Aubrielle Elyse Kelly

Four or five days before Aubri was born I began having Braxton Hicks each evening.  The contractions would last 5-6 hours but never get closer than 7-8 minutes apart. Sunday our whole family, including my mom, went to Calvary’s fall festival.  I began having contractions while we were there but they were inconsistent.

Around 9:00 pm I started timing the contractions because they got a bit stronger.  However, I was very skeptical that true labor was beginning because of the Braxton Hicks I’d had every other night.  Around 10:30 Josh went and got our toiletry bag and told me to “get in the van.”  He was very adamant that he had one job, to get me to the hospital without having the baby in the van and he wanted to do his part well.

We arrived at Rex at 11:45 p.m. and checked into triage.  Upon the initial check the doctor said I was only 3.5cm dilated and that I could not be admitted yet.  The same thing happened with Eli so I asked permission to start walking.  The doctor said that after one hour he would check me again.

At 12:30 a.m. I started speed walking the halls of the hospital.  I’m so thankful for my husband because although I was in pain from the contractions and uncomfortability, he was being his normal self and making me smile and laugh.  At one point he started making fun of me because my 2^nd hospital gown (the one that covered my bottom) was flying like a cape behind me because we were walking so fast.  He pulled out his phone and started trying to video me.  I was laughing so hard that I could not tell if I had peed on myself or if my water had broken.  At another point, one of the women on the cleaning crew stopped to tell us she’d seen a lot of pregnant women walking the halls trying to induce labor but we were by far the fastest walkers she’d ever seen.  We just laughed and kept going.

At 1:30 a.m. the nurse ran a test and confirmed that my water was slowly leaking (and that I hadn’t just peed on myself). The doctor came in, checked me and was surprised that I had progressed to 5cm.

At 1:50 a.m. we were admitted to room 240.  I took a quick shower because I literally had been sweating we were walking so quickly.  The nurse went ahead and prepped me for an IV.

By 3:00 a.m. my contractions were 3 minutes apart.  At 3:30 a.m. the doctor confirmed I was 7cm dilated.  We were excited things were progressing pretty quickly.  In comparison to other labors this one was going really well.  The contractions we not as horribly strong as they had been in the past but I certainly had to concentrate a lot more.  The nurse recommended that if I wanted to get an epidural, now was the time.

At 3:45 a.m. I requested Staidol.  It always amazes me how quickly that stuff takes effect.  All I remember is Josh and the nurse making fun of me.   Soon after I got good and loopy, the anesthesiologist came in to give me the epidural.  He was an extremely young looking guy but he did an amazing job.   It was as painless as it can be and it took effect quickly in the exact right spots.   Funny enough I always have more anxiety over the epidural than any other part of labor and delivery so I was glad that everything went well.  By this point I was very relaxed.  We turned out the lights and I tried to rest as much as I could.  I was thankful Josh was able to get a couple hours of sleep.

Around 5:45 I told the nurse that I thought labor would progress quicker if the doctor would go ahead and break my water.  So, around 6:00 a.m. the doctor came in, told me I was still only at 7 cm, and then broke my water.  She left but the nurse stayed with me.  She sat down and we chitchatted for about 25 minutes until she said she had to go complete her paper work before getting off at 7:00 a.m. 

Not two minutes after she left I started to feel the urge to push.  So, around 6:30 I woke up Josh, paged the nurse, and asked her to get the doctor.  The nurse came in and began prepping the room for delivery; however, the doctor had just gone in with another woman who was delivering at the same time.  She tried to tell Josh to keep my legs closed and to not allow me to push.  I told her “That’s not how it works.”  LOL Fortunately, our nurse was able to find another doctor who had happened to show up early for his 7:00 shift.  The second he walked in the room and put on his scrubs I announced to everyone I was pushing on the next contraction.

At 6:46 a.m. on October 31^st 2016 sweet baby Aubrielle Elyse Kelly was born!  I was thrilled to finally have her in my arms.  There is nothing like holding your newborn in your arms.  I can’t believe the Lord has given me that blessing and joy four times now!  How amazing.  Soon after Josh cut the umbilical cord and she was wiped off, I was able to try nursing her.  She didn’t latch immediately but I just enjoyed taking in her beautiful chubby cheeks.  She looked so tiny and yet so big for a newborn.  We were amazed at all of her long black hair!

At 7:45 a.m. she was given a bath and her initial shots.  We were told that she weighed 8 pounds and 7 ounces and was 21 inches long.  We began sending out text messages to friends and family announcing our great news!

Around 9:30 am we were moved to room 211.  Once we got settled I tried nursing again and she took quickly.  I was so encouraged.   We ordered breakfast and made arrangements for my mom to bring Addilyn, Josiah, and Eli to come visit. 

Others that came to visit during out hospital stay included, Becca, Rion and Kristen, Joy and her kids, Sarah, Mara, and Susu.

We got to take Aubri home the morning of Wednesday, November 2^nd!!!