Sierra's birth story

Where to begin? First of all, I was scared to go into labor on my own. 5% of me wanted to so everything would be more natural, but 95% of me thought it would never happen for any of my babies. {I was induced with the previous girls. With Seoul I was induced twice. She didn't come out the first induction so a week and a half after her due date they induced again. With Sydney I was induced a week early because with diabetics they prefer births at 39 weeks to eliminate possible problems.} So when natural labor happened... yes, I was terrified!

Due date: May 6

Sierra's birth date: April 16 (yes, three weeks "early" although I admit I question that)

I woke up around 4:30 AM having contractions. They were about 20 minutes apart so I just slept in between not even realizing they were serious and thinking they would subside. Kelley went to work around 6:15 AM. The girls got up and wanted breakfast around 7:15 AM. Between the contractions and a low blood sugar episode, I did not love the idea of getting up but impatient girls didn't let me indulge. Super uncomfortable, I called my sister-in-law to come play with the girls. Obviously naive, I still thought the contractions would lengthen out again. Since I told my SIL the contractions were about 20 minutes apart she took her time coming since she had planned to do housework and errands this morning. While I was waiting the contractions increased in frequency, length, and most definitely pain - ouch. Kelley and I were messaging and I kept telling him I was fine.

This sounds so silly but looking back on the course of events I just didn't know what to expect, and I was partially in denial because we were NOT ready. No newborn clothes were washed, the car seat was unwashed, still bagged up in the attic, and I didn't have a bag packed.

By 8:33 AM I sent a text to Kelley that the contractions were every 5-ish minutes, lasting 30-40 seconds. I wasn't really tracking them because I was trying to take care of the girls. Pretty sure they needed 4 or 5 courses of breakfast this morning. I picked up the house. I tried to pack a bag. At one point I knelt on the floor in pain and the girls thought it would be fun to jump on me to try and wrestle. That felt just fantastic. Kelley asked if I'd called the doctor, and I hadn't. At that point I realized the baby was going to be born today and I got scared. I wasn't ready!

Kelley kept asking if I needed him to come home. I didn't know - I've never gone into labor! By 9:17 AM my SIL still wasn't at my house. Kelley called and when he heard me he immediately said he was coming home. [Ironically he had just sent an email that morning stating that he'd be out on paternity leave starting April 29th because that is the date we had discussed induction at yesterday's doctor appointment. Then he had to send another email that he was leaving because his wife is in labor! Haha!] Kelley sent a text on his drive home: I'm texting while driving 105 mph. 9:40 AM - SIL arrived, realized things progressed much quicker and started timing contractions. 2-3 minutes apart, lasting 45-90 seconds. Guess it's time to call the doctor. Kelley's second text: I almost got hit by a shovel. What??*

10:something AM - I am trying to finish packing but not getting anything done because the contractions are so darn painful and so close together. Kelley says we can get anything we need later. Good point. So off we go. Seoul was excited!

I will say this: contractions in a car are NOT fun! Kelley is driving carefully while I hold the "oh crap!" ceiling handle and try to brace myself through the turns and the pain. Then we get to Hwy 551 to get onto I-5. I stop my breathing and look up to see STOPPED TRAFFIC. My heart drops and then Kelley shows off his mad driving skillz. He hits the hazard lights and drives on the shoulder around the cars (for about a mile) - Dukes of Hazzard style! One truck tries to pull out in front of us but Kelley lays on the horn and yells, "My wife is in labor!!" (Like they can hear.) My eyes are closed, trying to focus on breathing through the pain. Then the big decision: get off I-5 and take back roads or hope it clears up soon. The contractions aren't letting up at all now. We saw flares so Kelley decided to stay on I-5. Good choice - whew!

10:52 AM - made it to the hospital where Kelley speeds up to the front door and slams on the brakes. Just kidding. He was very soft about the stop. He got the wheelchair, which I felt totally lame for using. The nurse got us into a room (we weren't registered because I thought we had time!) and helped me change because I was obviously not capable of doing it myself.

Kelley went to move the car and get the bag. I asked for an epidural. The nurse checked me and I was dilated to a full 8 cm so there was barely time for one - WHEW! (With Seoul I made it to an 8 before I broke down and had an epidural.) I'm pretty sure the nurse that put my IV line in made me hurt WORSE than the actual contractions. She had to dig around even though Kelley warned her that my veins roll. Lovely bruise afterward.

By 11:30 AM I had the epidural and it was heaven. Bless that anesthesiologist and his drugs! So then I had to wait 30 minutes for it to kick in and start the delivery process. No biggie, right? WRONG.

Freezing cold so I got a warm blanket - bliss. Happy because the epidural has kicked in.

12:20 PM - Dr Kelly came in and checked. I was dilated to a 10 and ready to push. Unfortunately the epidural was wearing off and the anesthesiologist was BUSY. What?! I chose to go ahead and just do it. Couldn't be that bad, right? They got everything ready and let me start. Oh. My. Goodness. SO glad I had epidurals for the other two deliveries. For some reason I had severe pain in my right leg when contractions occurred. (With Sydney it was severe pain in my left leg.)

My memory: the baby got stuck and it took FOREVER with many pushes. The truth: Kelley said it took three big pushes and she was out. 1:05 PM. Sierra Lin was born - 8 lb 11 oz. A head of full, dark hair. She was put on my chest and she lifted her head to look at me, multiple times. Our beautiful little miracle!

After I cuddled her for a bit they had to whisk her away to the nursery. Honestly, I don't even remember when they checked her blood sugars to discover they were super low. But away she went so Kelley sent this picture from the nursery - the first one I have after she was born (so it is almost 2 hours after.)

Our poor baby with her IV. So sad looking.

Waiting for my sweet baby to be brought back to me from the nursery.

Consensus was that she looked like Sydney her first day of life. Maybe it's the cheeks...

Sierra Lin Rice
8 lb, 11 oz, 21 inches long, born 1:05 PM

Daddy loving on his new little baby girl. Sweet moments.

* Kelley had called his family on the drive home from work. That sounds safe :) The shovel? A shovel flew out of the landscaping truck in front of him on I-205. The icing on the cake would be this: We didn't have gas the entire drive to the hospital! Kelley was praying we wouldn't run out of gas but decided not to share that small detail with me.

As we did with Sydney, the girls were the first to meet our new addition. Welcome to our crazy family, Sierra!

last of the pre-baby days pictures

Yes, these were the simpler days but we wouldn't trade them for anything! As this is being posted July 1 (MONTHS LATER!) I can easily say our family love has grown leaps and bounds. I would be the first to say that the girls may {or possibly may not} miss the pre-Sierra days because they got more of my attention and time. However, it will be a while before they understand how much their love and personalities have expanded since Sierra joined our family.

We were pretty happy these days, though :)

One of the few pregnancy belly pictures I've taken this pregnancy. April 4 - turns out to be just a week and a half before the babe is born. Huge, right? Totally felt that way!

I love my sweet Seoul. Out to Mexican food - yum!

Dad with his girls when there were just two. Love story time with daddy!

This child's hair is just not growing and filling in! Ok, so it is longer than when she was born (obviously) but it's still so thin. Kelley says it's not from him (since he's bald). Guess it must be a true mix of both of us because supposedly I was bald until I was two and Seoul had more hair at this point. Oh well, the waves are beautiful!

Sassy molassy! She dresses herself. She insists on doing everything herself. She laughs, and makes us laugh daily.

These girls have really gotten into wrestling and all things physical. I'm pretty sure Sydney weighs almost as much as Seoul but they love horsey rides. Seoul is so proud she can pick Sydney up. We love that they're best friends and play together!

We made kites for preschool and Seoul insisted on trying to fly it. Not quite windy enough but good try, sunshine! Her enthusiasm was contagious... I would have run around with her if I wasn't so pregnant :)

This sweet girl is really into coloring and writing these days. Just like Seoul, she has held pens the "correct" way from the beginning. Unlike Seoul she doesn't have the attention to detail to color in the lines yet, and does the crazy 2-year-old coloring, though.

Just a few days before Sierra was born. Oh, how I love these two girls of mine! I'm blessed to be their mother. Every day I worry I'm doing everything wrong. Every day I have a moment that I look upon their beautiful faces and thank Heavenly Father for blessing me with the gift of raising them.

{pictures from April 2013}

Happy 2 month birthday little Sierra!

Ok, so two months came and went so quickly! Sierra is growing like a weed. She loves to be cuddled... and squishes up into this tiny ball. Her noises are still animal-esque, and she does have a shrill little cry when she chooses to use it. Fortunately she's pretty chill and must realize the other two girls of the family are needy these days. She doesn't mind tummy time and is super good at holding her head up to look around already. (She's had a strong neck since minute one of her life when she lifted her head off my chest to look at me.) Admittedly she's not a huge fan of the swing but then, she just loves to be held. I love her coos and attempts to talk to me. Her eye contact with those big brown eyes reaches right into my soul. The smiles are coming much more frequent, although I'm having difficulty catching them on camera (oh wait, maybe it's because I don't use my camera nearly enough!). Her giggles are adorable. What more can I say? We love everything about our little Sierra Lin!

{I'll have to share stats when we go to the doctor for her well-baby appointment... have to wait for the new insurance to kick in.}

My Birthday

Another year gone by. I'm truly blessed with so many things....

A breakfast donut. My favorite, Boston Cream.

Two beautiful girls I get to spend time with every day. Plus a mom who loves me. She treated us to lunch!

Me-time... both girls took a nap! Miracle of miracles.

Cherished cuddles.

Lovely flowers from a great friend.

Art projects! (Sydney holds a pencil the right way early on, just like Seoul did.)

A handsome husband that I love! He took me on a date to P.F. Chang's for dinner...so delicious!

Laughter.

Spoiled by gifts. On my card, see the word 'toot'? Seoul discovered how to spell and write it. (So now it's written everywhere :)

   

My health, which allows me to have the privilege of being pregnant. 34 weeks along... why yes, I am huge, thank you :)

So many blessings. I also get to be a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, and have a strong testimony. I have amazing friends. I have a great family. I can't even begin to name everything but here's to another year of big events, learning, laughter, tears, and love.
Happy Birthday to me!

the month of March = the simple days...?

Kelley and the girls came with me to all the prenatal doctor appointments for baby Sierra. This is me at 31 weeks.

We went to visit great-Grandma Salway. The girls love her little dog, Charlie, after they warm up to her. She is such a neat lady and I'm so glad to know her! 

Our friend, Maria (and her family), moved back from Texas so we got to reconnect with her over dinner. Such great people! Sarita asked Sydney what her favorite animal was and her answer: chameleon. Funny kid!

We spent our days having fun, playing together, enjoying the sunny days... just being silly! The girls like helping me do laundry. Seoul has gotten to the point where she can completely switch the laundry from the washer to the dryer and start it (especially when it's her favorite shirt or blankie that is being washed!).

We finally got clearance to go visit Kelley at work one day. The girls enjoyed the views from the building and seeing Seoul's various pictures and notes up in his area. It's the highlight of our days when we can go have lunch with him.

     

I have no idea why this picture is stretched!

One day I discovered Seoul had filched Sydney's binkie for a nap... so silly!

St Patrick's Day - Kelley helped the girls make a leprechaun trap. No luck, but he did leave behind his treats... he must have escaped through the hole in the box!

More silliness!

A super nice lady in the ward gave us a bunk bed that she was getting rid of! So sweet of her to think of us. We are going to attempt the unthinkable and put the three girls in one bedroom to sleep! Seoul and Sydney will eventually transition to the bunk bed and then we will put the crib in there where the toddler bed is. We shall see! 

Two birthday parties in one weekend - lucky girls for the fun times! Happy birthday friends!

Happy Birthday Landin! The girls and I went to Chuck E Cheese's with him to celebrate. The girls had fun with the games - they each won enough tickets for a piece of candy and a small wand. They really enjoyed the simulated roller coaster, which surprised me.

Happy Birthday Audrey! Fun games and food, along with a pinata. The girls enjoyed the spoils but wouldn't actually hit it. Brittney created some fun games for the kids to do as well.

We love our crazy, sassy Sydney!

I had to include this picture because let's be honest, Sydney could take Seoul out any day of the week. Lately they wrestle and Syd pins Seoul with one arm.... she shows no mercy!

My mom taught Seoul a couple basics in sewing. I'm so proud of my girl for being able to thread a needle!

Story time and beautiful days at the park!

She is so beautiful!

She is so fun!

Oh, how we love our beautiful girls!

One day for play group we went down to Salem to the Gilbert House. Always fun!