...and the story continues!!

So just when I think that nothing else could go wrong in the post-delivery recovery process, due to having a D&C right after having our little Paisley girl, I was wrong.

Very early Wednesday morning (July 29th around 1:30am) i'm up and feeding my lil peanut. Once she was done I did a diaper change, wrapped her back up and put her in her play pen. I then go to the washroom...

*Here is where you stop reading if you don't wanna hear about placenta tissue and blood*

and I discharge a huge glob. For a couple seconds I don't know what to do...I really don't want to get it out of the toilet...but figure I better!! Good thing we had some very long DQ blizzard spoons in our utensil drawer!!

I 'fish' it out and this thing it big! I'm talking 3" long and 1.5" wide. I get Irish up to get his opinion on what to do. I then make the call to Health Link (such a great thing!!) and after many questions and some 'experiments' the nurse tells me it's placenta tissue and that I need to see my Dr. within 24 hours.

That morning i am able to get in right away with my Dr who schedules an ultrasound for me that day....and this is where the waiting game begins!

I was told that my Dr should have the results in 3 hours...so I anxiously await a phone call...which doesn't come that day. The next morning I call in to see if they have my results...I just want to know either way!! The receptionist tells me that the results are on his desk and he has signed them (so at least we know that he's looked at them!). She tells me he is just in with a patient and will talk to him asap and then call me back.

An hour or so later she calls me and lets me know that he's not concerned with the results.

SO I now think i'm in the clear!!...wrong again....maybe?!

Today (Friday July 31st) is Paisley's first doctors appointment. We go to see our Dr (who by the way is Dr. Meyer, and he is the best doctor EVER!!) He checks her out, weighs her (she's now up to 5lbs 15oz!) and then asks me how i'm doing. He tells me that if I have an increase in flow or experiance any gushes of blood to call him right away, because the ultrasound showed that there might still be a little bit of tissue left, but not enough to be concerned.

OH and did I mention that Irish is not in lethbridge?...No he's doing a limo drive in calgary today AND tomorrow (saturday)...so he's spending the night in Calgary.

So I go and pick Marshall up from our friends place (The coolest friends EVER), go to my old work and show Paisley off, then go back home and have some lunch. A little while after we get home Paisley wants to eat, so I sit down and start to feed her...then I start to feel some gushing...from you know where. All I can think is "oh no...this can't be good" I go to the bathroom and sure enough i've just gushed some blood.

I call my Dr's office right away and he calls a gynaecologist, who tells him that instead of sending me in for another D&C right away, to try something first. SO my Dr faxes a perscription to a drug store and tells me to go pick it up and then go straight to his office.

At this time i'm watching our friends boy while they went to go and get a SIN card. I'm also somewhat emotional...okay i'm crying, and just wishing Irish was home with me! I call up my friends and explain what happened. They get to me as soon as they could. I am so greatful for wonderful friends like them and for the power of the priesthood! I asked Kipp for a blessing and he gave me one! Afterwords I felt more at peace, and knew everything was happening for a reason, and that it would all be okay! That Heavenly Father would be watching over me. I leave as soon as I can, pick up the perscription and then head over to my Dr's office.

So what happens now are these tablets that I just picked up...are going to be put in my cervix. Ya! They are suppose to make my cervix contract and if there is anything left in me, hopefully make it un-attach itself! He warns me that it will feel like i'm having mini contractions and that it is okay for me to take pain relievers. He also tells me that if after 3 hours I have any increase to my flow, or any more gushes to call him (he gave me his home and cell number) and then head to Emergency for a D&C and he would let them know I was on my way.

I go home....and wait for the contractions to start....almost 3 hours later and nothing has happened. I call to see if that is good or bad. He (my Dr) says that he isn't too sure, but he is more concerned about my blood flow, and tells me again to call him immediatley if I have any more gushing.

About half an hour after I called the office, I get up to go to the bathroom....and the contractions start!! Luckily I have great friends and they stayed with me allllll afternoon and evening, incase something happened!!

I am currently having them off and on...but no more gushes as of yet!!

I hope I can write 'The End' to this story shortly! But Paisley is eating well and gaining weight, so that is more than I can ask for!!

The Paisley Story

This one is all about Paisley and the progression on how she came into our family. So if you don't want to read about labour and delivery...then stop now.

I think where it all started is Thursday July 23rd. Irish got home from work early and suggested we go walk around the mall. Marshall was excited because we told him he could drive his own car around (those little carts they have to push your kids around). After spending a couple of hours walking around, we headed home. We arrived home to an OVEN. Our upstairs was soooo hot! We had been thinking about the possibility of switching Marshall's room to downstairs, and when we walked in to the oven we thought we better switch it (maybe he will even sleep better)!!

So we got started switching Marshall's room downstairs and my craft/irish's lego room upstairs. We got all of Marshall's things into the room and semi set up before it was time to go to our ward's Pioneer picnic!

That night...allll night I had minor back pain. I thought it was maybe from too much activity that day (walking at the mall, going up and down the stairs switching rooms, etc). It didn't even occur to me that I could be starting contractions until 6:30 that morning when Irish's alarm went off (and a back pain had just ended), he pressed snooze (which is for 5 min later) and when the alarm went off the second time my back started hurting again. When Irish's snooze went off the third time and it was starting up again...I told Irish he better go put the car seat in the car, before he left for work!! After an hour of watching the clock and contractions being an average of 5 min apart I went up stairs and told Irish I didn't think it was a good idea that he went to work that day. I ate something, and then jumped in the shower to see if things would slow down or if it would continue. Sure enough after the shower I was still experiencing the back pain.

I wanted to stay at home as long as I could before going to the hospital. I was still unsure if I was actually having contractions or not...as I still wasn't experiencing anything in the front. We spent the morning watching 'Horton Hears a Who' and 'Kung Fu Panda' with Marshall!

Contractions were becoming an average of 2.5 min to 3 min apart, lasting on average a minute. I was walking around up stairs when the phone rang and Irish answered it. He came upstairs saying it was for me...but at that moment I was having a contraction and told him to take a message! Turns out it was a nurse from the hospital calling to book a time for me to come in and pre-register at the hospital!! Irish told her "uhh, well she's actually going into labour right now..." to which her response was "...okay...I guess we will see you later today"

We had realized that we were running extremely low on diapers for Marshall...so after this phone call Irish asked me if I would be okay if he ran to Costco and got diapers. I told him "I think I'll be okay, just go there and come right back!!"

So not too long after Irish leaves to make a diaper, nursing pad run I have a contraction that lasts a minute and a half! I grab my phone and text him saying "I think we should go to the hospital as soon as you get back"

So in between contractions I change Marshall's diaper, get him dressed, finish packing my bag for the hospital and a bag for Marshall. We dropped Marshall off at our friends place (Kipp and Laura Boehme) around noon and head straight for the hospital.

The whole drive there (all 5 minutes of it) I just kept thinking 'I don't want to get sent home, I don't want to get sent home'. We arrive at emergency and go straight up to labour and delivery. Up until now, I hadn't been emotional at all, but as soon as we got off the elevator going down the hallway to the labour and delivery unit...I start to cry, I don't know why, but I cried!

They put me in an assessment room and check me. To my surprise the nurse tells me i'm 5 cm! (Which means I'M STAYING). I was placed in delivery room #1....cause I am #1...haha!

I spent the next couple of hours in the shower. The hot water felt great. Which is weird cause with Marshall the shower didn't do anything for me! In between contractions Irish and I were talking, he was cracking jokes, and we were both laughing...I thought to my self..."Should I actually be here yet? Do I have a long ways to go?!?!" Once I got closer to 'the end' I needed something for the pain! Morphine was my friend.

The nurse kept checking on us and told me that if I felt any pressure on my bum, or the urge to push that I was to call her right away and get out of the shower. The first time I felt pressure I got out and she checked me and I was about 7 cm. The second time she was about to check me, but I felt like I had to puke. So she waited...and was like "I think this is the 8 cm puke"...which never came. So once that 'died' down, she checked me and I was 8 going on 9 cm. They called the Doctor (Dr. Malach - who's office is right across the street from the hospital). He arrived and he was like "Okay Karley, you can start pushing anytime"

Now the weird thing here is that I still hadn't felt the urge to push, I just had the pressure in my bum. But with Marshall, I had the urge to push, and they kept telling me not to push (REALLY hard to do!!)

...So I gave it my best shot! Now up until now, I had kept it pretty much together! I was pretty calm and not very vocal. BUT once I started pushing...I guess you could say 'I lost it!' I think I was grabbing Irish's arm, and shirt...pretty much whatever I could get my hands on...until I had to use my hands to grab my legs.

Between my screaming, Irish trying to say the right thing, my nurse 'coaching' me, and my Dr and his residency Dr discussing things between them, I could barely process what anyone was telling me. I could hear my Dr. saying "Okay Karley give us a nice big push, hold that breath, and push...come on keep pushing" and then it felt like the next second he was saying "no stop, nice small pushes, that's it, just small ones" It's all kind of a blur and I remember just not being able to concentrate. Until my nurse said "Karley, you need to relax your legs" and then the next thing she said was "Karley, Karley - Look down"....so (I think I pretty much had my eyes closed during the whole pushing thing) I opened my eyes looked down and I could see this little head, and with one more push @ 2:36pm our baby girl was born (18 days early) weighing 6lbs 1oz, measuring 18 3/4" long....and what felt like forever....was probably the longest 4 minutes of my life!

They placed this beautiful tiny baby on my tummy. All I remember is she felt so incredibly warm and soft. For some reason I remember the smell, and I never thought it would be like this, but she smelled so good. I had a huge rush of emotions and began to cry....again....but these were happy tears! (and somewhere in there Irish was able to cut the cord).

I kept thinking to myself and telling Irish "We have a girl....Irish we have a baby girl"

And then this whole beautiful, blissful moment came to a screeching halt when they started pushing on my tummy to get the placenta out! Now my placenta(s) must really like me, as this one didn't want to come out, some of it came out...but it was in chunks. After a while of causing me almost more pain than I was in during labour they decided I better go have a D&C to get all of it out.

I had retained placenta with Marshall as well...although I didn't know it until 4 days after he was born...and it didn't get taken care of until he was a week old...but that is a different story for another time!

After spending almost an hour with my beautiful baby girl, I was taken to the O.R. to have the D&C while my lil girl got to have some bonding time with her Daddy.

Later that evening Marshall was able to come and meet his little sister. The whole thing was really quite cute. At first he kept calling her baby Otto (his cousin who is 2 months older than Paisley), we kept telling him that this is his little sister, the baby that was in mommy's tummy.

He was pretty excited about it. (As you can see from the pictures!)

And that is how it happened!



For more pictures check out our facebook albums.

I surrendered?!

Before we ever had Marshall, I told myself that I would never use a portable potty. There was NO way I was going to deal with that! I didn't like the idea of dumping the 'waste' from one potty to another, when it could just as easily of been done in the big one!

Our first purchase of a toilet seat was the plain blue and white first years one...it was alright except there was not a pee guard...which is a must if you have a boy!



Our second purchase for a toilet seat was a Cars Lightning McQueen one, which Marshall LOVES, and it has the BEST pee guard I've seen so far!...The only problem is that there is no way, even with the help of a stool that Marshall can get on or off (without doing some serious damage) by himself!




After a week and a bit of spending a lot of time sitting on the bathroom floor (I almost began to think we lived in there), I thought, there has to be an easier way! It might not be so bad if I wasn't 37 weeks pregnant...but I AM!

So after talking to some much more experienced potty trainers than myself...I gave in...I surrendered to the portable potty!



And I must say, that it isn't as bad as I thought. In fact it has made potty training on ME a lot easier! Marshall can get on and off by himself, I can continue to proceed with what needs to be done during the day, and Marshall doesn't feel as though he will be missing anything by taking time to go and sit on the potty...as he is right in the middle of all the action!

Although he still doesn't tell me when he needs to go to the bathroom (i hope this comes soon) I am pretty darn proud of my boy! He is filling up is pee and poo chart, and is spending all day (except for nap) in his big boy Lightning McQueen/Spiderman/NBA ginch and LOVES IT!

He did it!

I'm so proud of my little guy right now! He just went #2 on the Potty!! I feel now as if we are going somewhere!! Let's hope this happiness continues all day :)

(Sorry there are no pictures of this one...but I don't think anyone will be too upset!!)

OH what a day...of First's

Yesterday was an eventful day for Marshall! He experienced a lot of first's!

-first real day of being potty trained
-first time falling off the potty (He did hit his head on the counter, but I think it scared him more than anything)
-first accident...not near the potty (After this he went a got a diaper and was 'begging' me to put it on him...)
-first time burning his hand on the stove top element (after I had said "don't touch, it is hot")




...Like I said, it was an eventful day...

This morning we continued with the potty training process. Marshall was pretty excited that he got to wear Lightning McQueen and Mater underwear!! Today he experienced his first time peeing on the potty! He was pretty happy about it and as a result of this he got to put a sticker on his chart, and get a brand new Hot Wheels car....

After breakfast he went back on the potty in hopes that he would do a #2, after being on the potty for at least 25 min we figured he didn't have to go, he said he didn't have to go....only to go and sit up at the table two seconds later and pee all over the chair!

...We aren't quite sure if he is ready for this whole big thing quite yet! We're not stopping all together...just maybe not wearing 'big boy' underwear all day! We will see how it goes!!