Allie's Birth Story

I'm hoping that the notes we took during this whole experience will help me fill in the fuzzy details, but I figured it's about time to write about Allie's birth story!

I had a doctor's appointment on Wednesday (the 19th) and was at a 3 and about 50% effaced and was so excited to hear that I had progressed to that point, but really wasn't sure how anything was going to go since my labor experience with Peyton was so unique. After talking about everything with my doctor, learning that she was going to be out of town part of the next week, knowing Chase's schedule was open the next few days, but would be busy the next week, and with how I was feeling about being pregnant and labor in general we decided to schedule an induction for Friday morning.

My mom flew in Thursday afternoon which was awesome to get some time with her before Allie arrived, and to let Peyton warm up to her a little bit ;). We packed our bags, got everything ready, and hung out, hoping that my body was progressing more on its own. We did some walking around and I played with Peyton more actively than I had the few days before. It was pretty surreal to know when Allie was arriving. It's also really weird to not know when they're coming, so I think it's just something you're never quite prepared for if I'm being honest haha. I was equally excited and nervous, and also a little sad to be ending my time with Peyton as an only child.

We got to the hospital at 5:40am, there had apparently been a pretty busy night the night before, so after they did my check in and got things ready we got back to the labor room at 7:15am. My nurse checked me a little bit later and I found out I was still at a 3. I was honestly kind of bummed to hear that. I had been having more contractions than ever before on my own and wanted to progress more, but it was ok. Getting pitocin didn't make me nearly as nervous as it did with Peyton since I knew how my body reacted already. We started the pitocin around 8:20.

We forgot to get a picture of my 40 week belly... so here's the best we got haha.

About 45 minutes later Dr. Haun came in and checked me. I was still at a 3, but 75% effaced. She broke my water and said she'd be back to see us in a few hours. I also asked for an epidural at this point just knowing that my contractions would get worse and closer together and not be very comfortable.

By 11, my epidural was in and I was at a 4. They doubled the pitocin they were giving me because my contractions started spacing themselves out. At this point it was just waiting for baby girl to decide she was ready and make her appearance! At 12:15, we increased my pitocin again trying to keep my contractions as regular as they needed to be. By 1:30 I was at a 6 1/2! I was pretty excited to be progressing pretty quickly.

Around 2:15 my nurse and Chase helped me sit up (instead of just rotating side to side) and I started felling really bad contractions even with the epidural. It wasn't great especially since I hadn't expected it. But I think the epidural was preventing back labor and still kinda working. I knew the doctor was coming soon so I decided to try to tough it out until she got there, knowing it was supposed to be helping me progress more.

15-20 minutes later I sent Chase to go get my nurse because I was so uncomfortable to see if we could turn down the pitocin. The nurse came in to check me and was surprised to find out I was totally complete. She was almost here! They called Dr. Haun and told her to hurry. She got here at 2:45, and we got ready for me to start pushing. I pushed through 3 1/2 contractions with great encouragement from my nurse, Dr. Haun, and Chase, and then she was here! Allie Jo Trejo arrived at 2:56pm. She was 7 lb. 4 oz. and 20 inches long (same weight and a 1/2 inch longer than Peyton).

They put her on my chest right away and I was pretty overwhelmed with emotions. I couldn't believe that she was finally here and we were parents of two. I was so glad to go through the whole experience with Chase next to me. He was extremely supportive through the whole pregnancy and I couldn't have done it without him.

Next, we got to introduce Peyton and Allie and I was so excited! I had no idea how this moment would go, but was really excited for our whole family to be together for the first time.

Peyton brought in a bear for Allie, which I think was good for her to have a specific job to do. I had used the bear to tell Chase I was pregnant, and Peyton has loved playing with it for the past couple months. She was pretty hesitant to get close to Allie at first and was nervous about mom's "owies" (all the bracelets I had on my wrist). She kept nervous giggling, but warmed up faster than I expected and even helped hold her that first day. She's just warmed up even more since then and really loves to help with her as much as she can. Peyton is an awesome big sister and we're extra grateful for that.

I'm so amazed at how my heart has just grown to fit all the love I have for an extra person, and also for the extra love I feel for both Chase and Peyton. It was such a special experience again to get to bring a baby into this world, and even though it keeps not being exactly how I would have planned, I end up being grateful for every part of it.

Things putting a smile on my face...

-- Facebook memories coming up of things Peyton was learning last year
-- Peyton asking me to sing her a song before every nap/bedtime (she must be tone deaf)
-- Sleeping in later thanks to daylight savings
-- Feeling baby girl kick and wiggle (especially in response to Peyton's voice)
-- A clean apartment
-- Checking things off my to do list
-- Sunny afternoons
-- General Conference happening so soon!
-- Pretty flowers on my kitchen table
-- Holiday candy/treats
-- Generous friends
-- Peyton's curls at the bottom of her hair that just get better as she gets sweaty
-- Making spring break plans
-- Post-nap snuggles from Peyton
-- Planning trips to see family
-- Still being able to work out at 34 weeks (even if it's modified and slow)
-- Random days Chase gets off of school and spends with us
-- Peyton saying new words or answering questions we didn't know she knew
-- Family dancing time
-- Peyton giving kisses to baby sister (my belly)
-- Long phone calls with Julia

Peyton's Birth Story

I'm a little late posting this, but I was trying to tell someone the story the other day and realized that I was forgetting details. So I figure here is as good a place as any to write down the ups and downs of possibly the craziest day of my life.

On Wednesday (the 21st) morning around 6:30 AM, my water broke. I went and told Chase and we quickly decided that we should probably wait to call the doctor's office especially since I wasn't feeling any contractions. We called my mom so she could book a flight to Texas and she said she agreed with our idea to call the doctor before heading in to the hospital.

I drove Chase to school because it was raining and I needed something to do to keep my mind occupied. When I got home I finished packing hospital bags for me and Peyton and waited patiently for the doctor's office to open. The nurse I talked to told me to head in to labor and delivery. So around 9:00 Chase got home from school and we headed to the hospital!

At 9:40 we got the confirmation that my water had broken (I was glad to hear I hadn't just been peeing my pants) and we were being admitted! At this point I was extremely excited and also extremely nervous. 

By noon we got back to our labor and delivery room and Chase left again at 12:30 to go take his big test (he had asked me to hold onto Baby Trejo just until he could take his test so he wouldn't have to reschedule and take a different version). I spent the time while he was gone talking to my family on the phone - they did a good job of distracting me while I was a bundle of nerves. We even went through all of the girls' names of Back to the Future in case we needed to use one of those names for Baby Trejo. 

At 3:30 I still wasn't really feeling strong contractions, but I was starving. Luckily Chase was great and snuck me some jello that he had packed before making it back to the hospital. At 4:30 we decided to try to get things going since Chase was back for good and my body hadn't gotten the message yet - we did lots of laps around the hospital room and bounced on the yoga ball. 

By 5:45 my doctor went home for the night, so I met the doctor that was on call. She checked me and I still wasn't any further dilated than I had been at my appointment 2 days before. This was tough news to get. I had been hoping to avoid going on pitocin because I wanted to have a natural childbirth and had heard that pitocin made contractions harder to cope with. We decided to start pitocin based on the recommendation from the doctors, and to try to see if I could still do it naturally.

By 6:30 I was having regular contractions - longer and more frequent than anything I had felt all day.

The nurses continued to alternate increasing the pitocin and checking my progress. At 9:15 I was up to 2.5 cm.

Around 11:30 the contractions were starting to get pretty intense. Chase climbed into bed behind me to help with counter pressure and just help me feel better. At midnight my mom's flight had gotten in - luckily Chase's mom had come down to see the baby too and was nice enough to go pick up my mom. They came to visit us for a little bit.

By 1:15 I had made it to 5 cm! The next stretch was the worst pain I think I've ever felt. From about 3:30-5:00 AM I felt the contractions front and back and felt like I wasn't getting any break between them. I was sure that I was progressing well because everyone kept telling me that the contractions that hurt are the ones that are helping my body move along. Every contraction I had Chase wrap his arms around my back and put as much pressure as he possibly could on my lower back and just tried to breathe through it, almost in tears. 

At 5:00 they checked me again and said I was still at 5 cm. I was exhausted, so hungry, and couldn't do it any more. I asked my nurses for an epidural. It took about an hour for the anesthesiologist to be available. That hour was extremely difficult emotionally. I had been in labor for almost 24 hours (even if it wasn't active labor the whole time), I hadn't eaten, I had decided that I wanted meds to help me and they couldn't get them to me yet. Luckily it made me so tired that I barely remembered getting my epidural and fell asleep almost immediately after they got the pillows situated around me. 

At 8:00 the nurses came and checked me and I was at a 9! They increased the pitocin again to get the baby to drop as far as she could before I needed to start pushing.

Around 8:45 we started getting me ready to push. I was feeling kind of nauseous so the nurse gave me an oxygen mask and some wet washcloths. Luckily that helped the nausea go away! At this point I was ready to push and was feeling a little nervous again, but I was so excited to meet our little girl! My nurse and doctor were great about coaching me through the pushing - I was very glad to have their help. I pushed through three or four contractions and she was here! Peyton Emma Trejo arrived at 8:58 AM. She was 7 lb. 4 oz. and 19.5 inches long. 

After she was born Chase got to cut the cord and we got to hold her for a few minutes before they needed to take her to a transitional nursery to check on her breathing levels and monitor her blood sugar.

It was such an amazing, special day for our family and while I'm not sure I'd sign up to do it again right away, I'm so grateful for every part of it. It wasn't what we had planned, or even close to how I imagined labor would go, but our sweet Peyton is perfect and here and we couldn't ask for anything more! We love her so much and are so grateful to be starting our life as a family of three!

I also have to say that my love for Chase has grown more than I thought possible since having Peyton. Seeing him be a dad to her is one of my favorite things in the whole world. I'm extra grateful to have him beside me for all of this and everything to come. 

Things I Want to Remember

So Baby Trejo is supposed to be here in less than 3 weeks! I'm so, so excited and also so nervous. There's just so many unknowns. But there's not too much I can do about it until then, so for now I'm trying to take in these last couple weeks and there have been some things that have come across my mind that I want to remember. In no particular order they are:

- How cool it feels to feel her move inside of me

- How fun it is to see Chase's reactions when he gets to feel her move

- The excitement we feel for her coming so soon

- That picking out names is way harder than I thought

- Nesting instinct is a real thing

- So is pregnancy brain, and pregnancy exhaustion

- How funny it is to not be able to see my toes while I walk

- That walking around on hot days is way harder than I thought it would be, and then so is sitting down (this was taken at an obstacle course 5k that Chase with his parents did that I played photographer for, I got this break while they waited in line for one of the giant water slides)

- How much more I already love Chase seeing him get ready to be a dad to our little girl

- That I can feel the prayers, support, and love from people that want things to go well for us (thank you!!) and how AMAZING that is

- That she already has more clothes than I think she could need and I still feel like I have to stop and look every time we pass the baby section of a store just in case

- The huge desire I have to hold her in my arms already

- That I'm also ok with her hanging out in my belly for a little longer

- She already feels like she has such a strong personality, that some days I feel like I know her and other days I don't know how to imagine what she'll be like

- That I can do hard things that I never thought I'd be able to (especially if I'm patient with myself and take my time):

- How much more I appreciate my parents and grandparents already (I'm sure this will exponentially increase in the near future)

- That I can feel how much my Heavenly Father loves our baby already

- How excited I am for General Conference this weekend to learn more about how I can be a good mom, wife, daughter, etc. 

- How generous and nice everyone we know has been about this change in our lives

Mostly I want to remember how much I'm loving this time in my life. Even with Chase's crazy school schedule, the big changes that are coming, not being able to sleep through the night, and the overwhelming number of unknowns that are constantly in front of us, there are so many good things going on right now and I couldn't just ignore them. 

This time last year...

.... we were cleaning up our apartment and starting a long drive in a large moving truck down to Texas. We were so excited for the adventure we were starting together. Being in a new place, Chase starting at a new school, moving into a new ward, me getting close to graduating, but most of all doing it together without family super close by.

One year later, I've loved what we have been able to do together. I've loved getting closer to Chase. We've made really great new friends. We've moved again already. We've taken fun trips. We've settled into new roles together. We've learned more about ourselves and more about each other.

And now, we are SO excited for the new adventure coming up by starting a family together! Sometimes I still can't believe it. Then I feel her move, or get to see Chase's face while he feels her move and it gets so much more real. Most of the time I'm feeling capable of figuring out things that I'm sure will come up. Every once in a while I get overwhelmed with the idea of being responsible for a tiny little person, but then I remember how many people have done it before us, and how many people we have cheering us on and it gets really exciting all over again.

Until then we're trying to make the most of the time we still have just as the two of us, when we get to set our own schedule and can pack pretty light if we decide to do a day trip somewhere :)

I'm sure in a year or so I'll look back at this time again and be overwhelmed by how many amazing things have happened that I couldn't have predicted, just like I am now. I can't wait!