Sandberg Family

I feel like I can't post pictures of our little miss until I've documented the birth story. So for any of you who are curious, here's the story!

I woke up around 1:30 am on June 22nd (this was very normal), so I went to the bathroom, got my drink of water and settled back into bed. When I woke up the next time, I was surprised that it had only been half an hour since I last woke up. I got up again, then back to bed as usual. As I was lying there, all the sudden my stomach felt a little sick so I got up and went into the bathroom just in case. I realized that I wasn't actually sick, I was possibly having contractions! I wasn't sure what they would feel like but had been told that I would definitely know when they came. So I waited to see what would happen. Soon, I realized I was definitely cramping and got a little excited (I was 6 days overdue) that I might not be huge and pregnant much longer. I started timing the contractions and was surprised that they were coming about every 2 1/2 - 3 minutes. Wow. Dr. Astle had told us to head in to the hospital when contractions were about every 3 minutes. I decided a quick shower was probably not a great idea, so I hurried and put on a little mascara and straightened my hair a bit while timing to make sure the contractions were pretty consistent. They were. They were also getting more and more intense!

I went back into our room and sat down by Jaren who was fast asleep. I nudged him awake and told him that I thought I was having contractions and that they were pretty close together. He got up, went to the bathroom and then got back into bed. I had another contraction about then that was pretty intense and Jaren said, "guess I probably shouldn't get back in bed huh?" He got up and grabbed a few things for my bag, woke up his parents and we were off to the hospital! I was scared the whole time that once we got there, the nurses would tell me that I wasn't really in labor and send me home.

Once we got there, around 3:30 am, the nurses hooked me up to the monitors in the observation room to make sure I was in labor. At this point, the nurse checked me and said, "I'm gonna call it a 3+. We'll come back to check you in an hour and if you have progressed to a 4 you can stay." So we sat and chatted with Jaren's parents and a nurse for an hour, while contractions were getting pretty intense. I held on to the head of the bed really hard to help distract myself from them. After the hour, around 4:30 am, the nurse came in and told me that they were going to admit me, they could tell from my reaction to the contractions that they were very strong and that labor was progressing. THANK YOU!! She checked me and I was now at a 4. It was time!!

The nurse had me walk down to the delivery room and although it was maybe only 100 feet away, it was a REALLY long walk. I started to feel a little pressure with contractions, which was slightly alarming, and they were starting to hurt! I got settled in the bed and told the nurses that I would take an epidural as soon as possible, so they got going on my IV. The nurse could only find a vein in my elbow crease, so I could not bend my left arm the whole time. Then she put the blood pressure cuff on my right arm, so I couldn't really move either one! After some IV fluids, the anesthesiologist finally made it in around 5:15 am. I vaguely remember him handing me a consent form and taking his sweet time telling me all about the risks of epidural anesthesia. Don't care, just get it in me!! Jaren let me put my feet on his knees while they placed it. I have a slight fear of needles, so was very nervous about this part! As he were placing it, I had some very intense contractions plus the strange pressure in my back from the placement of the epidural, so I was trying not to cry, but getting a little worked up. All the sudden, I hear Jaren say, "Nurse, I have to sit back! I'm not going to make it!!" His face was white as a sheet. The nurse grabbed my legs as Jaren recovered on the couch. They got him a big glass of juice and he perked right up. It was a perfectly timed distraction and the anesthesiologist finished up while I was busy making sure Jaren was ok. Once the epidural kicked in, I was a much happier girl. I felt like it was cheating a little to feel so great! The anesthesiologist came in a bit later to check on me and I told him he was my favorite person in the whole world! After the epidural was in, a doctor came and broke my water. This was around 5:30 and she told me that I was now at a 5. Her prediction was that we would have a baby by noon.

About 15 minutes later the nurse came in with a nice oxygen mask for me because the baby's heart rate was dropping with contractions. She said they were going to wait to give me any pitocin until the heart rate stabilized. At 6:00, we got a new nurse with change of shift. She came in and told us that the contractions were very steady about 2 minutes apart and that she didn't think I would need any pitocin. She also showed us that the baby's heart rate was doing much better with the oxygen and things looked great. She came in again around 6:30-6:45 and was about to leave when Jeri Dell asked when they would check me again. The nurse said usually every hour, and asked if I wanted her to check now. Jeri Dell and I said yes at the same time. So she checked.... looked at the monitor and said, "Well, are you ready to have a baby?" I though she was joking. I looked at Jaren incredulously and asked the nurse, "Are you serious?!" She told me that I was at a 10 and just had to thin out a tiny bit more but that the baby would be here soon. She said if I wasn't feeling like I needed to push, they would let the baby's head drop for 45 minutes or so and then I would start pushing.

So they set everything up, called Dr. Astle, and we waited. Around 8:00 am, everyone filed in and they got us all set up to deliver the baby. Jaren got up and was helping to hold my leg. I pushed through a contraction and Jaren suddenly got light headed again, and had to sit down and drink a little more juice. Pushed through another contraction and the Dr. said he could see hair! Dr. Astle told Jaren to get back up or he might miss it. A third contraction came, I pushed until Dr. Astle said, "Stop!" Jaren told me the cord was around Aisley's neck, so Dr. Astle flipped it off, one more push and Aisley was born! 8:24 am on June 22. They put little Aisley on my chest to dry her off and I was in love! She was so perfect, and tiny, and beautiful! I was a little surprised at how heavy she felt! Jaren cut the cord and she started to cry. What a sweet sound! I got to hold her sweet little hand and love her!!

After a minute, they took her to weigh and measure her. Everyone was surprised when she weighed in at a whopping 8 lbs 12 oz! And was 20 1/2 inches long. She had a full head of dark, wavy hair and immediately started chunching on her fists. Hungry from the first minute! Jaren got to hold her and help give her her first bath. And then it was done! We love our sweet little girl so much! The End. :)

Jaren and his "mini me"

Our Little Family

The nursing staff told us that Aisley had the most hair they had ever seen on a white baby!

Time to go Home!

It has been a long time since I have posted, but the time has flown by. Just for fun (and to copy a good friend, Paige) I wanted to post my belly photo timeline! It is so fun to look back and think that it was our sweet little girl in there all that time. I will post more about our sweet little Aisley soon!