Hudson's Birth Story

As I look back to December 17th, the day our son was born I can't help but get teary eyed. It was one of the scariest but best days of my life. With him having gastroschisis it made everything about his delivery very unsure and uncertain. We didn't know if he could tolerate labor, we didn't know what amount of surgery he would need, we didn't know if he would even be able to make it through surgery. All we knew was to trust God because it was all in His hands and we knew that was the best place it could be.

We went into the hospital on Monday December 16th to start our induction. I had gone to the doctor on Monday morning to check for any progress, have one last NST, and get all the paperwork we would need to be admitted at the hospital later that day. I was 1 cm dilated and 50% effaced, which for only being 37 weeks our doctor was very pleased with that amount of progress. When we arrived at the hospital at 6pm on Monday night, we were excited and nervous all at the same time. Of course we got there right before shift change so we had our first nurse for 45 minutes before meeting our night nurse. Once we got settled and checked in, my doctor came in to place the cytotec to get the ball rolling. I thought I had a very low pain tolerance until that night. I was being constantly monitored and the nurse kept coming in to ask if I was in pain because I was having contractions one on top of another and I kept telling her I was fine. By 4 am when they were about to place another dose of cytotec, my doctor checked for progress and I was already 3 and 1/2 cm dilated and 70% effaced. So they decided to not give anymore cytotec and to let me walk and shower before they started the Pitocin because once it started, I was pretty much going to be stuck in bed. They started pitocin around 8am on Tuesday morning when the doctor came in to check on me and that was when things started getting intense. Suddenly I could definitely start feeling every contraction, but I could breath through it and all was fine. The nurse came in and out checking on me to make sure I was ok. Hudson was doing great though all the contractions and my doctor said she would be back around noon to break my water. Well around 9, I was having a contraction and leaned over for something and gush- there went my water. I laughed because the nurse was checking my blood sugar when it happened and I told her "either I peed all over myself or my water broke, but my guess is the latter since I have never peed that much in my life". She chuckled and checked and said that was indeed your water. Our doctor walked in right after that and said I changed my mind and am going to break your water now and we laughed and said well you are about 5 minutes late for that. She said "oh good, well I will be back at noon to check you then". The contractions started to get really intense then, one right on top of the next without any break between them. The nurse came in and said the anesthesiologist was coming around and doing early placement since labor and delivery was full and they had 4 scheduled c-sections that day. When they came to place it about 30 minutes later they decided to dose it too because they did not want me to get tired so early in the day. The epidural was what I was most anxious about and I have to say that my IV placement hurt worse then the epidural. I think Sean was more bothered by it then I was. Once the epidural was placed, life was GREAT! I felt nothing and it was incredible. Sean would watch on the monitor and say that contraction was off the page, did you feel it? And I didn't feel a thing! My doctor came back around noon and checked me and I was only 4 cm dilated at that point but 95% effaced, his head was still a station 3 though. My doctor and nurse were both disappointed that I didn't have more progress with all the contractions I was having. Since we knew Hudson was going to go straight to surgery after birth my doctor had to keep the pediatric surgeon up to date on what was going on so he knew when to get ready. They were hoping I would have him during "regular business hours" so that he wouldn't have to come back at midnight. My doctor said they were going to bump up the pitocin to try and get me progressing more. I decided that was a grand time to take a nap so I fell sound asleep. I woke up at 2:30 to a nurse flipping me back and forth. Hudson was starting to be intolerant to labor and so they were thinking he was probably pinching his cord so they kept moving me. When nothing was working they quickly called my doctor to come back to the hospital. I was amazed at how quick she got there although Sean said it felt like an eternity. With every contraction Hudson's heart rate would go up to the 180's and then drop down to the 80's. Every heartbeat I heard was music to my ears but I kept worrying that I was going to stop hearing that sweet heartbeat. That was when I got upset and the nurses told me I had to stay calm because it would stress Hudson. My doctor came in and looked at the monitor for all of 5 seconds and said alright a C-section it is. I have never seen so many nurses scurrying around in my life. Anesthesia came back to very heavily dose up my epidural. They gave me a shot to stop labor so that we wouldn't stress Hudson out anymore. As scared as I was, I had this tremendous peace over me. I knew God was there and had it under control. As they raced me back to the operating room all I could see were the lights flying over my head just like they depict in movies. When we got to the operating room, Sean had to wait outside until they got everything ready. I know he had to be scared out of his wits letting them take me and Hudson back and leaving his out there. We talked about it and he said he knew God went back there with us and when he started to stress about it, God gave him a complete peace and calm about it. While I was laying on the operating table all I could see were people scurrying around everywhere. We had more in there then most people would have due to Hudson having gastroschisis. There was a NICU team, an OB team, and a team from the OR waiting to take him down for surgery. After what felt like an eternity Sean finally got to come back- the drape was up and my doctor was doing a test cut to make sure I didn't feel a thing. And I definitely didn't. At that point though I started getting really nauseous and threw up. I apologized to the CRNA like 100 times because I threw up on her. All of a sudden I could smell that they were starting to cut and I could start to feel the pressure, the tugging, and the pulling, but absolutely no pain. And then after what felt like forever, I heard the most precious cry I have ever heard in my life and at 3:58 Hudson Lee McKaig came into the world! They held him over the curtain for me to see and he was the most beautiful thing I had ever laid my eyes on. He was a perfect 5lbs 10oz and 18 & 1/2 inches long. We found out the reason that he was intolerant to labor was that the cord was wrapped multiple times around his neck. They instantly took him to start prepping him for surgery and Sean got to go over and watch. He scored 8 and 9 out of 10 on his APGAR's which the neonatologist was pleased about. When Sean went over, he said "Hey buddy, Daddy is here" and Hudson opened his big beautiful eyes and stared straight at Sean. He knew that voice after 9 months of hearing it. After they placed his IV, his NG tube, and his ventilator they wheeled him over in his isolette and he looked through the hole on the side right into my eyes and it was one of the best moments of my life. He was even more beautiful and incredible then I could have ever imagined. Now that we had made it through the scary part of delivery, next was the part that I had been dreading since we found out he had gastroschisis- my poor baby was about to go have surgery only 30 minutes after entering the world. Nothing is scarier then having to have your sweet baby who you just met after 9 months of carrying them to leave you and go have surgery. I cried as they wheeled him away from me, but knew that ultimately he was in God's hands just like he was during delivery. One of the nurses had taken my cell phone and taken a ton of pictures and videos so we could look back at it all. I am so very thankful for all those incredible pictures of my sweet baby. I definitely got sick about 5 more times before we left the operating room while they were stapling me up. When I got into recovery, Sean went out to inform everyone of what happened and show off the pictures of Hudson. It was love at first sight for everyone. While I was in recovery I started to get nervous because we hadn't heard anything from the pediatric surgeon, and right then he walked through the doors and was smiling. Hudson's only ended up having a small amount of small and large intestine out and they didn't have to resect any of it. They put it all back in his stomach and surgery had only taken about 45 minutes. He was very pleased and was hoping he would progress quickly. Hudson was out of surgery and up in NICU before I was even out of recovery. They wanted to take us up to see Hudson from recovery, but it just so happened to be at shift change and they don't allow parents up in NICU during shift change. Once we got up to the Mother-Baby floor they had to do hourly assessments of me so after they were done with the assessments they were going to let us up to see him, but every time I tried to get out of bed I would get sick. We did not end up getting to go see him until almost 1am. When we finally got to see him, he was so incredibly perfect. It was worth the wait just to see that sweet face. He turned out pretty much to be 90% his dad and only 10% of me. But he has my nose which is one of his cutest features in my opinion.

Hudson's birth story was nowhere near what I would have imagined but it was perfect in the end because we got him! We are so madly in love with him and he is making incredible strides. He is 6 days old now and they have already taken him off the ventilator and he is breathing on his own, they have removed all of his IV's except for his central line, and he is even out of the warmed isolette bed and into a crib! And as far as the gastroschisis goes he has been making huge strides. Because his bowels were put back in they are never sure how long it will take for them to start to function on their own so poopy diapers are a huge deal- well he already had 2! I think God made it possible for us to change that first poopy diaper because of our apprehension. We were planning to be discharged to go home on Friday in the early afternoon, well due to some emergencies on the unit, the nurse didn't get into us until almost 4. So before we left we went up to say our goodbyes until the next day and the nurse asked if I wanted to change his diaper before we left and of course I wanted to. Well when I opened it there was a meconium poop and it was his first poop since he was born! It was such a blessing from God to see that!

We are so incredibly blessed and God is so so GOOD all the time!!! We give him all the praise and glory in this whole situation. Hudson was a miracle from conception to birth and we thank God everyday for this awesome miracle of ours!

Tuesday thoughts

Hey y'all! Hope everyone is having a great week! I know I am as it is a holiday week and one of my favorite holidays at that! I love Thanksgiving because there are no expectations- just food, family, friends, and relaxation! No disappointments because of presents.

I am excited today because we have an ultrasound and get to see our little guy! We have had ultrasounds every 3-4 weeks because of Hudson having gastroschisis and I have to say I have gotten quite spoiled seeing our little guy moving on the screen for 30-45 minutes during these ultrasounds. They check on his growth and his bowels during these ultrasounds. One of the things that comes along with gastroschisis is that he is much smaller because his bowels are on the outside of his stomach. So being 34 weeks this week if he has not grown since his last ultrasound at 30 weeks then there will be concern that he is not getting the nutrients he needs from me. We are praying for good results from this ultrasound but if not then it means we probably get to meet our little boy just a little bit sooner.

This morning I am enjoying my day off, drinking my coffee in front of the fire, watching the rain fall down(I am hoping that all this rain turns into snow like the forecast was calling for), and enjoy all the little kicks and movements from my little boy. I always enjoy this time of relaxation because the more my pregnancy progresses the more exhausted I find I get!

I hope you all have a great Tuesday! Just 2 more days until Turkey Day!!

Happy Friday

Happy Friday y'all!

I believe I am back from a blogging hiatus! I just want to document every part of these last few weeks of pregnancy and our last few weeks of being a family of 2 and then I went to remember every part of sweet Hudson joining us!

Hudson Lee McKaig is due January 7 but due to his birth defect of Gastroschisis, we get to meet our little guy about a month early! Which leaves us with a month of getting ready to meet him! Due to his condition we have had constant monitoring throughout pregnancy- ultrasounds every 3-4 weeks and I have started NST's twice a week! I throughly enjoy those 20-30 minutes of hearing Hudson's heartbeat though! I get to hear it this afternoon in fact! Which leads me into my Friday Love List!

1. I am loving that we are approaching all of my favorite holidays! I have in fact cheated this year and started listening to Christmas music before Thanksgiving! Christmas takes on a whole new meaning while pregnant and maybe just for me, but when I think about Baby Jesus being born and Mary being pregnant- it is a whole new Christmas Connection!

2. I am loving that I get to hear sweet Hudson's heartbeat today for 20-30 minutes during this afternoon's NST! I so enjoy his kicks and jabs!

3. I am loving our fireplace this year! It is an electric fireplace, not the real deal but it still puts off heat and is so pretty to look at!

4. I am loving all of the sweet little baby clothes that we got at our shower last weekend! Putting them all away made me realize how close we are to meeting our little guy!

5. I am loving that Thanksgiving is less then 2 weeks away and that my sister is getting married Thanksgiving weekend! It means double the family time and the food as well!


Here is to loving Fridays!

Have a blessed weekend!

Is it spring yet?!

Hey y'all!!
So lately in the upstate of South Carolina we have had a tease of snow flurries, but nothing has stuck which if it is going to be cold enough to snow I want accumulation people!! So since we aren't getting any accumulation, I am officially ready for spring! I am ready to wear cute sundresses to church on Sunday morning, and ready to wear fun shorts on my days off, and I am also ready to wear some norts and sit on my front porch!! So with that being said I am going to show y'all some of my favorites for the spring season- all from Old Navy and all under $40!!

I LOVE these anchor shorts with a 5" inseam- they are found at Old Navy for a low $22.94

These blue embroidered shorts are too cute! Also found at Old Navy for $24.94

Of course you can't go wrong with these sailboat shorts from Old Navy- $22.94

And I LOVE the paisley print- too cute! Also found at Old Navy for $22.94

How fun is this dress- Old Navy

This green beauty is also from Old Navy

Oh and I love this Paisley shift dress.

How summery is this flowy dress?!

And another cute dress!

I might have a slight obsession problem with Old Navy- they have cute clothing and it is well priced. You can always find an adorable outfit there! 

XOXO,

Thrifting

 Hi y'all! 

Lately I have been obsessing over Pinterest- I go through spells where I feel like I have seen everything and of course I miss it so I go back and obsess over baby stuff(mainly decorating a nursery), home decor, and DIY crafts. It is funny to look over my Pinterest because I obsessed over all things wedding for like 8 months before my wedding and now I have moved onto bigger and better things. I am currently feeling super crafty- so I went "thrift storing" with a good friend the other day to find cheap items so I could make all of these crafts I found on Pinterest. I have to say that I did pretty good! I was able to get:

These 2 director's chairs! I have been wanting some of these for a while, but I have been unwilling to pay the $40-$50 a chair to buy them at Pier 1. These were only $6 a chair at goodwill! You can not beat $12 for 2 chairs!! I figured I could just get new covers for them at Pier 1.

I found the covers for the chairs yesterday at Pier 1 and the ones I liked were on sale for $14.98 a cover! You can not beat that!

Here is what the actual covers look like- I love them!

I also was able to find on my "thrift shopping", tiles- I have been wanting to make Tile Coasters which I keep seeing on Pinterest so I was able to find tiles and the guy at the Habitat House thrift store gave them to me for 10 cents each- you can not beat that. I bought 12 to make 3 sets of 4 coasters. As you can see I started making coasters from a wedding picture of ours. And they are super easy to make!

Another thing I keep seeing on Pinterest is ways to use shutters to decorate with. I loved one option I saw where you put shutters on either side of a window as wall decor and I also saw where you can use the shutters for hanging mail, pictures, or even Christmas cards. I was able to get these shutters for $2- for both of them. I plan on painting them and displaying them with the old window I have hanging in my guest bedroom.

I should stay busy for a little while with these crafts! The hubs always laughs when I come home with all of this "old junk" as he calls it! One man's junk is another man's or woman's treasure, especially if that woman has pinterest and the craft bug! :)

XOXO,

Chili

Hey y'all!
It is a cold and rainy day here in the Upstate of South Carolina which means it is the perfect day for Chili (one of my favorite comfort foods might I add)! I am all about simplicity so I make perhaps the easiest and most convenient recipes I can find. I like to use chicken in my chili, you could also use ground beef or even ground turkey! So let me share the recipe from the chili tonight!

Easy Chicken Chili:
-1lb of cooked shredded chicken
-1 can of pinto beans
-1 can of black beans
-1 can of tomatoes- I used the chili seasoned ones
-1 can of tomato puree
-1 package of chili seasoning (any brand is fine)

Pour all ingredients into a large pot. I like to place the burner at about a medium heat- too hot and it burns. Cook until warm and bubbly and stir occasionally. You can use whatever toppings you prefer- in my house we take corn chips, pour the chili on top and I like to use ranch and cheese. Some people add peppers, onions, sour cream- whatever you want really!

Dinner was easy and yummy tonight! 

xoxo,

N

I am a MRS now!

Hey y'all!! I am alive and I am married! S and I are going through some big changes in life right now- we are both going back to school, working, and trying to spend time with each other! It is a big adjustment but I know we can make it through anything together. I am going to try and start blogging ALOT more now!

xoxo,
N