Alice Olivia's Birth, Grandma LaDene's story

A PERFECT DAUGHTER FOR MY PERFECT DAUGHTER!!

After never letting my cell phone out of my hearing for a few weeks -paranoid about missing the phone call, the day finally came when Alice decided to make her grand entry!

The beginning of the event

Nathan and VaRonica came to our house about 6 p.m. March 21^st (as we live close to the hospital) to meet so he and VaRonica could go out to dinner one last time before becoming official parents. When they got back to our house about 8:15 VaRonica called the hospital and was told she could now come in for her induction at 9 pm. The “about to be mom”, the “about to be dad” and the about to be Alice’s “Sellers grandparents” all headed for the hospital.. As most of the “paper-work” had been previously completed VaRonica was quickly settled in Room 325 right after her arrival. Her first nurse was Jenna she was friendly and very efficient. Jesse (the sister-in law) and the other part of the support team arrived shortly thereafter and “Grandpa Sellers” went home

The Middle: Somewhat less than a half hour after having her induction medication VaRonica started labor but as the contractions were hard the baby’s heart rate dropped. The nurse called Dr. Thackeray then following his instructions VaRonica was given another shot to slow things down.

At about 3 am VaRonica’s water broke. She knew it did anyway but the next nurse on duty and a fluid test decided that didn’t happen-it really did- the expectant mom knew her body! When the nurse checked her she told her Alice had had a bowel movement and because of that and the heart rate Alice needed to arrive soon or a C-Section would be needed. VaRonica’s body seemed to respond to orders that Alice must arrive quickly so contractions were now unbelievably close together, seemingly not even allowing her to breathe between each long and hard pain. As her mom, I really wanted VaRonica to ask for an epidural for pain, but for once I kept my mouth shut! I was really afraid that as hard and as close as the contractions were that VaRonica would have no energy left to push Alice out when the time finally arrived. I envisioned several more hours of hard labor followed by hours of pushing. Finally, at a little after 7 am VaRonica asked for an epidural! Yea! As her mom it was hard to see her in so much pain but amazing to see how well she was handling everything. The Dr. that did her epidural was quick and professional even though the body racking pains were so close together. About 20 minutes later when VaRonica could again lay still enough the nurse checked her and she had dilated to a 9. Yep- we knew during the last those few hours the contractions had to be doing something spectacular! Dr. Thackeray came in and checked her then told her he would be back in about an hour. It didn’t take that long until she was at the magic number 10 and was ready to push. Dr. Thackeray was again called and came quickly and got everything set up. At that point Jessi and I got to start helping by supporting VaRonica’s legs while she pushed. Both the nurse and the Dr. said she was doing a fantastic job pushing but Dr. Thackeray found Alice was posterior so pushing wasn’t as productive as it should have been. Dr. Thackeray tried to turn Alice about three different times but as she was perfectly comfortable in the position she was in she wouldn’t turn so he said Alice now needed help to arrive quickly. After discussing options with VaRonica they decided on an episiotomy and a vacuum. The nurse then called two respiratory therapists and an NICU nurse to remain in the room. Yea for my strong daughter and her strong baby-a couple of more pushes Alice was out and I was allowed to cut the cord! Alice was quickly handed from the Dr. directly to the NICU nurse then all three of the specialists quickly cleaned her up and checked her out. As everything was great I was then able to carry my new granddaughter across the room to her mom. Alice didn’t need to be taught what to do as she began breast feeding as soon as her mom held her. YEA!

THE REAL BEGINNING

Alice Olivia Little was born at 11:05 am on 3-22-12. She really is a pretty baby. She has dark brown hair long that is long in the back. She found her tongue and started sticking it out and wiggling it right away. She also found her fist and could be heard “slurping on it” very quickly. Her most remarkable features (at a few hours old) are how intently she stares at whoever is talking to her, her long fingers and her long slender feet.

I’m sure I’ve neglected to include a lot of important things so just a few more items:

1) VaRonica has a supportive and caring husband- in spite of his aversion to needles and blood he stayed with her throughout

2) VaRonica is very lucky to have such a great OB. He is very caring, and professional offering her options and alternatives but letting her make decisions. He even gave her a darling pink baby bib that said “Special Delivery by Dr. Thackeray”

3) VaRonica allowed her mom and sister-in law to be part of her support team.

4) IMC has great staff

5) Nathan’s parents who drove down from Montana arriving very shortly after Alice’s birth

6) VaRonica’s dad who, following VaRonica’s wishes, went out and brought back Sushi for VaRonica before Alice was even two hours old!

One week ago today... Jessi's thoughts

Dear Alice,


I was lucky enough to be part of your birth day, and it was an incredible and awesome experience. In fact, I was brought to tears as the doctor caught you, and then I got to take your very first pictures! Let me tell you, the camera loves you and your thick black hair, chubby cheeks, and blue eyes.


Alice, my dear, you were a little late coming to the party, so the doctor gave your mom some medicine to start things happening. Your mom and you responded like champs, and only ended up needing one dose, instead of three, and no additional medicine.


There were a couple of moments there when your heart rate would go too fast or too slow, but you were quick to regulate and I never doubted you would get here safely. I was impressed how quickly you arrived once things were going, especially for it being your mom's first pregnancy.


I was also so impressed with your mom. She was a champion. It was so amazing to watch her respond to the pain in a completely calm and natural way. I never doubted that she was going to be able to deliver you, but seeing her do it, was one of the most memorable things I have ever seen.


You weighed 7 lbs and 2 oz, and were 21 and half inches long. I think everyone noticed how long you were and how much hair you had first. You had a big healthy cry, and an awesome suck. In fact, I think that is your number one favorite activity right now- nursing. You were a natural from the start. It was so cool to see you want your mama and latch on right away.


It was also really sweet to see your mom, dad, and grandparents get to hold you. Everyone is totally head over heals in love with you. Your uncle Dalan even held you on your first day, and the only other newborn he has ever wanted to hold is Quinn. That is a pretty big honor.


Quinn is totally in love with you too! She wants to give you pats every second that she is around you. She tells us "shhh" when we ask about you to remind us that you were sleeping. She gave you a big bear hug around the neck that made me a little nervous, and yelled at your mom in baby speak to take care of you when you were crying. When we told her you were hungry, she said, "yogurt, yogurt.". I hope the two of you will be the best of friends.


I love you so much little Alice Olivia, and I was so honored to be part of your big day! You and your mom were awesome, and I know I will never forget your birth day!


Love,


Auntie Jessi

It was rough, but i would do it all again.

Wednesday March 21

This morning VaRonica got up and went to work, yup she is still going to work, and I had some last minute things I had to wrap up. But mainly I wanted to have a relaxing day before the madness to come.

I started my day off with some light video gaming. Then I took Sir on an hour-long walk, it was a very nice day. I wanted to tire him out because he was spending the night by himself. I then procrastinated for another short time with video games. P.S. I had some really great games.

It was soon time to start getting everything done. I started slowly, which now looking back I should have done the errands and chores before playing games. After slowly doing this and that, I realized that I needed to pick up my feet. An hour latter I realized that I needed to really move in order to meet with VaRonica on time. For the most part I got everything done that I needed to.

I then drove to VaRonica’s parents and met her there. From there I took VaRonica out on a date to the Olive Garden. This was where I took VaRonica on our first date. Thought it would be appropriate for two reasons. This will be our last time going out before Alice is born. Also I thought VaRonica needed to carbo load. Did I mention that in my haste I forgot to bring my wallet?

We checked into the hospital about 8:30 or 8:45 ish pm. VaRonica’s mother and sister in-law Jessi joined us to complete our birthing team. They started by placing a Hep-Lock into the back of her hand, which meant I took a walk down the hallway so I wouldn’t pass out. Shortly after that she received her first dose of her “ripening” medication. The nurses and doctors mentioned several times that it would take four doses and then she would begin the Pitocin.

After a half hour from the first dose, VaRonica began having contractions. Another half an hour she was in full labor. Starting off mild, they grew stronger as the night went on. It wasn’t long until VaRonica was having contractions one after another, with little or no rest time between.

Thursday March 22

Because of the frequency of the contractions VaRonica was given a medication that would counteract the “ripening” medication.

At about 5 am I needed a rest, and passed the torch of support over to Jessi, my sister in law. She looked after VaRonica and I layed down on the couch to rest for a little bit. I love the wormed blankets they have here. But instead of grabbing a blanket, I accidentally grabbed a few receiving blankets (which are small). It is possible that I got about a half an hour of sleep.

By 6 am VaRonica’s contractions had become so painful that she asked for an epidural. It took about a half hour to get someone in to place the epidural. Once again at that time I stepped outside. Maybe it was my fried nerves, or because I was so tired, but I do know that watching VaRonica in that much pain was one of the hardest things that I have ever done. Once I stepped outside and away from everyone I started to cry, just for a moment.

Once the epidural started to work, we were hoping for a moment of respite. VaRonica was now dilated to about 9 cm, and we all started speculating what time Alice would be born. Jessi guessed she would be born around 11:30, she was the closest. VaRonica only got a short rest before she rang for the nurse and told her that she felt like she needed to start pushing.

With the nurses instructions we began to help VaRonica push. But after only a few times, she explained that Alice’s heart rate was slowing every time and it concerned her. She stepped out to call VaRonica’s doctor. Doctor Thackery joined us and we began to help VaRonica with pushing again.

As previously mentioned, I get a little squeamish with blood and needles, and I have also been known to faint. Twice I almost passed out, and two other times I was nauseous. Alice had stopped making any progress, so the doctor used a vacuum to assist. I glanced down and the doctor was holding the compression switch and his gloves were covered in blood. This was the first time I felt nauseous. When Alice came out I had to look. And as I did I had to sit down, this was the first time I almost passed out, (I think I was mainly relieved and happy) I also teared up a little. Moments latter the doctor threw something into a plastic container. Because of the movement I glanced at what he was doing, it happened to be the placenta. This was the second time I felt nauseous. And almost immediately after that I accidentally noticed that the doctor was suturing VaRonica. I saw the curved needle, and his hands covered in blood, the second time I almost passed out.

Jessi began her second task, official photo taker. Alice was handed to VaRonica and after a short time to me. The first thing that I noticed was her eyelashes, the second thing would probably be her blue eyes. Then Alice began to make the rounds to everyone who wanted to hold her. It was at this time that my parents made it to the hospital. We were moved to our new room, and the nurses began to check both VaRonica and Alice, both are healthy and doing well.

When everything slowed down, VaRonica told me to go home and take a nap. I didn’t want to leave them, but I was a zombie. My parents took me to Paradise Bakery for lunch, then we went to my home and I went to bed.

My mother woke me up at about 9 pm, and asked if I was planning on heading back to the hospital. I was shocked and felt a little guilty that I slept so long (maybe four or five hours, I don’t remember now). While I was sleeping my parents took Sir on an hour and half walk, he loves my parents.

I got back to the hospital and cuddled with VaRonica and Alice for a while. Then I insisted that I take care of Alice while VaRonica got some rest. She slept for about two hours, the longest she slept in two days.

Personalities... Thoughts?!?!

This is a long post and might be boring to some, but I want to remember these things later on, so take it or leave it if you want.

When do you think people get their personalities? I haven’t really given it much thought before now. Things change in the way your brain works when there is a little mutant (or baby however you want to look at it) is growing inside of you. As for me I have decided that Alice already has her own little personality and I can say without a doubt that I am a little worried! Alice already has a n activity level, knows what she like in order to relax, knows who she is going to listen to and who she isn’t, and likes certain foods a lot!

Lets start with the most notable… Alice is a mover and a shaker; she is a partier and a night owl. Alice moves a lot, which I love. It is an odd sensation at first, feeling little bubble like motions in my lower abdomen. Now it is punching, kicking shoving her butt knees and shoulders into odd places as well as using her foot to play my ribs like a musical instrument. *it is important to note that I was very unclear that a person could be tickled from the inside, but this last move mentioned where she likes to play musical instruments with my insides literally makes me laugh out loud due to the tickling sensation that it sends all up and down my side. Alice starts to move around 7:30 am and doesn’t stop until about 10:00. She then starts up again about 3:00pm and keeps it up until about 6:00. Now her evening nap doesn’t last long because around 8:30pm she is up for her real party for the day and doesn’t stop until around 11:00 or if she is feeling really spunky she stays up until past midnight. The night party is the most extreme, anyone in the room can see my belly poke out and squirm around during this time and if your hand is anywhere near my tummy be aware that it will be thrown off!

She loves and relaxes with; showers, water aerobics and being sang to while dancing around the house. Now I am unsure if she actually relaxes, falls asleep or just gives me a few moments of un-noticed movement during these activities. Also these activities also relax me and I love them. First who doesn’t love a hot shower? Well when I take a hot shower Alice chills out a while and just lets me relax and feel a few moments rest, I love it and I think she does too! Water aerobics, I started this activity at the end of November and I can’t tell you how wonderful it is. I take a pre-natal class at the Tosh Physical Therapy Pool and I go 2 days per week. The classes are taught by physical therapists and are a good work out without the pressure or stress of the extra baby weight hurting your body. With this activity I can tell that Alice falls asleep and that it is relaxing to her as well as feels good for me. If you have never lived with me you might not know this, but I love to dance and sing as I do things around the house. I make up my own songs about what I am doing, I sing old songs that just happen to be stuck in my head and I absolutely love to sing random songs but add peoples names into the songs. As I do this I make up little jigs and dance. I have found that when I do this Alice just chills and listens to me.

That being said Alice doesn’t; listen to me, ever and sometimes listens to Nathan. I have asked her more times than I can count to “move down” or “just drop already” so that I can breath. I have asked her to not jump on my bladder at times and to move her little limbs out of my ribs when they get stuck and are painful. She doesn’t listen to any of these kind requests, even when I explain how it would be helpful for both of us. When I move her myself she just goes right back to where she was without any hesitation. I am not sure that this is a good sign. It use to be when Nathan would touch my belly or ask her to move for him she would not respond/ stop moving all together which in some ways is her not listening to him too. However when Alice is going really crazy and not letting me sleep at night if he talks to her and asks her to calm down she moves for a little more then calms herself down which is her listening to him, right?

She already has a love hate relationship with Sir Winston and absolutely loves fresh fruit and butternut squash ravioli. Sir is my first child and in some ways is getting use to the idea that something else is going to take over as the baby of the house. He can no longer climb all over me (I don’t let him step on my belly or sleep on it). As he attempts to cuddle up on my lap he enjoys putting his back up against my tummy, but once he is there for a few minutes Alice decides to start picking on him. She starts to kick him push him and in general keep him from relaxing. She does like it when I am laying down and Sir nestles in and she can lay on top of him a little, when in this position she doesn’t seem to mind him being close at all. Sir at times becomes very interested in my belly as it moves and shakes with Alice. Alice loves food and I have found that she especially loves fresh fruit. I know all babies like this because of the sugar but she really really loves fresh fruit and goes nuts any time I eat it. If the fruit is canned or in juice form she is not as excited about it. I learned the hard way that Alice is in love with butternut squash ravioli. I had it for dinner, a late dinner one night and she didn’t stop moving, hitting pushing and kicking for over 4 hours. I am not lying and it was the hardest she has ever partied. It was funny at first but after midnight when she still wouldn’t stop I made a very clear note to myself and Nathan that I would never eat a late dinner of the ravioli again!

So in essence I have now decided that once a baby’s brain is intact, they can move and respond to things their personality starts to show. I do think that personalities change and morph throughout time but they start a lot earlier than I had ever imagined!

Our Baby Girls Photo Shoot!

Today despite being sick I went to my 20-week ultrasound. It was definitely worth it, we got to see our lovely little baby girl (who has yet to be named). Everything looks good, she is developing well, her heart and head look perfect. No problems with her spine or lip (no cleft palate) and her size is on target for a due date of March 14,2012 (one day earlier that we were originally told). And here she is…

Her face and big belly

Her cute little profile!

Chillin looking all comfy

Look at her long fingers

The only little picture of her legs crossed... the rest she was flashing her lady parts all over!

I hope that everyone is fine with all of the baby talk and posts, but that is what is going on in our lives and it means a lot to us to share this with everyone.

Lots of love being sent to all of you, as we hope that love is being sent to us and the baby!

Gender Reveal Party!!!

So many people have been interested in what this whole party thing is all about. Well thanks to my amazing, creative and always down for a party sister-in-law, Jessica Sellers, I now know what a gender reveal party is. Apparently it is a new trend that I personally think is awesome! Parents to be head in for the ultrasound and gain all the information with the exception of the gender. The doctor or tech is asked to write the gender of the baby in a card and seal it in an envelope. The parents then either ask a friend or family member to help with the party, or they just take the card straight to a bakery. There are different ways to reveal the gender but it seems that hiding the gender of the baby in the center of a cake or cupcake has been the most popular. Then everyone, family friends and parents all get to find out the gender together when the cake is cut or the cupcakes are eaten.

When Jessi told me about this type of party I knew that we had to have one. Nathan agreed that it would be fun (really I am sure that he just agreed because his pregnant wife wanted to do it, but either way he agreed J ) so we started planning. We invited some of our close friends and family to attend, we also enlisted a sister-in-law in Montana, Rebekah Little, to also help in our little plan. Rebekah and Jessi were in charge of knowing the gender, not telling anyone and getting a cake with either blue or pink icing inside to the big events one in Salt Lake City and one in Montana. I don’t have any pictures of the Montana festivities yet but here are some from the Utah party.

We had so much fun and at the party and Skypeing with the Montana family during their party!!! We had everyone pick what gender they thought the baby would be and wear the corresponding blue or pink. In Utah we had a little competition between the pink and blue team, each team had to pop balloons to find baby items written inside, the first team to get everything needed to change a diaper and bring it to the judge, me, won. Now the winning team gets their picture first on this blog!!!

And finally for the big reveal…

And the new addition to the Little family is a GIRL!!!!!

Normal or Hypochondriac you decide!

So I am usually not one to worry about the small things or changes in my body, but I am now realizing that this is changing. This use to be Nathan’s thing, to find oddities and obsess about it over and over until he was sick because of it, but I guess it is my turn.

I can recall one time in the past that I was entirely convinced that I had Marfan’s Syndrome for those who want more info on this please refer to http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/marfan-syndrome/DS00540 . Now I do feel it necessary to add that I do have 6 out of the 8 symptoms of Marfan’s Syndrome, it was about 3:00 in the morning and once my mom got on the phone and told me she was sure I didn’t have it I dropped the subject.

Now a days I am less worried about Marfan’s and more concerned with;

possible stretch marks all over my body, and being here so early in my pregnancy

the odd mole that I never knew was on my tummy until it is now tripled in size

how my tummy is soft and squishy on top but rock hard on the bottom

if I am getting enough water, because drinking water has been increasing my heartburn so much I want to scream!

the food I am eating and if it is going to affect the little one in one way or another

if my feet are swelling, and if it is too early for my feet to swell

I am sure that there have been more odd things that I am now hyper vigilant about but this is all I can think about now. So the question that I have for all of you is did you get worried about these types of things when you were pregnant? Is this typical for first pregnancies or for those who have struggled to get pregnant? Or am I just turning into a Hypochondriac?