July 24th 2020
Around 3 am I woke up with a lot of pain in my back that kept coming. I woke up your dad and told him that I thought I was having contractions but that my water hadn't broken so I wasn't sure what to do. He told me to call Labor and Delivery to see what they thought, when I talked with the nurse she told me we could come in to be safe or wait to see if they got closer together. I decided to just try and go back to bed and see if they got worse.
By 8 am I was in a lot of pain so we called aunt Dorothy and asked her to come sit with your sister Lexi while we went in to get checked. When we got to the hospital we went straight to labor and delivery and they hooked me up to the machines to hear your heart beat and the nurse checked to see if I was dilated. I was already to a 3 but she said I could be there for weeks before progressing. The resident Doctor had them give me a shot to try to slow the contractions and prescribed me some pills to help slow them as well. Because you were only at 36 weeks they also had to give me shot to help your lunges develop just in case you came early. We were there for a little over an hour and a half before they released me.
I spent the rest of the day at home laboring while your grandma Almond watched Lexi for me. By that night I was so ready for this to all be over but they weren't close enough together for me to warrant going back into the hospital.
July 25th 2020
12 am I was in a lot of pain, I would have to sit up during each contraction and grab onto the side of the bed to keep from screaming really loud. I remember just praying that this would all go away soon because I don't remember this pain with your sister.
Again by 3 am I was done, I had been up off and on for 24 hours and was in so much pain I just wanted it to end. I woke up your dad again and told him what was happening and he wanted to go back to the hospital. I wasn't thrilled with the idea because I knew they wouldn't do anything to help because I was only 36 weeks and 2 days and that was too early to break my water. I tried to wait it out another half hour but by 15 minutes I was ready to drive up to labor and delivery. We called cousin Mariah to have her come stay with Lexi and headed back up to the hospital.
When we got there and they hooked me back up to the monitors the nurse came back in to check me. To my surprise I was dilated to a 6 and low and behold my water had broke but because my contractions were so intense I wasn't 100% sure if it was my water or if I had peed my pants. (this go around it wasn't a gush like with Lexi) The nurse looked at us and said "you're having a baby this morning." At this point I was just relieved that the pain was going to stop and also praying that you would be okay.
Dr. Shelley was the on call OB that morning, sadly we weren't able to get our favorite Dr. Jones but she was very friendly and open and told me how she does her c sections. by 4 am we were set and ready to head down to the OR room and have a baby! When we got to the room the anesthesiologist came in and got started on my spinal tap, by the time he was done I sighed with relief. One because the pain was starting go away and two because I hate needles and it freaks me out but it wasn't as bad as I thought it would be. The rest of what happened was all a blur of techs and nurses and doctor lingo that I didn't understand but I just knew that you would be here soon.
4:30 am
We heard Dr. Shelley say "oh, she has red hair." and I looked at your dad and we both started to cry. We have both always wanted a red head and we were so excited! Next thing I know the doctor is holding you up over the curtain and I heard your sweet cry and it reassured me that you would be okay. With you coming at 36 weeks there was a chance your lunges wouldn't be developed all the way but thankfully because of one of the shots I got the morning before you were doing better than I anticipated. They told me you were 5 lbs. 9 oz. which is smaller than your sister Lexi but not by much, they also said you looked healthy and you were doing great! Your dad got to go with you to the nursery to hold you while the doctors finished sewing up my stomach. It felt like hours and in reality it was because I didn't get done and back to my room to see you and your dad until 6:30 am. (That happens when you have a resident doctor working with the OB haha)
When I finally got back to our room I was in awe of how tiny you were, and the fact that you came 3 weeks early was so crazy to me. I told your dad that we needed to pick a name for you, I think we both always knew we wanted your first name to be Hailey but we couldn't agree on a middle name. I liked a couple and your dad was leaning more towards no middle name. But I felt like you were a Hailey Jane so that was the name we agreed on. We took a little nap and let our families know you were born, took lots of pictures and even did a few facetime calls to show you off to your sister and our families.
Tuesday July 28th 2020
We were finally able to go home, we only had to stay in the hospital an extra day because you had dropped more than 10% of your birth weight. (It's always so scary to me but you were able to get back up to 5 lbs. 7 oz by the end of your first week home, it took a lot of nursing and pumping and supplementing but I was happy!) We packed up our bags and loaded the car and were headed home by 1 pm. I was so anxious to see your sister I hadn't really gotten to see her much before you were born, I also couldn't wait for her to meet you! When she got to our apartment with your grandparents and I saw her big smile when she saw you with your dad I started to cry. I always knew you two would have a special bond I just wasn't sure if it would happen right away and I was so happy it did!
Lexi loves everything about you, she is always so excited to hold you, and give you hugs and kisses and it just makes my mamma heart so happy! Hailey I hope you know how loved you are by all of us! We are so happy to have another sweet little girl in our home!
