A Collection of Happy Days: Kayla Lauren McConnell

**Super long labor post. And it probably comes off a little negative at some parts, but this is how I felt and I wanted a record of it for myself. I'm terrible at writing in a journal, so this is my record. But there are lots of pictures at the end to enjoy ;) You've been warned…**

SO much has happened since I last posted…

My last post I mentioned being sick and having to stay home from work. Well it took almost a week, but I finally got better and was able to finish out my last 2 days of work. My first day at home was January 15th, and I was SO miserable. Everyone says the last month of pregnancy is the longest, no freaking joke. That first day at home I called Jacob when I woke up and cried to him, because I just really wanted the baby out of me already. I tried to have one thing planned for each day to keep myself busy. So over the next week I made another quilt, Jacob got the dresser painted, I worked on the baby's room, cleaned up the house, and then it was time for my doctor's appointment. I was really anxious going to the office, I was exactly 39 weeks and way past being over my pregnancy. I was hoping he would tell me he could induce me as soon as I hit 40 weeks, but scared he'd tell me I had to wait until 41 weeks. When I got to the office I did my best to hold back the tears when he confirmed my fears and said 41 weeks he could induce. But then going through all my vitals and whatnot he started to be concerned about pre-eclampsia. For a few visits I can recall being told my blood pressure was a little elevated, but it was nothing to be concerned about at the time. Well I guess now it was a problem. By the end of my appointment they gave me a big red container to pee in for 24 hours and I got a bunch of blood taken for labs. I was told to come back friday afternoon so they could test my 24 hour urine sample and look over the results of the labs - and if they confirmed pre-eclampsia then I would go to the hospital friday evening to be induced. I was excited that this meant I possibly didn't have to wait until 41 weeks, but also scared out of my mind. I went home and lounged around waiting for Jacob to come home. He was taking his time playing/working on his motorcycle after work. I was lying in bed playing on my phone around 7:30pm when I heard a popping noise, and I thought I felt warmth from being wet in my pants. I felt the back and there was nothing, but I got up anyways and when I did the gush of liquid came out. My water broke. The baby was coming. Trying not to freakout too much, I called Jacob and told him that he needed to come home now and told him what happened. He ended up driving as fast as he could (his truck won't go past 95 mph) most of the way home. Then I called my Mom and told her, so she could start making her way to town. This was within minutes of my water breaking, and I was already feeling enough pain to want medicine. My plan going into this was I wanted to try without anything, but if it was bad enough, I'd ask for an epidural. Oh the pains were getting pretty bad already. But I figured it'd still be 4 or 5 hours at least before the baby came. SO I jumped in the shower and as I was done Jacob was home and I made him jump in the shower. I could hardly get dressed I was in so much pain. I put on whatever I could find and laid on the couch waiting for Jacob. He finished pretty quick (but really it didn't feel like it) and I had him grab the last few things we needed before we left. By the time we made it to the hospital it was 8:30pm, an hour since my water had broke. I don't even know how to explain the pain. It just hurt, really really bad. Because my water broke I didn't even bother timing any contractions. They had to be minutes apart though because it felt pretty constant with only a short relief every once in a while. At my appointment that afternoon I was 2 cm, and when we got to the hospital I was 4 cm. The nurse was doing all her routine checks and I was having a hard time being patient, but I was trying my best. When she did a check to confirm my water broke apparently it came back negative. But I was like 200% sure it broke. Is it possible that I lost it all at home and that's why it was negative? I don't know if thats a thing, but I knew it broke, and I knew the baby was coming. Did I mention how much pain I was in?? Within 30 minutes of getting to the hospital we were in our labor and delivery room. Again I was trying to be patient, but I was in so much pain it was difficult. She couldn't find my medical history, so she was asking me lots of questions. And then to get the epidural she had to ask questions and I had to sign a bunch of paper work. Then they were trying to get an IV in, but I was so swollen they couldn't find my veins. The 5th time is the charm, right? Well in the middle of all this I really had to pee, so I got out of the bed to go to the bathroom and when I sat on the toilet, I had to push. Like I couldn't not push. I guess gravity was forcing the baby out of me. So I started screaming I have to push, and the nurse ran into the bathroom and checked me and I was fully dilated. She told me I wasn't getting an epidural and that I needed to lay back in the bed. Next thing we know like 5 other people are rushing into the room and suiting up. Jacob says I went through 5 or 6 sets of pushes before she came. Janice, my mother in law, got there just before I went to the bathroom and needed to start pushing, my doctor got there a few minutes before the baby, and my mom walked in, held my hand, and saw the baby come out. Kayla Lauren McConnell arrived at 10:05pm. She was 7 lb 9 oz and was 21 inches long. Labor was 2.5 hours. Which is crazy fast. Everyone keeps telling me how lucky I am, but I think it was horrible. I almost would rather a longer one, maybe because I feel like the pain would be more spread out and not all at once. It was totally worth it. She's beautiful and absolutely perfect. But I'm scared for the next one. I'm still not a fan of being pregnant (maybe it will change when it happens) and labor seriously scares me. The second one is typically faster, so the doctors told Jacob "I hope you were paying attention". Here's to hoping I make it to the hospital next time. Anywho… I'm glad that part in over. We are so in love with this little girl. And she's definitely spoiling us. She's a little angel baby. She sleeps all the time. And only fusses when she's hungry. She screams her head off at bath time. But other than that she hardly cries. We hope it stays this way. Ha.

Ok, lots of pictures :)