I can’t even believe that our sweet baby girl is already one month old. When they say time flies by once baby comes, it’s the truth. December 4, 2018 was such a special day in my life, and I hope that by documenting all the details here, I will always remember it like it was yesterday.
My pregnancy was a bit of a roller coaster throughout the past year. It was definitely filled with ups and downs. At our 20 week ultrasound appointment, we learned that Kinley was breech. I could actually feel her head as a hard spot under my right ribs. She was in a frank breech position where her legs were up next to her head, and she was sitting in a v-shape. They told us not to worry, because there was still so much time for her to flip over and get into the right position.
By our 36 week appointment, she still wasn’t flipped, and we started discussing the possibility of a c-section. We scheduled her birth date for December 6th at 39 weeks pending she didn’t flip before then. I knew that with the c-section my recovery was going to be much more difficult, but at the end of the day I just wanted what was safest for my baby.
Tuesday, December 4th started just like any other day. I began my maternity leave the day before, so I spent most of the day cleaning the house and preparing for baby’s arrival. I was having some lower back pain that day, but nothing out of the ordinary. That afternoon, my sister and I went to get mani/pedis as a last way to treat myself.
The gentleman who was giving me a pedicure kindly explained that this could cause me to go into labor. I laughed it off and told him to go ahead… I was scheduled for c-section in two days anyways. Not sure if he saw this as a challenge, because I had a really great foot and leg massage that day.
My sister dropped me off back at home around 6:15pm, and my husband, Jacoby, walked into the door five minutes later. We quickly chatted about our days, and I told him about my pedicure experience. I joked that we might need to go to the hospital that night. He wanted to use the bathroom, but I told him to let me go first and I would make it quick. (Not sure why… we have two bathrooms in our house. Haha.)
As soon as I sit down on the toilet, kaboom! I yell out to my husband, “Jacoby, my water just broke!” He told me to stop lying, and it wasn’t funny. I opened the door and once he saw my face, he knew I wasn’t kidding. I called my doctor, and he told me to head to the hospital and that I would be having my baby tonight. This was about 6:30pm.
Things got a little chaotic at this point. We’re running around the house, trying to throw things together. We had originally thought we would have the whole day on Wednesday for any last minute preparations, but nope! At this point, I was excited, a little nervous, but wasn’t having any contractions (or so I thought).
When we got to the hospital, they got us in our room. I got changed into a gown and the nurses checked my vitals. They put a strap on my belly and informed me I was definitely having contractions. I honestly couldn’t feel them at all. We’ll always remember when our doctor walked into the room, and he yelled “What’s up bitches?!?” Not sure why….We still laugh about this to this day.
He told us that there was another woman in labor currently, and it wasn’t going well. Most likely she was going to need a c-section so that meant we were going to have to wait 2-3 hours since there was only one OR in the OB wing. If I started experiencing contractions, they would just give me medication to make them stop.
My doc said I was most likely only one centimeter dilated since I wasn’t experiencing hard contractions, but he decided to check me just in case. Turns out I was already dilated 4 centimeters and 100% effaced. After my doctor checked me, the pain level of my contractions went from zero to 100. The calm and relaxed demeanor of my doctor and the nurses immediately changed. I was getting moved up, and we needed to get me in the OR ASAP.
By the time I was wheeled into surgery, I was about 6 or 7 centimeters dilated and contractions were intense! If it wasn’t for a sweet nurse, Sarah, I’m not sure I would have been able to hold still enough for the spinal. My whole body was shaking and convulsing from the pain, nerves and the freezing operating room. Once it was in, I immediately felt so much more calm. They laid me down, and I felt a warm sensation overcome my waist down.
Finally, Jacoby was able to join me in the operating room and seeing him walk in wearing the scrubs made it so real. We were having our baby.
In 5 minutes, she was out. At 8:52pm, Kinley Katherine Holtz came into the world. It was so quick… when I heard her cry right away, the tears started rolling. It was such a great feeling knowing she was here with us. The assisting doctor walked her around the curtain so I could see her, and then she was gone.
Jacoby joined Kinley at that point, and the doctors began to sew me back up. This felt like eternity. I’m sure it was only about 20 minutes or so, but I just wanted it to be over. The anesthesia made me sick to my stomach and I started to gag and I thought I was going to throw up. The sounds of the OR and the feelings of the pulling and tugging of the procedure really started making me uncomfortable. I was told I was doing great, but my heart rate was increasing. I needed to calm down. Luckily, the anesthesiologist was able to give me something to take the edge off and relieve the nausea to get through to the end.
Once in the recovery room, I was joined by Jacoby, Kinley and two amazing nurses. They had me go skin to skin with Kinley first to warm her up a bit. Then they assisted me with getting her latched for the first time to breastfeed. I was so lucky, and she latched right away. She’s been an amazing eater ever since and breastfeeding has came so naturally to us. I know for some, it is not so easy so for that I feel so blessed.
Since Kinley was breech throughout my pregnancy, we were informed that her left leg was completely dislocated from the hip at birth. Due to this, the pediatrician referred us to a pediatric orthopedic surgeon.
At our first appointment, she confirmed that Kinley has hip dysplasia. She was put into a harness at one week old. She must wear the harness 24/7. We can’t even take it off for diaper/outfit changes or bathing. Hello sponge bathes. But, she’s such a good and happy baby and really isn’t phased by it. It’s definitely harder on us, than it is on her.
We will return to the doctor next week at four weeks to find out if the harness is working. If it is, she will be in it for an additional four weeks and then switch to nights only. We are so thankful we caught this early on. We’re very hopeful that everything will work out, and she will be able to grow up without any further complications.
Becoming a mom is unlike any experience I could have ever imagined. The love I have for our daughter is indescribable. One day you meet this tiny person, and your whole life changes. My perception of being a mom has forever changed in the best way possible.
When I was pregnant with Kinley, one of the first things I bought was a sign that now hangs in her nursery, and the words have never been more true for me than they are now.
“And so the adventure begins…”