The Killpack Clan

So far, I have adored being a mother of two healthy happy kids! Grant has been warming up to Audrey in that he no longer cries when she does, and he will gently pat her. I have been trying in these past few weeks of giving Grant some extra TLC, since I know he is probably confused about our new addition. We have read more books, played with more puzzles, sang more songs, and shared more treats than when he was just by himself. It's fun to watch him do new things. This week he fed himself the banana:

On this past Sunday, January 10th, we welcomed our new little Audrey into the world at 4:08 a.m. She weighed 7 pounds 8 ounces, 20 3/4 inches long, and is perfectly healthy and happy! She has already been so fun to have in our home. James and I were at our dinner table this past week thinking, "Wow, so THIS is what it is like to bring home a baby." When we brought Grant home, our circumstances were different, and we didn't get into a routine until Grant was two weeks old when all of the drama had ended. With Audrey, we get to ENJOY her more. She definitely looks like her brother, but I can also tell how much she looks like a little girl. So crazy. Her birth experience was also worlds different than from Grant's and I am a huge advocate for C-sections, which you don't hear often, but it's true. If I can have a healthy baby, and take all the recovery for my myself, than that is what will have to be. No thank you to blood transfusions, NICUs, hemorraging, and passing out. I am done. I hope all my kids can be born in the same way, and skip the drama. But anyway, I can't believe how small she is, and how fast she is going to grow up! Looking at Grant, he is still a baby, yet he is soooo big. Grant doesn't quite know what to expect with the new baby around the house. At first, he would cry whenever Audrey would cry, but, thankfully, that has stopped. Today he actually touched her, and we signed "baby" together, so hopefully he will come around.

The Saturday before she arrived was a long day. I had just started to have contractions at 4:40 in the morning. They would be 5, 15, and 30 minutes apart, and they kept coming all day. I stayed home the whole day ( we usually go grocery shopping), and I tried to keep my mind off the contractions by playing Word Mole on James' phone. I know it sounds silly, but it worked! I started to have heavy contractions after about 5:00. I was afraid to eat anything, but thought I should eat something so I had some garlic bread. James made spaghetti for dinner that night. I was thinking that we were going to go to the hospital that night, so I had James and our friend Greg Daly give me blessing. Can I just say how terrified I was? Our last experience was not the most pleasant, and even the thought of going through that same scenario was too much to even think about.

So after the blessing, the Daly's took Grant to their house, and James and I went to the hospital where I was hooked up to the machines and checked out. Only dilated to a 2 and not even close to being admitted. Funny since my contractions were 2-3 minutes apart. We left the hospital at 7:00 with the hopes of coming back in a half an hour to be checked out again. We left, and James took me around town, contracting and all, to Arby's and told me I should eat. Eating and contractions do not go well together. I managed to get down half of a roast beef sandwich. We drove home, where I tried to lay down and "forget" about the contractions. Didn't work. The Daly's brought over their exercise ball for me to sit on, and that actually helped out a lot. We left again for the hospital at about 9:30. Thankfully, when I was checked out again, I had made some progress and they admitted me at 10:40. Hallelujah! No fun being sent home. First thing, they did in the hospital was give me pain medicane. By this time, I was so tired! I usually go to bed by 9 or 10 and this was too late for me. After the pain medicane, came the epidural and after that it was smooth sailing! James and I managed to watch a little TV and catch some sleep. Around 3 0'clock in the morning our doctor came in and told us that the baby wasn't tolerating labor like she should-her heart rate was going down, and it was time for a c-section. All during this pregnancy I had been getting comfortable with the idea of a c-section. Grant's birth was so traumatic for me and the baby that repeating everything wasn't an option. We completely welcomed the idea of a c-section. So when the doctor said it was time, I was relieved! Audrey was born perfectly healthy, and I can remember James saying, "There she is!" I must have really been tired, because I fell asleep after that and woke up in the recovery room where there was just me and a nurse. I finally got to see Audrey at about 5:30 in the morning.