Hannah Nicole Brown

(So, I wrote this blog about 4 weeks ago. Better late than never!)

My greatest blessings. Top Audrey. Bottom left Landon. Bottom right Hannah

There are some blogs I write to share information, but there are times I write so I can remember. This is one of those times. I want to be able to go back and reflect my second daughter's labor and delivery, and the first few days of her life. It's crazy for me to sit here, watch her sleep and reflect on the last two weeks.

9 months pregnant.

I'm going to go back to the beginning of August 2015. I had just finished up working for summer school, and Shannon and I were ready to go to a friend's wedding. First time for us - we took a weekend away, just us, before we welcomed a new member to our family. All summer I had wanted to see the beach, touch the sand, feel the water on my toes .... being 36 weeks pregnant was a slight glitch in my ideal plan, but it was lovely weekend away.

Baby-moon.

One of the greatest blessings I treasured is the time I had with just Landon during the end of this pregnancy. This boy loves to snuggle and be close; I enjoyed every minute of his snuggles and cuddles before I had to share my snuggles and cuddles with a baby. When he bats those super long eye lashes and asks to snuggle -- I can't resist. 

This time around, the one huge difference is the amount of doctor's appointments I had to schedule and attend. Blah. I was sent to a specialist by my ob/gyn and spent a lot of time at various doctor's appointments. On a side note, I am thankful for my smaller knitting projects! (Insert thumbs up emoji) From week 32 to delivery I was at at least one, but usually two appointments weekly. One appointment was ALWAYS included a Non-Stress Test and a sonogram, the other was a regular ob appointment - measure, heartbeat, questions, etc. 

Between 38-39 weeks we started to talk induction date and information. I had assumed (HA!) it would be on August 21, when I would be 39 weeks. Well, I was so wrong. My practice doesn't schedule inductions over the weekend. So, what's a few days difference? The pro - more time to spend as a family of 4 before major changes happen. Shannon and I had planned as much as we could so our ducks were in a row prior to going to the hospital. Audrey was staying with a friend since school started on August 19 (Working while being days away from delivery with new kids was a challenge. Great kids and amazing co-workers, but I was exhausted. I did take the Friday off to spend at home with Landon and just enjoy time with him.) Landon was staying with grandparents, a great friend stayed at our home to make sure animals and house were taken care of. 

Funny Face photo

We were to be at the hospital around 7PM on Sunday, August 23. Kiddos were in their temporary homes and we were ready to go. Let me back up and mention that I had also been roughly 2cm dilated and 50% effaced at my two prior appointments. We got to the room, got changed into the fancy gowns the hospital offers, and was getting hooked up to monitors. My amazing midwife walks in and throws us a bit of a curve ball. I was too far along to be induced the night before. Doctors I had seen at my previous appointments are newer to the practice and may not have been totally sure on the procedures for an induction. The staff was prepared to deliver, but they are better staffed during the day. When she said I would be able to sleep in my own bed with no fetal monitors or nurses we rolled out of the hospital after an hour. I'll be honest - we laughed the whole way home. Who goes to the hospital with the plan of being induced to have a baby but comes home with no baby? We packed up, went back home and got a decent nights sleep to prep for labor and delivery.

Delivery day!

Monday, August 24 at 7AM. Let's try this again! Back to the hospital to actually have a baby. Around 8AM pitocin is starting to drip into my IV. And we wait. And wait. And wait. When Landon was born I had gone in the night before to start the induction and he was born before 11AM. I thought this time around I would be snuggling my baby girl by noon. Ha. Ha. Ha. By noon I was barely 5 cm. Between 2PM and 3PM is when the contractions were becoming more intense for me. I knew I wanted some kind of medication to take the edge off, but I didn't want an epidural. The nurse gave me the meds when I was about 8cm. I never had the same medication twice. With Audrey it was crazy meds - I had told Shannon I felt like I was Alice falling down into Wonderland. With Landon I was able to sleep between the contractions. This time around the pain was a little less, but I wasn't able to really sleep. Around 3:30PM is when I had the need to push. My midwife was helping another momma welcome her baby to the world. Great timing. As soon as she walked into the room, I was ready to go. I am so thankful active and hard labor lasted about 15 minutes and only 5-8 serious pushes. 

Hi, Hannah!

At 4PM on the dot on August 24 Shannon and I welcomed another daughter into the world -- Hannah Nicole Brown. She weighed in at 9 pounds 1 3/4 ounces and measured 20.5 inches long. She had a dark head of hair, a beautiful cry, long fingers and toes -- perfect. We instantly fell in love with her. Landon was the first visitor and he didn't really know what to think of her. I melt when I hear him call her "Baby Hannah". Audrey was so excited to meet her baby sister - instantly she was taken with her. I am so curious to see their relationship grow and deepen as the years go by. My heart is so full of love for these children. I feel so blessed to be their momma. 

Shortly after she was born, one of the nurses came in to ask if we would be willing to have her demonstrate new technology the hospital is planning to use in the future. They are doing construction on a wing to turn into a NICU and will be using telecommunication to consult with other hospitals. Doctors were able to hear her heartbeat, see into her ear and get a better view of her via camera from York. It was pretty cool to be a part of that! I do wish I had a little more warning than sitting in my glamorous hospital gown and Shannon was in a T-shirt, gym shorts and glasses. It's a good thing they wanted to see Hannah and not us!

Landon wanted to get comfy. Tried to take off his shoes. Love him

Very proud  (and amazing!!!) dadda

Audrey is so excited. I love each day, but I'm excited to see their relationship

Hospital food. *insert thumb down emoji*

Proud parents with the newest addition

Since we do have other children, we were so ready to go home. I knew I would be able to recover better at home, we could all get rest and begin a new routine. We had to wait until 4PM to be able to do anything - various tests and labs need to be done 24 hours after birth. The nurse came in around 5PM to start her tests. Thankfully, she passed everything she needed to and we began to pack it up. Our "delicious" hospital meal came in and we quickly ate just in case the discharge papers came in... About an hour after the meal came in, the discharge papers followed. Hannah was on her way home 27 hours after birth.

Fresh baby snuggles are the best

Going home.

Each child had their own hiccup in their early days. Audrey - first born, guinea pig, everything was new to us. Landon - he was jaundice and his bilirubin levels eventually had him glowing in a bili blanket. Hannah wasn't gaining weight. Birth was 9#1oz, then 8#,6oz at discharge (8/25/15). At her first well child she was 8#,4oz (8/26/15), then dropped again to 7#,14oz (9/3/15). I started to nurse her as close to every 3 hours and we would supplement her with an ounce of formula. I am so thankful she FINALLY put on weight and as of 9/8/15, she weighed 8#,4oz today. She gained 6 ounces in 5 days. 

The past 15 days have been a bit of a whirlwind. However, I do think we are all adjusting as well as can be expected. As I sit here at 1:30AM, just waiting for the next feeding.. as if on cue, she is waking up. It's been an adjustment to being outnumbered by children, but we are up to the challenge.