A Baby Story

The Prologue:

Two weeks before my due date I went into the doctors office for and ultrasound. They measured the baby and told me that I had lots of fluid, but the baby was also measuring really big. they then moved my due date up to October 31st. I was so excited!! One whole week earlier. The scheduled an appointment for the following Monday and I went in.

Doctor Sheridan told me that I wasn't dilated at all and that my cervix was still really hard. He told me that he wasn't going to induce me on November 1st like I had originally planned and I was devastated. Mom Tobler was coming on the 31st and I was supposed to have a baby. We were good to go, Jakob had taken the time off and now everything was all mixed up! 

He scheduled me for an appointment the following Monday and I went in. they did another ultrasound and I had even more fluid. I had also been walking, bouncing, and trying everything in my power to dilate. 

When he checked me I was at a 1 and they decided to take me in the following morning. I had an official diagnosis of amniosis and they really didn't want my water to break on it's own and we end up with a chord hanging out instead of a head.

Chapter One: Setting Up

They told me to come in at 5:30 am. We had an official slot so there was no need to worry about them canceling because they got too busy. It felt so nice to be able to relax the night before and pack my bag. Inductions were made for me. 

Once we filled out some paperwork I headed upstairs. I was dancing in the hallway while we waited for our nurse because I was so nervous/excited! How can it have been 9 months already? We found our room and I got changed. By 6:30 the drugs were flowing. Our nurse checked me and I was at a 2. Here we go.

Chapter Two: The Stinger

At 7:45 Dr. Sheridan came in and we broke my water. There was no big "gush" this time but there was a lot of fluid. He made sure that the baby's head was covering my cervix and then he headed off to work. At that point I was still at a 2.

 My contractions started to get a bit stronger but I felt very little to no pain. The nurse asked if I wanted to get my epidural. I was hesitant, I hate needles and I like to be in a decent amount of pain before I get them to make it feel "worth it." They did my bolus and at 8:45 called for my epidural. This woman was a CRNA and she was a ding bat. 

She plunged the numbing stuff into my back so fast it hurt like crazy. She told me to expect a little sting and it felt like I had bees stabbing up and down my back. Then she said I might feel a shock up one side or the other, a second later it felt like a taser had ripped through my right side. 

Good gracious. They started the numbing and I laid on my right side. I could still move my legs by my own free will and my contractions were present but not painful.

Chapter Three: A Little too Numb
At. 9:10 I was playing on my phone and I went to set it down and my hand was going numb. I felt my chest and my boob was gone. My face was a bit tingly as well. I called for the nurse because my breathing on my left side was difficult.

When my Mom had me, they numbed her too high and it shut off her breathing so I voiced my concerns. They sat me up and let gravity do it's thing. My breathing started to get better and then my blood pressured dropped to 75/50.

 I'm not sure what that means but I have a few nurses race into my room pretty quickly and they were all shocked as I sat there. The next read came out 90/something so everyone calmed down pretty quick.

Chapter Four: The Flood

At 10:00 they checked me and I was at 3cm 80% effaced. Which meant progress. I still felt like we had forever to wait though. Poor Jakob was looking mighty bored. They checked me again at 11 and I was at a 4. They decided to put in a catheter and possibly get me to try using the peanut between my legs within the next hour or so. 

I could breath normally and feel my face a boob again. thank heavens. I decided to rest my eyes. I was laying on my left side and I could feel each contraction with more and more intensity. As I felt my contractions I could feel myself stretching too. It was the strangest feeling being halfway between numb and present. 

I wasn't in any pain, I just let my body relax and then GUSH!! I felt like I peed myself. I told the nurses that I felt wet and that I may need a new towel. They lifted up my blanket and there was amniotic fluid everywhere. 

They had to strip the bed while I was in it, mop the floor and change my gown it was insane the amount of fluid I gushed after having been gushing for 3 hours already. By now it was 12:30 and I asked to be checked again before we started using the peanut. I was at a 10 and it was game time! I went from a four to a 10 in a little over an hour!??!!

Chapter 5: Pushing

They called Dr. Sheridan, and he arrived so quickly I was amazed. I texted Liz who was taking pictures for us and I was so afraid that she was going to miss it. She arrived at 12:45 and I started to push.

 I have never had to push more than a couple of times before. The baby was face up and so they were trying to rotate him as he came under my pelvic bone. Pushing is hard work. I was tired and using muscles I never knew I had.

Chapter 6: He's Here

At 1:03 p.m. Reddrick Karlson Tobler was born and he was so dang perfect. He screamed and screamed and everything seemed to happen so fast. My heart just melted at the sight of him and the feeling that you crave when you deliver a new baby did not disappoint. 

Absolute perfection. Pure joy. Here was this boy fresh from heaven being wrapped in my arms and in that moment nothing else mattered. He was scrunchy faced like Duke with dark hair like Leif. He was meant for our family and I just wanted to freeze time. 

Liz was incredible snapping pictures and chatting with me. Jakob just sat quietly waiting. Patient as always.

Chapter 7: Bliss

This baby is perfect. He wants his hands right up by his face. He coos and squawks and he has a cowlick in the front of his head and a double crown like Daddy. 

He has the squarest ears I have every seen and a tiny little chin. It boogles my mind to think that only a few hours ago he was inside of me. 

Our nurses were amazing. Each one made me feel so calm and relaxed. they also had great senses of humor and we had a great time. 

At 4:00 they wheeled us upstairs to the Mother/Baby floor and Redd and I got to snuggle. We have been so blessed. Reddrick Karlson, you are so loved! 

And here are a few more baby pictures. :)

A Baby Story

The Prologue: 

Our induction was set for April 14th, 2017. I had a check up the day before and Dr. Sheridan told me everything was a go. He continued to warn me that things may get busy at the hospital and that I may get bumped back until Monday. Just the thought had me insanely stressed out! I just HAD to have this baby on Friday. I have had all of my babies on Friday, plus, Jakob got Friday off without having to take vacation. It was perfect, it was the plan. Needless to say my nerves were on end.

I tossed and turned all night checking my phone regularly to see if they had called yet. I got up at 4:00 a.m. and showered, just in case they called at 5:00 and said, come in now! Then I went back to bed. At 5:15 the phone rang and they told us to come in at 7:00! Oh sweet mercy! I was so relived! Jakob went to the gym and then we were off to have a baby.

 (Right after he was delivered)

Chapter 2: And So It Begins

We arrived at the hospital and were directed to our room 3222. Our nurses name was Kaitlin and she was a doll. It was a bit strange only having one nurse. Summerlin hospital was a teaching hospital so there were always students in the room. At Shawnee Mission, we just had Kaitlin which was nice yet strange. She was witty and funny. We were her only patient so she made the time pass by chatting with us frequently. I got changed and the meds started flowing at 8:00 a.m. Dr. Sherdian told her that since this wasn't my first rodeo, to start my Pitocin at a 4 then jump me to an 8. But Kaitlin was nice and started me at a 2 and jumped me up an 8 gradually.

Chapter 3: A Waiting Game

At 10:45 Dr Sheridan came in to break my water and hopefully get things into motion. That was another strange thing, Dr. Sheridan was there every step of the way. I never saw another doctor and that was really wonderful. I was just barely at a 2. Barely. Things needed to happen faster! I gushed fluid like no tomorrow. They were amazed. I was contracting pretty well. Not very painful bit stronger than just Braxton Hicks. Kaitlin gave me an "peanut" to put between my legs (which was a MASSIVE exercise ball shaped like a peanut.) I was switching from side to side frequently but still.... not dilating!

At 11:10 I was still gushing fluid, soaking towels. It was so gross. I much prefer being numb when they break my water. I can't even imagine what it would be like if my water broke on it's own while shopping at Target. Good gravy. Then the contractions started getting stronger. I told Kaitlin that I was ready for my epidural. I hate needles.

 (Daddy's First time holding him.)

At 12:00 Dr. Webber came into give me my epidural. I was grateful that it wasn't an intern but then I quickly changed my mind. He shot the numbing stuff in my back so fast and it hurt like crazy! Then he hit a blood vessel so they had to do the whole thing over again. I wasn't very impressed. While his bedside manner was excellent, his technique was a bit lacking. 

Once I had my epidural my contractions bottomed out. I went from contracting every 2 -3 minutes to every 5-6 minutes. We were quite literally starting from scratch. At 1:00 they checked me again. I was at a 3. I decided to try and get some rest and relax as much as possible and just let my body do it's thing but I was getting rather impatient. We had come in the same time as 4 other ladies who were being induced, and they had all had had their babies. 

At 3:30 I was contracting every 2 minutes, but I was starting to feel my contractions once again. I pushed the button to get more drugs from my epidural. My pitocin was at an 18 and the max they can go to is a 20. I was at a 5.

 Chapter 4: Something Isn't Right

At 4:00 I was starting to feel my contractions more and more. My legs were totally numb but I could still wiggle my toes, yet I could feel my contractions. They were like Braxton hicks but were getting stronger and stronger as time progressed. They called anesthesia and they gave my an extra shot of happy juice. I was a bit nervous that I was going to go completely numb like I had when I had Duke. I was wrong. As soon as he pushed down the plunger the room started spinning. I've been dizzy before and fainted, but I felt like I was on a roller coaster. I couldn't focus, my head hurt and closing my eyes was no help at all.

After about 5 minutes the room stopped spinning, but then the baby started stressing. Every time I would contract his heart rate would dip... almost stop. I was really scared. It was taking him longer and longer to recover each time and the thought crossed my mind that we may be doing a c-section. They stopped my pitocin and gave him some time to recover. My contraction were gone. Back to contracting every 5 minutes. The extra shot of happy juice didn't do a thing either. I was pushing my epidural button every 10 minutes to try and make sure that the pain stayed were it was. I could feel my hand touching the skin on my stomach, my contractions were getting stronger and stronger and then I thought, I may be doing this naturally after all.

At 4:45 they checked me and I was at a 7-8. Sweet mercy. Once baby had recovered they started my Pitocin back at an 8 again and my contractions picked up.

Chapter 5: Another Miracle

At 5:30 they checked me again and she said, "Hey girl! We're going to have a baby!" I was finally at a 10 and -2. she could feel his head and it was game time! Dr. Sheridan came in and 20 minutes later the team was assembled. Dr. Sheridan told me to push and I did. He then said, "Stop! You're pushing too hard." I stopped and I laughed and appologized. He then said "Okay, stop laughing... never mind, I'll just do it." and with a smile, he pulled Leif Ronald Tobler out at 6:02 p.m. He was beautiful and covered in goop from head to toe. They placed him on my stomach and for a few minutes my entire world stopped. He had the darkest hair and the sweetest face. You never become closer to our Father in Heaven as you do the moment one of his precious children suddenly becomes yours. This perfect boy fresh from the arms of our Father in Heaven was now safely wrapped in mine. Never is the veil as thin as that. The immense amount of love that is there in that moment is hard to describe. It is such a miracle and I wish so badly that I cold just keep every detail of those moments frozen perfectly in a bottle. There is so much love, joy, awe, peace and understanding. And while that moment passes, it is etched in my heart forever. This boy was perfect in every sense of the word. Dark hair, purple skin tiny chin, just perfect.

 Chapter 6: The Calm

After the delivery Dr. Sheridan asked Jakob (who was comfortably sitting in a chair next to the bed for the entire delivery) if he wanted to cut the chord. Jakob declined and so I got to cut the chord. It was a very empowering thing and I was amazed at how tough it was. 

In this hospital they are very pro skin on skin. They tossed Leif on my chest and left him there for almost an hour. It was such an amazing experience he just snuggled right in there and I just enjoyed having his warm body on mine. Eventually they took him to get all cleaned up. They weighed and measured him. 8lbs 12oz - Length 20 inches - Head 14 inches. It was nice to watch them get him bathed in our room. He smelled amazing once he was all fresh. Jakob went home to help put the kids to bed and Mom Tobler came to see Leif. They transferred me to the recovery room and then Daddy came back. At this point we were all ready to get some sleep and I was just happy as could be holding my sweet little boy.

It was a wonderful experience and once again we had a wonderful team to deliver Leif. Dr. Sheridan was fantastic! I just love him! I have wanted to have another baby for such a long time and I feel so beyond blessed to have Leif in our little family. Words can not do our love and joy justice. I am so beyond grateful for the blessing it is to be a mother. I am thankful for a Father in Heaven who loves and supports me and my family. What a blessing families are and I am so grateful to have mine for eternity. This is what it's all about!

Here He Is!

Introducing

 

Leif Ronald Tobler

April 14th, 2017

6:02 p.m.

8lbs 12oz

20" Long

A Baby Story

The Prologue: 

I much preferred being induced at  3:00 p.m. verses the agonizing wait and stress of 4:00 a.m. The day before my induction I was a total mess. I was full of emotions and I really couldn't focus on much of anything. Thankfully my dear friend Missy Lowe came by right when I was about to burst out in tears. I was so overwhelmed and I was very thankful to have a friend just to take my mind off on the unimportant things and regroup. Jakob was able to come home early and we spent our anniversary dancing in the kitchen with Ethnie. It was perfect and just what I needed. I honestly couldn't have asked for a more peaceful and perfect evening. Mom and Dad were gracious enough to spend the night at our place so we wouldn't have to transfer Ethnie at 2:30 in the morning. I am so blessed to be surrounded by so many wonderful people. Words cannot do my gratitude justice.

(39.5" around the morning of our delivery)

 

At 2:30 in the morning we got a phone call from the hospital telling us that things were rather busy and not to come in at 4:00. I was so alert and ready and then to hear that we had been delayed totally threw me for a loop. It took me forever to fall back to sleep and once I did I couldn't stop dreaming about being forgotten about and ending up being two weeks over due. Thankfully at 5:30 a.m. we got the phone call to come in whenever we were ready. I bustled about throwing in some last minute items and we were off.

(Jakob's chair. It reclines but it sure does look uncomfortable!)

Chapter 2: And So It Begins

We arrived at the hospital and were directed to room 247. Our initial nurse was named Stacey. She was sweet and sincere and I felt very comfortable with her. I wasn't very fond of where they put my IV in and she made a comment about how "distinguished my blood valves were." It was 8:40 a.m by the time we got my meds flowing.

(Right after they started my Pitocin. Here we go!)

At 10:25 a.m. I was contracting every 3 - 5 minutes. They weren't painful just stronger than the Braxton Hicks. I was very contentious of switching from side to side since last time my tail bone was killing me by the end of delivery from laying on my back the entire time. Duke was super wiggly! They had a hard time keeping the heart rate monitor on him because he'd roll around so much. It didn't bother me one bit. I saw it more as him reassuring me that he'd be here soon and that I wasn't alone.

 (Shortly after delivery, I had the shakes pretty bad and I was freezing.)

I was super sleepy but since I was being checked on so often it was hard to get any rest. I was also getting the heebie jebies from being tethered to so many poles. (At one point I had 6 things attached to me in some way.) I was nervous, but Jakob and Dad gave me a blessing before saying that all would be well and I knew it would be. I felt so bad for poor Jakob he looked so board. We ended up finding Gold Rush, the same T.V. show he watched when Ethnie was delivered. He was oddly excited about it.

 (Duke's First Picture)

Chapter 3: A Waiting Game

At 11:45 a.m. the contractions still weren't painful but they were strong. I was still only at a 2 and I was starting to get a bit discouraged. Everyone was telling me that I would go much faster with the second delivery and here I was stuck at a 2. At 1:00 p.m. we started to discuss breaking my water. I was rather nervous since last time I had already had my epidural before they broke my water. The anesthesiologist was busy with a c-section however and was unable to be there before hand. At 1:30 p.m. Stacy checked me again... still at a 2 but the contractions were getting stronger and I was starting to get uncomfortable. They gave me a shot of "happy juice" and I instantly felt better. I love drugs.

Dr. Lee came in and broke my water at 1:50 p.m. I was very grateful that I hadn't had the epidural yet. It was a neat experience to feel my water break. He told me I was FINALLY at a 3. The first sign of progress in 6 hours. I was hoping thinks would really pick up now.... I was wrong.

At 1:50 Dr. Hansen came in to give me my epidural. He was wonderful. I didn't start sobbing this time which was quite a relief. It was actually a very pleasant experience. I felt the initial poke to numb me a bit and then nothing but pressure. I over think these things. He was fabulous and I was very grateful for his calming beside manner. 

At 3:45 p.m. they once again came in to check me. I was still a 3-4 and they decided to put internal monitoring in. At this point I was so ready to deliver. I was getting quite discouraged and I really just wanted to have my baby in my arms.

 (Daddy getting some shut eye after delivery.)

 Chapter 4: Labor!!

5:00 p.m. I was FINALLY a solid 4 which means I was officially in "labor." It had been 8 1/2 hours since we arrived and I sent Jakob to go and get some dinner. I was totally starving and all of the commercials of food were driving me crazy. I was totally craving some DQ chicken strips, fries, and a sundae , but I had to settle for ice chips. Bummer.

 (First Time Daddy held Duke.)

At 6:30 they checked me again and I was a 6-7.  More progress. Shift changed happened at 7:00 p.m. and our new nurse Hannah was just darling. She was super sweet and made me feel so comfortable and calm. I told her that I was staring to feel some sharp pain in my abdomen when I was contracting, which I thought was odd since I could hardly feel my toes. They sent in the anesthesiologist and he gave me an extra shot of something which made me NUMB. It was uncomfortably numb. I could still tell that they were moving my right leg around but my left was entirely gone. It could have been amputated for all I knew. I was enjoying being pain free but I didn't enjoy losing all sensation to my legs.

Chapter 5: Another Miracle

At around 7:45 I told Hannah I felt funny, I wasn't sure what is was since I had little to no feeling but she decided to check me. I was ready to push. She called Dr. Martin and he suggested that we do some practice pushes and Hannah told him there was no need. Twenty minutes later Dr. Martin arrived. He looked tired, poor guy. I just love him. Jakob took his position behind my head. I think he preferred the view from back there. We were joking with everyone, delivering babies is quite fun when you can't feel anything. Dr. Martin instructed me to push... so I did, or so I thought. I looked at Hannah afterwards and asked if I did okay because I honestly couldn't feel a thing. She informed me that he was crowning and I had done a good job. I pushed again and Dr. Martin told me to stop. He told me to reach down and I pulled Duke onto my belly at 8:24 p.m.

 (First Time I Held Duke.)

 Chapter 6:

As I sit here now I am filled with the same emotions as I was then. Here was this little boy, so prefect in every way. As tears filled my eyes, I knew how special he was from the moment I first saw him and I knew that he was a precious son of our Heavenly Father. Once again I could feel this over powering love from our Father in Heaven and I could just imagine him saying, here he is, I love him so, take care of him for me. I was so thankful for the knowledge of eternal families and I was so happy to have this precious little boy in our family. I tried to freeze that moment into my mind, to memorize every little feature that was so pure and innocent. He is perfect!

 (8 lbs 0oz)

They whisked him away after a few minutes to get him all cleaned up. I couldn't help but think how similar he looked to Ethnie. It made me miss her a little more. I was longing to have our little family together but was enjoying these first moments alone with our darling son. He had so much hair! I could hardly believe it. They made a little mohawk out of it and I fell in love with him all over again. I was amazed by how alert Duke was after delivery. He didn't hardly cry, he was just looking around. It was so nice to be able to look into his eyes for so long. We had a lot of skin on skin which I never did with Ethnie and it truly was an incredible bonding experience. This little man is enchanting.

A few months ago Dr. Martin was joking about his "membership program." "Buy five and get the 6th one free." He joked. I couldn't resist making myself a little punch card for after Duke's delivery. All of the nurses thought it was quite cute and Dr. Martin sure got a laugh out of it. Like I said before, our deliveries are fun.

Once everything slowed down we were able to just enjoy some alone time with little Duke before they moved us into our recovery room. I was still very numb and was not enjoying the lack of feeling and mobility.  They moved us into our room at 2:00 a.m. and we were all rather excited to get some sleep. 

It was a wonderful experience and once again we had the best team to deliver Duke I could have asked for. Jakob and I feel so blessed to have this little man in our family. Words can not do our love and joy justice. I am so thankful for the ability I have to be a mother and for the love and comfort I feel from our Father in Heaven, not only for me, but for Duke and Ethnie too. This is what life is all about and I am so incredibly grateful!