Our little Reese came a week early. But if I am being honest, it wasn't early enough! This whole pregnancy was completely different from Avery's and at my 37 week appointment dr Heath had told us that I was at a 1 cm dilated and to expect the baby to come any time now. That's DEFINITELY Not something you tell a very very pregnant woman and her impatient husband haha. So for the next 2 weeks we did everything to try to get this baby out... And I mean everything. In one night we walked like 3 miles even. I was so convinced that Reese would come early that one night I was so tired and sick that I kept coughing until I peed the bed and jumped up because I thought my water had broken, hahaha. It's so funny now but at the time it wasn't.
I had been having pretty intense contractions for a few weeks and I was so irritated, uncomfortable and just ready to have this baby already. I had an appointment scheduled for the 17th at 3pm and my dr had agreed to strip my membranes and encouraged us to set up an induction date. I was sure I would make it to my appointment but unbeknownst to me little Reese had a mind of her own. The night of the 16th I started having pretty regular contractions around 11 pm. I didn't really chalk them up to anything because I had been having them for a few weeks... But these were different and I could tell. I started timing them around 12:30 because I began to think that just maybe these would lead somewhere. I was timing about 8 minutes apart and they were pretty uncomfortable. It was around 3:00 am that I decided that I would sit in the bath but I never actually made it because when I was going to the bathroom I noticed a lot of bleeding and that really worried me because I hadn't had that at all. I had Hayden call the hospital and after talking to a nurse they agreed it might be a good idea for me to come in just to put my mind at ease and they could monitor me for a while. I felt completely stupid and I was convinced they would be sending me home but I was so worried so I decided to head on up. Hayden and Avery came too, in fact Avery had woken up moments before Hayden called the hospital. I was stressed about taking Avery in too but we didn't have anyone to watch her at such late notice, I also didn't think it would be a big deal since I was sure we wouldn't be staying. I actually wouldn't let Hayden tell anyone we were there. She was such a champ and I will never forget the image of her just sitting there watching Mickey Mouse on Hayden's phone. She would come and want to sit by me and then decide to climb on things. I was in pretty intense amount of pain and I also didn't want her to see me like that so it was kind of a bitter sweet thing... That being said it was about an hour after being there hooked up to monitors that grandma Coombs drove from st George to pick Avery up because I was 5 cm dilated, with contractions 3 minutes apart and they kept me and told me that I'd be having my baby that day. I was an emotional wreck watching Hayden carry my sleeping baby out of the room knowing the next time I saw her we would have a new baby and she would no longer be my only child. It was such a bittersweet feeling!
It wasn't long after that I got my epidural, my doctor came in to break my water and announced that we would be having a baby for lunch. By the time I was admitted with my epidural to when Reese was born was just about 5 1/2 hours... So much faster than the first time!
Avery's entire birth to the postpartum part of it was a very tough time for me. Aves was a hard baby. We were overwhelmed, and I was hit majorly with postpartum depression. I prayed so so much that this time would be different. I was so full of fear that this would be my same experience, it literally consumed all of my thoughts and I cried about it for months. I was so scared because that was one of the darkest times of my life and I have worked so hard to overcome it... I did not want it to happen again.
Heavenly Father answers prayers.
I had received a blessing from Hayden about 5 days before Reese was born telling me that I had heavenly angels surrounding me and that they would be there for me. Everything was happenening so fast with Reese's arrival that I was beginning to feel overwhelmed, but there was a moment that I will never forget that brought me so much peace and comfort. While me and Hayden were waiting in the delivery room alone a few hors before Reese's birth I was sitting there looking around when I suddenly was overcome with a feeling of other people in the room with us. Grandma was there. I know she was. But that wasn't all, I felt like Reese was with her, and grandpa, and Julia. It was the strangest thing because I literally felt like Reese's little spirit was right there with them, although I
knew she was in my body. I cried and I talked to Hayden and he cried with me. It was such a neat eexperience for me. That was something I had never experienced before and so because of that it made the whole birth such a spiritual experience for me. Anyway sometime around 10:00 to 10:30 Dr. Heath came back to check on me and had them up the pitocin to help my contractions speed up and he actually had to insert a monitor vaginally because they couldn't pick up Reese's heartbeat and my contractions with the other monitor they strap to your belly. I guess they had to attach it to her head. My contractions were coming pretty much one on top of another and all of a sudden I could feel every single one on the left side of my body. They were so intense that I could not hold back the tears and they took my breath away! Hayden went to go get my nurse and she got the anestiologist before coming to check on me yo make sure he would be in there in time to fix it. Well after that she came in and I was already at a 10 cm dilated! She couldn't believe it because just about 10 minutes earlier I was at a 6. She shifted me and the epidural somehow kicked back in( I guess there was a kinck or something). She called my doctor and then we started the practice pushing. The epidural was awesome, I could feel everything but the actual pain. But because I could still feel all the pressure I knew exactly when to push. Once the doctor got there they got everything all set up. My doctor was awesome, he honestly made me feel like a rockstar and was so great throughout the whole thing. I was so grateful for him during the delivery. They actually brought a mirror in and I watched Reese's whole birth! Annnnnnnnnd , it was amazing. And helped me out so much. Once I started the actual pushing, it was about 15-17 minutes later Reese Julia Coombs entered the world. It was at 11:54 am and she weighed 8 lbs 2 oz. I watched her be born, dr Heath suctioned out her mouth and she was placed right on my chest while they cleaned her off. I looked down and she was looking right at me. I looked at Hayden and we both cried. She was beautiful and I experienced love at first sight. She was here and she was perfect and besides her nose, she looked just like her older sister. She looked (and still does) like a mix between Hayden and Avery. She was so sweet and we couldn't stop holding her and staring at her. After a while we got moved into our recovery room and I was able to get cleaned up so we could FaceTime our families... But most importantly I couldn't wait to get my Avery there to meet her baby sister. We had bought a giant Minnie Mouse stuffed animal from Reese to Avery that we had wrapped for her. Aves was so sweet when she came with grandma Coombs, and was so cute with Reese. She was most concerned that Reese was no longer in my belly, and she kept touching her bow, her nose, eyes, and mouth. And then she lost interest for a few weeks and struggled a little bit, haha. But I am happy to report that she is cuter than ever with her now;)
We stayed in the hospital until the evening of the 19th. The first day was great and the night of the 18th was rough. Reese had Jaundice and it made for the worst night because she had to be on the lights and we couldn't hold her. However our first night home she was a dream so she made up for it:)
We love our little Reese and her sweet little spirit she has brought to us and our home... She is the most perfect addition to our family.
