A Birth Story: Aspen Ann Larkins

Aspen's birth story really started long before we got to the hospital because it was completely affected by my state of mind. Overall, my pregnancy was pretty easy. I never threw up. I barely had any swelling. I only got slight nausea in my first trimester and normal tiredness. I was able to exercise throughout my pregnancy (5-6 days a week including running a half marathon at 13 weeks) and had no complications. At the same time, I am just one of those women who doesn't like being pregnant. I just don't, sorry. In addition I wanted so badly to go into labor naturally on my own because I knew that would help my changes of delivering naturally, but that didn't happen. Ultimately, I wanted a healthy baby and a safe delivery, and I very much got that so although nothing went as I planned, I am still so grateful for that.

Aspen's due date of September 5th came and went. I had an appointment 5 days later on the 10th. I thought for sure they were going to tell me that I should be induced but they didn't. They said both me and the baby were doing fine despite the fact that I was not showing ANY signs of labor. At this point of almost 41 weeks of pregnancy I was done so when my doctor suggested trying gels to soften my cervix I decided to go for it. They told me to be at the hospital at 2 that afternoon. I thought it was going to be something quick and I would go home and then labor would start, but no. It took 5 hours and I was so exhausted by the end of it and it didn't appear that it was doing anything. The next morning I decided I was exhausted and uncomfortable and didn't want to go to work anymore ( I was also sick of all the questions I was getting). Justin also took off and we hoped that labor would start any day. It didn't. I had an appointment Monday morning and once again, I was expecting them to tell me I needed to be induced. I had my bags all ready to go to the hospital. They didn't say that. Both me and Aspen were doing fine and so my doctor said it was up to me. I could either not do anything and potentially go to 42 weeks, I could try pitocin, or I could try cervadil. I was so exhausted and upset that I even had to make this decision. I wanted my body to do what it was supposed to do on it's own, but at the same time I knew that being so exhausted and upset was not good either. Also, since I started my maternity leave, I didn't want to waste any more days without the baby so I decided to try cervadil. They scheduled me to go into the hospital that night. I thought it would be good because the cervadil needs to be in for 12 hours and you have to be in bed so I figured I would be sleeping most of that since we were doing it overnight. We checked into the hospital at 6 p.m. on Monday night and they started the cervadil at 7 p.m. Justin and I watched "Tammy" on the iPad and face timed with Everly before trying to get as much sleep as possible. The next morning, Justin went home and fed the dogs and I was able to get up and take a shower since the 12 hours were up. At around 8:30 in the morning they checked me and I was dilated to a 2-3 and having contractions but feeling good so it seemed like the cervadil did what it needed to. After that we got to face time with Everly again who went to work with my mom for a little bit. At 9:45 my doctor came in and suggested breaking my water to move things along. I was nervous about contractions getting too strong too fast, but I was also anxious so we did it. From about 10:30-12:15 my contractions started getting stronger and stronger and I was working really hard to focus and breath through them. I thought I was doing well but when they checked me at 12:15 and I was only at a 5 I started to get worried. I was getting exhausted both physically and emotionally and in the back of my mind I knew that there was a clock running before they would have to do a c-section because my water had been broken. I did not want a c-section. I very much believe that any way you have a baby is amazing, but I knew that the recovery would be much more difficult with a c-section so I wanted to avoid that if possible. I knew that pitocin would help move the labor along but I did not want to even attempt those contractions without an epidural so at around 2 I got an epidural. Once again, it took forever for me to get the epidural because I had to wait an hour for them to give me fluids before I could even get it. That sucked. Then, once I finally got it, it didn't work. They kept asking if my feet were starting to get tingly and they weren't. I could still move them. My blood pressure was starting to get high (shocker) and I was so done at this point but at 2:30 they tried the epidural again and it took. Once the pain from those contractions started to die down I just felt so much relief. I was definitely slightly disappointed that I was unable to go without one, but I knew that it was not good for anyone for me to dwell on that so I really didn't. After the epidural they started a small dose of pitocin to help move things along. We also tried resting on different sides to help move her down because she was still pretty high. At about 5 p.m. I was at a 9-10 so we started pushing. This was much different for me than with Everly because I could still feel the contractions starting and so I knew when to push on my own. With Everly I could not feel anything and so I pushed when they told me to. I felt like I wasn't pushing as hard as the doctor's wanted me to but all of the sudden it just happened and with one push I felt her head come out and then the next push the rest of her body came out. Aspen Ann Larkins was born at 5:34 p.m. on Tuesday, September 16, 2014. She was 8.9 lbs and 20 inches long (a pound more and inch shorter than Everly but also 2 weeks later than Everly).

Although, most of my birth plan didn't happen, I was able to hold Aspen immediately and I just felt an overwhelming amount of relief when I did. I know I was crying and shaking from the epidural but I was just so happy to have her and that it was over. We waited about 10-15 minutes to cut the cord and we also delayed all newborn procedures for an hour. We nursed in that time and she did pretty good. We also were able to bathe her in our room so she never left us and I was happy about that. After that my mom came in with Everly for the first time. Once again, this did not go as planned. Everly had gotten a mosquito bite (which she is allergic to) so she was on benadryl and totally out of it. She wanted nothing to do with me or the baby and about 2 minutes after entering our room she fell asleep on Justin. Poor girl! After that my mom took her home and then we got a visit from my 3 sisters and their husbands/boyfriends and also my nephew Cameron (Teddy went home with Grandma and Everly).

The first night went pretty well in the hospital and we actually got a couple stretches of 2-3 hours of sleep. I even had to wake Aspen up to feed her. The next morning my mom and older sister came by again while Cameron was at school. Teddy got to see the baby and was very sweet when he wasn't trying to destroy the room and eat all of my crackers. We gave Everly her present from Aspen (Abigail book and tea set) and Aspen her present from Everly (Piglet stuffed animal). Around lunch one of my other sisters stopped by to visit and later in the afternoon Justin's oldest sister Christ and our niece Berkley stopped by to visit. Early Wednesday evening the hospital provided us a "celebratory" steak dinner (it was gross but cute) and then after that Aspen had some testing done that you can only do after they are 24 hours old. Once we got the results back from those that everything was okay, we headed home.  Aspen is now two weeks old and when I look back on this experience as I write this, I really have no regrets or bad feelings about how everything happened. I feel like I have had less "baby blues" then I did with Everly (probably because I am not a new mom) and I am just so happy to have her here and healthy. Jusitn goes back to work today, though, so that will be the true test of how well I handle life with 2 kids!

 

Last photo as a family of three and Everly leaving with Grandma as we checked in. 

 

Facetiming, movie watching, and book reading while we waited for the cervadil to work. 

Our first moments with Aspen. 

One pound heavier than Everly and one inch shorter. 

Happy Aspen is here! 

Poor Everly and Aspen with her Grandma. 

First photo as a family of four with a drugged up toddler :(

Aspen with Uncle Tony and Aunt Krystyn and kisses from cousin Cameron.

Being held by her godfather Uncle Doug, her Aunt Katy and Katy's boyfriend Alex. 

Exchanging gifts. 

Meeting cousins Teddy & Berkley (not pictured) and Aunt Christi

 

Celebratory dinner before heading out. 

Aspen in her going home outfit. 

2 Week Update

 

Today Aspen turns 2 weeks old. Things have been going really great. She is generally eating twice a night and I often have to wake her up to feed. She also generally nurses for 15-25 minutes and sometimes goes 4-5 hours in between feedings even though I try to wake her up after 3 hours. She had her two week checkup today and has not quite made it back up to her birth weight. We will weigh her again when we go for Everly's 3 year checkup next week. She still loves sleeping on her side and also being held up on your shoulder or chest. She loves being in the Solly Baby Wrap (and I love carrying her in it). She really can't fit in newborn footie pajamas (which is kind of sad) but we also have way more 3 month sized jammies so it is good. It won't be much longer before she is out of newborn onesies also. She is not super great at taking a pacifier yet but sometimes she does good. Last week we had her newborn pictures taken and got her baptized in the Catholic Church, both of which I will post about later. She has taken a bottle (of pumped breastmilk) a couple of times now so that I could go to the gym/run and has done great with those. It has not at all affected her ability to nurse from me either. She is also starting to be awake for longer stretches now and even making some really good eye contact. Hopefully it is not much longer before we start getting some smiles (that are not post-feeding smiles).

1 Week Update

Today Aspen is one week old! Overall, it has been a pretty good week. We left the hospital 24 hours after she was born and it was nice to go home so fast. The next day (Thursday) we had her pediatrician appointment and everything looked good but we had to go in on Saturday for a weight check just to make sure she was still gaining. Later Thursday my milk came in which I knew would be good for her gaining. At around 5 AM Friday morning when Justin went to change Aspen, we noticed she had a very big rash all over her stomach. Seeing that combined with the exhaustion from having a newborn made me really upset. I didn't want her to be uncomfortable, and it looked intense. We called the doctor's office once it opened and they asked us to come in that afternoon. We went in and even our doctor said it was good that we came in because it was pretty prominent, but that everything was fine and it was just a normal newborn rash. Everly would get little baby zits all the time and they would clear up fast but this was just so prominent all over her belly that it freaked us out. I was worried it had something to do with my milk coming in but thankfully it didn't. The rash has since cleared up (thankfully because we have newborn pics tomorrow). It did dry out her skin a lot as it cleared up but even that is better now. Feeding has been going pretty well, it is just not super consistent yet. I am not worried about that though because she is still so young but it is just hard to learn patterns when she doesn't really have any yet. I also had trouble latching with Everly for the first few weeks so I mostly pumped so this time period of nursing is kind of new to me. I am pumping as well already to keep my supply up and start storing for when I go back to work. So far Aspen loves sleeping on her side and belly. She loves being in the Solly Baby Wrap and she falls asleep while nursing often. I know that it is going to be harder when Justin goes back to work in a week but for now things are going well. Everly loves saying good morning to her baby Aspen and always says, "she's soooo cute"! Hopefully both of them cooperate for our pictures tomorrow!

Introducing Aspen Ann Larkins

We welcomed our second daughter Aspen Ann Larkins on Tuesday, September 16th at 5:34 p.m. She weighed in at 8 pounds 9 oz and is 20 inches long. I will get into the whole birth story at some point but for now here is a sweet picture of her in the hospital. We are home now and doing well but it also feels like we have a lot going on so we are just trying to adjust to our new larger family and hopefully I can get back to posting regularly soon!

Record Rainy Day

This past Monday we had a record rainy day in Arizona. We had been expecting rain as early as Saturday night and Sunday but it didn't end up coming until the early morning hours of Monday. I was awake because of my many trips to the bathroom but it was pretty loud so I probably would have woken up anyways. Plus, my alarm went off at 4 for the gym. I intelligently chose not to drive to the gym and slept in for another hour or so before getting up to shower. When I got out of the shower and was watching the news I realized I could not leave for work. This is what I saw:

Although that was not on my route, it was not far from my work and at over 40 weeks pregnant I was not about to chance it. I texted my boss and told him I was going to stay home until it calmed down. I decided to take that extra time to make some homemade pumpkin spice creamer for my coffee.  After Everly woke up and ate breakfast we worked on the letter "R" and made a raincloud picture becuase it seemed appropriate. Meanwhile Justin was working vigorously to keep our back patio from completely flooding.

 

Eventually we heard on the news that the Governor had declared a state of emergency and tweeted this:

 



 

Shortly after I got a text from my boss making sure I saw that and telling me not to come in. I was super excited to get a "free" day off especially at 40 + weeks pregnant. The rain eventually calmed down and then stopped and Justin headed to work. Everly and I decided to visit my sister-in-law who lives a few minutes away just to take advantage of the day off and get out of the house. It was nice visiting and seeing my niece's baby Remi, but I realized when I got there that I had a flat tire. I was stranded there until Justin could come and put my spare on during his lunch and am so grateful that my SIL was nice enough to host us on short notice. She made Everly a lunch and Everly demolished it. When we finally got to go home Everly told me in the car that she had fun at Carly's house, so it was all worth it! I was also able to take my car in later that night after Ev woke up and my tire was under warranty so it was not a huge deal. It was definitely a weird day all together but after seeing all of the damage and trouble that other people had in the storm, I am not too upset about my flat tire! Also, that little Remi is an angel baby. He sleeps, eats, and makes the cutest squealing noises. I sure hope Aspen takes after him...

  



 

Aspen's Completed Nursery

Aspen's nursery is now complete and I have shared lots of progress pictures but I wanted to document it all completed and share where we got some of the items. It is not a huge room, but I know that she won't be spending a ton of time in there, especially since we have a separate toy room now. As far as a theme with this nursery, we actually just tried to stick with more of a color scheme of coral, gold, and navy. I love the colors together because it is girly, but not overly pink. I also love that it is not overly "baby-ish." I think that my favorite part of the nursery is the dresser that Justin refinished because it is something that came from my childhood but I really love all of it. Now if we just had a baby girl to put in it...

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Crib: Baby Mod from Walmart (previously used as crib and toddler bed for Everly).

Bedding: Crib Bumper, Blanket, Changing Pad Cover are from Lullabies and Lollipops on Etsy

                Crib Sheet is from Target.

Tassel Garland: Handmade from this tutorial.

Cloud Mobile: Handmade by my husband.

Rocking Chair: Hand-me down from Justin's family (originally re-finished for Everly's nursery).

Bookshelves: Painted spice racks from Ikea.

Curtains: Target.

Curtain Rod: Old and spray-painted gold.

Gold Mirror: Clearance from Kohl's.

Gold Frames: Some old and spray painted, some Ikea.  

Letter A: Made by my sister with Washi Tape

Prints: Fox from Pinterest, Fierce quote from Pinterest, Aspen Poster from Pinterest, Tree picture taken by us on our honeymoon in Aspen, Co, Worth the Wait print made on my iphone, haha.

Rug:  Ikea

Pouf: Clearance from Target.

Diaper Cart: Kitchen Cart from Ikea.

Dresser: Family hand-me-down refinished by my husband.

 

 

 

National Grandparents Day

Last Sunday was National Grandparents Day. It was supposed to be raining so we decided to take Everly to a movie and invite my mom. My mom is the grandparent that Everly gets most contact with by far. Justin's parents both have passed away and my dad just moved to Michigan, although even when he did live here, he lived pretty far away and he traveled a lot for work. My dad stopped by last week before he moved and she does get excited to see him so that makes me happy even if she can't spend time with him all the time. And not to worry, my Mom definitely makes up for it in the Grandparent department. She is the ultimate Grandma. I would have loved to have given her another granddaughter for National Grandparents Day, but that didn't happen so she had to settle for a movie. We saw "Planes, Fire and Rescue" because it was the only real kid movie out. Everly loves going to movies and is really pretty good in the theatre. We went to a 9:30 A.M. movie but that didn't stop her from inhaling the popcorn. That girl loves popcorn. I could just sit there and watch her watch the movie the whole time, it is that cute! Also, she is still free at the movies so that is nice. While sometimes I wish that Everly grew up with 4 grandparents like me, I know that every family situation is different and we are so lucky she gets to spend so much time with my mom. Happy Grandparents Day!

Don't worry, we don't buy her candy!

Everly and her Grandma!