.339 pretty high to me. And there was a few other 00:08:15.339 --> 00:08:19.660 things like with preeclampsia, They want to look 00:08:19.660 --> 00:08:22.959 at, oh gosh, it was, I forget the name of it, 00:08:23.040 --> 00:08:26.540 but there was another number that was super high. 00:08:26.720 --> 00:08:29.860 And then obviously my blood pressure was something 00:08:29.860 --> 00:08:32.860 that was alarming as well. The weird part though 00:08:32.860 --> 00:08:35.960 was, so I called when I got the results, I was 00:08:35.960 --> 00:08:37.840 like, okay, that looks a little off. And I hadn't 00:08:37.840 --> 00:08:41.500 heard from my doctor yet. So I called the advice 00:08:41.500 --> 00:08:45.299 nurse and then no, just no one called me back. 00:08:45.600 --> 00:08:49.580 And so I was like, okay, yeah, does this not 00:08:49.580 --> 00:08:52.679 matter? The other thing at my appointment was 00:08:52.679 --> 00:08:55.519 like, okay, you need to get a blood pressure 00:08:55.519 --> 00:08:58.000 cuff and start taking your blood pressure every 00:08:58.000 --> 00:09:03.019 day at home. If it gets over 140 over 90, you 00:09:03.019 --> 00:09:05.860 need to call us. And so mine was like right below 00:09:05.860 --> 00:09:08.740 that at my appointment. I did not have a blood 00:09:08.740 --> 00:09:12.419 pressure cuff. And so it was actually not until 00:09:12.419 --> 00:09:16.899 Saturday of that week. My mom flew into town 00:09:16.899 --> 00:09:20.240 knowing that she was coming to help us with Colt. 00:09:20.240 --> 00:09:22.700 She was going to watch him if I happened to go 00:09:22.700 --> 00:09:25.700 into labor while she was in town and then also 00:09:25.700 --> 00:09:30.480 help us with the baby whenever the baby got here. 00:09:31.580 --> 00:09:33.440 And it just so happened she brought her blood 00:09:33.440 --> 00:09:36.279 pressure cuff. I actually had asked her to. So 00:09:36.279 --> 00:09:38.379 she got there and that was like the first thing 00:09:38.379 --> 00:09:40.679 I did when she arrived was take my blood pressure. 00:09:41.299 --> 00:09:45.460 And it was 140 over 92 or something like that. 00:09:45.460 --> 00:09:47.899 And I was like, oh crap, okay. She was like, 00:09:47.899 --> 00:09:50.980 you need to call your doctor. And so I did, I 00:09:50.980 --> 00:09:54.399 called the advice nurse and then the OB called 00:09:54.399 --> 00:09:57.080 me back. pretty quickly actually. It was like 00:09:57.080 --> 00:10:00.340 within 10 minutes. Yeah, which is also like you 00:10:00.340 --> 00:10:02.159 never want a doctor to call you and you never 00:10:02.159 --> 00:10:04.559 want them to call you back quickly. Yeah. That's 00:10:04.559 --> 00:10:06.679 always scary. So when I got on the phone with 00:10:06.679 --> 00:10:09.299 the doctor, she was like, okay, let me look at 00:10:09.299 --> 00:10:13.059 your labs that you got and then your blood pressure 00:10:13.059 --> 00:10:16.080 was was this. And as she looked at my lab, she 00:10:16.080 --> 00:10:20.299 was like, yeah, you need to put your bags in 00:10:20.299 --> 00:10:22.639 the car and you guys need to come in and you're 00:10:22.639 --> 00:10:24.460 not you're not going to leave the hospital until 00:10:24.460 --> 00:10:28.350 you have a baby. And I was like, oh, all right, 00:10:28.370 --> 00:10:33.129 cool, that's scary. And so I just like all of 00:10:33.129 --> 00:10:36.190 a sudden was like in shock of like, oh, this 00:10:36.190 --> 00:10:38.990 is happening. Like this is not happening how 00:10:38.990 --> 00:10:40.990 I wanted it to happen. Obviously I wanted to 00:10:40.990 --> 00:10:45.450 go into labor naturally, but this is gonna happen 00:10:45.450 --> 00:10:49.429 today or tomorrow pretty much. And so that's 00:10:49.429 --> 00:10:53.830 when we like, thankfully my mom got there. had 00:10:53.830 --> 00:10:56.529 just arrived. So she was ready to take care of 00:10:56.529 --> 00:11:00.330 Colt for us. And we had our bags packed and it 00:11:00.330 --> 00:11:03.049 was like just about nap time. So I was like, 00:11:03.129 --> 00:11:05.769 okay, I want to put Colt down for his nap one 00:11:05.769 --> 00:11:09.289 last time as an only child. So we did that. I 00:11:09.289 --> 00:11:11.649 took a shower. So I was like, I don't want to 00:11:11.649 --> 00:11:14.450 go to the hospital, like feeling totally disgusting, 00:11:14.470 --> 00:11:16.610 even though I'm going to feel totally disgusting. 00:11:16.610 --> 00:11:18.850 Yeah. You want to start from a fresh place. Yeah. 00:11:19.590 --> 00:11:23.440 And so we did that. got in the car and we were 00:11:23.440 --> 00:11:25.419 like, oh crap, this is really happening, got 00:11:25.419 --> 00:11:28.460 to the hospital, checked in. And being induced 00:11:28.460 --> 00:11:31.940 is like, I feel like, I mean, it's so much different 00:11:31.940 --> 00:11:34.340 than like going into labor naturally and going 00:11:34.340 --> 00:11:38.080 to the hospital. We kind of took our time a little 00:11:38.080 --> 00:11:41.200 bit to get to the hospital when they check you 00:11:41.200 --> 00:11:43.179 in. It's like, they're not really rushing to 00:11:43.179 --> 00:11:47.480 get you in a room or anything like that. It seemed 00:11:47.480 --> 00:11:50.159 like they were not super busy, even though they 00:11:50.159 --> 00:11:53.320 said they were super busy, but they got me back 00:11:53.320 --> 00:11:57.480 into vitals really quick, had labs redone to 00:11:57.480 --> 00:12:01.700 just confirm everything that they were thinking 00:12:01.700 --> 00:12:06.220 was happening. And it was. So they were like, 00:12:06.220 --> 00:12:10.399 yeah, you have preeclampsia and it would actually 00:12:10.399 --> 00:12:14.120 be malpractice if we sent you home. And so you're 00:12:14.120 --> 00:12:16.570 going to have a baby today or tomorrow. I was 00:12:16.570 --> 00:12:19.929 like, okay, well. That wasn't the plan, but here 00:12:19.929 --> 00:12:24.750 we are. And so they got me back to a room and 00:12:24.750 --> 00:12:29.009 started me on Potosun, which is like totally 00:12:29.009 --> 00:12:31.750 not what I wanted to do. I was like, is there 00:12:31.750 --> 00:12:34.710 any other option than Potosun? And she was like, 00:12:35.129 --> 00:12:37.250 no, they were going to do the Cytotec, which 00:12:37.250 --> 00:12:39.460 is like. What they kind of did for you, right? 00:12:39.960 --> 00:12:44.440 But they said something about, um, the preeclampsia, 00:12:44.820 --> 00:12:48.740 like you can't take cytotech. There's some kind 00:12:48.740 --> 00:12:52.059 of like negative effect or something like that. 00:12:52.159 --> 00:12:53.759 Yeah. I don't know if it has to do with the blood 00:12:53.759 --> 00:12:58.039 pressure or what. And so they started me on pitocin 00:12:58.039 --> 00:13:01.019 pretty quickly. Like they got me in a room within, 00:13:01.200 --> 00:13:03.720 I don't know, probably within 30 minutes to an 00:13:03.720 --> 00:13:07.399 hour of getting to the hospital. Got the IV in. 00:13:07.450 --> 00:13:10.950 got the pitocin started. They say you can get 00:13:10.950 --> 00:13:13.529 up to like a level 20. I don't know what our 00:13:13.529 --> 00:13:15.769 dosage of 20. I don't know what it means. I don't 00:13:15.769 --> 00:13:17.490 know what any of that, but they start you on 00:13:17.490 --> 00:13:22.090 one and then like escalate or up it one or two 00:13:22.090 --> 00:13:25.889 every 30 minutes to an hour just to like slowly 00:13:25.889 --> 00:13:29.110 bring on the contractions and not just like, 00:13:29.110 --> 00:13:33.230 I don't know, set you into full on death before. 00:13:34.070 --> 00:13:37.090 Yeah. But for me, so they They started me on 00:13:37.090 --> 00:13:40.409 one and they were like, you probably won't really 00:13:40.409 --> 00:13:44.090 feel contractions for, for a little bit. Like 00:13:44.090 --> 00:13:46.169 it could be like we could get all the way up 00:13:46.169 --> 00:13:50.090 to like four and yeah. And you may not even feel 00:13:50.090 --> 00:13:52.809 anything yet. But one, like I started feeling 00:13:52.809 --> 00:13:55.809 contractions within like maybe 20 minutes, 30 00:13:55.809 --> 00:13:59.269 minutes. And they were like kind of significant. 00:13:59.389 --> 00:14:01.350 And I don't know if maybe, maybe I just have 00:14:01.350 --> 00:14:03.450 a low pain tolerance. I don't know. I mean, I 00:14:03.450 --> 00:14:06.769 know Pitocin. Or at least what I have been told 00:14:06.769 --> 00:14:10.830 is that pitocin makes contractions more intense 00:14:10.830 --> 00:14:16.669 because it's essentially your body releases oxytocin 00:14:16.669 --> 00:14:19.370 when you're in labor. So it like you get happy 00:14:19.370 --> 00:14:21.409 hits every time you have a contraction. Yeah. 00:14:21.830 --> 00:14:24.029 Pitocin is a synthetic version of that. So your 00:14:24.029 --> 00:14:26.169 brain isn't giving you the happy hits. It's just 00:14:26.169 --> 00:14:29.490 giving you the contractions. So like your body 00:14:29.490 --> 00:14:31.769 isn't compensating for the pain. It's just like 00:14:31.769 --> 00:14:33.690 experiencing the pain. That is what I have heard. 00:14:34.269 --> 00:14:36.950 That totally makes sense. Yeah. The other thing 00:14:36.950 --> 00:14:40.230 is like with the pitocin contractions, they like 00:14:40.230 --> 00:14:43.870 plateau for a bit and then they come down. I 00:14:43.870 --> 00:14:46.590 think with like natural contractions, it's like 00:14:46.590 --> 00:14:49.490 it hits the peak and then comes down right away 00:14:49.490 --> 00:14:52.870 with the pitocin contractions. It's like at the 00:14:52.870 --> 00:14:56.809 peak for a while and then it comes down. So I 00:14:56.809 --> 00:15:00.190 felt them significantly pretty quickly. And then 00:15:00.190 --> 00:15:02.899 the other thing that they did So they checked 00:15:02.899 --> 00:15:06.279 my cervix to see how dilated I was and at my 00:15:06.279 --> 00:15:08.559 39 week appointment I was still a centimeter 00:15:08.559 --> 00:15:12.159 like one and a half centimeters and So they checked 00:15:12.159 --> 00:15:14.759 me again at the beginning and I was still at 00:15:14.759 --> 00:15:20.000 like one and a half And so they actually inserted 00:15:20.000 --> 00:15:23.129 a balloon Yep, I've heard of that. Yeah. And 00:15:23.129 --> 00:15:26.029 it's really, it's actually two balloons. Okay. 00:15:26.129 --> 00:15:29.110 And one goes like fully in your uterus and one's 00:15:29.110 --> 00:15:32.009 in your cervix. Gotcha. And basically what it 00:15:32.009 --> 00:15:35.309 does, so they fill up the balloons with saline 00:15:35.309 --> 00:15:39.309 or something to, it's approximately like four 00:15:39.309 --> 00:15:42.830 centimeters. Got it. And the balloons are supposed 00:15:42.830 --> 00:15:45.610 to naturally fall out when you reach like four 00:15:45.610 --> 00:15:48.350 or five centimeters. And so that's how it's supposed 00:15:48.350 --> 00:15:52.080 to like push your cervix open. a little bit more 00:15:52.080 --> 00:15:54.179 rather than just letting the contractions do 00:15:54.179 --> 00:15:56.940 their thing. Okay. But it's supposed to just 00:15:56.940 --> 00:16:01.480 like help with that dilation. But man, that was 00:16:01.480 --> 00:16:04.940 so painful, like getting the balloons inserted. 00:16:05.519 --> 00:16:07.299 I mean, it doesn't sound like a fun experience. 00:16:07.639 --> 00:16:10.700 No. And like they don't inflate the balloons 00:16:10.700 --> 00:16:13.679 with the saline until it's they're in you. But 00:16:13.679 --> 00:16:18.580 like it's still uncomfortable getting them inserted 00:16:18.580 --> 00:16:20.610 because they're like I mean, they're pushing 00:16:20.610 --> 00:16:22.309 them up there. Yeah. And especially if you're 00:16:22.309 --> 00:16:24.370 already having contractions, having anything 00:16:24.370 --> 00:16:27.210 going on down there is not a good time. And they 00:16:27.210 --> 00:16:30.269 were like, you know, it could take you a couple 00:16:30.269 --> 00:16:32.649 of hours to get to four centimeters and have 00:16:32.649 --> 00:16:36.570 them fall out on their own. And they were like, 00:16:36.750 --> 00:16:40.149 every 30 ish minutes, just give like, give them 00:16:40.149 --> 00:16:43.549 a little tug to see if they're going to come 00:16:43.549 --> 00:16:45.289 out on their own. And I was like, don't like 00:16:45.289 --> 00:16:48.070 that. I was like, could maybe you guys do that? 00:16:48.139 --> 00:16:51.080 I don't really want to do that to myself. And 00:16:51.080 --> 00:16:52.659 they were like, yeah, you need to like kind of 00:16:52.659 --> 00:16:56.120 pull it kind of hard to see if they'll just come 00:16:56.120 --> 00:17:00.940 out naturally. So that was really fun. I've heard 00:17:00.940 --> 00:17:03.120 of the balloons. I've never heard that part. 00:17:03.159 --> 00:17:07.140 Yeah, yeah. So that all happened. This was probably 00:17:07.140 --> 00:17:11.839 around, I don't know, four p .m. ish. So we like 00:17:11.839 --> 00:17:14.700 when we went into the hospital around one and 00:17:14.700 --> 00:17:17.970 this was probably around four, I think. It kind 00:17:17.970 --> 00:17:21.390 of is all a blur. And then the other thing I 00:17:21.390 --> 00:17:25.089 asked for, I was like, is your guys' tub working? 00:17:26.329 --> 00:17:28.390 Because I wanted to go and labor in there. I 00:17:28.390 --> 00:17:30.829 wanted to labor in the tub. I was like, I know 00:17:30.829 --> 00:17:33.750 that that can help relieve the contraction pain 00:17:33.750 --> 00:17:37.250 a bit. And so it was funny to me because they 00:17:37.250 --> 00:17:40.750 didn't even really. Think about that until I 00:17:40.750 --> 00:17:43.309 asked and then the nurse was like, let me see 00:17:43.309 --> 00:17:46.730 if it's working like running like it I was like, 00:17:46.730 --> 00:17:49.970 does no one really use this? I mean we gave birth 00:17:49.970 --> 00:17:53.190 at the same hospital and I did yeah, it was Definitely 00:17:53.190 --> 00:17:56.509 open and then like it's like no way. Yeah like 00:17:56.509 --> 00:17:58.890 that one It did take them a while to like get 00:17:58.890 --> 00:18:00.630 it all set up for me I think they had to clean 00:18:00.630 --> 00:18:05.309 it and okay. Yeah, but so it was probably I don't 00:18:05.309 --> 00:18:09.140 know 530 that I actually got to go in the tub, 00:18:09.660 --> 00:18:13.519 which that helped significantly. It's crazy how 00:18:13.519 --> 00:18:16.539 much the water helps. Oh, yeah. Yeah. And I just, 00:18:16.779 --> 00:18:18.960 I mean, I didn't get to experience that with 00:18:18.960 --> 00:18:22.880 Colt because they were like remodeling the tub 00:18:22.880 --> 00:18:26.259 or remodeling that room. And so I didn't get 00:18:26.259 --> 00:18:30.980 to experience that the first time. So this second 00:18:30.980 --> 00:18:34.599 labor. I was like, this makes a huge difference. 00:18:34.599 --> 00:18:37.079 Makes a huge difference. I absolutely understand 00:18:37.079 --> 00:18:40.599 water births now. It's like, oh, if you just 00:18:40.599 --> 00:18:43.319 stayed in there until you gave birth, I get why 00:18:43.319 --> 00:18:46.460 you do that for the relief of it, for sure. So 00:18:46.460 --> 00:18:48.819 I probably stayed in the tub for, I think I was 00:18:48.819 --> 00:18:51.380 in there for like two hours or something. And 00:18:51.380 --> 00:18:53.319 I was like, I don't know how long people stay 00:18:53.319 --> 00:18:56.279 in here for, but I'm pretty happy being in here. 00:18:57.059 --> 00:19:00.359 And if it's helping? Yeah. And at that point, 00:19:00.759 --> 00:19:04.660 I was like, OK, the balloon thing was still there. 00:19:05.000 --> 00:19:08.299 So I was like, I'm still not at four centimeters, 00:19:09.039 --> 00:19:12.059 which is frustrating. So I was like, I'm just 00:19:12.059 --> 00:19:13.740 going to stay in here for a bit. So I was in 00:19:13.740 --> 00:19:15.859 there till like seven thirty ish. The balloon 00:19:15.859 --> 00:19:19.079 was still inserted. And I was like, I probably 00:19:19.079 --> 00:19:23.240 need to eat some food soon because once you. 00:19:23.240 --> 00:19:25.740 get the epidural, which I was like, I had every 00:19:25.740 --> 00:19:28.339 intention to get an epidural. So I was like, 00:19:28.359 --> 00:19:31.119 once I get an epidural, I can't really eat anymore. 00:19:31.400 --> 00:19:34.720 Right. Um, you can't get out of bed. And so I 00:19:34.720 --> 00:19:36.480 was like, it's getting kind of late. So let's 00:19:36.480 --> 00:19:41.799 go back door dash some food and then teriyaki 00:19:41.799 --> 00:19:44.440 madness. Okay. Yeah. It's pretty good. It's just 00:19:44.440 --> 00:19:47.059 like chicken and rice and veggies. And so I was 00:19:47.059 --> 00:19:50.730 like, I need some like protein and Yeah, and 00:19:50.730 --> 00:19:53.309 carbs to get me through this next little bit. 00:19:53.329 --> 00:19:55.529 For sure. And at that point, like getting out 00:19:55.529 --> 00:19:57.910 of the water, I think they'd upped my pitocin. 00:19:57.970 --> 00:19:59.950 I think I was probably at like four or six at 00:19:59.950 --> 00:20:03.410 this point. Okay. Contractions were very painful 00:20:03.410 --> 00:20:06.490 out of the water. And I was so frustrated that 00:20:06.490 --> 00:20:09.029 this stupid balloon thing was still inserted. 00:20:09.650 --> 00:20:12.769 And with Cole, I only got to four centimeters 00:20:12.769 --> 00:20:16.710 before like things just stopped. Okay. And so 00:20:16.710 --> 00:20:20.299 that was a fear in my head of like, My body's 00:20:20.299 --> 00:20:23.240 not even going to get to four centimeters. This 00:20:23.240 --> 00:20:25.400 balloon thing's not even going to come out on 00:20:25.400 --> 00:20:27.480 its own. They're going to have to force it out. 00:20:27.920 --> 00:20:29.799 I'm going to have to have a c -section again, 00:20:29.960 --> 00:20:33.480 blah, blah, blah. It was shortly after dinner 00:20:33.480 --> 00:20:37.359 that they pulled the balloon and it finally did 00:20:37.359 --> 00:20:42.160 come out, thankfully, which that is the weirdest 00:20:42.160 --> 00:20:46.099 feeling. I won't even explain it, but it's like 00:20:46.099 --> 00:20:49.740 two balloons coming out. So that was very weird. 00:20:49.900 --> 00:20:52.400 Yeah. Again, this whole thing does not sound 00:20:52.400 --> 00:20:55.119 like a good time. No, no. But I was so grateful 00:20:55.119 --> 00:20:57.880 because then the doctor was like, OK, that means 00:20:57.880 --> 00:21:00.519 you're like, you're at least at four centimeters. 00:21:00.900 --> 00:21:03.640 You could be a five. And they're like, we could 00:21:03.640 --> 00:21:06.019 do a cervical check, but or we could just let 00:21:06.019 --> 00:21:08.019 things continue. And I was like, let's just let 00:21:08.019 --> 00:21:11.240 things continue. So I was like, that means I'm 00:21:11.240 --> 00:21:13.890 at least at that. So that's good. And positive. 00:21:13.890 --> 00:21:15.650 That feels like a relief, especially with your 00:21:15.650 --> 00:21:19.869 history. Yeah. And so this was, I don't know, 00:21:20.069 --> 00:21:23.750 probably 8 or 9 p .m. And at this point they 00:21:23.750 --> 00:21:26.250 were like, let's just keep upping your pitocin 00:21:26.250 --> 00:21:28.769 every little bit and then we'll do a cervical 00:21:28.769 --> 00:21:30.470 check in a little bit and see where you're at. 00:21:30.970 --> 00:21:34.769 And I'm like on the ground, like laboring for 00:21:34.769 --> 00:21:39.029 a bit, using like their exercise ball thing to 00:21:39.029 --> 00:21:42.630 like lean over. The counter pressure, which is 00:21:42.630 --> 00:21:45.829 like the hip pushing, did not feel good. Oh, 00:21:45.910 --> 00:21:48.470 that didn't help you? No. That was like my saving 00:21:48.470 --> 00:21:52.329 grace for both labors. It was for the first labor, 00:21:52.390 --> 00:21:55.670 but this time it just was like so irritating 00:21:55.670 --> 00:21:58.250 for my body. Like I didn't want anyone to touch 00:21:58.250 --> 00:22:01.630 me. I didn't want anyone to like touch my back 00:22:01.630 --> 00:22:05.039 or anything. It just, everything was so painful. 00:22:05.359 --> 00:22:07.720 I just wanted to like, I didn't even want to 00:22:07.720 --> 00:22:10.319 talk during contractions. I was like, nobody 00:22:10.319 --> 00:22:13.579 talked to me. And like, so my best friend was 00:22:13.579 --> 00:22:16.900 in the delivery room too. Her name is Kimber 00:22:16.900 --> 00:22:21.150 and my husband too was there. They're just like 00:22:21.150 --> 00:22:24.029 having a great time too. They're obviously super 00:22:24.029 --> 00:22:26.369 helpful as well, but during contractions I'm 00:22:26.369 --> 00:22:29.650 like, can you guys shut up? Yeah, like I need 00:22:29.650 --> 00:22:32.650 to focus on this contraction and every little 00:22:32.650 --> 00:22:35.049 thing annoys you Yeah, at least in my experience. 00:22:35.170 --> 00:22:37.369 It's like there's something that you don't want 00:22:37.369 --> 00:22:39.869 to be happening Normally you're like, this is 00:22:39.869 --> 00:22:41.470 irritating but during contractions you're like, 00:22:41.549 --> 00:22:44.450 I will kill you. Yes Oh my gosh, and I was like, 00:22:44.490 --> 00:22:47.609 please don't talk to me. Please don't talk about 00:22:47.609 --> 00:22:50.579 anything fun because I just need to focus on 00:22:50.579 --> 00:22:53.259 this contraction right now. So I just needed 00:22:53.259 --> 00:22:56.799 to focus on every single contraction and everything 00:22:56.799 --> 00:22:59.799 that was going on. And at this point, yeah, it 00:22:59.799 --> 00:23:03.220 was like 9 p .m.-ish, and we're like, let's try 00:23:03.220 --> 00:23:07.480 to get some rest. I don't think I slept all night 00:23:07.480 --> 00:23:11.400 long. It's so hard. Sleeping during labor while 00:23:11.400 --> 00:23:13.900 you're having contractions is almost impossible. 00:23:16.069 --> 00:23:18.349 Midnight, I think it was, I was like, okay, I'm 00:23:18.349 --> 00:23:21.250 ready for the epidural because I just was in 00:23:21.250 --> 00:23:24.309 so much pain. Contractions were happening like 00:23:24.309 --> 00:23:26.430 every minute and a half, two minutes. And you 00:23:26.430 --> 00:23:29.369 just like, you can't really recover in that time. 00:23:30.210 --> 00:23:33.329 You can breathe for a few seconds and then like, 00:23:33.490 --> 00:23:36.740 it starts again. Yeah. Yeah, I asked for the 00:23:36.740 --> 00:23:39.559 epidural. They did a cervical check and they 00:23:39.559 --> 00:23:41.839 were like, you're at like seven centimeters. 00:23:42.319 --> 00:23:44.900 And so I was so proud of myself to even get that 00:23:44.900 --> 00:23:48.119 far because I wasn't sure if my body was progressing. 00:23:48.779 --> 00:23:52.019 I just wasn't sure if it was because of my labor 00:23:52.019 --> 00:23:54.859 with Colt. Yeah, I was super proud of myself 00:23:54.859 --> 00:23:56.779 for even making it that far. And that's almost 00:23:56.779 --> 00:23:59.799 as late as you can get an epidural, right? Yeah, 00:23:59.940 --> 00:24:02.500 I think so. Yeah, I know there's a limit, but 00:24:02.500 --> 00:24:05.579 I don't remember what that is. Yeah. Just because 00:24:05.579 --> 00:24:08.140 then it may not kick in in time or whatever. 00:24:08.720 --> 00:24:10.559 And so, yeah, I think it was around midnight. 00:24:10.640 --> 00:24:12.900 I got the epidural. When they came in for the 00:24:12.900 --> 00:24:15.380 epidural, I was super nervous just because I 00:24:15.380 --> 00:24:19.259 knew I remembered it clearly from first labor. 00:24:20.319 --> 00:24:23.359 This time they let Michael sit in front of me. 00:24:23.640 --> 00:24:25.720 Last time they had him sit on the couch because 00:24:25.720 --> 00:24:27.500 they weren't sure if he was going to pass out 00:24:27.500 --> 00:24:29.960 or something. But this time they actually asked 00:24:29.960 --> 00:24:32.319 him to sit in front of me and hold my hands and 00:24:32.319 --> 00:24:37.200 make sure I didn't Jerk my body and stuff and 00:24:37.200 --> 00:24:40.220 it takes them I mean it took her a little bit 00:24:40.220 --> 00:24:43.759 so I'm like having a couple contractions in the 00:24:43.759 --> 00:24:47.480 time that like she's like Sterilizing everything 00:24:47.480 --> 00:24:49.819 she's like taping everything up like actually 00:24:49.819 --> 00:24:52.480 doing the epidural and she's like you need to 00:24:52.480 --> 00:24:55.960 stay super still and When you're like full -blown 00:24:55.960 --> 00:24:58.240 contraction, you're like, have you ever had a 00:24:58.240 --> 00:25:04.799 baby, right? Yeah, it was wild but Once the epidural 00:25:04.799 --> 00:25:09.640 actually was inserted, I felt relief pretty quick, 00:25:09.680 --> 00:25:14.019 probably within 20 minutes -ish. And the weird 00:25:14.019 --> 00:25:17.599 part about it, I mean, it makes you pretty numb 00:25:17.599 --> 00:25:20.400 all down there. And then my legs were super tingly. 00:25:20.819 --> 00:25:22.859 And then they were saying, if you lean to one 00:25:22.859 --> 00:25:25.619 side, the epidural is going to go towards that 00:25:25.619 --> 00:25:28.259 side. So then my left leg would be super numb, 00:25:28.279 --> 00:25:31.880 but not my right. And so I'd try to shift a little 00:25:31.880 --> 00:25:36.500 bit even it out and it's just an interesting 00:25:36.500 --> 00:25:40.400 feeling. Once the epidural, so the problem with 00:25:40.400 --> 00:25:45.400 Colt and why I had a c -section with him was 00:25:45.400 --> 00:25:50.079 because once I got the epidural, his heart rate 00:25:50.079 --> 00:25:55.009 started to drop every single time I had. a contraction, 00:25:55.109 --> 00:25:57.269 which I couldn't feel the contractions at that 00:25:57.269 --> 00:25:59.490 point. Right. But his heart rate was dropping, 00:25:59.589 --> 00:26:02.609 which meant he was stressed out for some reason. 00:26:03.150 --> 00:26:07.549 With Cruz, he started to do the same thing with 00:26:07.549 --> 00:26:10.509 each contraction, but it wasn't to like the level 00:26:10.509 --> 00:26:13.529 that it was for Colt. But to me that, I mean, 00:26:13.529 --> 00:26:16.069 I just got kind of nervous because I was like, 00:26:16.089 --> 00:26:18.789 crap, like this is the same thing is happening 00:26:18.789 --> 00:26:20.910 right now. And I don't know if it's my body. 00:26:20.950 --> 00:26:23.930 I don't know if it's genetics or what. But it 00:26:23.930 --> 00:26:28.190 was interesting. So like the OB that was on call, 00:26:28.950 --> 00:26:31.769 she like she never mentioned a C -section, which 00:26:31.769 --> 00:26:34.589 was so great. That's super nice. Which is funny 00:26:34.589 --> 00:26:37.210 because she's the one who did my C -section with 00:26:37.210 --> 00:26:39.369 Colt. It just like happened that she was the 00:26:39.369 --> 00:26:43.009 same doctor on call. That was encouraging because 00:26:43.009 --> 00:26:46.329 they just like instead of jumping to a C -section 00:26:46.329 --> 00:26:49.799 knowing that I'd already had one. they just kept 00:26:49.799 --> 00:26:52.640 repositioning me. So they, they noticed if they 00:26:52.640 --> 00:26:54.859 repositioned me. So they'd like turn me on my 00:26:54.859 --> 00:26:56.759 right side, then my left side, then my, then 00:26:56.759 --> 00:26:59.079 I'd be on my back for a bit. Then I'd be like 00:26:59.079 --> 00:27:02.119 flipped over on the bed for a bit. They noticed 00:27:02.119 --> 00:27:05.700 that he would, Cruz would be comfortable for 00:27:05.700 --> 00:27:08.799 like 20, 20ish minutes. And then things would, 00:27:09.500 --> 00:27:12.000 his heart rate would do the same thing again. 00:27:12.339 --> 00:27:15.380 And so this was all throughout the night. This 00:27:15.380 --> 00:27:18.240 was Ever since getting epidural at like 1230 00:27:18.240 --> 00:27:21.500 or whatever time that was until like 730 in the 00:27:21.500 --> 00:27:24.299 morning, they would flip me or reposition me 00:27:24.299 --> 00:27:28.660 every 20 ish minutes, which meant I did not sleep 00:27:28.660 --> 00:27:31.980 at all. Yeah. Yeah. I was grateful. Like Michael 00:27:31.980 --> 00:27:34.180 was able to sleep for a bit. And then my best 00:27:34.180 --> 00:27:36.119 friend, Kimber, who was there, they were both 00:27:36.119 --> 00:27:40.579 able to sleep in that time. and I'm just like 00:27:40.579 --> 00:27:42.940 up, I'm just like scrolling Instagram. I'm not 00:27:42.940 --> 00:27:44.880 really feeling contractions much at this point, 00:27:44.920 --> 00:27:48.039 like I can feel the pressure of them, but I'm 00:27:48.039 --> 00:27:50.579 not feeling them to the point where I'm in pain. 00:27:51.359 --> 00:27:54.220 It's really more just the annoying part was being 00:27:54.220 --> 00:27:59.460 repositioned so much. Yeah, around 7 .30, the 00:27:59.460 --> 00:28:04.359 doctor came in, the OB, same OB. came in and 00:28:04.359 --> 00:28:06.819 did another cervical check. And I think I was 00:28:06.819 --> 00:28:08.740 at like eight and a half or nine centimeters 00:28:08.740 --> 00:28:11.119 at this point. So she was like, you're really 00:28:11.119 --> 00:28:13.680 close. And then things just kind of like slowed 00:28:13.680 --> 00:28:17.059 down for the next two hours. And then they checked 00:28:17.059 --> 00:28:21.059 me again. I think it was like nine ish. And they're 00:28:21.059 --> 00:28:23.039 like, you're at like nine and a half. You have 00:28:23.039 --> 00:28:25.339 like a little bit more, but we're not going to 00:28:25.339 --> 00:28:29.400 have you push yet. And then it was, I think like 00:28:29.400 --> 00:28:32.849 nine 30. They checked me again. She's like, I 00:28:32.849 --> 00:28:34.849 think I might be able to just stretch you to 00:28:34.849 --> 00:28:37.730 a 10, which I'm like, okay. That sounds delightful. 00:28:38.410 --> 00:28:40.309 Yeah. Thankfully I had an epidural because I 00:28:40.309 --> 00:28:44.710 can't imagine how that probably felt without, 00:28:45.190 --> 00:28:47.109 but she was like, she was like, I'm just going 00:28:47.109 --> 00:28:50.009 to stretch you to a 10. And so she did. Then 00:28:50.009 --> 00:28:51.990 she was like, okay, we're going to start, you're 00:28:51.990 --> 00:28:55.970 going to start pushing. And this to me was so, 00:28:56.069 --> 00:29:00.910 I was so excited and also so terrified because 00:29:00.910 --> 00:29:04.599 I, Never gotten to do this before I didn't even 00:29:04.599 --> 00:29:08.339 get to push with coal like I had a c -section 00:29:08.339 --> 00:29:12.440 so like Obviously my goal was a v -back And so 00:29:12.440 --> 00:29:16.339 it was so cool to get to this point Yeah, this 00:29:16.339 --> 00:29:19.380 was like nine nine thirty ish. I think maybe 00:29:19.380 --> 00:29:22.599 I don't know, you know, it's all blur started 00:29:22.599 --> 00:29:24.680 to push with each contraction and so they had 00:29:24.680 --> 00:29:29.579 me like push for ten seconds three times and 00:29:29.579 --> 00:29:33.359 every contraction and that is crazy because they're 00:29:33.359 --> 00:29:37.259 like, I mean, I never really like looked up how 00:29:37.259 --> 00:29:39.700 to like push or anything like that. Yeah. And 00:29:39.700 --> 00:29:41.220 they kind of just tell you like, you should know 00:29:41.220 --> 00:29:44.140 what you're doing. Yeah. And you kind of do, 00:29:44.619 --> 00:29:47.259 I guess. And she explained it to me like, just 00:29:47.259 --> 00:29:50.299 push like you're pooping, really. And did you 00:29:50.299 --> 00:29:52.920 ever feel the urge to put it like, like your 00:29:52.920 --> 00:29:54.599 body was like, this is what we're doing right 00:29:54.599 --> 00:29:57.220 now. Yes. Yeah. So that was another thing before 00:29:57.220 --> 00:29:59.460 I started pushing at like nine ish or something. 00:29:59.480 --> 00:30:02.140 I was like, I just feel like I need to push. 00:30:02.480 --> 00:30:05.079 Like it feels like the pressure is right there. 00:30:05.160 --> 00:30:08.279 Like I have to push soon. And that's when they 00:30:08.279 --> 00:30:11.279 like checked me and stretched me to a 10. And 00:30:11.279 --> 00:30:12.859 she was like, yeah, you're right. You're ready. 00:30:13.319 --> 00:30:16.259 What was interesting to me too, is like, I expected 00:30:16.259 --> 00:30:19.130 like Okay, when it's time to push like all these 00:30:19.130 --> 00:30:21.230 doctors are going to come in and all these nurses 00:30:21.230 --> 00:30:24.410 It was literally just my nurse and like kimber 00:30:24.410 --> 00:30:27.549 and michael. Yeah there and I was like, oh This 00:30:27.549 --> 00:30:29.569 is interesting. I'm like either that they know 00:30:29.569 --> 00:30:33.390 this is going to take a long time Or like they're 00:30:33.390 --> 00:30:35.569 just so nonchalant about this because they deliver 00:30:35.569 --> 00:30:40.250 babies every day, right? Yeah, I pushed for like 00:30:40.250 --> 00:30:44.910 an hour a little over an hour And I did ask for 00:30:44.910 --> 00:30:47.539 the mirror Which I don't know if you did that. 00:30:47.660 --> 00:30:50.440 I haven't done that. No. I like, it's one of 00:30:50.440 --> 00:30:52.000 those things where I have mixed feelings. I'm 00:30:52.000 --> 00:30:55.279 like, I do understand. I also still don't think 00:30:55.279 --> 00:30:58.460 I want to see it. Yeah. Yeah. That was, I mean, 00:30:58.640 --> 00:31:02.160 I will never not unsee what I saw. Do you feel 00:31:02.160 --> 00:31:04.240 like it helped you though? Yes. It helped me 00:31:04.240 --> 00:31:07.019 understand how I should push. Gotcha. Because 00:31:07.019 --> 00:31:10.599 you can see, I could see the difference of like, 00:31:10.779 --> 00:31:13.630 if I push correctly or not. Sure. And so the 00:31:13.630 --> 00:31:17.670 mirror was really cool. So I pushed for, yeah, 00:31:17.809 --> 00:31:22.269 a little over an hour before, like, crowning 00:31:22.269 --> 00:31:24.950 happened. And at that point when they were like, 00:31:25.049 --> 00:31:28.130 okay, we think his head's gonna come out soon, 00:31:28.890 --> 00:31:31.869 which is crazy because I could see, like, I could 00:31:31.869 --> 00:31:34.500 see his... Like the top of his head and like 00:31:34.500 --> 00:31:37.019 the hair on his head, which is that encouraging? 00:31:37.480 --> 00:31:39.380 Yes. Yeah. Cause I was like, oh my gosh, she's 00:31:39.380 --> 00:31:42.000 almost here. Like I can do this. And they were 00:31:42.000 --> 00:31:43.900 like, you're going to feel the ring of fire. 00:31:44.259 --> 00:31:46.480 And I was like, okay, this was the point where 00:31:46.480 --> 00:31:49.720 I asked them to take the mirror away because 00:31:49.720 --> 00:31:54.119 I was terrified to see myself tear. Okay. And 00:31:54.119 --> 00:31:56.839 I was like, I do not want to see that at all. 00:31:56.839 --> 00:31:58.960 Yeah. Yeah. So I asked them to take the mirror 00:31:58.960 --> 00:32:02.680 away. The other thing I want to mention too is 00:32:02.680 --> 00:32:04.599 like Kimber and Michael are, so they're both 00:32:04.599 --> 00:32:07.980 holding my legs at this point. And you're on 00:32:07.980 --> 00:32:11.240 your back. I'm on my back. Yeah. They just were 00:32:11.240 --> 00:32:14.539 so encouraging and so like, like you got this, 00:32:14.920 --> 00:32:16.700 like you're doing, you know, you're doing it 00:32:16.700 --> 00:32:19.819 right. You're, they just were so great in the, 00:32:20.079 --> 00:32:23.079 in that time, um, which I knew they would be. 00:32:23.420 --> 00:32:26.759 And Michael was just, like between every contraction, 00:32:26.759 --> 00:32:28.680 he was like, I'm so proud of you. You're doing 00:32:28.680 --> 00:32:32.759 so good. You're doing so good. And that was super 00:32:32.759 --> 00:32:36.099 encouraging and the best feeling of like, okay, 00:32:36.119 --> 00:32:38.640 I am doing this. Like I'm accomplishing this. 00:32:39.740 --> 00:32:41.400 And so yeah, when, whenever they're like, Hey, 00:32:41.460 --> 00:32:43.920 you're going to feel the ring of fire soon. You 00:32:43.920 --> 00:32:46.559 still feel it with epidural. I mean, probably 00:32:46.559 --> 00:32:50.380 not to the extent of without, but then it was, 00:32:50.519 --> 00:32:53.519 yeah, I had them take the mirror away and then 00:32:53.690 --> 00:32:57.150 It was like one contraction that they were like, 00:32:57.250 --> 00:32:59.670 okay, you're going to do four. We want you to 00:32:59.670 --> 00:33:03.569 do four pushes for eight seconds each. And so 00:33:03.569 --> 00:33:05.950 we did that. And then on that last, that fourth 00:33:05.950 --> 00:33:09.609 push is when his head came out and he, I just 00:33:09.609 --> 00:33:11.309 was surprised. They basically just like pulled 00:33:11.309 --> 00:33:14.089 him out after that. Yeah. Once the head's out, 00:33:14.190 --> 00:33:16.049 then it's just like, yeah, let's get him out. 00:33:17.009 --> 00:33:19.190 But then I heard like the doctor mentioned like, 00:33:19.230 --> 00:33:21.289 oh, his umbilical cords wrapped around his neck. 00:33:21.640 --> 00:33:25.160 Twice. So they like, they unwrapped that really 00:33:25.160 --> 00:33:28.059 quickly and then put him on my chest. That moment 00:33:28.059 --> 00:33:32.480 was, I mean, like none other than I could even 00:33:32.480 --> 00:33:36.299 describe. I'm just in like full on tears. Michael's 00:33:36.299 --> 00:33:39.880 crying. My best friend Kimber's crying. He was 00:33:39.880 --> 00:33:44.660 not crying yet, which was scary. And so I, I'm 00:33:44.660 --> 00:33:48.849 like crying, but I'm also in shock. of like, 00:33:49.009 --> 00:33:51.390 okay, buddy, like, I think I was saying like, 00:33:51.569 --> 00:33:53.450 okay, buddy, you got to breathe, buddy, breathe, 00:33:53.609 --> 00:33:56.150 buddy, breathe. Come on, give us a cry. And you 00:33:56.150 --> 00:33:58.170 can hear the doctor saying, I mean, she's not 00:33:58.170 --> 00:34:00.549 panicking or anything, but she's like, let's 00:34:00.549 --> 00:34:03.430 hear that cry, buddy. Let's come on. And they're 00:34:03.430 --> 00:34:05.990 like rubbing on his back really, really hard 00:34:05.990 --> 00:34:09.090 to try to get him to cry. And I mean, it was 00:34:09.090 --> 00:34:12.230 probably the longest 30 seconds of my life. Right. 00:34:12.250 --> 00:34:14.150 Yeah. Cause that's scary when you're like waiting 00:34:14.150 --> 00:34:18.570 for a breath or something. Yeah. One, fun fact, 00:34:18.590 --> 00:34:21.789 which is not really a fun fact, but I guess in 00:34:21.789 --> 00:34:24.889 Colorado, because the elevation is so high, a 00:34:24.889 --> 00:34:27.929 lot of babies come out not breathing. Interesting. 00:34:28.170 --> 00:34:30.130 I mean, I guess that makes sense. Yeah. Yeah. 00:34:30.130 --> 00:34:32.130 Cause they're like adjusting to the elevation 00:34:32.130 --> 00:34:36.010 or something like that. And so finally he starts 00:34:36.010 --> 00:34:41.130 breathing and starts crying. And then as he is 00:34:41.130 --> 00:34:44.389 right now, he's just made sure we know he's got 00:34:44.389 --> 00:34:48.559 it. Then we just, I like, was surprised that 00:34:48.559 --> 00:34:53.119 they did not take him from me right away. They 00:34:53.119 --> 00:34:56.139 like let me, I think I held him for like, I mean, 00:34:56.179 --> 00:34:59.079 I even nursed him. It was probably like an hour 00:34:59.079 --> 00:35:02.059 before they like took him to like measure him 00:35:02.059 --> 00:35:03.500 and weigh him and all the things. Yeah, that 00:35:03.500 --> 00:35:06.579 was, I think it was at least an hour for me too, 00:35:06.579 --> 00:35:10.030 where my parents were... at the hospital and 00:35:10.030 --> 00:35:12.130 my mom was like waiting. She was like, I want 00:35:12.130 --> 00:35:13.989 to know like how much the baby weighs and blah, 00:35:14.190 --> 00:35:16.929 blah, blah. And then after like probably 45 minutes, 00:35:16.949 --> 00:35:19.690 she was like, you can just text us. I was like, 00:35:19.769 --> 00:35:22.090 yes, I don't. And no one was coming in. So I 00:35:22.090 --> 00:35:23.530 don't know if that's how it was for you to where 00:35:23.530 --> 00:35:25.130 they kind of just like leave you alone a little 00:35:25.130 --> 00:35:28.670 bit, which is like honestly so special, so special, 00:35:28.929 --> 00:35:32.449 which was not my experience with Cole with the 00:35:32.449 --> 00:35:35.489 C -section. They like take him right away. And 00:35:35.489 --> 00:35:39.059 then I held him for a second. after up towards 00:35:39.059 --> 00:35:43.000 my head, you know? But with Cruz, yeah, it was 00:35:43.000 --> 00:35:45.480 so, so special of just like getting to nurse 00:35:45.480 --> 00:35:49.800 him for like 30 minutes, 30, 45 minutes and just 00:35:49.800 --> 00:35:53.579 hold him. And they obviously like listened to 00:35:53.579 --> 00:35:55.440 his heart and stuff like that as I'm holding 00:35:55.440 --> 00:35:58.599 him, but they didn't try to take him from me 00:35:58.599 --> 00:36:01.780 for a while, which I just was not expecting. 00:36:02.820 --> 00:36:05.719 I mean, that's pretty much like, the entire birth 00:36:05.719 --> 00:36:08.099 story. I mean, our experience in the hospital 00:36:08.099 --> 00:36:12.940 after that was very smooth. Like with Colt, I 00:36:12.940 --> 00:36:15.440 was in the hospital for five days. With Cruz, 00:36:15.519 --> 00:36:19.159 after he was born, we left within 24 hours. I 00:36:19.159 --> 00:36:22.199 mean, Cruz was, he was born at 10 .25 in the 00:36:22.199 --> 00:36:25.760 morning on March 23rd. So he's almost a month 00:36:25.760 --> 00:36:28.199 old now, which is crazy as we're recording this. 00:36:28.760 --> 00:36:34.360 And he was seven pounds, 10 ounces and 20 inches. 00:36:34.940 --> 00:36:38.940 So pretty like average sized baby, which Colt 00:36:38.940 --> 00:36:41.599 was super, he was super small. He was like six 00:36:41.599 --> 00:36:45.480 pounds. So it was just interesting to have like 00:36:45.480 --> 00:36:50.260 a baby that was bigger already than I expected. 00:36:51.139 --> 00:36:52.800 Yeah, the rest of our experience in the hospital 00:36:52.800 --> 00:36:57.219 was really smooth. nurses didn't really check 00:36:57.219 --> 00:37:00.099 on us often. It was like every four hours. I 00:37:00.099 --> 00:37:02.400 feel like I was surprised by that too this time 00:37:02.400 --> 00:37:04.519 around. Especially in the night, like they just 00:37:04.519 --> 00:37:07.599 kind of let us do our thing. Obviously we could 00:37:07.599 --> 00:37:11.659 like call them if need be, but we just like got 00:37:11.659 --> 00:37:15.320 to bond as a family. Then it was the next morning. 00:37:15.420 --> 00:37:18.260 So he was born on a Sunday. So on Monday morning, 00:37:18.860 --> 00:37:21.219 Michael went and picked up our other son Colt 00:37:21.219 --> 00:37:24.739 and brought him to the hospital. And he got to 00:37:24.739 --> 00:37:29.260 come meet Cruz at the hospital. And that moment 00:37:29.260 --> 00:37:33.699 was so, so sweet. Did he like, do you feel like 00:37:33.699 --> 00:37:36.559 he understood what was happening at all? I do. 00:37:36.739 --> 00:37:39.199 He like kept pointing to Cruz and being like, 00:37:39.300 --> 00:37:41.480 baby, baby. And we had, we did the whole thing 00:37:41.480 --> 00:37:43.840 where like Colt had a gift for Cruz and Cruz 00:37:43.840 --> 00:37:45.900 had a gift for Colt. And so they got to like 00:37:45.900 --> 00:37:51.019 exchange gifts and we had Cruz give Colt a book. 00:37:51.260 --> 00:37:53.980 It's called Trash Truck, which is like Colt was, 00:37:54.340 --> 00:37:56.880 it was one of his favorite shows at the time. 00:37:57.199 --> 00:38:00.119 He is obsessed with that book. And then we had 00:38:00.119 --> 00:38:02.539 Colt give Cruz like a little stuffed animal. 00:38:03.619 --> 00:38:06.059 A little whale stuffed animal, because Cruz is 00:38:06.059 --> 00:38:08.880 named after Santa Cruz, which is one of Michael 00:38:08.880 --> 00:38:12.420 and my favorite places to go. So we got him like 00:38:12.420 --> 00:38:15.420 a little whale stuffed animal. And so it was 00:38:15.420 --> 00:38:17.380 really sweet. They got to meet each other. Colt 00:38:17.380 --> 00:38:20.849 got to like kind of hold Cruz and And then we 00:38:20.849 --> 00:38:23.190 got to pack up and leave the hospital together, 00:38:23.510 --> 00:38:26.030 which was really, which was really, really sweet. 00:38:26.630 --> 00:38:29.710 Um, and Colt got to like help carry the car seat 00:38:29.710 --> 00:38:33.510 out of the hospital. Your video is so cute. Thanks. 00:38:33.510 --> 00:38:36.170 Yeah. I'll have to post that video on the no 00:38:36.170 --> 00:38:40.329 manual page. But it just was like, I don't know. 00:38:40.369 --> 00:38:43.130 I mean, it was a, it was a dream. Like all of 00:38:43.130 --> 00:38:47.110 it was a dream. My labor was so redemptive. Like 00:38:47.110 --> 00:38:49.190 that was one thing I prayed for was just like, 00:38:50.030 --> 00:38:53.829 this delivery of Cruz would just be so different 00:38:53.829 --> 00:38:56.869 than it was with Cole and that I would just have 00:38:56.869 --> 00:38:59.730 such a different perspective. And so that's what 00:38:59.730 --> 00:39:03.250 I asked for from the Lord and that's what I got. 00:39:03.550 --> 00:39:06.949 And I was so, so grateful. Yeah. And now we're, 00:39:06.949 --> 00:39:11.789 I mean, we're adjusting as a family of four and 00:39:11.789 --> 00:39:14.449 it's wild and we're going to talk about it on 00:39:14.449 --> 00:39:18.210 our other podcast, but it's just, I mean, this 00:39:18.210 --> 00:39:21.139 has been everything I could have asked for and 00:39:21.139 --> 00:39:23.840 more. That's so great. Yeah. What is something 00:39:23.840 --> 00:39:27.840 you think you'd tell someone who wants a VBAC? 00:39:28.219 --> 00:39:31.420 Like, is there anything you did to prepare or? 00:39:31.820 --> 00:39:34.719 I think it was all like a mental shift for me 00:39:34.719 --> 00:39:39.179 of like, yes, this is what I want. I want a VBAC 00:39:39.179 --> 00:39:43.539 so badly, but it's OK if it doesn't happen. And 00:39:43.539 --> 00:39:47.760 being OK with that, like I went into the hospital 00:39:47.760 --> 00:39:50.360 knowing like, okay, this could end up in a C 00:39:50.360 --> 00:39:55.699 -section again. And yeah, it could suck. And 00:39:55.699 --> 00:39:59.139 that could kind of suck. But I have to be okay 00:39:59.139 --> 00:40:03.539 with like, I just want a healthy baby. And so 00:40:03.539 --> 00:40:06.940 there really wasn't a ton of preparation. I mean, 00:40:06.940 --> 00:40:09.780 I did all the things like eating the dates and 00:40:09.780 --> 00:40:13.599 raspberry leaf tea and like bouncing on the exercise 00:40:13.599 --> 00:40:17.329 ball, all the things like that. But Other than 00:40:17.329 --> 00:40:19.650 that, it was just like a mental preparation for 00:40:19.650 --> 00:40:23.449 me. Yeah, that makes sense. Yeah, yeah. Well, 00:40:23.469 --> 00:40:25.110 is there anything else you want to share before 00:40:25.110 --> 00:40:29.110 we wrap up? I don't think so. Yeah, just super 00:40:29.110 --> 00:40:33.170 grateful at all. I don't know if for you, like 00:40:33.170 --> 00:40:36.329 all of it seems kind of surreal to me now, like 00:40:36.329 --> 00:40:39.869 you do kind of forget about it. It's such a blur. 00:40:40.250 --> 00:40:43.210 Yeah, you don't remember the pain. It's like 00:40:43.210 --> 00:40:44.929 you see your baby and all of a sudden the pain, 00:40:45.010 --> 00:40:47.380 you're like, oh, what pain? Mm -hmm. Oh, yeah. 00:40:47.380 --> 00:40:50.639 Ten more babies. Yes. Yeah, just I think the 00:40:50.639 --> 00:40:53.719 fact that it was such a redemptive delivery for 00:40:53.719 --> 00:40:56.940 me in my head, I'm like, oh, yeah, I want to 00:40:56.940 --> 00:40:59.440 do this again. No, like there's no question about 00:40:59.440 --> 00:41:02.739 it. Like, yeah, heck yeah. Yeah. Let's do it 00:41:02.739 --> 00:41:05.199 again. So, you know, we'll see you when baby 00:41:05.199 --> 00:41:07.980 number three comes home. You know, that could 00:41:07.980 --> 00:41:10.559 happen. And hopefully if that does happen, it's 00:41:10.559 --> 00:41:12.880 it's great like this time, too. Yeah. Yeah. Well, 00:41:12.880 --> 00:41:15.809 thanks for sharing your story. Of course. I love 00:41:15.809 --> 00:41:18.590 hearing it, and I am so glad that it's redemptive. 00:41:18.730 --> 00:41:21.469 I know when you texted us that you were going 00:41:21.469 --> 00:41:24.610 into the hospital because you were being induced, 00:41:25.369 --> 00:41:29.429 we just prayed for you guys. I hope she doesn't 00:41:29.429 --> 00:41:31.510 have to have a C -section. Again, ultimately, 00:41:32.469 --> 00:41:36.030 healthy baby, yes, but there is so much more 00:41:36.030 --> 00:41:39.750 to birth than just having a healthy baby. I think 00:41:39.750 --> 00:41:42.579 as I was thinking about it, this seems like such 00:41:42.579 --> 00:41:45.159 a silly analogy but it's like if someone went 00:41:45.159 --> 00:41:47.900 out to a restaurant and had like a horrible horrible 00:41:47.900 --> 00:41:50.639 experience and you're like but you got your food 00:41:50.639 --> 00:41:53.179 that's why you went out to eat everyone would 00:41:53.179 --> 00:41:55.199 be like that's such a crazy way to say it but 00:41:55.199 --> 00:41:56.860 i feel like that's how we treat birth where it's 00:41:56.860 --> 00:41:59.360 like your baby was healthy so like that's all 00:41:59.360 --> 00:42:02.219 that matters like Well, yeah, I want my baby 00:42:02.219 --> 00:42:04.420 to be healthy, but there's so many more pieces 00:42:04.420 --> 00:42:06.780 to it that matter too. So yeah, I'm glad that 00:42:06.780 --> 00:42:09.719 was redemptive for you. I hope everyone has a 00:42:09.719 --> 00:42:12.159 redemptive story like you. Me too. Yeah, it just 00:42:12.159 --> 00:42:15.739 makes me... I have a lot of friends, pretty close 00:42:15.739 --> 00:42:18.559 friends that have had C -sections within the 00:42:18.559 --> 00:42:22.960 last two -ish years, which is crazy and weird 00:42:22.960 --> 00:42:27.260 coincidence, but I just pray for a few of my 00:42:27.260 --> 00:42:30.320 friends are pregnant again. and they're hoping 00:42:30.320 --> 00:42:33.619 for V -backs or just different like experiences. 00:42:33.760 --> 00:42:36.880 And I just like, I really am hoping that for 00:42:36.880 --> 00:42:42.840 them because it is seriously so redemptive. And 00:42:42.840 --> 00:42:46.539 I just hope that they can experience that because 00:42:46.539 --> 00:42:49.780 it is so beautiful. I mean, all labor is beautiful. 00:42:49.980 --> 00:42:54.340 When it's not as traumatic, it really is such 00:42:54.340 --> 00:42:57.000 a beautiful experience. So I hope that for them. 00:42:57.179 --> 00:42:59.500 Well, do you want to wrap up with our mom wins 00:42:59.500 --> 00:43:02.320 of the week? I do. Yes. Do you want to go first? 00:43:02.599 --> 00:43:05.699 Sure. Um, so one of the things, obviously we're 00:43:05.699 --> 00:43:08.679 also adjusting to being a family of four and 00:43:08.679 --> 00:43:10.699 Lloyd has been like a super sweet big brother. 00:43:10.980 --> 00:43:13.519 Um, and he clearly like observes the things that 00:43:13.519 --> 00:43:16.860 we do. So he's learned to give Zeta her pacifier 00:43:16.860 --> 00:43:19.119 when she's crying and like at first it would 00:43:19.119 --> 00:43:21.900 just be like she'd be in her swing or like on 00:43:21.900 --> 00:43:23.380 her mat on the floor or whatever. And he just 00:43:23.380 --> 00:43:26.619 like, get the pacifier near her but he started 00:43:26.619 --> 00:43:29.360 putting her pacifier in her mouth and it's it 00:43:29.360 --> 00:43:32.300 doesn't always work but it's super sweet and 00:43:32.300 --> 00:43:33.780 it's clear that he's like trying to actually 00:43:33.780 --> 00:43:35.719 help her out and like he thinks this is gonna 00:43:35.719 --> 00:43:38.380 calm her down that's so cute it's super cute 00:43:38.380 --> 00:43:42.219 oh i love that what about you um my win of the 00:43:42.219 --> 00:43:46.130 week so like you adjusting Um, but one thing 00:43:46.130 --> 00:43:48.489 we pretty much do every morning. So Michael's 00:43:48.489 --> 00:43:50.409 still on paternity leave, which I'm so grateful 00:43:50.409 --> 00:43:53.570 for. We go and get coffee as a family every morning. 00:43:53.590 --> 00:43:55.590 So we'll like go to a different coffee shop or 00:43:55.590 --> 00:43:57.349 like, it could be as simple as going through 00:43:57.349 --> 00:43:59.570 the Starbucks drive -through, but we'll like 00:43:59.570 --> 00:44:02.289 load up all of us in the car and we'll go all 00:44:02.289 --> 00:44:04.329 together and Colt knows like, okay, we're going 00:44:04.329 --> 00:44:07.429 to go get coffee. And he calls it cocky, which 00:44:07.429 --> 00:44:11.260 is great. So like this morning we went. to a 00:44:11.260 --> 00:44:13.780 new coffee shop and we're like, okay buddy, let's 00:44:13.780 --> 00:44:16.599 go get coffee. And he says cocky, cocky. And 00:44:16.599 --> 00:44:18.980 so we got all loaded up and it just was so fun. 00:44:19.019 --> 00:44:22.679 We like got him a little steamed whole milk and 00:44:22.679 --> 00:44:25.199 we like sat at the coffee shop for a few minutes 00:44:25.199 --> 00:44:28.860 and Cruz is like sleeping in his car seat and 00:44:28.860 --> 00:44:32.699 it just, I like took a second to just like look 00:44:32.699 --> 00:44:35.960 at my family and I was like, this is so, like 00:44:35.960 --> 00:44:38.739 I love this. Like, yeah, it's hard. It's really 00:44:38.739 --> 00:44:41.699 freaking hard. But it's just the best. Then you 00:44:41.699 --> 00:44:43.539 have moments like that and it's just so sweet 00:44:43.539 --> 00:44:47.380 and you're so grateful to have a family and have 00:44:47.380 --> 00:44:50.239 the family you have and the kids you have and 00:44:50.239 --> 00:44:53.860 all of that. Yeah. Yep. So that's my win of the 00:44:53.860 --> 00:44:56.840 week and we get to do that like every day for 00:44:56.840 --> 00:44:59.219 a little bit longer, which I'm grateful for. 00:44:59.480 --> 00:45:01.079 You'll have to tell us what new coffee shops 00:45:01.079 --> 00:45:03.239 you try and if they're good or not. Yeah. Today 00:45:03.239 --> 00:45:06.900 was a place called Subjective and I think it's 00:45:06.900 --> 00:45:10.500 technically in... Arvada, maybe. It was pretty 00:45:10.500 --> 00:45:16.679 good. Well, thanks for tuning in to today's podcast. 00:45:16.780 --> 00:45:20.340 It was super fun to talk about Cruz's birth story 00:45:20.340 --> 00:45:24.880 and we hope that you enjoyed it. We'd love to 00:45:24.880 --> 00:45:27.920 hear what you guys want to hear in our podcast, 00:45:28.000 --> 00:45:30.539 what you guys... Yeah, maybe don't want to hear, 00:45:30.900 --> 00:45:35.539 but we are super excited that you listened. Let 00:45:35.539 --> 00:45:37.599 us know what you think. Rate, review, subscribe, 00:45:37.679 --> 00:45:40.659 and we'll see you next week. Have a great week.