Kailee's Story!

Kailee Mya has arrived and she came with quite a story! Her labor was entirely different than Hailey's 2 1/2 days of camping out! My contractions started around 11am Friday morning (one day before my due date). They weren't very strong but were coming pretty regularly at 20 mins. apart. By 1pm they were 10 minutes apart, but no real pain...I was doing last minute things around the house, ran a few errands, and took Leila for a long walk. I was trying to be very active and get things moving because my labor with Hailey was SO LONG.(Hailey: contractions started Friday night in the middle of the night, Saturday stayed about 10 min. apart with no real pain, Sunday they were pretty steady all day with enormous back labor pains, Sunday night we were admitted and I got the epidural, by 2am Monday morning I was fully dialated and ready to push, but she was too high, so they just let her "labor down", 4am my epidural wore off, 6:30am I was finally ready to push and at 7am on Monday morning she was born--on her due date) So, mentally I was preparing to attempt a natural birth with no pain meds with the thought that an epidural can slow things down and being able to walk around vs. lying in bed puts gravity on your side and gets the baby down faster.

By 7pm the contractions were coming around 4-7 minutes apart with moderate pain involved (I actually had to stop what I was doing and breathe through it), so we decided to head into the hospital because it's about 25 minutes away. When we got to the hospital they hooked me up to monitor the contractions and they all but stopped!!! They were only coming at 11 and 14 minutes apart...I was SO frustrated!!! The midwife decided to check me anyway and was surprised that I was 4cm dialated. Once I stood up from the table the contractions went back to 5 or so minutes apart!! My friend, Tiffany, who was orignally due the same day as me had given birth the day before to a beautiful baby boy so she and her husband were still in the hospital. We decided that Leevi and Jim could hang out in their room and Tiff and I would wander the halls and time contractions. We called Tiffany down to my labor room so she could help me through the contractions and Leevi went to the car to get our bags and to check me in at admissions. I had two contractions with Tiffany in the room and I was sitting on a yoga ball getting ready for the next one to come. (The room had a jacuzzi tub, yoga ball, and I had all kinds of goodies in my bag to help me attempt a natural birth.) That next contraction came on so hard I stood up to brace myself and my water broke and then I just started screaming, "I need to push!!! I need to push now!!!" I lost all control!!! Thankfully the midwife (and Tiffany) were in the room and got me onto the bed. I was still screaming and pushing; Tiffany called Leevi on his cell, but it went to voicemail because there isn't good reception in the hospital! My water broke at 10:36, Leevi got to the room around 10:42 and Kailee was born at 10:48!!! Once Leevi got back, Tiffany grabbed the camera and started filming! She got amazing (clean) video and we were so grateful that she was there...she hadn't been part of our birth plan because we expected her to be home with a new baby or her two older kids. Funny how things work out! I doubt at that point, with how fast things were going, that someone was going to grab our camera and set it up for us!! Anyway, another part of our plan was to have Leevi deliver the baby. He got cleaned up real quick and pulled her out and put her on my chest! We still couldn't tell if she was a boy or girl, so you see in the video were I look and announce, "It's a girl!!!" Afterwards, I was so weak, but the adrenaline was kicking at the same time. I kept saying,"Oh my gosh, oh my gosh!" I think I also said quite a few times that I wasn't having anymore children!!! Once I got some food in me I felt much better. I layed awake in bed until 3 or 4 in the morning still high on endorphins replaying over and over the delivery! Thankfully, we hadn't left the hospital to get dinner or to walk around the neighborhood or thankfully I was still in the labor room (with the midwife present) and not somewhere else in the hospital!!!!! Things could have turned out so differently!!

So, overall I can't decide on which labor I would prefer...2 1/2 days of waiting around and then a lot of back pain for a long time, but then a peaceful delivery (Hailey's delivery was so easy...the epidural had wore off for the contractions, but I was still numb down below, so I'd push a bit and then hang out and chit chat until the next contraction came) vs. 12 minutes of absolute hell! Regardless anyone out there pregnant or planning on having more children, GET THE EPIDURAL!!!!!! Thankfully, I had at least mentally prepared for natural childbirth, so I was able to finally get some control back right before Kailee was born. I think the shock of how fast it came on is what caused the exorcism-like screams!

We are so blessed to have two beautiful, healthy girls! My next blog will be comparing pictures of Hailey and Kailee...their resemblance is uncanny!

I'm going to put the labor videos on YouTube as a private video, so if you really want to see it, email me and I'll send you the link. They are both very "clean", but I just felt weird putting them on this site. :)

Kailee Mya MacDonald

Kailee Mya MacDonald

7 lbs 14oz

20 inches long

10:48pm

September 19th

She looks just like Hailey! Kailee (pronounced Kai-lee) and Hailey were only 2 oz and a half an inch different in size. It will be hard to tell their baby pictures apart without looking at the background to see where it was taken! I hope I'm not eating my words next week, but she is the easiest baby in the world...she hasn't really cried yet and just sleeps all the time!!! I have to wake her up in the middle of the night to eat! We are all adjusting well and hope things continue to go smoothly!

Dr. Appt Today

I'm 39 weeks and 5 days today...2 days from a due date that really is only an estimate! I had my first internal exam today and I'm 2 cm dialated and 75% effaced. I've been contracting a lot (but not much pain involved), so I had assumed that something was going on down there! Hopefully it won't be much longer now! The doc was concerned about my amniotic fluid level, so she ordered an ultrasound to check things out. The levels are great, so no problems there, but it was SO tempting lying there during the ultrasound to ask what the gender was!!!!!!! I'm so proud of myself for the will power I exhibited!!!!!!! I kept saying to myself, "it's just a few more days, it's just a few more days!!" Although, I must confess that I did not inform the technician that we didn't know the gender and was secretly hoping she'd offer up a "looks like you've got a healthy baby boy/girl" comment. But she didn't!

I'll keep you updated!!! :)

Another Deck!!

Our neighbors were so impressed with our new deck that they asked Leevi to build one for them too! Their yard was a pitiful pile of dirt...they had given up on trying to grow grass about a year ago! Leevi still got it finished in a weekend even with a golf tournament, a first birthday party and the sporadic rainshowers we had. Again, Hailey helped out by putting the screws in the holes for Leevi, but once she got a line done she'd take them out and put them in her little pink bucket and go to a new line!

We had the fence down that connects our two yards, so Hailey had fun "crossing the river" (that's what she called the small gap between the two decks) and playing with the neighbor girls (ages 7 and 10).

The BEFORE picture!!

The girls sunning themselves...Leila LOVES laying out back on our deck.

Hailey helping Leevi put the screws in...

You can't tell that is it dark outside in the picture because of the flash on the camera...after our dinner break, it was dark out and Leevi said he needed to get the flashlights...Hailey went running to her room and came back with her Elmo flashlight from our Sesame Street Live concert...so cute!

Hailey made "dinner" for Leevi and I as we were finishing screwing the deck down. Here's a pic of what she made me.

On a side note, still no baby yet! I'm 5 days from my due date!!! Still feeling great...having lots of contractions (not painful though), but something has got to be going on down there! :) I have my next dr. appt on Thursday morning where she'll check to see if I'm dialated at all! :) I keep saying things like, "maybe the baby is waiting on Leevi to get the deck finished" or "maybe it's waiting on me to wash the floors!" Leevi said the baby needs to wait until after the Cowboys play tonight! :) Off to do some cleaning.....

Can't Be Much Longer Now....

The mystery is almost over and we will soon be holding our baby girl or boy! I know we've driven most of you crazy because we waited to find out what we are having...just part of the fun! We are finally set on names...I was getting worried that I'd be holding my newborn and looking through a name book. For a girl: Kailee Mya (pronounced Kylie)...we chose that spelling because Kai is Hawaiian and Lee is spelled like Leevi. Mya is also Hawaiian and means Emerald which is the birthstone of both Leevi and myself. For a boy: Gabriel James...we'll call him Gabe. Gabriel means man of God, or servant of God...somewhere along those lines and James is Leevi's middle name and the name of my grandfather and uncle.

We still think we are having a girl, but of course would be pleasantly surprised if it is a boy. Either way, we think we are done after two! We think it's a girl because everything seems so similar to Hailey's pregnancy...I've gained exactly the same amount of weight and my morning sickness stopped at almost exactly the same week. The main difference is that I don't have a very distinct "hormone line" that runs down the middle of your belly. It was very prominent with Hailey and it's barely there with this one. There is no proof that it makes a difference in the gender though. That's it though...I'm still up and moving and walking and sleeping without problems. We are just patiently waiting! :) The only similarities that concern me are that I don't feel like I've dropped yet which was a big reason why my labor was so long with Hailey...I was fully dialated, but she was too high for me to even attempt pushing. And at my last dr. appt the doctor asked if I was having any back pain because of the position of the baby. I had major back labor with Hailey that I was really hoping to avoid with this one! :( Oh well!!!!

A friend of mine has a relative that does gender predictions based on your handwriting. She has correctly guessed all three of our pregnant friends who submitted a sample to her and for me she says.........BOY! Hmm............

Here's a picture of my pregnancy with Hailey...it was taken about a week before her due date!

Here's a picture of this pregnancy...I'm a week and a half from my due date!

What a Day!!!!

As we count down our last days of having an only child, we are trying to get out for some last minute fun before our world turns upside down! Hailey had a fun filled day yesterday at the library, a carnival, AND the University of Hawaii football game! Although I love football, I passed on the game and had some last minute alone time!!! :) Jim and Leevi had a daddy's night and took Colin and Hailey to the game and Tiffany and I went with Rylee to the Bodies Exhibit (if it ever comes to your town, it's worth seeing!!!)

At the library...she set up the bear, pooh, and shrek to read books to...Her favorite ride at the carnival...she originally was in an elephant, but then wanted to switch to the fish behind Colin and Rylee...

Riding again but this time with Rylee...she had her arm around her the whole time...

She climbed up this and went down the slide, but was too scared to try the other big slides that were actually smaller than this one!

In the bounce house with Colin...

Cooling off with a Shave Ice (aka Hawaiian snow cone)...

Showing off her blue tongue...

At the University of Hawaii football game...

Walking out with Colin after the game...wonder if there was any hanky-panky in the back seat on the ride home! :)

The Panty Liner Returns

So apparently I need a new spot for feminine products (see post from 8/11 if this isn't familiar to you!) Tonight after dinner I was doing the dishes and Hailey told me that she needed to use the bathroom. No biggie, she's a big girl! Well, she came out of the bathroom with a panty liner stuck over her mouth! Good grief!!! :) I grabbed the camera and she ran from me! Here are the pics...who needs stickers?!

Pregnancy Update

We are ready for a baby! I've got two weeks to go (hopefully no more) Hailey came right on her due date, so we'll see about this one! I've bought as much as I can without knowing the gender and have even bought a few girl/boy things that I can return. Hailey seems excited...we keep telling her that her brother or sister is coming soon! She still says it's a boy. My initial thoughts were that it's a girl, but then I switched to boy for awhile, but I think I'm back to girl.
Meanwhile, Hailey has a boy baby in HER belly whose name is Mason (Mason will be the name of Tiffany's son...we're due the same day). Hailey says that Mason is coming soon too and has me feel his kicks and says that he gets the hiccups a lot. :)

My next dr. appt is on Monday, so maybe she'll give me some exciting news. While I'd love to have the baby any day now, it'd be perfect if he/she came on it's due date of 9/20 because we were married on 12/20 and Hailey's birthday is 2/20, so it would just make remembering dates simple!! :)

I'm not uncomfortable, just antsy!! Although, I know I shouldn't be wishing away my last full nights of sleep! :)

Hailey Reading a Bedtime Story

As I've mentioned before, Hailey's bedtime routine consists of reading a few books before bed. She likes to "read" them back to us and tonight's retelling was worth a video recording. She constantly amazes us with things she remembers from storylines to something that happened weeks ago. The book in the video is pretty basic and I'm not sure how many times she's heard it...it's about a Mom playing Hide-n-Seek with her child. I asked Leevi if he read it to her last night, but he couldn't remember. (I think she suckers him into reading a lot more books before bed than I do...she's already learning the "I need to pee or I want some water" bedtime delaying tricks!) Anyway, of course when I got the camera and asked her to reread the book again, I wasn't as great as the first time, but it's still cute. You'll see how silly she got when the camera appeared!! :) After the book is also a pitiful attempt at her ABC's...she was watching herself in the mirror and was overcome with the giggles!

This picture is of Leevi and Hailey from the night before. We love that Hailey sleeps in a "big girl" double bed and makes snuggle-time at bedtime/storytime nice, but whoever puts her to bed usually doesn't make it out!I thought of this old picture when I was posting this blog. Hailey was just shy of 1 month old...guess she's always been a snuggler!