Wow... A year has passed

It's 2:54am as I start to write this. It's been more than a year since I posted and almost a year since Kacey Elaine Kendrick was born into this world. I've been neglecting this blog terribly. I kept telling myself I would at least come and tell her birth story but I kept putting it off and now here we are.

I'm reminiscing about how she came into this world and figured this is as good a time as any to share it with the world.

On Sunday December 12, 2010, my water broke around 6:30pm. Kim and I were trying a few different things to make that happen because I did not want to be induced the next day and it worked. It was quite a gush of liquid and I just stood in amazement while Kim yelled at me to move. She was thinking about how the water was going to soak into the carpet and into the hardwood floor. I was thinking how I didn't want to get it on the bed. Anywho, we called the hospital and they said to come on in. Now I was hungry and told Kim to go to Wendy's on they way (it wasn't on the way). I had cleaned myself up and changed clothes, put my Hypnobabies tracks on, and proceeded downstairs. I was excited and nervous. I wasn't having any strong birthing waves and thought to myself how I could do this with no meds. We got to the hospital, without going to Wendy's because I knew I wouldn't be able to stand the smell, and the waves were definitely stronger.

Once we got into our room, I kept the headphones on and let Kim do the talking. When I came in I was checked and I think I was around 3cm. The waves got so strong I felt like Kacey was trying to push her way out and it was very hard to deal with. It was a bearing down feeling, not at all like I envisioned. I tried bouncing on a ball, sitting on the bed in different positions, etc. Finally, I decided that it was too much and I needed to get the Epi. I was checked and found to be at 6cm. At first this made me sad but the feelings were just too much for me to handle. The anesthesiologist came in and tried to get me to initial and talk and it was so unbearable I had to get Kim to do it. Within a few minutes, the feeling subsided and I could relax. Around 10pm I found out I was 10cm. By this time, my best friend Monique was at the hospital. She had bought some food for Kim. I was sneaking some food here and there. I thought, well if I'm 10cm the baby will be here any minute! WRONG!

I started to push around 6am with a nurse's instructions. The epi had just about worn off, which was perfect for me because I wanted to feel it all. My doctor came in around 7 and said I was pushing the wrong way the whole time. He said, "Either you can keep pushing like that and get no where or you can do exactly what I tell you and have this baby" I love Dr. Bailey and was so glad he was there. So we pushed for another 2 hours. It was truly a party in the delivery room. Kim had the music going, the nurses were joining in with the dancing and singing. It was keeping me in good spirits and gave me the motivation to push more frequently than the nurses even asked. I was ready to meet my baby and she just wasn't coming out quickly. Another misconception I had.

Kacey came into this world after 9am to the cheers of the Dr, nurses, Monique, Kim and I. Kacey looked a little grey and a neonatologist came in. I knew something wasn't right but I don't think I could let my mind go completely there. Monique was still by my side and I just kept looking at her for an answer. Kim was with Kacey. Kim later told me Kacey wasn't breathing well  and that the Dr and nurses began to work on her as she began to pray to God when all of a sudden she heard Kacey cry. What a beautiful sound that was.

Once she was breathing well, she lay on my chest as I study her features and am overwhelmed by the sudden gush of love I feel. I allow her to find the breast and nurse. The nurses rushed me to take her to be weighed, etc. I just wanted her to nurse well to get a good start. The staff at Lankenau were awesome, I didn't want to go home. I had such great help from the nurses in getting her to nurse that I wished I could take one of them home with me.

That first night home was rough and Kacey was not nursing well. I couldn't get her to latch. Kim thought she wasn't getting any food and encouraged me to give her formula which I didn't want to do. The visiting nurse that the insurance co sent the next day agreed and I reluctantly gave her a bottle. I couldn't get her to latch after that. I tried for several months and she did it maybe once or twice. But I pumped to give her as much breastmilk as possible, up to about 5 mos or so.

That's the story of my Kacey Kace coming into this world, our hearts, our lives. We are such different people now because of her. The love we have for her surpasses all understanding. She is now first in our lives.

I'll post some pics of her in the coming days. Now I'm going to go to sleep and have sweet memories of this time last year. I can't wait to see her big smile in a few hours when she sees Mommy. And I can't wait to do it all over again with our next child.