As I start this post, I realize I didn't really write much about my pregnancy with Trey, so I just wanted to back up a little and include a few things--mostly for my benefit. :)
When Covey and I talked about when to have our next baby, we decided that we didn't want them any closer than 2 years. Since it took us a while to get pregnant with Makadie, we had no idea what to expect the next time around. So, we looked at a calendar and decided to start trying no earlier than June, which would put Makadie at almost 1 1/2 years old and at least 2 years old by the time the next baby was born. We decided we'd give ourselves an extra month and start trying in July, but thought that it probably wouldn't happen very fast anyway considering our first attempt, so we tried in June. I laughingly said, "What if it works the first time? That would be funny." Yeah...it was really funny when I started throwing up 4 weeks later. When I took the pregnancy test, I just stared at it with my mouth hanging open and kept saying, "No way" over and over. I took the test on a Sunday when I had taken Makadie home for a nap. I actually didn't tell Covey until the following day when I had Makadie go and take the test to him when he came home from work. Covey took it from her and said, "What's this?" and then he said, "No way." haha. Thinking back on it now, I am laughing as I write this because it was so crazy!
From that point on, this pregnancy mirrored almost exactly my first one. I was sick for about the same amount of time (about weeks 5-12), but nothing some nausea pills and ginger ale couldn't help get rid of. Even though I was excited to have another baby coming to our family, it kind of sucked that I felt sick during the summer because I didn't really feel like being outside as much as Kadie wanted to be and my energy level was definitely lower. One great thing about not being super sick was that it was pretty easy to hide the fact that I was pregnant. By the time I started showing (during my second trimester), it was fall and so I just layered my clothes and no one was the wiser.
Since I wasn't showing, Covey and I decided to wait until we knew the gender of the baby before we made our announcement to the general public. We told family and a few friends when I was about 14 weeks or so. The ultrasound appointment was scheduled for Halloween, which we thought was kind of funny, since babies look kind of like aliens at 20 weeks anyway. As for the gender, I felt almost right away like we were going to be having a boy. (I felt the same thing with Makadie, but that she would be a girl.) Covey told me he thought it was a boy too. So when the ultrasound technician got to the point where he shows the gender, Covey and I weren't really surprised when he said, "It's a boy!" After the appointment, we called family and let them know and then posted a picture on facebook and instagram. All my doctor's appointments went great and there were no concerns or complications.
Like I mentioned, this pregnancy had
been almost identical to my first until I hit 36-37 weeks. With
Makadie, she was head down at 36 weeks and feet first at 37 weeks until
the end. With Trey, he did was he was supposed to, and stayed head
down. I had Makadie at 39 weeks via a scheduled c-section and was
worried that I might have to have a c-section for the rest of my kids.
Thankfully, my doctor is amazing and he stitched me up so well the first
time that everything healed great, which allowed me a much better
possibility of having a VBAC for my next baby. So that's what I was
hoping for and planning on.
By
the time March came around, I was having doctor's appointments every
week. At my 37 week appointment, Trey was head down and I was 50%
effaced but not dilated. I started having Braxton Hicks, which I never
had with Makadie, so that was a new experience. They were a little
annoying but not uncomfortable and according to my sister, they weren't
the real thing until they started to become more like period cramps. At
38 weeks, I was 60% effaced and dilated to a 1. Still having Braxton
Hicks, but more frequently than the week before. At 39 weeks, I was 70%
effaced and dilated to a 1+. The doctor made the mistake of telling me
that he thought there was more than a 50% chance that he wouldn't be
seeing me at my next appointment, so I was counting on the baby coming.
I was seriously bugged that he told me that because it felt like one of
the longest weeks of my life! So, my 40 week appointment came on my
due date, March 17th and I went into my appointment. The doctor said I
was 80-90% effaced and dilated to a 3. He said that he didn't want me
to go much over my due date (which happened to be St. Patrick's Day), so
he was going to call the hospital to schedule an induction for that
Wednesday (the 19th) since he was already going to be at the hospital
that day with some scheduled c-sections. I went home feeling much
happier because I knew that one way or the other, my baby boy was going
to be here in a couple days!
The
next couple of days were kind of crazy as Covey and I tried to get
everything ready. I had called my mom, who was living in Orem, and
asked her if I could call her to come and stay with Makadie if she
wasn't awake when we had to go to the hospital. The hospital bag was
packed and ready to go. And Covey and I were so ready to meet our
little man!
So
Tuesday comes and I started feeling some slightly stronger, cramp-like
contractions as the day progresses. I went to bed around 11 knowing
that I would be getting a call early in the morning from the hospital to
let us know when to come in for the induction. The contractions were
getting stronger, and at 2:30am I was woken up by a particularly strong
one. I went out into the front room to try and let Covey get some sleep
since I was only getting snatches of sleep myself. I had downloaded an
app to help time my contractions and I just kept that by me. They
slowly started getting stronger and closer together and I started to
wonder if we were going to have to go to the hospital before they called
us. When a contraction came, I just closed my eyes and focused on
taking deep breaths--in through the nose and out through the mouth--to
try and get through them. At one point, I went to the bathroom because I
felt like maybe my water had broken, but my contractions didn't seem to
be getting worse or closer together so I didn't know if I was just
imagining things.
At
about 5am, the hospital called and asked us to be there at 6am. I
called my mom, who came over to be there when Makadie woke up. The
contractions were starting to get more painful and so when my mom showed
up, we were waiting for her in the garage so we could leave the house.
When we made it to the hospital and up to labor and delivery, we
checked it and the nurses said they'd be with us soon. After about 15
minutes, I told Covey to let the nurses know that we were here for a
scheduled induction, but that I was already in labor, so could we please
hurry? About 5 minutes later, we were filling out paperwork and about 7
minutes after that, we were walking down to the delivery room. I
changed into the hospital gown and waited for a nurse to come in and
check my progress. Dr. Nance came in as well to see how I was doing.
He said that was 100% effaced and dilated to a 5. He also said that my
water had already been broken. By this time, it was about 7-7:30am and I
was so tired. Since I hadn't had the epidural yet, they let me have a little bit of food, which I was so grateful for.
The doctor had already let the nurses know that this was a VBAC so they had everything prepped in case an emergency c-section was needed, but Dr. Nance seemed to think that everything was going to go smoothly. After giving me a few instructions on pushing, everyone got into position and watched the monitors for the first contraction. When it came, I pushed as hard as I could. The doctor told me it was a great push because he could already see some hair (yay, hair!). The next one came, I pushed and his head was almost out. One more contraction, one more push, and Trey was out! That was it! 3 contractions and he was here! I was kind of impressed with myself. :) (All of the nurses were really impressed that this was a VBAC and told me I pushed like I'd already had a normal delivery before.)
Dr. Nance lifted Trey up for me to see him and then let Covey cut the umbilical cord. It was so crazy! He was 20 inches long and weighed 8 lb 10 oz--almost a pound and a half bigger than Makadie was! We decided to name him Trey Bradley. (Trey, because we both liked the name, and Bradley, which is kind of after my dad, whose name is Brad. My dad's not a real emotional guy, but I could tell that he was really touched that we wanted to give Trey has middle name.) I couldn't really see what his features were until he got cleaned off and they handed him to me. The first two things I noticed right away was that he had a bunch of hair and that his hands were huge! I just snuggled my sweet little boy, then reluctantly handed him over to Covey so he could say hi too. He handed him back over to me within a couple of minutes though because Trey kept rooting around and getting mad Covey couldn't feed him. :) My delivery experience with Trey was so different from the one with Makadie. I would definitely choose a normal delivery over a c-section.
Eventually, the doctor and nurses finished up and so we went off to the nursery to get Trey a proper bath and make sure everything looked ok. Covey stayed with him, while a nurse wheeled me into my recovery room. The quiet of the room was kind of nice and I dozed off for a few minutes before another nurse came in. After about an hour, Covey came in with Trey and handed him back over to me again. Even though I was so happy, I was so tired I had a hard time keeping my eyes open.
We started texting and making calls to let family and friends know the good news. The first person I called was my mom so that I could talk to my Kadie bug. I told her that baby brother was here with me and that he was excited to see her. My mom said she was going to bring her over after she fed her some lunch. I was excited for Makadie to see Trey because we'd been talking to her about it for so long, but now that the time was here for her to finally see him, I wasn't sure how she was going to react. I also called my step-mom who was out of town on business and so sad that she wasn't there to see Trey.
An hour or so later, my mom and Kadie came into the room. I think Makadie wasn't quite sure what was going on, but she was definitely glad to see Covey and I. Then I let her see Trey, who was sleeping in his little hospital bed. She wasn't as into him as I thought she might be, but seemed more interested in checking our her new surroundings. My mom held Trey for a bit and Makadie checked him out then too. Covey's parents came by shortly after and ooo-ed and ahh-ed over their new grandbaby (I think he was number 15 or so). In the evening, my sister, Dani, her husband, Stephen, and their little boy, Jackson, came over at the same time my dad did. Covey took Makadie home so she could go to bed and have a little bit of normal in her day. My dad left around 8pm or so and I finally had some quiet with just me and my baby boy. I sent him to the nursery around 9:30pm and fell asleep.
Grandpa Brad with his grandson, Trey Bradley
The next couple days in the hospital consisted of me trying to get some sleep, nursing Trey, holding Trey, kissing Trey and family visiting. Covey came back the next morning with Makadie. We had gotten her a special present "from Trey" and let her open it at the hospital. It was some legos and she loved them. Covey had also brought "Frozen" so that Makadie had something to watch while in the room. The room we were in was smaller than the one I'd had when I had Makadie, which was a bummer, because the extra space would have been really nice for a toddler to run around in. Makadie showed a little more interest in Trey the second day and actually wanted to hold him, which was so cute. Watching her with Trey reminded me that I was now a mom of two, which seemed totally surreal!
My sweet little niece, Kinsey, said that holding Trey was "one of the best days of her life". So cute!
We went home Friday morning and tried to get things as back to normal as possible for Makadie's sake.
Scrunchy face
The rest of the month was kind of a blur, so I'm glad that I remembered to take pictures because I'm pretty sure I wouldn't remember what happened besides trying not to be too much of a zombie... Sadly, Covey had to go back to work much sooner than I wanted and so it began. Thankfully, the weather was still nice so we went outside a few times. Makadie's cousin had her birthday at the end of the month and had a princess party that she went to. And Covey and I tried to adjust to less sleep.
Makadie wanted to be wrapped like a baby burrito too
Milk drunk
Kisses for brother
Trey's first sponge bath
My little princess
Trey slept a lot (obviously) and overall seemed to be a calmer newborn than Makadie. He was not colicky, which I was so grateful for. He was a good eater and a snuggly baby, who loved to fall asleep on my chest. Makadie liked Trey and asked to hold him at least once a day, but the lack of attention was hard for her to get used to. She started doing naughty things to get the attention she was lacking and I tried my best to be patient with her and spend at least 20-30 minutes with her once a day having a little one-on-one time. I was grateful that even though she was being a stinker, at least she liked Trey and didn't take out her frustration on him. She gave him kisses and hugs all the time and I was lucky enough to capture a few of those moments on camera.
At the end of the month, I tried my hand at newborn photography. That is hard stuff! I have a much greater appreciation for photographers who do newborn photos. I was able to get a handful of decent shots and edit them a bit to get a finished product that I was happy with.
We love our sweet boy!
Dr. Nance lifted Trey up for me to see him and then let Covey cut the umbilical cord. It was so crazy! He was 20 inches long and weighed 8 lb 10 oz--almost a pound and a half bigger than Makadie was! We decided to name him Trey Bradley. (Trey, because we both liked the name, and Bradley, which is kind of after my dad, whose name is Brad. My dad's not a real emotional guy, but I could tell that he was really touched that we wanted to give Trey has middle name.) I couldn't really see what his features were until he got cleaned off and they handed him to me. The first two things I noticed right away was that he had a bunch of hair and that his hands were huge! I just snuggled my sweet little boy, then reluctantly handed him over to Covey so he could say hi too. He handed him back over to me within a couple of minutes though because Trey kept rooting around and getting mad Covey couldn't feed him. :) My delivery experience with Trey was so different from the one with Makadie. I would definitely choose a normal delivery over a c-section.
Eventually, the doctor and nurses finished up and so we went off to the nursery to get Trey a proper bath and make sure everything looked ok. Covey stayed with him, while a nurse wheeled me into my recovery room. The quiet of the room was kind of nice and I dozed off for a few minutes before another nurse came in. After about an hour, Covey came in with Trey and handed him back over to me again. Even though I was so happy, I was so tired I had a hard time keeping my eyes open.
We started texting and making calls to let family and friends know the good news. The first person I called was my mom so that I could talk to my Kadie bug. I told her that baby brother was here with me and that he was excited to see her. My mom said she was going to bring her over after she fed her some lunch. I was excited for Makadie to see Trey because we'd been talking to her about it for so long, but now that the time was here for her to finally see him, I wasn't sure how she was going to react. I also called my step-mom who was out of town on business and so sad that she wasn't there to see Trey.
An hour or so later, my mom and Kadie came into the room. I think Makadie wasn't quite sure what was going on, but she was definitely glad to see Covey and I. Then I let her see Trey, who was sleeping in his little hospital bed. She wasn't as into him as I thought she might be, but seemed more interested in checking our her new surroundings. My mom held Trey for a bit and Makadie checked him out then too. Covey's parents came by shortly after and ooo-ed and ahh-ed over their new grandbaby (I think he was number 15 or so). In the evening, my sister, Dani, her husband, Stephen, and their little boy, Jackson, came over at the same time my dad did. Covey took Makadie home so she could go to bed and have a little bit of normal in her day. My dad left around 8pm or so and I finally had some quiet with just me and my baby boy. I sent him to the nursery around 9:30pm and fell asleep.
The next couple days in the hospital consisted of me trying to get some sleep, nursing Trey, holding Trey, kissing Trey and family visiting. Covey came back the next morning with Makadie. We had gotten her a special present "from Trey" and let her open it at the hospital. It was some legos and she loved them. Covey had also brought "Frozen" so that Makadie had something to watch while in the room. The room we were in was smaller than the one I'd had when I had Makadie, which was a bummer, because the extra space would have been really nice for a toddler to run around in. Makadie showed a little more interest in Trey the second day and actually wanted to hold him, which was so cute. Watching her with Trey reminded me that I was now a mom of two, which seemed totally surreal!
We went home Friday morning and tried to get things as back to normal as possible for Makadie's sake.
The rest of the month was kind of a blur, so I'm glad that I remembered to take pictures because I'm pretty sure I wouldn't remember what happened besides trying not to be too much of a zombie... Sadly, Covey had to go back to work much sooner than I wanted and so it began. Thankfully, the weather was still nice so we went outside a few times. Makadie's cousin had her birthday at the end of the month and had a princess party that she went to. And Covey and I tried to adjust to less sleep.
Makadie wanted to be wrapped like a baby burrito too
Trey's first sponge bath
My little princess
Trey slept a lot (obviously) and overall seemed to be a calmer newborn than Makadie. He was not colicky, which I was so grateful for. He was a good eater and a snuggly baby, who loved to fall asleep on my chest. Makadie liked Trey and asked to hold him at least once a day, but the lack of attention was hard for her to get used to. She started doing naughty things to get the attention she was lacking and I tried my best to be patient with her and spend at least 20-30 minutes with her once a day having a little one-on-one time. I was grateful that even though she was being a stinker, at least she liked Trey and didn't take out her frustration on him. She gave him kisses and hugs all the time and I was lucky enough to capture a few of those moments on camera.
At the end of the month, I tried my hand at newborn photography. That is hard stuff! I have a much greater appreciation for photographers who do newborn photos. I was able to get a handful of decent shots and edit them a bit to get a finished product that I was happy with.
We love our sweet boy!
