First Few Days

Bristol should know how loved she is.  She had TONS of visitors and calls and messages and gifts, all to welcome her into the world and send their love!  

It is pretty cool to see some pink in our midst, versus blue! 

First car ride!  Kind of weird having a baby in God forsaken heat instead of a chilly Alaskan summer.  I didn't know how to dress the poor child.  I hope I have not totally screwed up her internal body temp regulators!  Ha! 

Joey was completely in love with Bristol from the beginning.  He knew that she was who (or what) was in my belly.  It was crazy to see how easily he put the whole situation together.  He loves to kiss and hug on Bristol and he always wants to hold her.   

However, he did ask me if he could kick her in the head when he first saw me nursing B!!  However, once he realized that my boob made Bristol stop crying, he constantly requested for me to "give Bristol mommy's boobie!".  Haha!  

 Bristol did fail her hearing test in her left ear (just like Joey had).  We had to retake the test a week after going home.  She passed the test with flying colors!

  

Bristol does not sleep as much as I thought newborns slept.  This girl is afraid she's going to miss something.  Some of my friends with young children have also commented on how awake little miss seemed to be.  

Being in North Carolina has meant that we got to see lots and lots of family and friends.  It was super cool to have so many visitors greet our new little lady. 

 

It was also nice for me to have all of the family so I could sneak away for some Joey Mommy time or just to get a shower!

Bristol does like to be held.  All.  Of.  The.  Time.  This chick wakes as soon as she realizes that she is not next to a warm breathing body!  It's sweet and so frustrating.  I try to remind myself that these days are short and limited, so I should just enjoy the bonding time while I can.  It's just hard to do that when you really want to go to sleep, or shower, or poop!  

I am exclusively breastfeeding little lady.  I didn't have nearly the troubles breastfeeding this time around as I did with Joey.  I also did not play around when things weren't going too smoothly...I consulted with a lactation consultant to get things straightened out this time.  No bloody nipples for this mama!! 

Joey got to spend some time with Michael's grandparents for about a week right after Bristol arrived.  That was nice because B and I got to bond and work on our nursing and sleeping schedules.  Instead of sleeping when she slept, I caught up on a lot of movies!  Ugh!  Stupid mommy!  I must say that after having a toddler, I now realize that a newborn is a vacation!  Haha!  While Joey was gone, I was able to relax and just "chill". I didn't get much sleep, but some of that was my own fault.  

Big Bro

Joey welcomed his baby sister, Bristol, to the world this summer!  

He was so happy to meet this little baby that has been in my belly for the past 10 months.   

Joey got to hang out with Aunt Becky while I was in surgery.  We really REALLY appreciate Becky coming to help us out!  We love you Becky!

Even though Joey had this new sister to play with, he went crazy playing with all of the hospital equipment!  This meant that Joey's visits were about an hour or less while we were in the hospital.   

 

A family friend gave Joey a big brother teddy bear and Bristol a girly bear.  It was such a sweet gesture and Joey loved having some attention showered on him!

All Joey wanted to do was hold Bristol. 

And pet her. 

 And kiss her.

 And touch her.

He did so well with her and seemed to grasp right away that this was the baby that was in my tummy.  I think he's going to be a great big brother! 

The Story

Two months later, and I finally found a little bit of time to tell the story...

I told Michael that a lot of husbands buy their wives "push gifts" now.  Michael is an awesome husband and listened to his wife.  Even though he is all of the way on the other side of the world, he was still able to send me a little gift.  Chocolate covered strawberries...yum, yum, yum!  

And he must have really felt bad for not being here because he sent me TWO gifts!  What a great husband!  We just wish he could have been here for the birth of his baby girl.  Bristol, when you read this, please know that you're Daddy would have done anything to be here for your debut.  However, he is one of the few heroes we have left in the world and had to tend to something bigger.  Don't worry, he will make it up to you when you are requesting ponies and rainbows later in life!  ;)   

My c-section surgery was scheduled for the 0845, so my parents and I got up bright and early.  One of my B.F.F.'s came to watch Joey so both of my parents could be with me.  

Getting all ready!  My doctor is a UNC graduate, so I had to make sure to show my gang sign!  Go Wolfpack!  I had a spinal to numb my body.  I did not like this one bit.  It was such a weird feeling.  I actually freaked out in the operating room because of all of the strange feelings.  The nurses and my mom all thought that I was upset about Michael not being there and having a baby and blah, blah, blah, but it was because of all of the weird physical feelings.  So weird.  After the nurses removed Bristol from the room, the docs actually knocked me out.  I suppose that's so I could get a little rest and calm down. 

*******GRAPHIC PHOTOS BELOW*********

It only took the docs a few minutes to pull Bristol out of me!  She came into the world screaming and yelling!  There's no doubt in my mind that she wanted everyone in that room to remember her!  She "arrived" at 945 AM on July 12th, 2012.  

Bristol Fay weighed 8 lbs, 8 oz and measured 19.5 inches long!  Dr. Mills (my Carolina doctor) commented several times about how big she was.  She was delivered at 39 weeks...imagine if I would have went to my due date or later.  Yikes.  

**********END OF GRAPHIC PHOTOS***************

My Mom was in the operating room with me.  She sat with me until they removed Bristol.  After that, Mom had strict instructions to stay with my baby!  Michael and I are both afraid of our baby getting snatched.  I know, I know, most hospitals, including ours, have monitoring devices and alarms to prevent baby snatching, but you never can tell.  Do you know that a week after Bristol was born, I saw a news report about a lady trying to snatch a baby at some hospital in another state?!?!!  She did not succeed due to the alarms, but still, you can never be too careful.  

Our first meeting.  :)   B was kind of ugly when they took her out of my womb.  I actually thought karma for talking crap about other people's babies had caught up with me.  Then when they laid her on my chest, I realized karma hadn't found me yet.  She was beautiful and perfect!  

We stayed in the hospital for 4 days, and 3 nights.  I healed much faster with this c-section than I did with Joey's.  I was up and walking around in no time.  I had a lot of visitors, which was really nice.  I did not get to Skype with Michael, but we did get to talk on the phone a few times during those first few days.  He was so heartbroken that he could not be here for the birth.  The sacrifices our military give up.  

Bristol is great.  She did not have any jaundice.  She dropped down to 7 lbs, 12 oz, but then gained an entire ounce overnight!  Guess my milk came in, huh?  She does have a blocked tear duct, but the doc said that usually works itself out in a few months.  

I was really REALLY glad I went home to have my baby.  I do not know how I could have had a major surgery, have a baby, and care for my active toddler alone.   Thank you to everyone in North Carolina that helped us out.  You will never know how much it means to Michael and me!  

Strong

I am writing this post on the eve of meeting my little girl.  I am not going to lie.  I am scared to death.  Not of my surgery or the recovery.  I am scared of having two children.  I cannot even fathom how I going to find the strength to handle two kids at once.  I know all kids are different, but Joey as a newborn was so hard and demanding.  I remember being such a zombie and so cranky from the serious lack of sleep and frustration.  How am I supposed to function with a newborn AND a super active toddler? 

People like to bring up the fact that I have help right now, so I should calm down.  But I'm not worried about the next 6-8 weeks.  I'm worried about the time when I go home.  Yes, my hubby will be home soon so he can help, but with our lifestyle, it is only a matter of months or weeks before he will have to deploy or be away again.  Do I just move home every time he leaves for an extended amount of time?  What kind of life is that for me and my children?  Uproot our routines constantly just so I have extra help?  This life of ours is hard, but I never really realized how hard until we had children.  Kids really do change everything.  

I know I should not worry about the future right now.  I should concentrate on getting through  my surgery, and the recovery, and the next few weeks.  Who knows what will happen in our future with careers. 

I'm also scared and mad about having to do this without the father of my child.  He should be here.  It is so weird and hard not to have my best friend by my side for such a life-changing event.  It hurts me to talk to Michael and hear the sadness and pain in his voice because he's missing the birth of his little girl.  We made the decision together to bring this child into the world, and now, I'm having to do it without him by my side. This is definitely one of the downfalls of my husband being a hero.   

As I get ready to turn off this computer and go to bed for the last time as a mother of one child, I need to think about meeting my sweet little Bristol.  I need to put all of these fears, sadness, and anger to rest because I will need to be strong for my family.  Strong for my inquisitive son.  Strong for my deployed husband.  Strong for my little girl.  And strong for myself.  

The End

Man, I am behind on this blog!  Things have been so crazy and hectic, and, now, we're finally here at the end.  I wanted to update this blog so I wouldn't forget any details before we start the next chapter!  :)

36 Weeks, 3 Days at the Kenny Chesney/Tim McGraw Concert in Charlotte, NC

 So, at my 36 week appointment, the doctor informed me that they would take Bristol by c-section on my due date, July 19th, if she hadn't already come on her own.  If I went into labor before July 19th, then I could try the VBAC.  This was upsetting news because I didn't feel like we were giving baby girl enough time to come on her own.  I wanted to wait until at least 41 weeks before we did a c-section.  The doctors did not want to induce me, though, due to an increased chance of uterine rupture.  

37 Weeks

When I went to my 37 week appointment, I was all prepared to argue and fight with the doctors about taking Bristol by c-section on my due date.  I was ready to fight tooth and nail to wait until 41 weeks.  However, I got the bad news that stopped the debate before it could even  really start.  The doctors finally received my records from Alaska.  My previous c-section surgery was done with a single suture versus a double suture.  The hospital I will be delivering Bristol at will not let a patient with this type of suture have a VBAC due to an increased chance of uterine rupture.  In addition to this policy, there is not an anesthesiologist on duty at all times since this is a smaller hospital.  It would take about 30 minutes for this specialist to arrive at the hospital if he/she was needed.  Since there is an increased chance of uterine rupture with VBACs, the lack of an on-duty anesthesiologists is risky. 

 I was devastated when I heard this news.  All I wanted to do was cry.  I can't believe I went 37 weeks believing that I would be able to try a vaginal delivery.  When I went home and did my own Google research, it seemed that the chances of uterine rupture were only a slight bit higher with the single suture.  It seemed that the suture argument was just an excuse for some doctors and hospitals to use so they do not have to do a VBAC.  This research only made this news harder to take...probably why you shouldn't Google anything medical!  I also kept thinking about the anesthesiologist thing.  If I would have stayed in California to have this baby, I probably could have had my VBAC due to being in a much larger hospital.  However, I certainly would not have had the amount of help that I have here.  Ahhhh, trade-offs! 

I am still having a really hard time with this news, but it is what it is.  I was seriously pissed off about this and did not want to hear any of the good reasons why having a c-section wasn't so bad.  However, one of the good reasons that does make me (and Michael) smile is that I will have the prettiest and most pristine vagina in the world since no babies will have ever barreled out of it!!!  Hahaha!  This is something good since my husband will be home from a long deployment relatively shortly after having this baby.  I have a friend that I had to wait several months before she was good to go down there after her vaginal delivery. On this note, I will be discussing birth control with the doctor ASAP!  No Irish twins here, please!  

38 Weeks

At my last appointment, 38 weeks, I found out that I will definitely be having my baby on July 12th.  Since this will be a scheduled c-section, they do not want me to go into labor naturally.  This will cause stress on baby and me.  My doctors do planned surgeries on Thursdays, which, coincidentally falls exactly on the day I turn 39 weeks.  39 weeks is also an optimal time to take the baby out of the mother because the baby is supposedly fully developed, not too big, and ready to go.

For four days prior to my appointment, I had been having very severe menstrual-like cramps.  These were so bad that I almost called the doctor to find out if I needed to go to the hospital!  When the doctor checked my cervix, the baby's head was right there!!  My cervix had not opened or dilated at all, though.  The doctor said that we would still go with the c-section on the 12th, or if I went into labor before then and was really far along, like 8 or 9 cm dilated, we would proceed with a VBAC (if my uterus was going to rupture, it would have already ruptured by then).  If I was only 1 or 2 cm dilated, we would do a c-section.  The doc said that the reason I was cramping so badly was due to the baby getting settled into my pelvis. 

K. Family Reunion

One of the reasons Joey and I were so excited to be at my parent's house for the summer was because they were hosting a family reunion at their house!  I love the K. reunions.  My family has spread out all over the country and the world.  3/4 of my family has served in the military.  Every single branch is represented by my family.  Unfortunately, we never have every single K. at these reunions due to deployments, along with other things.  Therefore, it's nice to go to the reunions because you never know who you'll see and when you may see them again.  

We had 60 people, yes, 60, at my parent's house for 5 days!  Most of the family actually camped on the property.  This was also when North Carolina was breaking some heat records.  Oh, did I mention that my parent's A/C is going out, aka. doesn't really work that well?  Yeah, fun times.   

This heat did not bring us down, especially not Joey.  He had a blast!  So many new people to play with!   

Every morning, Joey woke up and yelled for "Kids, kids!".  He was in kid heaven!  I think he lived in a swimsuit during this week.   

We had two birthdays to celebrate during the reunion...one of them NOT being Joeys.  However, he did not want to hear any of that nonsense.  Notice how he is helping out his second cousin blow out her candles.  I'm thinking that we will only have one celebration for birthday number 3.  

It was a great reunion and so good to see a lot of our family.  It was really cool to see all the young kids bond up like I did with my cousins when I was their age.  *Insert the 'Circle of Life' song here*  Wow.  I watch way too many kid movies now.