I was so nervous about bathing her, we stuck to sponge baths for a while. But I decided she had enough spit up and poop in her various crevices that she just needed a real bath.
she did a wonderful job.
she looks angry, but she was super chill and relaxed.
My nesting itch was getting crazy, but my baby shower was just days away so I didn't have any clothes to wash, and She would be sharing a room with Blake and me so I had no nursery to prepare... I was left with the laundry of the people who had already been born.
I washed EVERY stitch of clothing we owned, but instead of folding as I went, I just piled them up and thought "Oh, it'll be nice to just fold them all at once." and on to the Lay-z-Boy they went.
My dear friend, Janelle came over to deliver a fabulous church bag she had made for me (check her out at SewItSeams) My dad had Kaleb, so we just chatted for hours and hours.
We finally said goodbye, and not two seconds after I stood up, I felt a little trickle "down there".
Now, I had the same little accident days before Kaleb was born, but I got all freaked out and thought my water broke and went to the hospital only to have them tell me "uh, sorry. You're not having a baby today, you're just incontinent." So I was reluctant to go to there. . . but then every step I took a little more came out. I grabbed my phone and told Blake what was up and he said to just go to be sure and to call him if it was go time. I didn't want get my dad all excited so I just asked him to keep Kaleb for a bit longer and Blake would pick him on his way home from work.
I show up in L&D, try to explain what I think has happened, but they make me go through the whole shabang with the gown and everything. They use their little test strips and say "welp, its not amniotic fluid, but there isnt much so lets see if anything else comes out and test again."
I call Blake, give him an update, and just wait. an hour or so later they test again and it says that it IS amniotic fluid (or possibly a fluke). Now we're all confused, so they're gonna do ANOTER test thats supposed to be much more accurate (where they look at it under a microscope as opposed to just using the test strips.)
I call Blake again and tell him whats up. By now hes asked him mother to come over and watch Kaleb. I wait for FOREVER. Then the results come back - not amniotic fluid. So I pack up, I'm discharged and I go home.
I thank Blake's mom for watching the boy and start folding the laundry and ranting to Blake how I'm so happy we're not having the baby today because I have NOTHING ready for her.
I get up and walk to the bathroom.
SPLOOSH!
I stand there, in the bathroom, just in disbelief and a puddle. I call in Blake and I'm like "This is a lot of liquid, right?" he looks at me and asks "why are you just standing it?!" I told him I needed someone else to see the amount of water coming out of me so if the doctors try to send me home again I'll have backup.
So I pack a bag (that I didn't already have packed because its THREE WEEKS EARLY)
We go to the hospital, but the main entrance is closed, so I have to go through emergency which also means they're making me use a wheelchair, which I HATE. I tell L&D the whole story and they don't even test me, they just say "Yup you're having a baby!" I tell Blake to go ahead and take Kaleb to his mothers.
Now, my water broke with Kaleb too. But we told the doctors at that time that we did not want to use pitocin and we wanted to see in labor would start on its own. Five hours later and we had to use pitocin anyway. So, with Rachel I didn't want to mess around and said to go ahead and shoot me up b/c my body just wouldn't go into labor on its own.
The contractions were sharp and unpleasant, but I was well rested and had eaten recently so it wasn't that bad. When they started getting longer, I asked for the anesthesiologist and we started talking about an epidural.
My experience with Kaleb's birth and an epidural was awful, so I was sort of afraid, but this doctor had me lay down and Blake put his face really close to mine and I got through it. It was a different sort of numb and much less intense than my previous one.
It was October 1 now and I was at 4cm and my epidural was working so I decided to take a nap. Not two hours later, I started feeling this incredible pressure. I did not know what it was. It wasn't pain exactly, but it felt like I had a "filled-to-the-brim" bladder and someone was pushing as hard as they could on it and I was trying not to pee. It was very unpleasant. I kept trying to tell Blake what I was feeling and that I didn't know what was wrong. The nurse asked me if I needed to push. THAT WAS IT. I hadn't even considered that because it had been no time at all! The nurse checked me and I was 9cm, ready to go.
I tried to relax, because I wanted my grandmother in the room with me, but no one had expected my labor to go so fast (30 hours with Kaleb) So she wasn't even in the city!
The nurse asked me to push and then there was the top of a baby head. Then she told me to hold on while she went to get the doctor, but the damn was broken and I couldn't stop! Thank goodness the doctor was just outside, because I told Blake that I was not holding this baby in and he better get ready to catch.
I pushed once... twice... stop to turn baby... final push... and she was out.
WHAT? She was here?
Everything had happened so fast and I felt so unprepared in regards to "things" for her and the state of my home, but that didn't matter because she was here now.
The first time I saw her I thought "Thats my face."
They put her right on me and started cleaning. I just started sobbing.
She latched on pretty well, but her blood sugar was low so they gave her half a bottle of formula then we put her back to breast.
A little bit later my dad and grandpa came to see her along with Blake's parents with Kaleb.
Kaleb said "oh yeah, thats my baby sister." Like they were old pals.
He was so happy to hold her and to be a big brother.
Blake spent the first night with me, but then went home to clean and finish the preparations.
When he came back the next day, he brought Kaleb and it was THE SWEETEST THING I EVER SAW.
HONESTLY, its my patronus moment. No doubt.
No one had told him to sing to her or asked him to sing to her or anything. It was all Kaleb. All love.
My Dad and stepmom generously got us a carseat to take our little love home in and my aunt Nene basically got her an entire wardrobe, two beds a bat and a million other things.
We also received gifts and visits from my cousin Tiffany and Jillian. My family and Blake's family were so supportive and wonderful.
It was an event and a bit of a surprise birth, but shes here and we love her SO much.
This trimester is the hardest trimester. (not the worst, the worst is the first!)
I just felt so heavy. So off balance.
I couldn't sleep, and this baby girl would surprise ninja kick me and I would literally yell.
This trimester was also marred with the lovely news that I had gestational diabetes, followed by a speech from my doctor basically saying that if I didn't do EXACTLY what our plan laid out then my baby would die.
Honestly though, it was the kick in the pants that I needed. I started eating better and testing all the time. The best was when we were on family vacation. There were always people around me, so I was always being held accountable. I ended up losing pounds, which were there to lose believe me.
I also have to go in like three times a week to do these super time consuming Non-stress tests where they strap me to a fetal monitor. But I get to hear Rachel's heart beach, so thats wonderful.
Other than that pain and worry, Its was so hot and so hard to fall asleep.
At the beginning of gestational week 15, we went to the fabulous Magical 4D Images. We did the same thing with Kaleb because I am the worst at waiting. I honestly don't know how people did it before, I feel like knowing my baby's gender and knowing their name helps me to bond with them before they're even here. We love 4D Images. Their equipment is always the best and I get to lay on the little bed and they have a TV on the wall in front of me so I don't have to crane my neck at the monitor. And Blake and Kaleb sit on a comfy couch next to me and watch a big screen TV. Its Awesome. AND its weeks earlier than when the doctor does the gender test.
So my grandmother had already predicted a girl (she also predicted when I was going to get pregnant) so we were thinking she was right. Well, Blake believed her, I was still unsure... I thought "maybe its a boy." I dont know, I think I wanted a girl, so I set myself up for the "plan B" scenario. I did the same thing with Kaleb. I always wanted a boy first so I kept saying "Its probably a girl."
But when I hopped on the table, and they gelled me up, there was no little boy business to be found.
They told Kaleb "You're having a baby sister!" he seemed unimpressed, but Blake and I were so happy! Granted, she kept crossing her legs and twisting and turing but they say 99% sure its a girl.
Well we went home and started telling all our family. Blake's sister was pregnant with a little girl too, so that was exciting. But in my family, our little one would be the first great-grandaughter and the first girl in something like 10 years. So everyone was very happy. (and thats not to say anyone would have been upset with a boy, we love boys, boys are awesome, but since we're having a girl this is how the story is going.) We also thought that, since we knew the gender and I was starting to show, it was time to tell the world (read: Facebook) as well. I had a whole mini movie and great project planned out as an announcement, but was still on the lazy/tired end of things so just ended up recording a quick announcement by Kaleb... which is posted earlier in the blog.
Anyway, after the gender was discovered our talk quickly turned to names. There was one name I loved since childhood, but when I married a Green I quickly dismissed it. We went back and forth and my forerunner was Penelope. When it seemed like Blake had finally conceded and that would be her name... It didn't feel right. I kept going back to that name I loved.
It was Rachel.
But my fear was that in naming our daughter Rachel with a last name of Green people would automatically think of ...
and even though we love the show and shes awesome in it, I was NOT naming my daughter after her.
But it kept bugging me. So I talked to Blake about it and he basically said "Lets name our daughter a name you love, and the few people that put together the character and the name will probably not think you named her AFTER the character, just that they happen to have the same name."
It made sense and was all I needed to be convinced. :D
So our daughter's name will be:
And we can't wait to hold her in our arms and welcome her in our lives!
... If she still is in fact a girl because then THIS happens...
Week 21 comes along and we go to our medical ultrasound. We figured an ultrasound is an ultrasound so we just choose the cheapest place... WRONG MOVE. This place we went to in Santa Ana was dirty (there was no actual dirt or anything it was just in a crummy building and gave off that dilapidated vibe) our technician seemed to barely speak english, and while my husband and son watched she told me
"ok, you see baby? You see that there? Thats the c*ck."
and I'm like... uh excuse me?
"It hard to see, but that look like a c*ck. Its a boy, ok?"
again I asked for clarification again and she kept spouting the c word about my little baby.
So Blake took a few pictures of what she insisted was a penis (in her own colorful way). I just said "ok", and after she threw a washrag on my belly and told me to clean myself up, we got out of there.
I immediately called Magical 4D Images and told them our medical ultrasound gave us a different gender result. They said I could come right in for another session (on the house, obviously) and they could double check for us.
Well when we got there and I recounted the other technician's bedside manner, and then showed them the picture of what the other place's crappy ultrasound machine picked up they said they didn't see male bits at all.
They lubed me up and took a gander on their brand spankin' new (I was the first client they used it on!) 4D machine and we looked for the gender....
No penis.
They said she was squirmy, but clearly a girl.
Thats good enough for me!
I am still a little nervous that she will come out a he (only because we have girl name and girl clothes, but we will OF COURSE love and be so happy with a boy too) but I'm pretty sure we're having a little lady. . . 90%.
I love video.
Watch this.
(and excuse the growling and occasional ignoring. He was playing his Innotab)
Yup. We're expecting our second baby - our first little girl - and Kaleb is going to be a big brother!
I'm 15 weeks pregnant.
She's due October 20th and so far everything is so good.
Shes sucking her thumb.
showing off her bendy legs and perfect spine.
Before anyone asks, we're not 100% on a name, but we do have some front runners.
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