My Little Haylee Bug

Uhm, I have four kids. Crazy. The other day Jake's sister was at our house and goes "I still can't believe you have four kids. I can vividly remember when you got married." Yeah, well it was only 5 years ago so that makes sense. Just a few days after Haylee was born was 6 years to the day that Jake and I met. Crazy.

Introducing Haylee Jill Kaleimana`o`i`o Logan
August 31 2015, 4:06pm
7lbs 4 oz, 19 inches long

So here is the story of Haylee's day! I'm going to start a few days before she was born. On Saturday August 29, I thought my water broke. When my water broke with Mikey it was very obvious but I've heard sometimes it's not as clear. So we called Jake's sister and went into the hospital and it was a false alarm. On our way to the hospital Jake's mom called and asked what we were doing and Jake was like uh errands. Haha. I'm such a freak about not telling people what's going on with my pregnancies. Ever since Adam didn't come when planned, I hate the idea of telling people I'm in labor until the baby is born. It was such a tough experience with Adam that I just keep it a secret. So we went back to our house, baby less. (ish, cause I mean I still had three at home) I was upset because I desperately wanted the baby born before September 1 but I convinced myself it wasn't a big deal. On Sunday night, Jake and I were laying in bed and I told him that we would probably go until the scheduled induction. That was tough for me because the entire pregnancy I was absolutely convinced that Haylee would come on her own and would come early. So it was upsetting to be so convinced that it was no longer going to happen that way. But I really was okay with it. I had gotten myself to that point.
The next morning, Jake got up and went to work and I sat at the table and made a list of things I wanted to do that day, I was scheduled to be induced on that following Thursday so I wanted to be on top of things around the house before that. The first thing I planned to do was scrub the kids bathtub. I was leaning over the tub and I thought I wet my pants. And I was so ticked. That hadn't happened with any of my previous pregnancies but I know that it's not uncommon for some. And then it kept coming. This was at 9:30a. They say to wait an hour before coming into the hospital if you think your water has broken to see if you are still leaking (a little at home test if you will) So, I waited. And I didn't call Jake because I didn't want to call him, have him come home, and then have him have to go back to work because sike! false alarm again. I finished the tub, did a few dished, laid on the couch and watched TV and then around 10:45a I started to have contractions. And they were terrible. I had been checked at the hospital on Saturday and I was at a 3, almost 4 and so I started to get worried because I go pretty fast once I get started. So I called Jake. Who works 45 minutes from our house. He answers his phone and I'm like uhm, my water broke. You need to call your sister and come get me. He was massively confused (which is funny because when my water broke with Mikey he couldn't really comprehend it either. I thought it was because it was the middle of the night but nope, it's just his natural reaction) About a half hour later, I called Jake back and was like dude, serious contractions. Drive fast. And he told me that he hadn't been able to get a hold of either of his sisters. So I started calling neighbors and no one was answering, well one did but she wasn't home. And I was so stressed out. What was I going to do with my kids! Jake got home and was trying to feed the kids as fast as he could (it was 11:30 now) and I was sweating so bad because my contractions were killing me. (I'm really not so tough. At all.) And I was almost in tears because I was so worried about everything. And then, Kindra called back. And it was lovely. I felt so much calmer knowing that we could drop the kids off and be on our way to the hospital. While we dropping the kids off with the Buras' I was trying to not show how much it hurt but I'm pretty sure she could tell haha. We finally got a hold of Jake's sister who agreed to pick the kids up from Kindra and everything was good. Except I was still in labor and it hurt. (again, such a baby guys.)
We got to the hospital a little before 1 and they put me in the little triage room to make sure that my water had actually broken and the whole time I was thinking, this is unnecessary. I know it broke and on the off chance it hadn't, these contractions are for real. But I didn't say that. I was just all polite and calm on the outside but on the inside, not so much. They checked me in and checked my cervix again and they were like okay you're so posterior we can't find it. And I was ticked. No, wait, what is like 4 steps past ticked? Because seriously, so painful and I hadn't even progressed enough for them to be able to find my stupid cervix! And I had decided I wanted to try it naturally (for financial reasons- Adam's finger is seriously expensive. Otherwise, I would've been all about the drugs. Huge proponent of epidurals. For reals. Just do it. You ain't got nothing to prove.) So I spent the next 2 hours in the most pain I have ever experienced. It was awful. The nurse taught Jake some pressure points to help with the pain but I think that's really just for the placebo effect, it didn't do anything for me. Finally, at 3:15, I told Jake I wanted an epidural. I was frustrated that I was giving up and it hadn't even been very long but you know what doesn't matter when you are in that much pain? Money. Medical bills. Previous plans and goals. All of those things meant nothing to me. So I told Jake to call the nurse and then I completely shut down. I sat in the bed and stared. At the wall. The ceiling. The floor. Wherever. And I didn't talk. At all. I couldn't. Jake tried to talk to me. Didn't matter. I could not come up with a response. I heard him talk to me. I comprehended it. But that was as far as I got.Then at 3:40 the nurse came in and asked if I wanted to be checked before I got the epidural. I just kept staring at the floor. Jake was like uh, we should probably just get the epidural. (I think he was actually pretty worried about me. In retrospect, I wish I would've been checked) So then, 20 minutes later the anesthesiologist got to my room. He started to talk to me and ask questions and I didn't care. And then him and the nurse were shooting the breeze, discussing the weather and kids and inside I was like "Seriously, shut up. Why are you talking. Just put in my epidural and leave. I don't care that you love September. I don't care that your wife had a baby a few months ago. I don't care." Which is a big deal because I am a nice person. I am actually typically interested in the random things people feel the need to share. I like talking to people and hearing about their lives. Random people. The people behind me at the grocery store check out line. Apparently, pain brings out a wonderful side in me.
So after 5 minutes of them talking and such, he tells me that he is just about to put in the initial shot of medicine and that I will feel relief in about 3 minutes. And I start screaming. For reals, I could not, could NOT contain this scream. I was in so much pain. My nurse helps put me back on the bed and checked me and was like oh man, she's ready. Call the doctor. Tell him to run. Then I screamed again. I hear the nurse say "This baby is coming now. Meredith if you need to push, then push." And  I was like I can't. I can't do it. The doctor isn't here, I can't push. Who is going to catch Haylee! (I only said the I can't do it out loud, the rest was inside) She was so calm and said, "Meredith you can do this. The medicine won't have time to start working. You can do this." And I was terrified. Jake was holding my hand and being so sweet, repeating over and over again that I could do this and I was doing great. The door opens, the doctor comes in, the nurse puts his gown on and his gloves are half on and Haylee was born! I pushed once. He barely had time to catch her. She was born at 4:06p. Two minutes before the epidural was supposed to start working. And it was awful. For real. What I learned from this experience -- it is not worth it to do it natural. Other women do it natural and are all like, Oh it's not that bad. I can do this. And then they have them all natural. Not me. Nope. Never again. I'm getting the epidural as soon as possible from here on out. Kudos to those women who say it's not that bad. They should get medals, awards, national holidays. I have unlimited respect for them. Because, in my humble opinion, it is THAT bad. Probably even worse.
Right after she was born, Jake ran out to the car to get the camera because I needed my picture of her on the scale and the doctor looked around and then says to me "Where's dad? Does he want to cut the cord?" I laughed a bit and said "Uh, he doesn't want to do that at all. Go for it." And the doctor was like "Oh cool. I get to do it. I never get to do this!" (Jake really does not want to do that at all. He has a very strict above the waist rule during labor. Looks either at my face or the ceiling.) Jake got back, my booster shot of the pain medicine started working (so yeah, I had to do it natural and we get to pay for an epidural. Awesome.) he took the picture of Haylee and then we waited for like 3 hours before the could move me to mother and baby because 1. my epidural was too strong for me to move, and 2. I had moderate bleeding so I had to hang out. So there you have it.

A few other random funny happenings.
1. Apparently, after I screamed the anesthesiologist ran from the room. Literally. According to the nurse, he really doesn't like labor.
2. There was a paramedic in training and a nursing student in the room to observe and I guess it really freaked them out. I heard the nurse say "Don't worry. We call this spontaneous labor. It's not normally like this."
3. Later the doctor came back to check on me and my bleeding and told me that he really did run from his office. Seriously, so glad he made it on time.
4. When I screamed. Jake grabbed my hand really tight. I think I really scared him. He does not like the whole labor experience and really does not like the medicine free experience.
5. I was texting my friend Tiffany because I had called her about watching the kids but I found someone else first and she was like "So I'm not sure how to ask this question but your water broke. Does anything at your house need to be cleaned up?" She's basically the best. For reals. I wrote a whole post about it. Read it if you haven't yet.
6.Also, here's a funny story. Like 4 days before Haylee was born Mikey comes up to me and says Mama, is Haylee going to hurt her bum? And I was like what are you talking about? And he goes, when she is born. Will it hurt her? Is she going to just fall onto the floor and hurt her bum? And he was so concerned about this. And so I explained that a doctor would be there to catch her and she would be okay. So this is extra funny. Now. Then it was not so funny.


So there you go. How Haylee got here. It was scary and stressful and felt much longer than it really was but it all worked out and eventually, one day, I'll probably have convinced myself it was wonderful. I am so grateful that she is here and healthy. I am grateful that I really am tougher than I thought. And I'm grateful for the hospital and all the staff that helped out. And most of all, I am SO grateful for Jake. He was such a big help and I just love him.

And now for some more pictures!

Thanks for reading!