So this is way late but after you read this post, you may be more sympathetic to our lack of posting. I would have posted our joyous news much earlier had I been able.
Peyton was due on the 19th of October, 2012 and if I followed my regular gestational trend, she would have been born around the 5th or so of October. I was sure this would happen since she was measuring quite a bit bigger than she was supposed to (ie. measuring 36 cm at 32 weeks...generally, those numbers should match). I had 2 ultrasounds to check her size, one at 36 weeks and one at 37 weeks by a specialist. At the 36 week ultrasound they determined she weighed 7.5 lbs and at the 37 week one, the specialist determined her to be 9 lbs already. This wouldn't normally be all that alarming except that Olivia, my 3rd was born 2 weeks early and weighed 8 lb 12 oz and got a broken collarbone during a difficult delivery. We didn't want this baby to get stuck and have complications like Olivia's or worse so we decided to opt for a C-section when I went into labor...whenever that happened. Remember, I was expecting her to be born around 10 days to 2 weeks early.
So the wait began.
I was really hoping she would come like the others did...early because we were under contract on our house in our move back to Utah for a work transfer of sorts and were set to close on the 17th of October, 2 days before the due date. How would this work? With a C-section, you are in the hospital for 3 days maybe 4 depending on how well you recover and then are very limited in what you can do for the next 6 weeks, driving being one of them because of risk of blood clots. If we closed on our house on the 17th before the baby was born, where would we live if we weren't able to go then? So I was trying to be as faith-filled as possible all the while, asking Heavenly Father if the baby would be healthy, please let her be born on the 28th of September, at 37 weeks but only if she would be healthy.
The 28th came and went.
I was very uncomfortable and had been for the past month or two...remember, this baby was already 9 lbs in my womb and had 3 more weeks to gain on average 1/2 to 1 lb each week. In the 6 weeks before, I started packing our house. But not really doing a ton because we were going to hire someone to pack the house and then the truck. Why should I do it when people can for me? Then we decided to do it ourselves...because it wouldn't be that hard, right? I really don't know what we were thinking...honestly! I think we decided this about 3 weeks before the closing. Time suddenly felt short! At the end of every pregnancy, every mom will tell you time stands still...not now. It was flying and I could hardly do anything because I was SO FAT and uncomfortable! I had so many great friends and helpers come pack for me, clean for me, make meals for us, watch my kids, everything. And all this time, Brad had to plan for, and execute this move not only for us but for his office too as they were also closing the office in Denver and moving it to Utah.
At 38 weeks, I had an appointment with my doctor scheduled but I couldn't for the life of me find a babysitter and I had to miss it! The office was not very helpful either and so when I called they just scheduled my 39 week appointment and called it good. Well, I had remembered the doctor saying he wouldn't induce me any earlier than 39 weeks because research showed the chances for needing a c-section are a little bit higher with inductions even with the a big baby. But now that we had decided to just do a c-section, we could schedule me at 39 weeks. So after realizing this, I called the office back and was scheduled to have a c-section on the same day as my 39 week appointment. Now, the plan was to go in on the 12th, have the baby, be in the hospital until the 16th, close on the 17th, and stay in a hotel until I felt like I could make the long broken up drive to Utah.
Peyton was born October 12th at 8:05 am. If you have never had a c-section, it may now be the form of birth I'd choose. Either I was VERY blessed (which is the scenario I'm guessing) or I had great team of docs and nurses (which is also true) because it was virtually painless and I healed just as fast as if I had birthed her naturally minus a few aches from the stitches inside by my upper stomach. It really was easy. As long as I followed the doc orders of taking my ibuprofen every 4 hours, I was fine. My sweet baby was perfect and the first thing the docs said was how big she was. Brad was able to take of a picture of the doctors pulling her out of my belly...half in half out. Kind of weird. I won't include that shot.
So remember she was supposed to be 9 lbs? Well, believe it or not, she came out a ginormous 10 lbs 12 oz. It's true...I gave birth to a small toddler.
Thank goodness my parents came to town! Brad had to finish packing up the house and take care of the kids because after a couple of days in the hospital, Peyton had an episode where she stopped breathing long enough to turn purple/blue and then when she started to breath again, her o2 saturations didn't recover well enough for the nurses to keep her out of NICU. So, like all the rest of her siblings, she spent her time in the NICU. After a day or so, the doctors couldn't figure out what was causing her apnea so we decided to transfer her to Denver Children's Hospital where she would be well taken care of. So at 5 days old, an ambulance transported her to Childrens. We would spend a grueling 10 days there having test after test all of which came back normal. We still have no idea what was causing her apnea. We did learn that she has reflux and maybe that caused her to stop breathing. She was on an apnea monitor for a month after she was released from the Childrens. Atleast I now know of all the things that are NOT wrong with my baby! And she has been fine ever since. I would post pictures of her in the hospital but I lost them...they were on my phone...boo
A day after she was released, we moved to Utah. True story.
