John Hall's Birth Story

At 9:07am on February 5, 2016 John Hawley Slaton joined our family. On February 10, I said I'd write his birth story "soon." I suppose "soon" is relative. 

If you're not interested in birth stories or any sort of medical talk, skip this post. 

John Hall, much like Ibbie, was so, so comfortable inside. My due date, February 1, came and went. Knowing that it was effective with the girls, my OB stripped my membranes on February 2. I was crampy immediately after and the next day but it all settled down by the morning of February 4. Then the afternoon came. After running around with my mom and the girls all day, I started having irregular, strong contractions. When Peter got home from work, I told him, "We may or may not be having a baby tonight. I can't tell yet." So parked myself on the couch to watch some TV while he and my mom put the girls down.  By 11:00, we decided to head to the hospital.

Unlike the hospital where the girls were born, our hospital in Delaware required a visit Triage before heading on to Labor & Delivery.  In Triage, the nurse asked about my pain plan to which I replied, "Nothing. I mean, breathing. I have a doula." She laughed then checked my progress and monitored the baby.

So about the doula: I hired her on something of a whim. I loved my epidurals. Peter came home from work one day and I welcomed him with, "Hey, so I think I'm going to go natural with this baby. I hired a doula today." My thinking was that Cole and Ibbie both arrived quickly and if John Hall came any more quickly than a natural delivery may be my only option. Also, thinking back on Ibbie's birth, which required vacuum assistance and during which Dr. Miller told me, "I can give you five pushes to get this baby out and then we're going to Section. We're prepping an OR now." I remember feeling a bit helpless since I couldn't feel the pushing. So with those two thoughts in mind, I decided I'd plan on an unmedicated birth and hire a doula. My doula came to the house a couple of times to hear about our birth history and goals for this birth. Late in my pregnancy, we took a class at the Birth Center called "Childbirth Education for the Planned Hospital Birth" with a whole bunch of first time moms and some of our dearest friends were who were also pregnant with their third child. We stood out.

Back in Triage, we learned I was 5cm and that John Hall wasn't doing as well as the nurse would have liked. We were held in Triage for an hour so that John Hall could be monitored. When we were moved to Labor & Delivery around 12:30, we learned that because of John Hall's heart rate I was going to have to stay in the bed for a while so they could monitor him.  My doula arrived around 1:00 after a much needed power nap. After 40 minutes of monitoring, the nurse told me I could be unmonitored for 20 minutes. I walked around, used the bathroom, and chatted with Peter and my doula. The 40 monitored/20 unmonitored continued for a couple of hours before the staff felt comfortable to allow me 20 monitored/40 unmonitored.

My doula encouraged me to listen to music, use the bathroom, and take showers, she'd rub my back and help Peter help me. She also asked me if I wanted to lower the lights - about four times. I didn't. I suspect I was an atypical client. This became very evident when I'd carry on in-person and text conversations through contractions. She was  helpful in reminding me that each contraction was bringing us closer to our baby and that laboring in my face was useless so I should try to relax.

I progressed much more slowly with John Hall than with the girls. Thanks to shift changes, I was attended to by two doctors and four nurses.  At 7:00, my OB came by. He checked my progress and broke my water. I was 8cm at the time and John Hall was still high. After my water broke, John Hall's heart rate dropped and the doctor told me I was done getting up because the fetal heart rate monitor needed to stay on. Around 8:30, after I'd secured Cole's carpool to preschool, my doctor introduced me to an ER doctor training in L&D and told me it was time to push even though John Hall was still high. Eventually, of course, John Hall did drop. Since I was unmedicated, I was pushing with the rhythm of the contractions as they came. After being up all night, I was wiped from the exertion.  At one point I huffed, "I can't do this." I was immediately assured by Peter, my doula, my doctors and nurses that I could.

After 9 hours of quiet labor, it was time to get the baby out and turn up the volume. Two loud pushes later,  John Hall emerged making his own noise. He was immediately placed on my chest for an hour and a half of skin-to-skin, which is standard at the hospital.  The doctors debriefed while I was holding him and I heard the training doctor say, "I'm surprised that didn't end up a Cesarean." And my doctor replied, "I am too." which validated my efforts toward an unmedicated birth.

I should note, I still loved my epidurals. And I remembered them fondly as I felt every single one of the stitches. As is the standard at the hospital, I was given an IV bag with Pitocin after the delivery to encourage contractions and the delivery my placenta. Those contractions and the subsequent shoving on my deflated abdomen were something more than unpleasant.

At no point during our stay in the hospital was John Hall away from us. We moved together to a Recovery Room where we stayed for another two nights thanks to his bilirubin scores.

A Bit of News

We're having another baby. Sooner rather than later, now. It's a boy. His initials are JHS. Somehow I never put the news of this pregnancy on the blog or Facebook. In real life, people know. Also, on Instagram. My friend Brooke, of Oliver Bee Photography, generously offered to snap a few belly shots for me. I graciously accepted her offer.

Ibbie's Birth Story

If you're not interested in birth stories or any sort of medical talk, skip this post.

Seriously.

Unlike her sister, in the weeks prior to Ibbie's birth, there was little evidence that I was progressing toward labor. At 40 weeks and 2 days, my OB said I was still 2 centimeters, as I had been since 37 weeks, and I still wasn't having any contractions. After an ultrasound indicating everything was fine, my doctor gave me the option to wait it out another week or schedule an induction. I opted to schedule an induction since my mom was in town to help. My doctor left a message with the hospital scheduler and told me she'd call me later in the day with my induction date and time. Before I left the appointment, my doctor also offered to strip my membranes. I asked her to go ahead with it since it was effective with Cole.

I was a touch uncomfortable following my appointment but proceeded with everything as normal. Cole, my mom, Bigs and I ran errands, lunched on the bluff and even walked the bluff stairs—anything to get labor going! At 3 o'clock I got a call from my OB that my induction was scheduled for 5 o'clock the next morning. I was relieved. The waiting game was over!

As the afternoon turned to evening, I grew increasingly uncomfortable. I wasn't able to stomach dinner and I realized we wouldn't be making it to the scheduled induction so I asked my mom to spend the night at the house with Cole. Around 8 o'clock I decided it was time to start tracking my contractions. They were coming every 4:30-5:00 minutes and lasting for 60-90 seconds. After an hour, they were coming every 3:45-4:00 minutes and I told Peter it was time to go.

When we got to the hospital at 10 o'clock, the nurse told me Dr. Delaney, the same doctor who delivered Cole (and who I love!), was on call and that I was 5 centimeters. Then she asked if I wanted an epidural which I did.  Before she checked me, she asked if I'd had any bleeding. Prior to arriving at the hospital I hadn't but as I changed into the hospital gown I realized I was bleeding. She told me it was probably just bloody show which is normal. Once she got me hooked up to the fetal monitor she put me on oxygen because Ibbie was not reacting well to the contractions.

I got my epidural around 10:40. As I laid back on the bed, I felt an overwhelming amount of pressure. The anesthesiologist said, "Uh oh!" and the nurse said she needed to check me because it may be time to push. Fortunately I had only progressed to 8.5 centimeters so I wasn't going to have to push without the epidural. Still, 3.5 centimeters in forty minutes is pretty fast. The pressure I felt was from a "bulging bag" of waters. I remained on oxygen and the nurse had me lean on my left side because Ibbie was still not doing well with the contractions.

As Peter and I waited for progress, I thought my water broke. Twice. In both cases, it was just blood. We told the nurse, who was not concerned the first time but became quite concerned the second. Looking at the fetal monitor, she said, "I don't like this. Let me call Dr. Delaney again." Not long after that, around 1:15, Dr. Delaney was in the room.  She checked me and I was at 10 centimeters. My water still hadn't broken so she went ahead and broke it. After doing so, she looked at the nurse and said, "Call NICU." Of course, hearing that I knew something was off but set my mind to getting the baby out. I started pushing at 1:20. The pushing was going well but they needed to get the baby out which was obvious by the faces of the NICU nurses that had come into the room and were watching the fetal monitor. At 1:29 Dr. Delaney told me she was going to use a vacuum to help get Ibbie out. With the vacuum assistance, Ibbie was out in five pushes with an official birth time of 1:31.

The nurses cleaning Ibbie up called her "chunky," "bigger than mom," and pointed out her double chin. Our sweet girl arrived with a head of hair and a tad heavier than her big sister, at 8 pounds 3 ounces. As Ibbie was being checked on by the NICU nurses, Dr. Delaney explained that I had a partial placental abruption. She even went to far as to show me the placenta, with the caveat that she didn't want to "gross me out." She also explained how the position of the cord was part of the reason Ibbie wasn't doing well with labor. The cord was pinched during contractions; Ibbie was quick to turn her head away from the cord once she was out.

After everything was determined to be just fine with Ibbie and me, we got to meet! She latched right away, like Cole, and hasn't lost interest. After a bit of recovery time, Dr. Delaney came back to discuss how I was doing and answer any questions Peter or I had about the labor.  She told me we were fortunate pushing went well because had it gone on much longer she would have had to perform a Cesarean. It was a short labor but a long night.

Ibbie revealed a hint of her personality when she opted to arrive after her due date but ahead of the scheduled induction. And exactly 19 months after her sister. We're looking forward to seeing more of this little lady's personality in the upcoming days, weeks, and months.

Here's a short slide show I put together with some pictures we took during our time in the hospital: 

Hello, World!

"Ibbie"
Elizabeth Kathleen Slaton

Born 1:31 am, September 18, 2013

8 pounds, 3 ounces

20 inches

40 Weeks

September 15, my due date, is here and we are still a family of three.

It is not what I expected, but I'm so grateful for the extra two-on-one time we've been able to spend with Cole. Our girl has received lots of extra attention from visitors lately with more visitors joining us tonight. Months ago when my mom was buying plane tickets, we told her to come on the baby's due date since sister would definitely be here by then. Ha! Oh, how the lessons in parenting two children have already begun. It seems the notions that every child is different does, in fact, extend into labor. Somehow I  think I worked it in my head to anticipate different children but similar births.

While we're living in a state of constant expectancy, I'm opting to keep on living. As I've been around town this week, people have been quick to comment on my belly. A typical exchange goes something like this:
     "Wow. That baby must be coming soon..."
     "Yep. I'm due on Sunday."
     "Whoa! And you're out and about? Are you okay? Do you need any help?" 

It's actually amusing to see how people shift when they realize how pregnant I am. I suppose there may be some deep underlying fear that I could break into spontaneous Stage 2 labor and require immediate help in delivery. But, really, am I just suppose to stay at home and wait?

We've been filling our time with all sorts of routine and special activities: washing cars, walking the dogs, attending a couple of parties for the Cooper-Young 4 Miler, treasure hunting at the Cooper-Young Festival, and visiting the farm for a Sunday School kick-off party. Until sister arrives, we don't really have any intention of abandoning our plans.  Since I'm already carrying an extra thirty-plus pounds around, I've been relying on my iPhone camera rather than my Nikon. Surely, you understand.

Friday night, we watched the start of the race before heading down the street to our friend's house for a yard party. Cole delighted in the glow sticks the hosts put out and tried to help her buddy H put one around his ankle.

 

Saturday we walked up to the Cooper-Young Fest where we found treasures for the girls, ourselves and my mom.  Two years ago, my mom mentioned a painting that was on display at Fino's and asked me to go back and get it. Unfortunately, by the time I made it over there the painting had sold. I familiarized myself with the artist and every time we've gone to a local festival I've kept an eye out. While I've perused the artist's booth at least three times since then, I've not seen any similar work. Until yesterday! It was a major score. We also bumped into the Moskes, whose daughter was one of Cole's first friends. The girls decided to stroll through a couple of booths together.

Cole & Sally (Thanks to Sarah for this picture)

 

After Cole's nap on Saturday, we headed to the farm for a Kick-Off Party for our Sunday School class. Other than an unexpected fear of horses that was exposed, Cole seemed to love everything about being in the country. Sure, it helped that there were a gazillion children for her to play with and more ride-on toys than I could count. Cole actually cried when we wouldn't let her drive the four-wheeler.

Sadly, Cole woke up with a stomach bug this morning. A 12-hour bug has been going around our church and our baby was not spared. She seems to be over the worst of it now so we're just soldiering on.

As for becoming a family of four: if sister hasn't made her debut by Tuesday, I'll be going back to the doctor for an ultrasound and to discuss an eviction plan.

Auntie

The logistics of having a second child are a bit more complicated than a first. When Cole was born, we just had to have some friends on call that could let our dogs out. With little sister, we need friends who can watch the dogs and Cole. When we learned that the Swens, the family Cole is most comfortable with, would be out of town from August 22 until September 8, we decided we needed a backup plan. While we had an outpouring of volunteers willing to be "on call" to watch Cole, we knew the easist thing would be to have a specific and stable plan. So my sister, Kelsey, came to town.

Kelsey works from home so it was hardly any trouble for her to head South for a couple of weeks ready to watch Cole in the event that sister made her appearance. Kelsey was with us from August 27 until September 7. Cole loved every minute of it!

While we made sure to give Kelsey time to work, we also gave her a glimpse into our lives here in Memphis. We went swimming and to a birthday celebration with friends. We ventured to Jerry's, the fair, Gibson's, the Peabody splash pad, and the zoo. So we kept her busy. Aunt Kelsey introduced Cole to her new favorite song, which has essentially been on repeat since the first time Cole heard it. While sister didn't debut during Kelsey's visit, Cole got to spend lots of quality time with her auntie.

Before she left, Kelsey got Cole an amazing princess castle. Our child is enamored.

We were all sad to see Aunt Kelsey go, especially Cole. There were tears all the way home from the airport. Hopefully Kelsey will be back soon to visit Cole and meet little sister. 

Family Pictures

A few weeks ago we had some family pictures taken. Since I'm extremely pregnant, we're counting them as maternity pictures too. On the recommendation of my friend Cameron, we used Jennifer from Pea Pie Photography for the session. She was a breeze to work with! The pictures of our family turned out to be some of the best of the year and the images of Cole really capture her personality. 

 

The 36-Week Bump

Pea Pie Photography

Sprinkled + Bebe Pool

I've found this second pregnancy to be so interesting. In some ways, it's wildly reminiscent of my pregnancy with Cole. With both girls, I knew almost immediately that I was pregnant. Still, this pregnancy has been different than my first. Most blatantly, I have a toddler to chase and haven't been put on bed rest. Cole distracts me from my growing waist line. Unlike my first pregnancy, this one has flown by.  I don't have to prepare a room.  And we don't really need to get many supplies. Since we know it's a girl and we're well set on girl clothing, I'm just planning on getting a double stroller. Really, if sister came tomorrow we'd be as prepared as we will be in a couple of weeks.

The other thing about second pregnancies- especially when they are so close together- is you don't typically have a shower. But of course, it's still fun to celebrate! I'm so fortunate to have a group of women in Memphis who already love this little girl and want to celebrate her. Sunday night, thirty women sprinkled me and little sister at El Toro Loco. It was perfect! The group was a cross section of my friends from many different places: church, the Clemson Club, my mommy group, Peter's coworkers wives, and so on.  It was overwhelming to have so many of my friends together to celebrate baby sister.

The ladies took up a collection for the Slaton Sisters' Stroller Stash.  I was floored by their generosity! Little sister also received some fresh items and clothes which I know will be so darling on her. I didn't bother taking my camera to the sprinkle so I just ganked a few iPhone pictures from friends.

Since little sister's arrival is right around the corner, I thought it'd be fun to do a baby birth pool. Just click the link and take a guess at the date you think sister will arrive. If you're curious, I'm due September 15 (Cole arrived 8 days before her due date). Good luck!

T-Minus 10 Weeks

Here's a healthy little dose of reality: my due date is less than ten weeks away! And Cole arrived early. We'll see if sister decides to do the same.

On Sunday afternoon, we popped into the hospital to visit some friends who welcomed a son over the weekend. Baby boy is quite a treasure and very handsome! Cole thought so too. In fact, she basically lunged at him. She was quick to point out his eyes and nose and so badly wanted to touch them.  Oh, September is going to be a whirlwind!

Over Halfway

I'm 22 weeks pregnant and this may be my first real belly shot. Unlike last time around, I'm very distracted. And busy chasing a toddler. Yes, with this pregnancy there is still anticipation and wonder and worry, I just have a sweet distraction in Cole.

This pregnancy has been different than I anticipated based on what I've heard second pregnancies to be. I showed later this time and I'm coming in a bit lighter on the scales than I did at 22 weeks with Cole.  Baby girl's placenta is on top so it actually took a while longer for me to feel her moving.

Baby sister has one outfit to call her own (thanks to the Days) and nothing else. She and Cole will share just about everything, including diapers since we use and love one-size cloth diapers. She may get her own room but that is still to be determined. Since we already have a bassinet that will fit in our room we really don't have to decide where sister will sleep until a few months after she arrives. We're hoping to make that decision sooner rather than later but at the rate September is approaching I'm not holding my breath.

It's quite exciting to be pregnant a second time. We know we don't know our daughter and won't until she's here. As a wise friend pointed out, second children don't necessarily imitate their predecessors. But it is just so exciting! We could never have imagined all that Cole would add to our family and hearts and surely baby sister will do the same.

Sisters

One Announcement, Two Pictures

We have a bit of news. Cole is going to be a big sister in September!

We're so grateful for this new little life. To announce the news to our family and friends, we bought Cole a "big sister" shirt that she received at her birthday party (more details about and pictures of the party later). When we opened the gift with the shirt in it, no one made a peep. After a few seconds, Steph asked, "Is this for real?" We assured everyone it was and then saw eyes tear up.

Last week we took some pictures of Cole in her new shirt to pass around at the party since one years olds aren't known to hold still on command. 

Picture 1: So Big Sister 

Picture 2: Reality Bites 

Fake It 'Til You Make It Photography: Maternity

I own a pretty decent camera and a couple of very decent lenses. I also like to take pictures. This does not make me a photographer. But I'm willing to fake it.

When my girlfriend asked me to take some maternity pictures for her I happily accepted. I promised to take a gazillion pictures in the hopes of getting two good ones. And it worked!  After snapping 426 pictures, I managed to find a few gems.

Lucky for me, it's a photogenic family. And mama bear knew exactly what she wanted the pictures to look like. I tried to accommodate.

Yeah, yeah, this is not a maternity picture.
But this sweet four year old is just as cute as a button.
She's going to be a great big sister. 

The nursery is nothing short of amazing!
It's bright and colorful and full of playful patterns.
Basically, it belongs in magazines.

The Name Game

It was just a short while after we found out I was expecting that we picked out baby names. We wanted to use a family name and we wanted the name our child would go by to be his/her first name. In honor of my paternal grandfather we picked Walter as our boy name. For our girl name, we decided to use my maternal grandfather's middle name, Colegate. Knowing full well that if we had a girl and named her Colegate we'd call her Cole, we opted to shorten the name so she wouldn't have to spend the first day of school every year correcting her teachers.

With first names pick out,  it was time to come up with middle names. For our boy name, we considered the names of the Slaton men ultimately deciding on Peter's father's name, Phillip. It was relatively quickly decided that our boy name would be Walter Phillip.  Sidenote: I can't say whether or not we'll use Walter Phillip down the road. We won't keep the unused boy name in reserve since Walter and Phillip are both family names. The names should be available for any child-bearing family member to use.

Our girl middle name took a bit more time. We considered names from both sides of our family but failed to find a name that flowed well with Cole. It didn't take long to realize we wanted an über-feminine middle name to balance Cole. Peter and I started to generate lists of names we found to be "very girly." While we considered a few names pretty seriously, we ultimately decided to use the name Annabel. Unlike our other names, Annabel can be spelled several different ways. Conveniently, one of my dearest friend's middle name is Annabel, spelled A-n-n-a-b-e-l-l-e, so we chose to use her spelling of Annabelle for the girl middle name. Thus, the name Cole Annabelle was born.

Since Cole's arrival there has been a tiny bit of confusion as to what we are calling her. I should say for the record, we are calling her Cole. She doesn't have a double name and we're not calling her Annabelle, just Cole. She's already received an inspired nickname from one of her grandfathers, Colibelle, but to us she's Cole... or Miss Cole... or Baby Girl... or Birdie... or Little Miss... Well admittedly she has a few nicknames. We'll have to see if any stick.

Cole's Birth Story

If you're not interested in birth stories or any sort of medical talk, skip this post. 
Seriously. 

Cole's due date was February 27 but a number of weeks before then I started having Braxton Hicks contractions. On February 8 at my 37 week check-up, my OB said that I was progressing toward labor and would likely deliver before the due date. Looking at me it was easy to tell the baby was low and a number of folks let me know so. By my 38 week check-up on February 15, I was 4 cm dilated and having regular contractions so my OB went ahead and stripped my membranes. Around 11 o'clock on the night of February 16, I noticed my contractions were getting stronger and closer together. I woke Peter up around midnight (now February 17) and we monitored my contractions for over an hour. They were coming about five minutes apart and lasting 45-60 seconds. We decided it was time to go.

We headed to the hospital and checked in around 3 in the morning. As we were walking to the hospital room, the nurse told me that I didn't "seem like I was in a lot of pain" so it was probably false labor. She wasn't able to check my cervix when I arrived but told me that "everyone's hands are different" so I probably wasn't really 4 centimeters. She went on to monitor me for an hour during which time the contractions were regular but not frequent enough for her liking. She ended up checking my cervix right before letting me go and to her surprise discovered I was 4 centimeters. She told me that I wasn't really in labor and to come back when my contractions were closer together or if my water broke. So, at 6 am on February 17 we left the hospital. When we got home I went to bed and Peter went to work.

Needless to say, I was upset and frustrated. I've always thought I had a decent pain tolerance so the idea that I wasn't handling the "false labor" well made me feel like a big sissy. When I woke up I proceeded with the day I had planned, all the while continuing to have contractions. I met up with some girlfriends for a play-date then walked the mall hoping to bring on labor. When Peter got home from work I shared with him our exciting Friday night plans: go to Costco, Muddy's, and walk the other mall.

After getting everything we needed from Costco, we decided to grab dinner at their cafe. I should mention while we walked around Costco my contractions were getting stronger but not closer together. I kept sitting down and feeling like a major wimp since the nurse had told me only to come back if my contractions were closer together- she didn't mention anything about stronger. Out of frustration and complete disregard for my gestational diabetes, I ordered pizza and a soda. After dinner, while Peter loaded our purchases into the trunk, I got a contraction that was a bit different from the others. It left my hand shaking. As we pulled out of the parking space I felt something of a trickle and asked Peter to pull into a parking space. I figured if I stood up I'd be able to tell if my water had broken or not. As I  got out of the car, there was a gush. My water broke in a big way! Fortunately, I had put a towel on the seat the day my doctor told me I likely wouldn't make my due date. As we drove down Germantown Parkway back to the hospital, we called our families, the photographer, then some dear friends who were kind enough to care for our dogs and bring us some items we'd failed to put in the hospital bag.

By 9 o'clock we were checking back into the hospital. To be clear, I was discharged just fifteen hours earlier. When my new nurse checked me, she told me I was dilated 7 centimeters and I replied, "Great! Epidural, please." In a very kind, supportive way the nurse and tech both suggested I deliver naturally since I was "handling it so well." While Peter and I didn't have a birth plan, deciding to opt out of the epidural at 7 centimeters is for braver women then me! Had I only been 4 centimeters, I may have opted out knowing full well there was time to ask for one later on. However being that I walked in at 7 centimeters I knew to ask with urgency.

Once I got the epidural (and subsequently an addition dose of some medication because I felt the nurse insert the catheter) life was good. Our sweet friends and photographer hung out and chatted with us between phone calls and text messages with family for just about two and half hours. Around midnight, the nurse said it was time to push. As our friends headed to the waiting room, the nurse got the OB.  Forty minutes later Cole emerged as a silent crier.

All things considered, my false alarm, which may or may not have actually been a false alarm, turned out to be a blessing. Rather than labor in the hospital all day, I unknowingly labored at home (and out-and-about). I also didn't miss a meal which I count as a major bonus!

With Cole's birth behind us, we spent thirty six hours in the hospital then headed home with our baby girl.

Without Further Ado

Meet Cole Annabelle Slaton!

Born 12:42am, February 18, 2012

8 pounds, 1 ounce

21 inches 

Cole's arrival was swift and uncomplicated. As you may expect, things around here may be a bit slow as we get to know our daughter and develop a new groove. Thanks for understanding! 

We opted to have Cole's birth captured by the very talented Kathy Cox of Kathy Cox Photography. Events that transform your life are rare and we wanted to be sure to have the beginning of our next adventure documented. A slideshow of the pictures is currently available here. Peter and I were blown away by the honesty of the pictures as well as the respectfulness of the photographer.