Caroline Catherine's Birth Story

Tuesday night, March 3rd, we went to the hospital to prepare for an induction Wednesday morning.  I had been showing signs of labor for about ten days, and we knew it could be any day.  Our parents came into town Tuesday, and we celebrated Alan's birthday at Char, one last meal together as a family before baby girl made her debut.  

 After dinner we checked in at Baptist Hospital, thinking that after a good night's rest we would get things going early Wednesady morning and have a baby sometime that afternoon. 

 

Little did we know that things would happen more quickly than planned.  After I changed into my lovely hospital gown and the nurse asked us a million questions, they hooked me up to the monitor for the night and told me they would be back as needed, advising us to get a good night's sleep.  But around 9:30 pm, after about 30 minutes of monitoring baby girl, I started having contractions every 2-3 minutes.  The monitor showed that there was no need to wait for a morning induction; I was in active labor that moment!  The next seven hours were very uncomfortable, thanks to my night nurse. As soon as I saw that I was having regular contractions and that they were beginning to get VERY uncomfortable, like gripping-the-side-of-the-bed-with-deep-breathing-exercises uncomfortable, I requested to go ahead and get my epidural.  For some reason, my nurse decided to wait. We are not sure what her theory was, but she kept telling me that "I was not there yet" and would offer me pain medication instead. Around 1:30 am I finally gave in and got some pain medicine, because at this point I was wearing out fast. She gave me Stadol which usually knocks you out and allows you to get some good sleep. Instead, it made me have an out-of-body experience and feel super loopy; yet I could STILL feel the pain from the contractions. One word: miserable.  So I continued to have consistent contractions every 2-3 minutes for another FIVE hours.  I called my nurse for what seemed like the hundredth time at around 6:00 am begging, once again, for an epidural, and another nurse came in to take my call. She glanced at the monitor, looked down at me, and said, "Girl, why haven't you gotten your epidural yet? You are in labor! Are you going all natural?"  I looked at her like she had lost her mind and informed her that I had been asking for it ALL night.  Before they gave me my epidural, they checked my cervix to see how much I was dilated.  I was 2 cm when I got there the night before, and I was 5 cm in the morning when they checked me.  So they finally called in an anesthesiologist, and within 30 minutes I received the glorious epidural.  After that we finally got about 2 hours of marvelous sleep.  At about 8:30 am the morning nurse came in and checked me again.  I was already progressed to 8 cm.  We all were shocked.  She said that it probably wouldn't be much longer and that she would be back in about an hour to check me again.  At 9:30 am she came returned and, sure enough, I was 10 cm dilated, fully effaced, and ready to push!  Never even had to start pitocin, praise the Lord! From this point on, everything became a blur.  It all went so fast.  Our parents thankfully had arrived at the hospital around 9:00 am, so we were able to see them one last time before I started pushing. 

Our last picture before beaming a family of three right after they told us it was game time! 

Of course I had to freshen up my make-up before I started pushing :) 

Beautiful David Yurman March birthstone earrings from Alan for my "push" present. 

I started pushing at 10:25 am, and she arrived at 10:56 am.  It wasn't bad at all, and it went fairly quickly, thank goodness!  We had the sweetest moments in between contractions, waiting to push again, knowing that in just a matter of minutes our precious baby girl we had prayed and longed for was about to be placed in my arms. Thank you, Lord, for this gift!  My heart is so full. 

 

First photo as a family of three! 

 

First time in daddy's arms 

My OB- Dr. Travelstead 

Once we had some special time together as a family of three, our parents came in to meet their brand new granddaughter! 

Grandaddy and Granmomma 

Lollie

Grandaddy

 

Poppy and Daddy 

After tears of joy and lots of snuggles, it was time for her to go to the well baby nursery and get her vitals checked, footprints made, and receive her first bath.

 

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I never knew love like this existed until March 4, 2015 at 10:56 am.  We have fallen so deeply in love with her, and I find myself thanking God over and over for entrusting us with her.

"Thanks be to God for his indescribable gift!" 2 Corinthians 9:15

More from the rest of hospital stay to follow........

Welcome to the World Baby Girl

Introducing our daughter, Caroline Catherine Cease 

Born: March 4, 2015 

Time: 10:56 am

Weight: 6lb 1oz

Length:20 inches

Perfect in every single way 

"You saw my body as it was formed. All the days planned for me ... before I was one day old." PSALM 139:16 

Birth story to follow...... 

38+ Weeks

I am officially 38 weeks pregnant and so ready to meet this babe. I am having fairly regular braxton-hicks contractions and the doctor said that things are "changing" so it could really be any day now! So surreal. 

 This week we have been preparing to bring our sweet girl home.  Packing her bags and getting her sweet gowns ready for her arrival is so much fun! 

We wished Alan a very Happy 29th Birthday! His last one before he becomes a Dad! 

We also went on our last date night to Amerigo's before we become a family of three. We chose Amerigo's because this is where we found out that Caroline Cate was a girl! Sweet memories.

And I took one last stroll through Target as I drank my last icee and ate a bag (yes, the whole bag) of popcorn. This has been my most consistent craving throughout pregnancy! 

These last few weeks have been so bittersweet. I am so so ready to see this baby girls face and become a mommy however, I know that life as I know it is about to change forever. I am not a huge fan of change, never have been, but I know that this change will be the best thing that has ever happened to me. Come on baby girl! We are ready! 

(This post was written when I was 38 weeks pregnant just didn't get a chance to post it until now) 

Mississippi Girlfriend Baby Shower + 36 Week Update

On Valentine's Day the sweetest friends threw me a precious baby shower. These girls have gone out of their way to make me feel welcome here in Mississippi the past few years and I am so very thankful for them.  They showered me with the cutest and most useful gifts! I cannot wait to put them to use in just a few short weeks.  

  

Sweet Laura was so gracious to open her beautiful home for the shower! 

Love this arrangement! 

Little Mary Frances was so precious watching me open gifts. 

Her first swimsuit from her "boyfriends" Tripp and Gunner :) 

So glad that my bestie from college was in town visiting for the weekend and could come to my shower! I am so thankful for her friendship. She took care of me all weekend and it was so nice to have an extra hand around the house while Alan was working.

This Valentines day was a lot like last years.....spent without my hubby! Last year he was in NYC for a work conference. I was supposed to fly out and join him for Valentines but it came a snow/ice storm in Jackson and all flights were cancelled. This year he was stuck working night shift in the emergency room. Although we weren't able to have a romantic evening, he still took the time to get my flowers and treats! I am so grateful for all his hard work for our little family and I am blessed to have him as my forever Valentine.  I can't wait to make up for all these Valentines we aren't able to spend together in the years to come. 

Our last Valentines as a family of two! 

This week marks my 36th week of pregnancy! I have been feeling pretty good and am getting very anxious for the arrival of our sweet baby.  The braxton-hicks contractions are still fairly regular but still not painful.  Only complaints I have are lack of energy and heartburn so I'm considering myself lucky.  The nursery is almost complete and it has turned out exactly as I had dreamt of it!! I will post pictures as soon as it's complete.  I love going in there and rocking and daydreaming about her being in my arms. Since I will be considered "full term" in a few days, I plan on packing our hospital bags and installing the car seat this week just in case she comes before her due date. My favorite things right now are warm relaxing baths, long naps, coke icees, and sun chips. :) 

For the most part everything in her nursery is ready for action.  All her sweet little clothes are washed and ironed (thanks Mom) and the drawers are organized with all her sweet little necessities. 

We plan on her sleeping in this sweet bassinet in our room for the first few weeks.  This bassinet was used for me and my sister's when Granny, our great-grandmother kept us.  Mary Catherine had it refinished and had bedding made for Anna Scott when she was born.  I love that all of our babies will spend their first months of life in the same bassinet. So special! 

Work Baby Shower

To say that I have the best co-workers ever would be a huge understatement.  These woman, and Dr. Smith, have truly become my family here in Mississippi. I have grown to love them and respect them so much and it makes me very teary eyed to think about moving back home.  They have held my hand and walked daily with me through the heartaches of my last pregnancy and the daily worries of this pregnancy.  I honestly don't think I could have made it through the past year without them. God knows what we need before we realize it and I am 100% certain that He purposefully opened this job up for me so that I could be blessed by these wonderful people during the hardest and happiest times of my life thus far.  They threw me the most beautiful baby shower for Caroline Cate at Sharon's home Friday night. It was a night full of love and lasting memories. SO blessed. 

Beverly, Deb, me, Sharon, Carly and Leigh 

Rebecca, Marilyn, me, Leta and Anna (We missed you Kel!) 

Mrs. Smith (Dr. Smith's wife) Such a precious lady. 

Sweet DeeDee! So glad you were there to celebrate with me. 

My precious Mom and MIL. So sweet to make the trip to Jackson for the shower and to help with the finishing touches in the nursery! 

I received the most precious gifts! 

 

 

Sharon made this delicious strawberry cake and Deb made the yummy chocolate covered strawberry bouquet. Such talented women! 

35 weeks with my sweet Caroline Cate! (2.9.2015)

Baby Drama at 34 Weeks

We are in full baby mode here at the Cease house and things are starting to feel very real! This past week Caroline Cate gave us a little scare. I have been having some Braxton-Hicks contractions off and on since the middle of my 2nd trimester which is completely normal.  Last Monday the contractions, which are never painful just abdominal tightening for several seconds, became much more frequent and a little more intense. They kept on for two more days to where I was having anywhere from 4 to 10 contractions in an hour! Alan and I decided it may be best to visit my OB and see what was going on. I really thought that we were being extra cautious and overreacting and that they would probably laugh at us say "this is no big deal...welcome to your third trimester of pregnancy." However, when they hooked me up to the monitor to evaluate the situation they were not very pleased with what they saw. I was having contractions very frequently and they needed to be stopped. Good news was that I wasn't dilated.  They admitted me to labor and delivery and gave me a fluids to stop the contractions. An hour later they were not seeming to subside.  So plan B was a shot of a wonderful horrid drug called Trebuatline.  This medication makes you want to crawl out of your skin and gives you the shakes like you've never had before. But it did the trick and stopped those contractions very rapidly.  I was ordered to go home and rest, drink LOTS of water, and take it easy.  I am trying my best to obey the "take it easy and rest" part of my instructions but it is so hard as nesting has really kicked in and I am still trying to work.  The contractions have subsided some since I have been more aware of the need to limit my physical activity but they are still more frequent than I would like them to be. The doctor prescribed me a drug called Procardia to take as needed for the contractions but after I had a bad reaction to my first dose, I decided I wouldn't be taking that anymore.  I bought myself weekly visits to the OB for the remainder of my pregnancy and  am keeping my fingers crossed that I don't start to dilate for another 2 weeks. Caroline Cate, we are SO ready to meet you but would like for you to grow just a little bit more before you enter this big would. 

After I was discharged, I did treat myself to my most constant craving during this pregnancy....an ICEE!! I crave them all the time and my happy place for the last few week is sitting at the movies with a coke icee and a small buttered popcorn. Heaven! 

Like I said nesting has really started to set in. I have been pretty energy deficient this entire pregnancy but the last few weeks I haven't been able to sit still when I'm home. I have washed all Caroline Cate's clothes, folded them, folded them again, organized her closet and draws, and started writing in her baby book.  Alan's been busy putting all her swings, bouncers, and stroller together. We will be installing the car seat very soon, especially since I am already showing some signs of preterm labor.  It is such an overwhelming feeling to think that she will be in our arms in one short month. I daydream often about what her little face will look like, if she will have hair or be a sweet bald baby, how much she will weight, etc. Oh I just can't wait to meet her. I am so grateful that God chose me to be her momma. I find myself thanking Him several times a day for her little life. 

34 weeks 5 days 

My mother and mother-in-law will be coming to Madison this weekend to put the finishing touches on the nursery, iron baby clothes, and help me finish with baby chores.  I am so excited to see how everything comes together in her nursery! Stay tuned......