Selma Grace Birth Story

Our sweet Selma Grace Warren is here.  She arrived June 3, 2011 at 2:04 am.  I had a great labor and delivery and if you'd like to read about it, I did the best I could to recall the details below.  We didn't really write anything down at the hospital, so pretty much everything is  an estimate time wise.  If you watch the slideshow I am going to post later, the times I put on it area actually accurate thanks to my camera storing what time the pic was taken. 
I think I gave this disclaimer before Selah's birth story, but I'll give it again.  Selma Grace's birth story is in no way a literary masterpiece but life with 3 kiddos isn't allowing much time for editing things like this!  I'm sure there's lots of typos etc...  I do hope you enjoy it though and I hope it'll encourage you to go natural if you want to=)  It was a harder delivery for me than Selah's, but it was totally worth it and I'd do it again for sure!  If you have any questions about delivering at UAB, comment and I'll try to answer.  We had a great experience delivering there and were very impressed overall by our care!


Selma Grace Birth Story



June 2, 2011 - 4:30pm. We arrived at the hospital and were triaged in MEU (Maternity Evaluation Unit). I was contracting every 3-5 minutes. At 5:00 Dr Hoover came in and I was 4/75/-2. So we got admitted, they started my iv and then we were transferred to a labor room around 5:30. They finished admitting me and got me settled in my room and about 6:30 Dr Hoover came in and broke my water. We had talked about this earlier and I wanted to try this before any pitocin to help my labor progress a little faster. I didn’t feel rushed though because Dr Hoover was on call that night, so it worked out great! We discussed starting pitocin if I was not progressing in 2 hours. She was fine with whatever I wanted to do though. I could do intermittent monitoring, walk around, pretty much whatever.

About 8:30pm I was only slightly less comfortable and didn’t feel like things were moving very quickly so I asked my nurse to start pitocin at a really low dose (2 mu/min) to get things going. Dr Hoover came in shortly after and I was 5/75/-1. After this I am really foggy on times. I slowly got more and more uncomfortable and we bumped the pitocin to a max of 10 over the next 4 or 5 hours. I was having strong contractions but was a little frustrated that I wasn’t dilating more quickly. I am guessing around 10:30 or 11ish Dr Hoover came in and I was 6/75/-1. Although I wished it was moving faster, I knew once I got past 6 it would go quickly. All the time I was alternating positions to try and help baby move down. UAB didn’t have a birth ball which was a little disappointing. If you want to go natural there, bring your own =) I didn’t think I’d miss it too much at first, but I wished I had it once I started hurting because it’s just comfortable to sit on and you can lean over the bed easier. Katie (my doula) was rubbing my lower back during contractions to help with the pain and it helped a ton. Trey was holding my hands and also rubbing my back. They were both great! My discomfort slowly inched up and I kept wondering when we’d turn the corner into transition.

Somewhere around 1:20am I was lying in bed and baby’s heartrate dropped. I had a big decel for several minutes. We changed positions though and got her happy again. A big benefit of being unmedicated was being able to move around myself when I needed to for her sake. The nurse checked me during the decel and I was still 6 cm. Katie told me not to worry though because I had started shaking and hurting a lot worse and she assured me I was entering transition. The contractions felt so strong but I only felt them really low in my abdomen and back. We tried hands and knees position to try and get her to move down or rotate if she needed to. Dr Hoover had told me earlier that the baby was transverse meaning she was looking to the side instead of at my back.
I was really having to concentrate and breathe through these contractions and I got up to the bathroom several times over the next 20 minutes because I kept feeling like I need to pee. My teeth were chattering and I was shaking so hard at this point. I knew it had to be soon which was good because I didn’t think I could do this for too long. At 1:45 am roughly, Dr Hoover came in the room and was happy to see (judging from my pain level - breathing heavily, making noise and shaking violently) that I was definitely progressing=). She checked me and I was 9cm thank goodness!! I remember being a little surprised though because I didn’t feel like I needed to push yet. She asked me to push once and tried to stretch me to 10 cm, which didn’t work right and hurt! She told me to hang in there another 30 minutes and hopefully I’d be ready to push then. I was thinking, “30 minutes, you have got to be kidding me!” I didn’t remember hurting like this with Selah and I started crying and grabbing Trey’s arm during contractions. I was really thinking, “I can’t do this much longer but Katie reminded me just to take them one at a time. Not long after that though, I felt like I had to push even though I knew I shouldn’t, so I just bared down a little bit to get more comfortable. Anything was better than just sitting through the contraction. I started to feel a bit of panic because I was feeling so much all at once. Dr Hoover had stayed in the room after she’d checked me I guess because I was acting like I was ready to deliver, which I was thankfully. Several other people came in and they started setting up the room for delivery. Dr Hoover and Katie were talking to me and coaching me through the pushing. I’m not really sure what anyone was saying but I know I heard them and I was trying to do what they said to do. I am guessing I pushed for maybe 10 minutes, but I’m not really sure. It felt like an eternity. I do remember them encouraging me to let the contraction build up before I started pushing which was hard to do. At that point, the pressure was so intense I was scared to push but I knew to make it stop I had to. Finally at 2:03am, she was crowning and I was feeling the “ring of fire” one of the hardest points, if not the hardest part of my whole labor. I was trying to push in between contractions but Dr Hoover was telling me not to push until I had another one, she was trying to help me avoid tearing (which worked). I remember saying something along the lines of “she better come out with the next contraction” and I also remember saying or possibly yelling “get her out” a couple times. At 2:04 am on June 3, 2011 I had the privilege of delivering my beautiful baby girl though. She was worth every second of discomfort and somehow, the pain of her labor made me more emotional than I’ve been with either of my others. I got to pull her out up onto my chest once her shoulders were delivered, which was the MOST amazing thing. I just started sobbing, partly because I was soooo relieved she was out and I wasn’t hurting anymore and mostly because I was so in awe of this precious little baby girl. (Katie captured a couple of great pictures of this moment!)  We dried her off and I put her skin to skin pretty quickly. My nurses and doctor were so great to honor all my wishes at delivery. We delayed the bath so I could do skin to skin and breastfeed. They also delayed the hep b vaccine until she was 2 days old. I vaccinate but hate the thought of them getting a vaccine immediately after birth=(.
My recovery was so relaxed and not rushed at all. They gave us plenty of time to bond and let me get up when I was ready. We were there about 2 or 2 ½ hours after delivery and then they wheeled me up to my postpartum room. All in all, I felt like Selma Grace’s birth was harder on me than Selah’s, but Trey said from his perspective, I acted about the same during transition and delivery. I’m not sure, but if I have another one, I plan on going natural again. I definitely couldn’t have done it without Trey and Katie’s support. They both helped so much. My nurse Chrissy was fabulous too. She kept telling me how great I was doing and was so supportive of everything. I am so thankful to have been blessed with 3 healthy children, easy pregnancies and normal births. To God be all the glory!

Brown Eyed Auburn Girl

I wont' be posting anymore on this site.
You can find me at Brown Eyed Auburn Girl
Don't forget to update my new site on your blog roll!
Thanks!

Happy Wednesday!

blogger question??

anybody know how i can link my blogs so that when you click on the link to this blog, it takes you to my new blog.  i tried what blogger said to do and it didn't work.... aunt riley, got any ideas?

Southern Chic

So, in the past few hours, I have learned that changing your blog name and address is slightly more complicated than one would think.  Oh well, hindsight is 20/20!  I think I've gotten most of my stuff moved over to the new website!  I just thought "treynabby" sounded like it should be airbrushed on a cheesy t shirt from the beach.  Brown Eyed Auburn Girl sounds much more southern chic and blogworthy right?  I've never heard the term southern chic, but it sounded like a good word to use in this case.  Hope you follow my new blog!
Ok, off to play with kiddos before work.  Hope you all have a fabulous Tuesday!

Needed a change - new site address

I am changing my blogspot to http://www.browneyedauburngirl.blogspot.com/.
I just felt like I needed a change (I'm a girl, I can change my mind as many times as I want, right?)
So, I thought about what described me and since I think of myself a s just a plain jane/girl next door type, it was between Brown eyed girl or Girl next door which were both taken!  So.... I threw a little auburn shoutout in there and came up with my new blogspot=)  Hopefully everybody will figure out where I am and keep me on your blog roll!
update...
That is, as soon as I figure out how to import/export my blog to the new site?  Anybody have any experience with this?

Sophie, Selah and Susan

Selah is really into dolls right now (that is a huge understatement actually.)  She always has a doll with her which is exactly like Sophie at this age.  Love that!  Meet one of our many "doll friends."

See Sophie, Selah and Susan.

See Susan pose for a picture.

Selah loves Susan.

Susan can swim float.

Susan floats away from Sophie and Selah.

Sophie and Selah are mildly concerned.

Sophie thinks hard about saving Susan, but decides not to.

Poor Susan. =(

Susan survived though.

This is how Sophie poses for a picture.

This is how Selah poses for a picture.

Sophie thinking about which jump she's going to do off the board. 

Early stages of a great can opener. =)

In case you hadn't noticed, all we've done lately is swim, so stay tuned for more swimming pictures... lots more.

My Playroom Storage Solution!

I got the idea and designed a storage system for our playroom in May.

My sweet grandfather Pop Pop built it in June.

We painted it in July.

So, as you can imagine, I am super excited that it is installed and in use!

So without further ado... introducing, the new playroom storage system.

Can you tell I am excited???

The Hardware.

 (from Restoration Hardware)

The Baskets.

(from Land of Nod)

The Labels.

(Although I haven't finalized my labeling system, I bought these discounted stationary cards and laminated them at Fed Ex.  I am going to punch holes in the sides, attach them with ribbon and write on them with a dry erase marker.)

One piece of the three piece unit.

Tada!

We are loving it!  I wish my whole house could be as organized as this little nook!

One day....

Quick Pic Post

I was over at my parents' house the other day taking pictures of some furniture to do a new post on their website http://www.openwindowantiques.com/.  I snapped a few of Selah and caught this cute one.  This is her favorite way to swing on the big girl swing.

Took this one of the girls' at a friend's lake house on July 4th weekend.

Be back soon =)  I am trying to take pictures of our newly ORGANIZED playroom.  I am so happy with it!

Hugs, Kisses and a Birthday

So, I lied about not playing catch up.  I am going to try... a little =).

Luke and Sophie at "Ya Ya's Beach" before going to dinner at Lulu's for Elaine's bday.

Aunt Riley and Sophie

Loving on her "big city" aunt while she's in town.

Me and Miss Hollywood.  By the look on her face, I think she is protesting the camera =)

Bear hug.

Kisses from Reesie Poo

Sisters, can you see the tension =)  They really do love eachother though!

More of Miss Hollywood

So hard to get these glasses on straight, hey but at least they're not upside down like usual!

Back at the condo for birthday pie?  Elaine making a wish.

Getting a little help with the candles!

Stay tuned for more!

Beach Favorites and Orange Soda

More favorites uncut and unedited because I don't have any photo editing stuff back on my computer yet.

My Wildflower

Sophie Sunshine

So probably no one will think this is funny except for my mom, Elaine and Riley....

Remember the Nickelodeon show, All That?

Well, we watched it and loved Keenan and Kel.  And Kel looooved orange soda!

"Who loves orange soda? Kel loves orange soda!"

Watch a clip of Kenan and Kel here.

Selah loves orange soda too!

and so does Sophie =)

Every Diva needs a good pair of princess glasses!

Be back soon with more pics!

Favorites

I am so behind on posting pictures, I won't even try to catch up.  Last week we had to wipe out our computer (because of a bad virus) and start fresh, so I'm in the process of reloading programs and reorienting myself to the new computer setup.  I am trying to sort through the pictures of this summer so far.  I wonder how many pictures of my kids I'll have by the time they go to college?  Probably close to a million I am guessing =)  What is one to do with all these pictures?  Do we print them or just keep them on the computer?  Photo albums and scrapbooking are both daunting tasks that I am not willing to take on at the moment, so for now, as I sort through the photos, I'll just share a few faves =)

My little cowgirl

Future heartbreaker aka "Luke"

I am sure girls will go gaga for that curly hair

Ramblings of an Insomniac

It's 11:39 pm.  I have to get up at 6 am.  I can't sleep...
So I thought I'd talk to you about what's on my mind.
Life is going by way too fast for me.  Some days I want it to speed up, but most days I want it to slow down, slow way down.  I know I'll wake up one day and my kids will be grown, married and have kids of their own.  Their childhoods, the toddler tantrums, bedtime stories, ballet recitals, learning to read, potty training, teaching them to ride a bike or swim... All of it will be over in the blink of an eye.  I think of Sophie as a newborn and want to cry.  Wasn't that yesterday?  Is she about to be 5!?  It just can't be.  Selah is turning into a little girl in front of my eyes.  My baby is not a baby anymore.  It makes me want to re evaluate how I spend my time.  It makes me want to savor every moment of every day with them because I know that I will look back on this time in my life, as hard as it may be sometimes, very fondly and I'll want to travel back here.
I've also been thinking a lot about how we're not promised tomorrow.  What would my life look like if I lived each day like it was my last?  Today is the day that needs to count.  Today is the day that I need to be patient and loving and be a servant to my family, friends and my Heavenly Father.  Not tomorrow.  Today.  It's so easy to get overwhelmed with life as a young(ish) mom with small kids and a busy schedule.  But, it's so important to make every moment count.  I am the queen bee of scheduling/controlling/planning.  But, I am realizing more than ever lately that you can try to schedule/control/plan all you want, but ultimately you're probably wasting a lot of time.  If you'd spend a little more time talking to God, the One who knows how many hairs are on your head and has had the days of your life numbered since the beginning of time, He could save us a lot of heartache and worry.   He wants to do that for you and for me.  He wants our hearts and minds and our lives!

Luke 12:22-34  Then Jesus said to his disciples: “Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat; or about your body, what you will wear. 23Life is more than food, and the body more than clothes. 24Consider the ravens: They do not sow or reap, they have no storeroom or barn; yet God feeds them. And how much more valuable you are than birds! 25Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life? 26Since you cannot do this very little thing, why do you worry about the rest?

27“Consider how the lilies grow. They do not labor or spin. Yet I tell you, not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these. 28If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today, and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, how much more will he clothe you, O you of little faith! 29And do not set your heart on what you will eat or drink; do not worry about it. 30For the pagan world runs after all such things, and your Father knows that you need them. 31But seek his kingdom, and these things will be given to you as well.
32“Do not be afraid, little flock, for your Father has been pleased to give you the kingdom. 33Sell your possessions and give to the poor. Provide purses for yourselves that will not wear out, a treasure in heaven that will not be exhausted, where no thief comes near and no moth destroys. 34For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.

I want to teach my children to live like this.  I want to live like this. 
Carpe Diem!

Easy Skillet Cordon Bleu and Creamy Cheese Grits and Spinach

The Easy Skillet Cordon Bleu gets 4 1/2 Stars!

The Creamy Cheese Grits and Spinach gets 3 1/2 stars.

I think I'd have rather had the grits and spinach separate, but it was a great way to sneak the spinach in so my girls would eat it.  All in all it was a big hit =)

Very easy and very tasty!!

Fun Food and a New Nook

I have been trying to get a bit more creative with our meals and snacks lately.  The other night, I got sucked into vortex that is the Southern Living website for a few hours a while, and I found some of these...

Here are a few things I am going to try out this week.

"Mom's Best Granola" from http://www.allrecipes.com/

Easy Skillet Cordon Bleu  and Slow Cooker Chuck Roast from http://www.southernliving.com/

Homemade Hummus from http://www.marthastewart.com/

I'll let you know how they turn out and try to post pictures of my own!

I have also been working off and on at organizing my house.  Since our house has been for sale for 1 1/2 years... I am determined to make this small space as functional as possible while still being pretty!  It's actually been a fun and challenging project.  One of the most helpful things we've done is to move our huge desk downstairs next to the kitchen.  For a while it was just becoming a paper cluttered jungle, but yesterday I had had enough and I decided to clean it up and make it pretty.  It turned out pretty well considering I just used what I had around the house.  I moved some pictures, cleaned it off and fresh flowers always add a nice touch!