The Murdock Family

Pictures to come!

Saturday, May 6, 2017
To be *induced*, or not to be....: If you read my pregnancy post, then you are well aware of my high blood pressure issues towards the end of my pregnancy (beginning at 36w 3d). Since it was a Saturday, Dr. Jones had us just go straight into the Labor/Delivery floor to "check" my blood pressure and then more than likely induce me--he expected it to be high. We arrived at the hospital at 7:30am and my blood pressure was in the normal range the first time they took it. They took it about 5 times in a row, a few minutes apart, and it would be right up in the high range and then it would drop down to a normal range. It was rather frustrating actually, since we knew it had consistently been high over the last 2 weeks but the hospital wouldn't let Dr. Jones induce me without firm evidence of Pregnancy Induced Hypertension (PIH). Dr. J came in and jokingly told me to go on a run to raise it and then more seriously told me to walk around the hospital for a while to see what that did for my blood pressure. Clayton, my mom, and I probably looked ridiculous, but luckily we were in deserted hallways so only a few nurses saw us. When we came back they had me give them a urine sample. I don't remember what my blood pressure was afterwards, but I know that Dr. J came in and said that he had found enough evidence in the recorded BP's from the last two weeks so that the hospital would give him the go ahead on inducing me. However, he left it up to Clayton and I. Basically he said that at this point we were just waiting for my blood pressure to skyrocket, something bad to happen, and then to do an emergency induction or c-section. That sounds scarier than it did to me at the time, but ultimately we decided we might as well go ahead and not prolong the inevitable. Right after we made the decision, the urine sample came back and showed protein levels which meant I had pre-ecamplsia and Dr. J said we were inducing me no matter what.

First Check: Around 11am, Dr. J checked my cervix for the first time and I was at about 1.5cm, 60-70% effaced, and super stretchy. This was a big first step in the right direction because my mom was never able to dilate and petocin did nothing for her. I had good hopes that things would progress quickly, but Dr. J did say that it would probably take until the next morning or so before we finally got to meet our little baby Ellie.

Petocin: Petocin officially started at 12:09pm. It took the nurse 3 times to find the right vein since my arms were so swollen she couldn't see the veins on my skin. During the 2nd time Clayton got extremely light headed and pale so I made him go sit down rather than holding my hand. Luckily that was the only time he got woozy through the whole birth. Dr. J said I could still eat some so Mom headed out to get lunch from Taco Bell for her and me and from Freddy's for Clayton. Things were pretty chill for the afternoon. Every half an hour they turned it up by 2ml so that by the evening I was at the full 20ml (the maximum it could be without a Doctor's orders, but rarely is it ordered higher). I spent the afternoon watching TV for the most part. My favorite go to movie when I'm sick is A Cinderella Story and it was playing on TV. My nurse, Reba, was pretty hilarious. She was just fun to talk to and kept everything light and easy going. The next movie playing on that station was Maid in Manhatten, which was pretty ironic because Reba and I had had a conversation about our go to, feel good, chick flick movies, and hers was Maid in Manhatten. So of course she made every excuse to come in that she could ;). Tiffany came about 3:00 and we started to played Monopoly Deal all together.

Second Check: Around 3:30pm the Dr came back in to check me and we were all hopeful that I had progressed even a little bit! I was at about 2.8-3cm and 80% effaced. Progress, but SLOW! He suggested that I get up, walk around, bounce on the birthing ball, and such to get things going. The 4 of us (Mom, Clayton, Tiffany, and I) got everything hooked up to just my IV pole and headed out. They had to continue to monitor the baby and my contractions because of the high amounts of petocin that I was getting. Clayton pushed the pole for me and we made the rounds around the nurse's station. When we got back, I got right on the birthing ball to try to force things down and open. We played more cards, hung out, and talked. Eventually, Clayton put in Jurassic World.

First attempt at breaking my water: At about 5:45pm, Dr. J tried to break my water but he was only able to scrape it a couple of times. I was still at that 2.8cm. I realized during this that things were MUCH TOO QUIET for my comfort if I didn't have the TV or music or something on while things were happening to me. I told Clayton that he had to make sure that there was some kind of noise every time I was being checked or my water breaking for reals or something.

Epidural: Dr. J had mentioned in his office that sometimes an epidural can help soften things up and relax my body to progress better. The night shift nurses, Emily and Lydia (a BYUI student), came in and started talking to me about getting that epidural started around 7pm - ish. I decided we might as well give it a try -- I clearly wasn't going far on my own at this point. I was extremely concerned about getting a spinal headache, but my Dr and I had already discussed it and he said to just be sure and tell the anesthesiologist to double check where he was putting it in and then in the hospital to make sure that I didn't sit up too quickly or do anything too rapidly and we would be able to catch it quick if I did get one. The anesthesiologist came in about 8:30pm and I made Clayton turn on the TV. I have no idea what was playing, but it was nice to have some kind of noise rather than utter silence. I sat on the edge of the bed and Clayton sat directly in front of me. At one point the anesthesiologist said I would feel a crackling feeling--I was rather confused at this description until I felt it and suddenly I knew that crackling was the only word you could use to describe that feeling.

Broken Water: At 9:30pm, Dr. J was finally able to break my water and that feeling was almost as weird as the crackling epidural. When it broke, he said that I had 24 hours to have the baby before we would HAVE to do a C-section. I was still only dilated to 3cm.

Sunday, May 7, 2017
Through the night: Clayton slept on the couch that folded down weird and my mom attempted to sleep on this recliner chair but I don't think she slept a wink. At 12:45am, the nurse checked me and I was at 3.5cm. They decided to try to do a "wash out" where you turn the petocin completely off and then gradually increase it again. When the petocin turned off my contractions started to pick up but then leveled off again. They also gave me a peanut pillow to put between my legs to try to stretch me out more. The nurses had to completely help me get situated every single time we turned me because my legs were completely numb. At least we knew the epidural worked! I threw up in the middle of the night, but since I had only had ice ships to eat it was just water. I was so glad there was no stomach acid with it or anything gross tasting. They gave me some Zofran to help. Some time around 2am I started to try to sleep, but every time I would get completely relaxed and nearly asleep my blood pressure and the baby's heart rate would drop dangerously low. They would give me adrenaline medicine to bring it back up. This happened quite frequently through the rest of the night because I was SO tired. I vaguely remember the nurse waking me up and asking if I knew where I was or what I was doing. I think because of all the medications I was getting they had to make sure I wasn't disoriented.

Morning: Emily and Lydia ended their shift and my new nurse was Amanda -- she was one of the nurses that had helped check me and take my blood pressure the day before. I started feeling more pressure and my contractions were more uncomfortable in the morning but at 9:30am I was still only at 4cm. Dr. J came in and discussed the reality of having a c-section. I didn't seem to be progressing hardly at all (it had taken me 16 hours to dilate 1cm more). He said that at anytime I wanted to do it, then we could just have the nurse call him and he would be right there. He tried to keep things lighthearted by mentioning that he did have to read some names over the pulpit at 11:05am since he was the high councilor, but at least he didn't have to teach Sunday School or something. I wasn't completely ready to jump there but it was settling in that that was what was more than likely going to happen. He also said that if we ever say the baby in distress, or me too physically exhausted then it was time to go that route. After the Dr left I got pretty upset. I was frustrated and crying. I felt like we had made the wrong decision in inducing me that day, but Clayton and my mom were right there reminding me that even though we did make the decision, it would have happened anyway because of the protein they found in my urine. They eventually got me calmed down and we put in Enchanted to get my mind off of things. I so badly wanted to be able to walk around or eat food, but neither were an option. My legs constantly felt tingly, but I could move my ankles and toes, and I could move my left leg pretty well. I slept through most of the movie which was really good because I was so exhausted both physically and mentally. I perked up a bit after my nap and was really feeling like I would be progressing.

Progressing? Or C-Section?: At 12:45pm when Dr. J came back, I was still at 4cm. Again, he said we were welcome to wait it out, but if I hadn't progressed by about 5pm then it was time to meet this baby. My mom decided that if I was at a 5 by 3pm then we were good to go vaginally, assuming that all of the statistics about how quickly you progress after a 5 held true for me. We all decided (Dr. J, the nurse, me, Clayton, and my mom) that the nurse would check me at 3pm and then make a decision After the Dr and the nurse left I had another meltdown. It took longer to get my spirits up after this one, and I was just sure that I was going to have a c-section. I decided that if I hadn't progressed by 2pm we might as well just get a C-section going. My mom told the nurse I wanted to be checked at 2pm, but she said that we were waiting until 3pm. Inside my head, I was ticked. I was almost ready to just get going with the c-section right then. I felt like we had wasted everyone's time and it was just time to meet our baby. ALL of my family (Kimi's fam stayed in Pocatello at Justin's house, Tiffany stayed at her niece Alli's, Troy's fam even got a hotel!) + Clayton's family were in town and the longer we waited, the less likely it was that they would get to meet her since they would probably have to head back home for work and school Monday morning. I was just beyond devastated and emotionally done.

Contractions!!!: Not long after my meltdown, I started having some serious contractions. Maybe at 1:30pm. They lasted about an hour and a half and then the nurse got the anesthegiologist to come back in and give me extra medicine in my epidural. Just after that the nurse came in to check me for the 3 o'clock check. I didn't feel a thing, but I still held my breath the whole time because I was so nervous. She kind of had a funny look on her face while she was checking and then she says "6cm for me is when my fingers make a peace sign..." and during her pause to take a breath I was sure that she was going to say that she couldn't even get her fingers a little bit apart. She continued and said "I can get my fingers a little further apart than a normal peace sign so I would say you are at about a 6.5." I was eccstatic. Looking back now after having birth I can honestly say that I felt just as much euphoria in that moment that I felt when I was handed my baby right after giving birth. It was the greatest feeling I have ever had in my life, next to actually holding my baby the first time. I wish that I had a picture of my face at that moment so that I knew what pure joy looked like. The only thing I said in my family's group text was "A 6!!!!!!" The next few hours were kind of a blur. I'm not sure exactly what happened or when, but I do remember kicking everyone out at some point besides my mom and Clayton because of how uncomfortable I was. Later I found out Tiffany (yes, I'm calling you out ;)) was complaining that everyone was being too loud and that's why I kicked them out, but in all reality I was just so uncomfortable I wanted to be alone.

Funny things:
I don't remember when these happened, but I definitely did some funny things during labor. I told my mom she was deaf multiple times. I would ask her to do something or get something for me and everytime she responded with "What?" She then was talking to Tiffany and asked her to repeat something so I burst out with "See Mom, YOU ARE DEAF!" Luckily everyone just laughed at me.
When things were hurting or I needed Clayton there helping me through something, his eyes would get really wide trying to tell me it was okay. His eyes getting wide, though, made me feel like he was scared so I kept telling him not to open his eyes. Everyone kept laughing at me, but I didn't know how else to explain that I just didn't want him to open his eyes as wide so it wouldn't scare me.
I often would just randomly fall asleep all of the time. Especially during hard contractions. I would breathe hard through them and then pass out in between.

Pushing: Dr. J came in around 6pm in a white shirt and tie and checked me. He goes "Well, you're at a 10 plus so let's start pushing. He threw on the big blue tarp thing while the nurse got everything ready. At some point around then I threw up a couple of times so they gave me zofran and an extra dose of epidural and both my blood pressure and the baby's heart rate plummeted. They started to get out oxygen for me, but then I guess decided I didn't need it. Dr. J told me all in one breath what I was oging to do to be able to push and asked if I was ready for the next contraction to start pushing. I was a little concerned that I didn't know exactly what he wanted me to do so I made him say it again. We started going and it actually wasn't as bad as I thought that it would be, probably due to the epidural. My contractions were also about 2 and a half minutes apart so I had a long break in between pushes. Boy Meets World, which Dr. J said was a classic, was playing in the background and we were having some really random conversations -- like about hunting, moose, where Dr. J lived, and who knows what else. The whole holding my breath thing got more and more difficult the further we went along and eventually I was spitting in the doctor's face every time I breathed out (whoops!). Dr. J had to use a suction to help get her around my bones. The nurse once asked if I was having a boy or a girl and I said "it better be a girl!" and everyone laughed at that. I pushed for 2 hours before she finally came out and they placed her right in my arms and she immediately peed all over me. No one said whether it was a girl or not so I felt the need to check -- I had become a little paranoid about her actually  being a boy.

Ellie Louretta Murdock
7 lbs 2 oz
20.5 inches

Placenta: This is random, but I was really curious about my placenta after it came out. The doctor picked it up and turned it all around and flipped it inside out and told me all about it. I can't relay any of that information to you now, but it was really cool to look at!

Fair warning: this post may be long and maybe more information than you want, but I mostly wanted it for myself :)
Finding Out:
Clayton and I had just barely decided that it was time to start a family, so we stopped all birth control and we were so excited. I didn't expect it to happen so fast for us, but I am so grateful for that blessing. I just can't even imagine what some people go through and the trial that is in their life.

We went to the Eastern Idaho Fair in Blackfoot and all of the food smells that I normally love from the Western Idaho Fair just bothered me like crazy. I felt nauseous the whole night. The next morning I got the FAINTEST line and we couldn't have been more excited! I lost all of my pictures from 2016 that I didn't post on social media, but I kept my pregnancy test and the line has gotten darker over time:



Due Date: May 18th.
1st Trimester:
I set up my first Dr appointment and after talking with the doctor for a bit about how quick I got pregnant, he decided that it was very possible that I could have just been spotting from stopping my birth control so he wanted an ultrasound to be sure. I was more than happy to be able to see that my baby was growing and had a good heartbeat! The due date came up as May 20th and since that was within 2-3 days, Dr. Jones kept my due date as the 18th. (Really funny that my doctor's name is Dr. Jones with the 2 Doc Jones' I have in my family!).


I fell in love with my doctor--he wasn't afraid of my questions, my appointments were super quick and easy with no dorking around or excess amounts of waiting, and everything went really well. I only got sick at night if I had eaten too much that day or not enough. I just learned to make sure that I was eating just the right amount. I did have a lot of heartburn starting in my first trimester and through most of my 2nd trimester. No real cravings, but I usually knew EXACTLY what I wanted when we were ready to eat something. It made things really helpful in deciding!

2nd Trimester:
As I rolled into my 2nd trimester, I got more and more sick. It didn't matter how much I ate, what I ate, when I ate, etc. I also wasn't very nauseous at all, I just would randomly have to sprint to somewhere that I could throw up. Dr. Jones was so good with me about it and offered to give me a prescription. We started with just a sample of Diclegis and it worked wonders. He was able to keep giving me samples until I no longer needed them. After that I took B12 just at night and it kept me from getting sick at all. During my 2nd Trimester I craved fruit SO MUCH--pineapple, strawberries, etc. It was a little difficult because of the time of year, so I didn't actually get some very often but when I did it was heavenly! My 20 week ultrasound the tech said that it was all very textbook--measurements were perfect, 10 toes (thank goodness!), and everything looked great.



We decided to not find out the gender during our appointment and to have the tech put it in an envelope. Just before we left town for Christmas, our friend Eric took the envelope and filled ziplocs and a black garbage bag with Red or Blue chalk that we would later attach to tannerite and shoot with a gun. All of our family (Clayton's siblings and parents besides Ryan, and my siblings + nieces and nephews except for Cory's family and Justin) gathered at Pickle Butte in Nampa to see us shoot it off.









3rd Trimester:
I was smooth sailing into my 3rd trimester. No sickness, my heartburn began to die down, and life was good. I was taking 15 credits and working 10 hours a week so I was just pretty tired the majority of the time, but I probably would have been even not being pregnant! Enjoy some fun pictures of our growing family:






Luckily the semester ended early April and I began to work nearly full time hours. Until things got a little crazy with my pregnancy....On April 23rd, I was swollen like a balloon. I didn't have any other symptoms so I didn't worry about it through church. My mom still suggested that I get my blood pressure taken, so Cassy and I went to the Pharmacy to check it out. After the pharmacist took my blood pressure 3 times, she looks at me funny and says that it is 140/90 (pretty high). She suggested that I contact my Dr and he tells me to come into the office in the morning unless I start feeling worse. I began feeling very light headed, nearly passed out, and pretty nauseous. I was getting pretty nervous so Clayton and I headed to the Labor and Delivery floor of the hospital. Everything check out okay, except my blood pressure was still at 134/84. I went to bed early that night and got SO MUCH sleep. I figured it would have gone way down, but I still headed into the Dr. It was up to 145/95. Dr. Jones said that if it got to 160 on the top or 110 on the bottom then we would start to really worry--even though I wasn't showing any other signs of Pre-eclampsia. We decided to do a 24 hour urine test (every time that I peed it was into a little hat thing that covered my toilet which I then poured into a jug that I had to keep in the fridge). The next morning my blood pressure was 134/95. The nurse still really didn't like that bottom number but everything else was checking out okay that they would just keep an eye on me. I think that this was the day that I decided to quit my job to hopefully keep my blood pressure down, or at least to keep it from having something extra to raise it (i.e. talking to old people on the phone all day long and attempting to keep my cool and be patient with them!). My 24 hour urine test showed 151 mg of protein -- they don't worry about anything until 300 mg. I was feeling pretty good, but I still took the day easy. Later that evening I was just curious if my blood pressure had gone down a ton since I had been so relaxed all day. Turns out it was 142/107...I was a little freaked out. My Dr just said to come back in in the morning and we would watch the pattern. In the morning I was feeling light-headed and worried so I figured it had spiked again. Were we going to have a baby today? Tomorrow? What was going to happen? The nurse came in and my blood pressure was down to 110/70!!!!! I was shocked! And I felt a little stupid for being so worried the past couple of days. He still said we would want to keep an eye on things. In his practice he has seen that if anyone ever had protein over 100 he only saw it get progressively worse. I still had a long way to go until I hit the 300 mark, so that was a good since. He said that he wouldn't be surprised if we would meet this baby within a week or so, because it was also common to see blood pressures go back up despite the little drop. We would just have to wait and see. The next day was my 37 week appointment and my bp was approaching the high range so we continued to watch the trend. The next week (May 1st), we scheduled to induce me at exactly 39 weeks (May 11th) since my bp wasn't quite high enough to justify being induced earlier. He still wanted to check my blood pressure on Friday so that I didn't go the whole weekend without being checked and it was 134/100. Dr. Jones didn't think that I would make it through the weekend and told me to go into the Labor/Delivery Floor Saturday morning (May 6th) to check my blood pressure once again and more than likely induce me. Dr. Jones said to go home, take it easy, get all of the last minute things ready, call family, and be ready to have a baby the next day!

6 months down, eternity to go, and I have loved everything about being married to my best friend. I have learned more in the past six months about being human, about interacting with another person so closely, about my beliefs, opinions, and ideas than I feel like I ever have through my 19.5 years of living before marriage. When I entered this covenant with God and with my husband, I had a lot of ideas and somewhat expectations about what was in store for the two of us, but boy was I wrong. I thought that Clayton would be my rock, my one sure course through all of life. I thought he would be the one that grounded me when all else failed, my shoulder to cry on, the person I could go to about anything and everything. I thought that he would be the person that I would know so perfectly in this world. And guess what? I was completely right, even more so than I ever could have imagined. What I didn't realize in all of those expectations about what Clayton would be for me, was that I would be (and he desperately needs me to be) all of those things for him. As much as I knew that I would need him through life, he needs me. He needs me to talk him through the confusing days, listen while he expresses his frustrations, be his shoulder to cry on.
Some people try to say that marriage is 50/50 and let me just set you straight. It's not. At all. 50/50 is divorce--where you each get half. I don't want half. I want anything and everything in our relationship and in life. In my short little infinity (to quote the first movie we watched together exactly a year ago--The Fault In Our Stars), I have learned over and over again that a perfect marriage is completely 100/100. However, you both aren't going to be able to give 100% at every single point in the day. Sometimes you gotta be the one that puts in the 150 when he's had a really down day, but you have to think about it like that. If he's not at his best, you need to be even better than your best to make up for it--which is so much easier said than done.
People also try to tell you not to go to bed angry. That's bull crap, at least for the two of us. Some good shut eye can heal most frustrations and miscommunication. Roll over, scoot away from each other, and drift off to sleep. Then wake up the morning and apologize. Don't expect an apology from him. In any heated discussion, dare I say argument, there is something that YOU can apologize for and don't be expecting an apology from him. Make it sincere, which again, is easier said than done.
The last six months have truly been more than I ever could have imagined it to be. I have been wrong more times than I can count, but I am so grateful for that. I thought I would have to talk myself into liking Rexburg. I was wrong. I thought that BYU-I would somehow be less than BYU (I know, terrible stereotype, but you know that we have all thought it at one point or another). I could not have been more wrong about that one. I thought that married life would be all sunshine and rainbows. Boy was I wrong, but I sure wouldn't appreciate the most wonderful times in the last six months without the rain (cliche, I know, get off my back haha). Luckily, though, the sunshine has FAR outweighed the rain.
One last thing that people often say about marriage--that the first year is the hardest. It hasn't been a year yet, but if the next six months go like these last six months have, then I will be more than happy to hit that year mark knowing that it only goes up from there (which will already be pretty dang hard to beat!).

We've had it for a while but have yet to post it--enjoy!! Randy Rouse and his videographer colleague, Jack Openshaw, did an AMAZING job with our pictures and this video. I am so thrilled with how everything turned out and I am so very grateful that I have such wonderful pictures to be able to remember our special day with. I recommend them BOTH to anyone and everyone! They were also amazing people to work with and have join us on our wedding day!
If you'd like to see our pictures, the majority of them are on FB but here's a couple just in case :)

Well we are here and are loving it! I am getting used to how small Rexburg is, and Clayton is enjoying seeing all of his extended family so often. Our families were so good to us helping us move in and get settled--we have a great support system behind us! Here's a little picture tour of the place and the events helping us get set up (there's not a lot of pictures because it was SO DANG cold the day we moved in).