My Labor Story:

Kali Bettianne Smith blessed us with her appearance on August 19 at 7:06am. She weighed in at 6 pounds, 6 ounces, measuring 19" and had the most beautiful cry as soon as she came out. Definitely the prenatal yoga helped with my breathing, focus, and speedy recovery. And the info sheets I got in yoga class came in handy this weekend too. I was so glad to be able to pull out my folder on breastfeeding to keep me motivated!

Also the loka chant helps soothe her. I think it's become familiar to her after hearing it every Wednesday for the past few months. :-). I highly recommend having a doula. She was so helpful not only to myself but to my husband. Her guidance and gentle reminders of our intentions were invaluable.

Wednesday around 7:30am, I called my doula about some spotting and after she calmed me, I called VMC to see if I should go in. They had me go in as a precaution and monitored me for a couple hours to see if they'd admit me. Surprise, surprise! I was having regular contractions altho I didn't feel them at all! They decided the spotting was my bloody show and sent me home, with the dr saying she'd probably see me for the baby's bday in the next few days.

As I drove home, I started to feel Light contractions so I decided to stay home from yoga and relax. I called my doula to update her and she recommended timing them so we'd know if they were Braxton hicks. Meanwhile she'd have her bag ready just in case. All day the contractions were the same pain level (manageable, just uncomfy like a bad period day) and gradually were 6 minutes apart. They stayed that way for several hours so I didn't bother calling my hubby who was at work. I figured I could be at this for a couple days, why worry him? Haha!

This whole time I'm facebooking about it cuz I had to sell my tickets for the improv on Friday since I thought I'd still be feeling the labor by then. Lol! Jon comes home and I let him know I'm in early labor and to please get my yoga mat from upstairs so I can be on the floor. I just naturally wanted to go into a cats pose to relieve the back pain. I understand now how your body will just know what to do. Rocking the hips and letting out the sighs is awesome!

Jon started the BBQ because I said I was hungry and as long as I could talk thru my contractions, that we'd prob still have a ways to go. Well, no sooner than he got the chicken on the grill, that the contractions kicked it up a notch and started to inch closer together. Hubby wanted to call Kari, our doula, but I wanted to wait. I think I knew that as soon as I called her, I'd want to go to the hospital and we were trying to stay home till they were 3 mins apart.



About 7pm, I called Kari. She arrived an hour later and helped us stay relaxed while I rode the contraction waves. It really did help to think of them as waves so you can make it thru and relax before the next one! When they were varying between 3-4 mins apart, I decided I was ready to go in. I was admitted around 11pm. It was packed at the L&D! I'm brought into the labor room and I requested an epidural to relieve myself of the back pain so I could rest. The pain relief was great... Finding out after my hr nap that my labor had stalled an actually started to backtrack was not.

If you need a moment to decide on taking a medication, don't be afraid to be aggressive about it! They were pushing pitocin but I needed a moment to weigh all the circumstances since I was against using pitocin in my birth plan. The dr didn't like it but I insisted on my 5 mins alone to think. I ended up having the pitocin but at least it was on my terms.

And with one intervention, it quickly rolls into more being suggested. They put the fetal monitor on her since they couldn't get a good reading on the external monitors. I kept feeling like I had to poop but didn't mention it as I thought it was just stronger contractions. The nurse checked my vitals and asked if I felt anything. I told her yeah, like I have to poop. She looked at me then the monitor and checked me... "Oh! Honey! You're complete! You're ready to go! Good thing I asked!"

With Kari, Jon, and the nurse cheering me on, I tried to push. Unfortunately it was difficult because of the epidural. I couldn't feel how to push. Soon it started to wear off a bit (thank you above cuz they started talk about possible c section) and I could feel the urge to push. I used the c sect as motivation to bring Kali into the world. She kept being very close to popping out but she just wasn't making past that point. She pooped while still in there and the nurse told me to push her out so they wouldn't have to do a c sect. I pushed and pushed. There was talk of maybe using the vacuum to assist. I was getting very tired and ready to give up and give in. But Kari and Jon kept telling me I could do it and that we were so close. If it wasn't for them, I might've given in.

Finally we get to where the nurse says one more push and she's out. "now don't push so I can grab the team that's outside!". It was a team to check my baby girl as soon as she arrived because of the meconium.

As she ran out the door, I said I can't wait. Kari looked at Jon, they both got my legs ready, I looked at both of them, and as soon as Kari smiled and whispered, "go for it". I pushed with all my might. Rebellious a bit, I know but my body said Kali was coming NOW. Lol! She just started to poke thru just as the nurse and team came in. The dr's intern and my nurse ran up to catch... I think the nurse kinda pushed the intern aside, since she'd been with me for all the pushing. Lol! Kari, nurse, and intern all kinda caught her at the same time.

I felt a big relief as she came out. Jon and I burst into tears as soon as we heard Kali's cry that she was here. My nurse said I had back pain because I was actually having back labor. Kali came head up so that's why it was harder to push her out. The nurses were excited because i had an unassisted vaginal birth (no vacuum or forceps) with Kali facing up. I kissed my baby girl as soon as she was given back to me then new papa, Jon, held her as they stitched me up. I had a 2nd degree tear. It was more uncomfortable rather than painful the next couple of days. With a stool softener and the perennial bottle, it's totally manageable. Have no fear! It's really not bad. :-)



We were able to spend almost 3 hrs just holding her before they took her to the nursery for weighing, etc. It helped they were so packed that they didn't have another room to put me. ;-) fate works out great like that sometimes. :-)



I can't wait till I can try out a mommy and me yoga class! Right now my focus is to get breastfeeding down so I feel more confident leaving the house. Breastfeeding is trying but I'm determined to push thru! It worked in labor, right? :-). Both Kali and I are making some progress in it and taking our time as we are both learning together.

The last...

The last belly pic before Kali made her appearance!

Week 38:

Getting closer!

I can't wait! I'm so ready for whenever she'd like to make her debut into the world. :-)
Belly Compare!!!


Week 37:

Start of 37 weeks!

Here I am at the start of Week 37! I am technically full term now! Whoot whoot! I'm so excited. It's so weird to think that soon we'll be meeting our beautiful baby, Kali. It seems like I've been pregnant forever! It's also weird to think that she'll be arriving just shy of our 1 year wedding anniversary.

The nursery half of our bedroom is pretty much done. I'm just waiting for the last 2 baby showers before buying anything else. We've got the necessities if she were to arrive before then. I don't know how much more preparing I can do. :-) I'm ready to go! We had a great meeting with our doula, Kari Lynn, last week so I'm feeling good about that. We will be meeting up again next week. A lot of it is hard to plan for because a lot of it just depends on how things go in the moment. I haven't been wanting to travel anywhere further than maybe a half hour away and not wanting to deal with any traffic so I probably won't be seeing my parents until after Kali is here. I feel bad not going to a lot of events that I've been invited to but I'm just so wanting to stay home bound. And I'm just not wanting to concentrate as hard on video games, reading, etc. I think it may be a sign that the time is somewhat near. :-) My prediction is still for Resa's bday, August 24th. A few friends have picked dates for when they think Kali will be here. Makes it fun to see who'll be right!

Here's a couple more pics!

The nursery half of our bedroom. Still deciding on whether to put a shelf above the dresser or not.


Week 35:


Week 36:


I love my belly! :-) No belly button popping here so far! I'm thinking it won't pop at all. I actually kinda like that! :-)

Week 36 front pic:

My Best Friend's Wedding

Congratulations Tina and Tony!

On July 3rd, I was honored to see my bff marry the man of her dreams. :-) I still get teary eyed thinking about it. A month after her bachelorette, my hubby and I drove back up to Portland for the wedding. The drive seemed even longer as this time around, I had to stop every hour instead of every 2-3. Doing a long drive at 31 weeks vs. roughly 28 weeks makes a huge difference. I'm definitely done with long drives for the rest of this pregnancy! I'm not even feeling up to driving an hour to see my parents and my other bff, Melissa, which sucks! But only a month to go!

I was Tina's matron of honor and am so glad I was able to make it! I wouldn't have missed her wedding for the world! It was beautiful and lots of fun. They were so cute, they wouldn't kiss the day before, saving it for the wedding day. Awwwww! As much as we laughed at their silliness during rehearsals, hand shakes, etc in lieu of a kiss, I have to say, saving that kiss is the sweetest thing ever!

I don't know if it was pregnancy hormones or if I would've been a crying mess anyways. Ha ha! I tried not to cry during rehearsals and then the for the actual wedding... I'm sure my face looks all funky in all the pics because I was trying so hard to smile and not ball my eyes out! I was just so happy and overwhelmed with all the feelings of love, joy, and a little sadness because I would be relinquishing my best friend title to her hubby. :-) Good thing I think he's cool! Ha ha ha! How does the saying go, it's not that I'm losing a sister but gaining a brother. :-)

I danced the night away and pushed my body a little too hard. The next morning I had a little scare so I took the 4th of July SUPER easy and once home, I put myself pretty much on bed rest for a week. So far, we're good! Most likely I had just pushed my body too hard. I didn't listen to my body that night and rest enough. Lesson learned! But no worries! Kali is still kicking hard, harder even! And still growing on schedule!

One more month! I can't wait!

Trying to catch up

Wow! How fast time flies! I'm at the end of my 35th week! I start my 36th week on Thursday. I'll write more in a little bit about going back up to Oregon for my best friend's wedding, etc. But for now, here's some belly pics to catch up.

Week 30:


Week 31:


Week 32:


Week 33:


Week 34:

What a trip!

It's been a busy few weeks! I was gearing up for my BFF's Bachelorette party in Portland, Oregon this past weekend (June 12). As her matron of honor, I was helping to plan: finding a restaurant, decorations, and games. I'm so thankful for bridesmaid Hallie and her cousins Katie and Jill for helping me out! It's so hard to plan a party from another state but I think it turned out well... at least my BFF said she had a good time so I think that means it came out well! I wish I could've taken her to Mexico or the Caribbean or Vegas but alas, I have yet to find a job or win the lottery. :-(

Since I was already technically in my 7th month, I drove the 10 hours to Corvallis, my first stop. Well okay, hubby's BFF, Steve, drove and I rode shot gun. Everyone said I should ride with someone, just in case. So last minute Steve and his roommate were able to come up to Oregon with me. Yay! I was so worried about having to miss the bachelorette! The entire 2 weeks before, I had been in cleaning frenzy mood, trying to get our room ready for Kali. It hit me that I had 12 weeks till her due date AND that's assuming she actually comes on Sept. 2nd and not earlier. For some reason, I'm thinking she may come earlier so I was extra driven and extra freaked out.

I think I may have pushed myself a little too hard because in the wee hours before we were to leave on our road trip, I had my first big Braxton Hicks. Braxton Hicks are basically practice contractions and that first one was a doozy! It was enough to wake me up and scare me. But I drank water, tried switching positions, and rubbed my belly. It went away and I had a much milder one after that. Then they were gone. Whew! It would've been much to early for Kali to make her appearance!

The trip up was easy going, no traffic, with plenty of potty/stretching breaks. Once I got to Tina's, I had some mild Braxton Hicks while opening my early baby shower gift from her but again, they disappeared. That night was the best sleep I have had in a long time!

The next day was breakfast and her bachelorette in Portland! Fun, fun, fun! Sunday was spent hanging out in Portland until I could get a hold of Steve so we could go. Then it was a loooong drive back. I think Kali was still dancing from the night before and decided my bladder was the perfect dance floor. It was a rougher time back because my legs decided to get crampy too. So we had to stop more often so I could pee and stretch and stretch some more.

I'd never been so happy to be home and just sleep! Ha ha! Now to do it all over again in 2 weeks for the wedding! But this time we will be in Portland a few days longer and I think that will help. Plus I'll have Jon with me! :-)

And YES, before anyone asks, I had asked my NP if the travel would be safe and she said it would be, especially if I had someone in the car with me. So far, I'm low risk and Kali's been on schedule so she saw no reason why I couldn't go. I just needed to keep hydrated with water (which added to the stops LOL!), and get out to walk around/stretch to prevent blood clots. Actually, anyone can get blot clots from sitting for too long but it's more so with pregos because we have baby sitting on nerves, etc. Also, I had brought, besides my medical card, my medical records so if I had to hit the hospital, they'd be up to date on my conditions faster.

So ladies, it IS possible to travel in your third trimester if you get your practitioner's okay and take certain precautions. :-) Go prego power! That was the 1st of Kali's many trips up to Oregon to see her godmommy!

Since being back home, I'm back in room prep mode but taking a much more relaxed approached and asking Jon to help more, instead of trying to do it myself. I don't enjoy getting the Braxton Hicks so I'm doing what I can to kinda minimize it. Ha! Like I can control it! :-) But I can pretend I can anyways! The third trimester slow down is slowly trying to kick in but I'm still determined to get this room done asap so then I can really relax and not have to worry about anything before she comes. But boy, does an afternoon nap sound good right now! ;-)

We've done our Breastfeeding, Newborn Care, and Baby 1st Aid classes and have our labor prep class tomorrow and hospital tour next Wednesday! EEEEIIIII!!!! I can't believe how fast time has flown!

Week 27:


Week 28:


Week 29: