This week, a miracle happened.
Our precious little Kaitlyn Grace Sherratt was brought into the world. She was born January 18th at 9:33 AM. She weighed 8 lbs 9 oz and measured 21 inches long. It was an unforgettable experience.
So! Here's the story:
Tuesday the 17th, I woke up at 5:30 in the morning feeling like something wasn't sitting right in my stomach. I figured I must have a stomach bug or something, and tossed and turned for a few hours till Brice got up, and we went up to Salt Lake. He dropped me off at my parents and went to work, and I muscled through some homework for a few hours still feeling gross.
Finally at 10 or 11 I texted Brice and asked if he thought I should call my midwife and see if this pain is something I should be concerned about. He thought that was a pretty good idea. So I called and my midwife wasn't in that day, so I talked to the other midwife whom I had never talked to before and she said it sounded like labor and I should take a bath to see if it would calm the other systems in my body. I called Brice and told him the news, and I was just in tears. Labor wasn't supposed to feel like this! I had planned for a completely different kind of pain! Anyway, Brice felt it was a good idea to go to the hospital just to make sure everything was alright.
We started timing the stomach pains (which had turned into what felt like menstrual cramps) and they were about 2-4 minutes apart. At the hospital they told me I was dilated to a 3 (remember my last post? Yeah, this was good news!) and they had me wait around for an hour to see if I was making any progress. By 2:45 (the end of the hour) there had been no progress, so they sent us home. They told us to come back when either my contractions were consistently 1 or 2 minutes apart, my water broke, or the contractions became so painful I couldn't talk through them.
So, we went back to my parents. I took a bath, which helped sooth the pain a little bit, but you can only be in the bath for so long, right? So eventually I got out, and Brice started making a data sheet of how long contractions lasted, how long between the start of one to the start of another, and how intense it was on a scale from 1 to 10 with 10 being I can't talk through it. Meanwhile I used all my mental energy available to concentrate on how it wasn't pain, just pressure. His data didn't produce anything promising for us to go back to the hospital, so we waited some more. After a few more hours of pacing and contraction endurance, I asked Brice to apply pressure in a way that had been recommended to us by his sister. This was simply amazing! As soon as I felt a contraction coming on, I would have Brice press on my lower back, and I wouldn't feel the pain or pressure! It was such a relief! But, around 11, we were all tired, so we went down to bed, and it was hard for Brice to apply pressure while we were laying down.
Finally, I insisted Brice call the after-hours number for my midwife and see if there was some pain reliever I could take to ease the pain so I could at least sleep through the night. He called and the midwife told us we could either try another bath, or go to the hospital and if I hadn't progressed they could give me a shot of morphine that should help me sleep, or if I had progressed, they would admit me and I could have my baby.
So, just about midnight, we headed over to the hospital once more. They checked and I had dilated to a 5. They called the midwife and asked what she wanted, and she told them to admit me! Once in the room, Brice called my mom, and I asked about pain relief options. They explained to me that they could give me fentanyl, which wouldn't relieve the pain, but it would relax me so it wouldn't be as hard to endure. But, the effects only lasted half an hour and they could only give me a dose an hour at a time, and once I was dilated past an 8, they couldn't give me any more. My only other option was an epidural. I really had hoped I wouldn't need an epidural, so we started with the fentanyl, which was a major blessing. I had been shaking for an hour or two already because of how physically, emotionally, and mentally draining the contractions were. Almost immediately after they gave me the fentanyl, I was able to stop shaking and relax all my muscles (most of them had been tense for quite a while as well). It also made me dizzy, which I was okay with, because it made me feel drowsy, so I was almost dozing off. My mom showed up at 12:45 and we discussed more pain options. The nurse had the anesthesiologist come in and answer my questions about epidurals. Finally, I decided it would be worth a try. I had hoped I wouldn't need one, but after 20 hours of labor, all my energy was spent and I needed something to help me sleep if I was going to make it through the rest of labor.
So, around 3 in the morning they came and gave me the epidural. It was kind of scary because it needs such precision that if I moved at the wrong time, it could cause serious side effects. That's not scary at all. Oh, and I was still having contractions regularly enough, and the shaking had come back. Luckily, I was able to contain my shaking, and I let him know when my contractions were starting up so he would know not to start poking at the wrong time. So, I felt one last contraction while he was putting in the epidural, he finished up, and I felt the pressure of another contraction (which was like a gentle massage compared to what I had been feeling) and then they checked me again and I was dilated to an 8! That's right, I had made it all the way to an 8 before I got pain relief. And I was still able to talk through my contractions! I NEVER would have gone back to the hospital if we had waited for the three things the nurses had told us to wait for.
Anyway, so finally I had relief! And with that, Brice, my mom, and I went to sleep. The nurses came in to check my vitals every hour or so, which meant I woke up frequently, but at least I was able to get some rest. At 7, my midwife came and they checked and I was still dilated to an 8. They said my labor wouldn't progress until my water broke, so they broke my water. It was colorful, which meant baby had a bowl movement in the uterus (not uncommon at 41 weeks pregnant) so they explained the complications that could cause. Now, I was pretty out of it at this point, so I'm not sure what the complications were, but I think it had something to do with the baby's lungs not working properly. The nurse explained that they would have a pediatric respiratory specialist and a few other specialist come in just at the end of labor so that just in case our baby came out silent, they would be able to take immediate action (again, they explained all this in better detail, but I was drugged and going off of what barely counts as 3 hours of sleep in the past 30 hours, so I only remember the gist).
Anyway, so after they broke my water ("they" being my midwife, Julie, and her -for all intensive purposes- apprentice, Marnae) they said they needed to go check on a few other patients and they would be back to see if my labor was progressing. They returned about 8:30, and the baby was only 2 cm in (That's a +2 station for the drop measurement, for those who read the TMI section in the last post) which meant it was time to start pushing! This was kind of funny, for me. I couldn't feel the baby, so when I pushed, it was like trying to blow up an imaginary balloon. How do you know it's working? You don't. You just do what you can and feel like a fool doing it. Of course, the funny only lasted until she actually started emerging. Then it got really super uncomfortable. After one particularly intense pushing session, I did have a little melt down and whimpered that I couldn't do it. About 5 pushes later, our baby made it into the world. Thinking about that moment makes me a little teary-eyed. It is an amazing experience.
With that last push, I felt a HUGE wave of relief and joy and calm, and I held my breath for a second waiting to see if the specialists would be needed. But our precious daughter let out a cute little wail, and any worry I had washed away into the relief. Once she was out, the room seemed to spring into action. Out of nowhere, there was suddenly a dozen or more nurses in the room being busy with who knows what. Someone picked her up with a cloth and quickly wiped most of the liquid from her body and placed her on my chest while they did a better job wiping more off. I remember Marnae was feeling her umbilical cord to make sure it stopped pulsing, and clamped it down. After that, I became completely oblivious to everything going on in the room. I had my baby, and any energy I had left was focusing on her. During this whole after-birth ordeal, people kept coming in, introducing themselves and giving me important information that there was no way I was going to remember, as sleep deprived as I was. Soon after, I imagine, they had me push the placenta out. Then the nurses took my baby to give her shots and check her to make sure everything was healthy. After that, they cleaned me out (not all of my membranes had been stripped, or something-again, I was very tired and details are fuzzy) and stitch me up. It took until noon to get me all fixed up. Within that time, I had started shaking violently again, so they put warm blankets on me and I had Brice lean over me in sort of an awkward half hug to help calm the shaking. They also ended up giving me a second epidural because the fixing was so painful and took so long. At one pointwhile they were stitching me up, the nurses came back with my baby and insisted I needed to feed her. I was so tired I could barely hold my eyelids open, so it was pretty much them feeding her with me.
Finally, everyone seemed content to just let my family and I spend some time with the baby. My dad came in and took some awesome pictures, and he, my mom, Brice, and I sat and talked and held the baby for a little bit while the staff prepared another bed and room for me (or something). Then I got wheeled down to the Mom and Baby Unit only to be bombarded by more people wanting to tell me more important stuff that I couldn't remember because I was so tired. It finally came down to the point when Brice told everyone that I needed to sleep and they can come back in a couple hours.
Over the next couple of days, I rarely let Kaitlyn out of my arms. It was wonderful, because the nursing staff waited on us hand and foot and all I had to worry about was just holding and feeding our beautiful little girl. After our 48 hours, we packed up and went to my parents house so my family could help while I was still majorly healing and learning how to live life with a newborn.
Now, we are all back at home in our apartment and we have all started to adjust to our lives together. I'm still healing up and will be for a few more weeks. Kaitlyn is healthy and growing beautifully and Brice and I just couldn't possibly love her more!
-Alec Sherratt
Saturday, January 21, 2012
Friday, January 13, 2012
First comes Love, then comes Marriage...
It has been a while since we have written, so let's get you all caught up!
First, let me say thanks to all of you for your love and support with our marriage. It was a wonderful celebration! As reminder, we were married in the LDS St. George Temple on March 25th 2011. It was a relatively small group. After our wedding luncheon, Brice and I proceeded on to Vegas for our honeymoon. A month later, we had our reception in Draper on April 29th.
I don't think everyone got the story for the uniqueness of our decisions here, so let me explain.
First, the St. George temple. When Brice and I discussed getting married, we each asked each other if there was anything important we wanted to happen on our special day. I wanted my grandpa to seal us (he and my grandma are currently on a mission and therefore were unable to do so) and he wanted to be married in the St. George Temple. I didn't feel I had a very strong connection to any temple in particular, so I agreed. You see, both sides of his family are from Southern Utah. His mother's side is from Panguitch and his father's side is from Cedar City. So, as it turns out, his parents, sister, most aunts and uncles, grandparents, and great grandparents (and some great greats?) were all married not only in the St. George temple, but across the same alter that Brice and I were able to be married across. I thought that was pretty special, and will mean a lot to our children. So, that is why we passed a dozen or so temples to get to the one we wanted to be married in.
Next, the length of time between our wedding and our reception. Brice's sister was pregnant at the time, and due just about the time we chose to have our wedding date. We discussed this before and talked about options, and decided it was going to work out and set the dates with the temples (for my endowments and for our wedding). Afterward, it kept coming up that Camy might not be able to make it to the wedding, which was hard on Brice. But I felt we shouldn't change the date, and I really didn't want to wait longer to get married, so we changed the reception so we would be sure she would be able to make it to that. (As a note, I would not recommend doing the reception so far apart. Maybe a week, after the honeymoon.)
So, that was our wedding day! ... wedding month. ... We got married! Between the wedding and the reception, we moved into an apartment just northwest of Utah Valley University in Orem, and the next month proceeded with the joys of learning to live together, communicate like a couple, and all that fun first months of marriage stuff. Then, I started noticing signs. Just little signs about my body that were unusual. And in May, we found out we were pregnant!
The months that followed were quite the roller coaster for both of us. I was learning how to deal with a growing body inside of me, and poor Brice was learning how to deal with an already too-emotional woman with pregnancy emotions on top of it all. Not to mention learning about what I should and shouldn't do, trying to figure out how work and school would play out, and the general how our lives were going to change forever. (Also, part of pregnancy for me was I became really anti-social and socially awkward. So it wasn't just you. I didn't talk to anybody much save Brice and my mom for the last nine months. But please, let's still be friends! My craziness is just about over!)
And now the time is upon us! Our little girl was due to be born on Wednesday, January 11th, but as most first pregnancies go, she is late. We are planning to deliver in Riverton hospital and I have informed Brice that we can't pick a name till she is born because I have heard of so many situations where the baby came and the parents changed their minds. Don't worry though, we have a list made up of names we like. Anyway, with labor so close, many ask us about how I'm doing and for updates on progress. This is tricky because any progress I can report on is kind of gross, if you know what it means, and I didn't want to offend anyone. So, let this be your warning, I am about to get detailed, and if you don't wish to know too much, I would just skip the next paragraph:
---WARNING: TMI TO FOLLOW---
There a lots of signs that show labor is in progress. One of the pre-labor signs are contractions known as Braxton Hick's. This is where the stomach muscles (more technically, the uterus muscles) all contract to help soften the cervix (which is at the bottom of the uterus) and prepare the body for labor. I have been experiencing Braxton's since about 5 months along, which I'm told is really good an means labor will be a lot less intense... I'll let you know how that goes. :) So, I have contractions, but not labor contractions, on a daily basis. Next, there's a drop station. When the baby and body are preparing for birth, the pelvic bones will spread, and the baby will drop down in between the bone. There is a general measurement they use for this from something like a -4 to a +4. with the +4 meaning the baby is crowning (or something close to that). During the rest of pregnancy, the baby is at a -4 and can move and turn as she likes. When the baby is a zero, it means her head has engaged with the pelvis and she is unlikely to go breech (when her feet are facing down instead of her head). When I was checked at my appointment on the 12th (yesterday) I was a -2. This isn't a very precise measurement because all women are such different shapes and sizes and the drop isn't necessary for other parts of labor to progress. Probably the most commonly known sign of labor is dilation. For those of you who don't know (I didn't when I first became pregnant) this is the measurement of how open the cervix is. The cervix is about 2.5 inches up the vagina. It is just below the uterus, and it is closed for most of a woman's life. When the body starts going into labor, the cervix is 'ripened' or becomes soft, thins out (or effaced which I'll talk about next) and opens, which is dilation. There is a 1 to 10 measurement for the cervix, with the numbers representing how many centimeters the cervix has opened. The past few weeks, I have been told it had started opening, but wasn't quite a 1. Yesterday it officially reached a 1, so I'm officially dilated, exciting, huh? Next is effacing. So, as I said, the cervix needs to thin out. I'm told that it starts out about as thick as an index finger is long. (yes, that's how they check all of this). When it's halfway up the finger, the cervix is 50% effaced, just the top knuckle is about 70% effaced, and when it's 100%, you can feel the baby's head. So when I was check, I was at a 70%. I've been told this is a good thing too, because once the effacing is complete, the rest can happen in a matter of hours. So, who knows, I might just be a few hours away from my baby!
---END TMI REPORT---
A few more stats that I don't think will bother anyone too much. my belly measured 38 cm (or 15 in) and her heartbeat is 143 bpm. If you would like, feel free to guess for when she will come (day and time... don't forget AM or PM) and how big she will be. You might also want to know that my midwife estimates that she will be about 8 lbs, and that I am scheduled to be induced on the 25th, so any guesses after that are moot. It will be fun to see who is the closest! Brice and I are so excited and just can't wait to become parents!
To end, I'd like to give a special thanks to everyone who has supported us and helped us prepare for our little girl! We can't tell you how much we appreciate everything!
Until next time!
-Alec Sherratt
First, let me say thanks to all of you for your love and support with our marriage. It was a wonderful celebration! As reminder, we were married in the LDS St. George Temple on March 25th 2011. It was a relatively small group. After our wedding luncheon, Brice and I proceeded on to Vegas for our honeymoon. A month later, we had our reception in Draper on April 29th.
I don't think everyone got the story for the uniqueness of our decisions here, so let me explain.
First, the St. George temple. When Brice and I discussed getting married, we each asked each other if there was anything important we wanted to happen on our special day. I wanted my grandpa to seal us (he and my grandma are currently on a mission and therefore were unable to do so) and he wanted to be married in the St. George Temple. I didn't feel I had a very strong connection to any temple in particular, so I agreed. You see, both sides of his family are from Southern Utah. His mother's side is from Panguitch and his father's side is from Cedar City. So, as it turns out, his parents, sister, most aunts and uncles, grandparents, and great grandparents (and some great greats?) were all married not only in the St. George temple, but across the same alter that Brice and I were able to be married across. I thought that was pretty special, and will mean a lot to our children. So, that is why we passed a dozen or so temples to get to the one we wanted to be married in.
Next, the length of time between our wedding and our reception. Brice's sister was pregnant at the time, and due just about the time we chose to have our wedding date. We discussed this before and talked about options, and decided it was going to work out and set the dates with the temples (for my endowments and for our wedding). Afterward, it kept coming up that Camy might not be able to make it to the wedding, which was hard on Brice. But I felt we shouldn't change the date, and I really didn't want to wait longer to get married, so we changed the reception so we would be sure she would be able to make it to that. (As a note, I would not recommend doing the reception so far apart. Maybe a week, after the honeymoon.)
So, that was our wedding day! ... wedding month. ... We got married! Between the wedding and the reception, we moved into an apartment just northwest of Utah Valley University in Orem, and the next month proceeded with the joys of learning to live together, communicate like a couple, and all that fun first months of marriage stuff. Then, I started noticing signs. Just little signs about my body that were unusual. And in May, we found out we were pregnant!
The months that followed were quite the roller coaster for both of us. I was learning how to deal with a growing body inside of me, and poor Brice was learning how to deal with an already too-emotional woman with pregnancy emotions on top of it all. Not to mention learning about what I should and shouldn't do, trying to figure out how work and school would play out, and the general how our lives were going to change forever. (Also, part of pregnancy for me was I became really anti-social and socially awkward. So it wasn't just you. I didn't talk to anybody much save Brice and my mom for the last nine months. But please, let's still be friends! My craziness is just about over!)
And now the time is upon us! Our little girl was due to be born on Wednesday, January 11th, but as most first pregnancies go, she is late. We are planning to deliver in Riverton hospital and I have informed Brice that we can't pick a name till she is born because I have heard of so many situations where the baby came and the parents changed their minds. Don't worry though, we have a list made up of names we like. Anyway, with labor so close, many ask us about how I'm doing and for updates on progress. This is tricky because any progress I can report on is kind of gross, if you know what it means, and I didn't want to offend anyone. So, let this be your warning, I am about to get detailed, and if you don't wish to know too much, I would just skip the next paragraph:
---WARNING: TMI TO FOLLOW---
There a lots of signs that show labor is in progress. One of the pre-labor signs are contractions known as Braxton Hick's. This is where the stomach muscles (more technically, the uterus muscles) all contract to help soften the cervix (which is at the bottom of the uterus) and prepare the body for labor. I have been experiencing Braxton's since about 5 months along, which I'm told is really good an means labor will be a lot less intense... I'll let you know how that goes. :) So, I have contractions, but not labor contractions, on a daily basis. Next, there's a drop station. When the baby and body are preparing for birth, the pelvic bones will spread, and the baby will drop down in between the bone. There is a general measurement they use for this from something like a -4 to a +4. with the +4 meaning the baby is crowning (or something close to that). During the rest of pregnancy, the baby is at a -4 and can move and turn as she likes. When the baby is a zero, it means her head has engaged with the pelvis and she is unlikely to go breech (when her feet are facing down instead of her head). When I was checked at my appointment on the 12th (yesterday) I was a -2. This isn't a very precise measurement because all women are such different shapes and sizes and the drop isn't necessary for other parts of labor to progress. Probably the most commonly known sign of labor is dilation. For those of you who don't know (I didn't when I first became pregnant) this is the measurement of how open the cervix is. The cervix is about 2.5 inches up the vagina. It is just below the uterus, and it is closed for most of a woman's life. When the body starts going into labor, the cervix is 'ripened' or becomes soft, thins out (or effaced which I'll talk about next) and opens, which is dilation. There is a 1 to 10 measurement for the cervix, with the numbers representing how many centimeters the cervix has opened. The past few weeks, I have been told it had started opening, but wasn't quite a 1. Yesterday it officially reached a 1, so I'm officially dilated, exciting, huh? Next is effacing. So, as I said, the cervix needs to thin out. I'm told that it starts out about as thick as an index finger is long. (yes, that's how they check all of this). When it's halfway up the finger, the cervix is 50% effaced, just the top knuckle is about 70% effaced, and when it's 100%, you can feel the baby's head. So when I was check, I was at a 70%. I've been told this is a good thing too, because once the effacing is complete, the rest can happen in a matter of hours. So, who knows, I might just be a few hours away from my baby!
---END TMI REPORT---
A few more stats that I don't think will bother anyone too much. my belly measured 38 cm (or 15 in) and her heartbeat is 143 bpm. If you would like, feel free to guess for when she will come (day and time... don't forget AM or PM) and how big she will be. You might also want to know that my midwife estimates that she will be about 8 lbs, and that I am scheduled to be induced on the 25th, so any guesses after that are moot. It will be fun to see who is the closest! Brice and I are so excited and just can't wait to become parents!
To end, I'd like to give a special thanks to everyone who has supported us and helped us prepare for our little girl! We can't tell you how much we appreciate everything!
Until next time!
-Alec Sherratt
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