This is Our life: January 2013

Looking back at the past nine months it is hard to believe that we were at Snow graduating and off to Oregon; now were staring into the beautiful eyes of our daughter Lexi. It's been awhile since i've written last so I will just breifly explain what has happened. The last three months of my pregnancy were so long, just waiting for the little princess to come, and getting ready for her to be here. In November my mom, sister, aunt and cousin threw me a great shower, we got basically everything we needed and I got to see a lot of friends and family. We also got to see our best friends Travis, Kyla and little Hazel too! Also in November we spent a week at my aunt and uncles house while they were in Hawaii. I would have rather have gone to Hawaii but a nice big beautiful house was enough. We also spent Thanksgiving with Nicks family and went to Chuck O Rama, which was something way different and new for me, since with my family we always have it at someones house.

Then the week we had been waiting for for nine months came and no baby, my birthday which is also her due date came, and still no baby. After a week late of nights falling asleep crying, I went to my midwife and finally she suggested that I be induced since I wasn't making very much progress. So friday the 14th of December I went in and they inserted a balloon into my cervix and blew it up til it was about 4 centimeters. Then they taped it to my leg so it would dialate my cervix. After a long night at the hospital hoping that that would put me into labor, around 4 in the morning the baloon fell out and they started pitocin and a couple of hours later I still was only at five centimeters, so they uped the pitocin and broke my waters around 10ish. Then I started to feel the contractions regularly about a min apart sometimes sooner than that and when the nurse came to check me she said I was almost an 8. The contractions were very hard and I had back labor as well so I was in double the pain. I really wanted to do my hypnobirthing which is what I had been practicing for three months to do, and I tried really but it was so painful. The midwife came in to help me breath and focus but I was already out of it, I was tired and finally after being an 8 1/2 I asked for the epidural, something I said I would never do, but at the moment it was much needed. Lexi's heart rate was dropping plus Nick was getting that look in his eye, the look where you know they can't handle the pain your in anymore, so he said to do it. After I got it I could breath and relax, so nice after hours of not being able to. I had oxygen on and Nick by my side soothing me along with my nurse and midwife. I have to admit I did feel like a failure because it didn't go the way that I wanted. But with all my support telling me that it was normal for the first birth to go that way, I started to feel a little better. My cousin Merili came to see me, I got to be her first birth story( photographed birth) in which I was very greatful. My family came to see me even though they were sick, and I really just felt loved and greatful to be there. Anyways time went by and I was dialated to a 10, the nurse and midwife had me practice pushing. The first couple I could not feel anything, the epidural wiped out the bottom half of my body. So they had to take the epidural off so I could feel to push, that took forever, I felt like I was pushing for hours, and by the end I really had been. I was pushing for almost three hours. Then towards the end when she was crowning I felt everything becuase they hadn't put the epidural back on, and at 5:18pm our little girl was born. What a wonderful, amazing, extremely hard but totally worth it experience it was. I would do that again and again if I could get that experience again. I am so greatful to be a mother, I never knew I could love someone so much that I hadn't seen before. she was truely beautiful despite the gross goop all over her. Even though it didn't turn out the way I wanted, like the hypno birthing, Nick cutting the cord( she had to be rushed to the table because there was a little myconeum in), me holding her right away. I got the best experience in the world, holding Lexi in my arms with my loving husband and father by our side. I will try my best to keep updating my blog so my readers know whats going on in our lives. Until then

Love the Johnsons

The start of our birth story