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.