Reese Marie Close is finally with us! She was born Tuesday, November 29, 2011 at 5:35 p.m. She weighed a healthy 7 pounds 14 ounces and was 20 inches long. We are elated to have a healthy baby that we could take home with us from the hospital!
The night before it all began I was beginning to think I was going to be pregnant forever. The 4 other girls due the same week as me had their babies a week to 4 weeks previous. Also having Emma 6 weeks early made the last 6 weeks of this pregnancy VERY long :). I was supposed to have a doctor's appointment that morning and decided that if I wasn't dilated still, I was going to schedule a C-section. I have been praying and hoping that I could have a vaginal birth this time (VBAC) so when Tuesday morning at 3 a.m. I started having contractions, I was so excited! My water broke a little after 4 a.m. and I woke Cade up at 5 to say we needed to go to the hospital. My contractions were about 6-7 min apart and I said to Cade, "I've never been so happy to be in pain!"
So one of our neighbors came over at 5:30 a.m. to stay at our house and watch Emma for a few hours until my mom came. We checked in at the hospital at 6 and they checked to see if my water indeed had broke. They confirmed it had and admitted me into the hospital! We were happy we didn’t have to be sent home. I was in labor from 3 in the morning until about 10 when I decided to get an epidural. It definitely was heavenly! As the anesthesiologist was in the process of putting it in, he said, “do you feel that pressure?” I said, “yes” and he replied, “THAT is what we call happiness.” And indeed it was! After getting the epidural, however, I did not progress very fast. At about 2 p.m. I was still a 5 and they gave me a very small dose of pitocin to kick things in. Two hours later I had progressed from a 5 to a 10! I was so happy! At 4:20 I started pushing and I pushed for one hour and 15 minutes. It was completely draining, but not too bad…until the last 15 minutes. For the most part, the whole labor and delivery was better than I expected and not too painful or hard. But those last 15 minutes were definitely painful and hard (even though I had an epidural) and then I had to get an episiotomy. When she finally arrived, I just started crying hard cause it was such a relief and joy to finally be done and finally have her in my arms! And she was twice what Emma was at birth so she looked so big and healthy when they showed her to me. It was such a great moment! I can’t describe the joy that I felt.
First getting to the hospital:
That joyous moment of first getting to hold her:
When Emma came to visit the second day I was in the hospital, she had just woken up from a nap in the car and was NOT a happy camper! She was very needy and seemed just so confused and unsettled about the new arrival. She was very clingy to her Daddy. I got a little worried because I've heard about a lot of horror stories about 1st children and the way they react to their younger siblings...
But the next day, Cade brought Emma in the morning back to the hospital and it was a completely different story...luckily!!! She was very interested in Reese and wanted to look at her all the time and was very happy! I was relieved :). So far after having Reese home for over a week, Emma has been a trooper! We have had, however, my Mom here all week, so Emma has had all the attention she's needed. We'll see how next week goes when it's just me and the girls :).
Cade and my Mom were both such great supports for me and I was so happy to have them there helping me! I was so happy to be able to deliver Reese vaginally and experience that. If I needed to have a C-section again, it would have been fine. We just wanted both she and I to be healthy. But I am grateful to Heavenly Father for helping and answering our prayers. I have had some people ask me, “okay, which is better?” Well, everybody’s experience is different, but for ME I preferred this delivery over a c-section. I was up and about quickly after delivery and overall the recovery was much easier this time around.
Cade and I are so happy to have our 2 girls! Yes, it brings twice the poopy diapers, twice the sleep deprivation, twice the crying…but it brings twice the joy and happiness and I wouldn’t change it for the world! I LOVE being a Mom. It is the best job in the world and I can’t imagine not having these wonderful girls in my life. I love my family and especially my incredible husband who is such a great support to me. Life is wonderful!
