Kelsey's Birth Story

My third sweet lady was born on April 2nd, 2016.

Kelsey Parker Curtis
10:59am
8lbs 11oz

I guess I'll start at the beginning.  I was anxiously awaiting this baby the whole last month of pregnancy.  I don't remember feeling as 'done' and ready for a baby to be here as I did with Kelsey.  I had an ultrasound at 38 weeks and I asked on a whim if the tech could tell me how big she would be and she said 8lbs 13oz.  I thought she was crazy!! If that was the case I should have had her yesterday!  Both Hayley and Melanie were about six and a half pounds, so that fact that she was going to be so much bigger didn't help my waiting.
My step dad had a really invasive knee surgery on March 31st, so my mom was not going to be able to be around for the birth and really the first month at all which really made me sad.  But, with those circumstances I was really relying on Tyler's parents and his Aunt Beth Haynie who lives close by in Mesa as well as potentially some friends in case it was the middle of the night.

Saturday morning (the 2nd) I woke up at around 6:30am to a dream that I was in pain from a contraction but still sleepy I couldn't quite tell if it was also real life.  So I stayed awake waiting for the next contraction to come eager to know if today was the day.  Sure enough around 6:45am there was another.  Then at 7:00am there was another, so I got my phone out to start tracking and at 7:10am I finally told Tyler what was going on.
"I've had 4 contractions in the last half our or so....should I call your mom?"
"YES!" (as he jumped out of bed into the shower)

I still felt pretty good and all of my contractions were in the front of my uterus which didn't happen with either of the other girls and comparatively, they were really tame, but by the time Aunt Beth got here at around 8am my contractions were only about 6-7 minutes apart and I started having to pause and lean on something just so I could relax the rest of my ab muscles that would have normally helped me stand up.  I had put my makeup on (with primer no less...I was going to look good in pictures since this was the only time I'd gone into labor during the day!)  , triple checked my bag, got the girls breakfast, and tried to eat a pancake (which really didn't feel like a good thing to do).  Don and Jessie got to the house from Tucson around 9:30am and we were all on the couch watching General Conference.  I started to get this yucky feeling in my stomach like I had to go the bathroom and not much happened but I knew it was just my body trying to clean itself out.  I was still able to talk and once a contraction passed I felt totally fine!  Not like back labor....the breaks were not breaks just a minor decrease in back pain.  These uterine contractions were easy to recover from.  Around 9:45am I started to feel the contractions wrap around my back and in turn, the desire to kind of rub my back to ease the pain.  They were about 5 minutes apart.  I gathered my things and told Tyler I was ready to go.  In my head I thought we'd just hang out a bit at the hospital since I didn't feel totally in labor like I remembered with the others.  With Hayley the car ride was unbearable but I really did feel fine a majority of the time with this labor!

We pulled into the parking lot at about 10:00am.  I told Tyler, "We can probably just hang out in the car for a bit, I just didn't want to look like a moaning cow with such an audience".  I was able to labor in the middle of the night with the other two; no kids, no relatives.  Tyler didn't really care what I said and just kept moving me toward the hospital doors.  We checked in through ER and I remember feeling so calm compared to last time that I seriously thought I was way too early and not ready.  The triage nurse must have felt the same way because she hooked me up to monitors and said I was only 4cm dialated, she was going to watch me for 10 minutes and call the midwife to see what we should do.  Well....not 5 minutes later back labor seriously kicked in.  I was on my left side clinging to the bed rail and telling Tyler to push harder with counter pressure on my back.  I learned later that he was nearly kneeling on my back in order to push as hard as I was asking him too and I had the bruises to prove it the next day!  I remember Tyler saying, "Honey, these aren't 5 minutes apart anymore" then the next thing he said was, "Where is the nurse? Her 10 minutes are up".  At the point the back labor was everything I remembered it to be and more.  It was all I could do to keep my composure and the nurse reminded me to keep my moaning low so I could keep control.

They wheeled me to a delivery room and asked me to move beds.  I told them no...haha!  I could feel her head in my pelvis.  I didn't want to move with what feels like a basketball between my legs!  The nurse said, "The contractions are not going to get any better, we need you to just scoot a few inches and you'll be right on the bed".  That was the first time I had opened my eyes in maybe 10 minutes.  I remember pleading in desperation for 'some demerol or something' because I just didn't think I could do it.  Bless the nurses heart, I'm sure she knew how soon Kelsey would be there so she just said she was going to get my IV started (come to find out later she was just doing it to give me pitocin after labor to help my uterus shrink back because she knew full well I was going to have a baby any minute but starting an IV would make me feel like relief was coming).  I also remember thinking, "I better relax and open my legs so this baby can actually come out".  I was so tense.  This labor was more true pain than I remember from the other girls as well.  I felt like I was literally being ripped in half at my back.  My body started to bear down which I love because you know that's the beginning of the end.  All of the sudden my water burst!  That didn't happen with the other girls either!  I yelled, "My water just broke!"  I think at some point I also yelled, "I'm totally pooping!"  (I'm obviously not that worried about decorum in the middle of labor).

I don't remember the feeling of her crowning at all.  After my water broke it was all a blur.  Someone said, "Keep pushing!" and I said, "Why?!  What happened?!" and someone said, "Her head is out!  Now get the rest of her out!".  I gave it a solid push and she slipped right out!  10:59am.  I said, " I can't believe I just did that guys!!"  She was pooping everywhere, it was like her body could relax too.  I asked if I could hold her right away and the nurse asked if I wanted her to clean Kelsey up first and I said, "There's already blood everywhere, I may as well have poop on me too".

Sweet Tyler always cries when we have a baby and I love that about him.  He always says, "You did it!  You did it!" and kisses my head.  I love that about him too.

So....4.5 hours from start to finish.  It was so weird to leave the house in the daytime to go have a baby!  Tyler's parents were shocked when we literally called an hour later to tell them Kelsey was born.  I would have never guessed she would show up so quickly!  I love having a little baby to snuggle and hold on my chest.  She is a little ray of light in our crazy house.  I'm not sure if I'm more patient or if she's not as needy, but even when she cries I don't mind.  I'm so calm with her.  I love that.  Welcome the our family Kels!!

Let's just clarify...

Mom:  Mel...are you my baby?

Melanie:  No.  I'm a girl!

Mom: OH, are you my big girl?

Melanie: No. I'm a girl!

Mom: OH, are you my girl?

Melanie: No. I'm a boy....

oh geez........