The Jensen's: October 2011

So for the past couple of days, I've been having this huge crisis! I know without a doubt that education is key and that it is so important to get an education. But now that mine is over scholastically anyways, (I'll always keep learning, just not in a formal classroom) I'm so grateful for my knowledge but I have to wonder if it is worth it. I now have this beautiful baby girl that I want to stay home with so so badly, but don't know if it's possible because of all my student loans from dental hygiene school. Before hygiene school, I didn't have any debt, in fact, I was paid to go to school! Why couldn't hygiene school be like that too? I love my job so much and love what I do, but oh man do I want to stay home with my little one. I don't want someone else to hear her first laugh or watch her take her first step, I want that to be me! But I don't know if we can afford for me to not go back to work even if it is only 2 days a week. And then there's the trouble of driving to provo and paying a babysitter. If I didn't have school loans then sure we could make it work, but I do and they have to be paid back. I wish they could just go away... that would be nice! Then there's this huge problem with medical school. I'm so excited that Jason is finally in med school. This is his dream and I will always support him but man, where did my husband go? I knew it would be hard and I wouldn't get to see him a lot but I NEVER see him! And when he does come home, he eats, holds his sweet little girl and takes a nap with her, then heads down to his "cave" (his desk in the basement) to study more. I know this is how it has to be but it sure is lonely some days. Luckily I have family only a few hours away and my mom has been able to come help me with the baby when she was born and again the next week when I was so sick I couldn't take care of her but now she had to leave again and sometimes I just wish I could go with her for some company but know I need to be here with my hubby too! And we only have one car so if I do leave with the car to go visit family, Jason is left without one and that doesn't work. But here's the catch... we've prayed about every decision we've made... me going to hygiene school.... Jason going to medical school.... having our sweet baby... and selling our other car and yes, we feel so blessed to have gotten answers that this is what we need to do. This is where we need to be. So I know it will all work out and I just have to have the faith to see it through! I love my life and my family and have been so so so blessed, I just can't let my faith waiver and everything will work out! I just need a reminder every once in a while!

Here is the very long story of Adi's birth! If you don't want to read this forever long post you can just look at the pictures at the bottom! They're way more fun anyways!

So on Tuesday Sept. 27th, (two weeks before I was due) I went to the doctor for my 38 week appointment. This was the first time he had checked my dilation and he said I wasn't dilated at all and normally it takes about two weeks for a woman to dilate so I would most likely be going over my due date. So I went about that week as usual and was having contractions here and there but nothing to crazy and I didn't think much of it. I had made a big list of things that I wanted to do before she came at work and home as I thought I still had another week to fill my time before she came. Well Monday Oct. 3rd I woke up about 3:30 in the morning and had to use the restroom (imagine that! being 9 mo. pregnant). So i went in and I lost part of what is called my mucus plug. That can happen anytime before the baby comes (even like 3 weeks before she comes) so again I didn't think much of it. Well I went back into bed but was having contractions. I figured I could just go back to sleep and they'd go away like they normally did, but every time I would almost be asleep, I would have another. They weren't crazy painful but did kind of take my breath away a little. I got up and got something to eat and rested and turned on the tv and just waited for them to leave. Well they didn't and I started timing them and they were about 15 min. apart. I just kept waiting and finally about 6:30 I woke Jason up as they were about 6 min. apart at this point and asked him to give me a blessing. So I knew Jason had class that day and he only had like one day he could miss so I didn't want to waist his day to go down to the hospital in orem if it was just false labor so I really wanted to make sure we should go. Well we decided to go on a walk and came back and they tell you to take a hot bath and see if they change or go away. So I did all of that and we called my mom, his mom, his sister Becca and the nurse on call from my Dr. and asked them what we should do. They all just kind of told us that we should take it easy and if they don't change we should go down. So I finally started packing my bags and we left for orem hospital at about 8:30 am. When we got there, we checked in and what they do is they monitor your contractions and the baby's heart rate for an hour. If you've changed dilation more than 1 cm in an hour then they will admit you, if not they send you home as you are either in early labor (which continues to active labor) or false labor (which just stops after a while). She brought me back into the room and checked my dilation and I was about a 2. I knew I had progressed a little because Jason had checked at home (He learned how to do this when he went to Guatemala and had to check a lady there) and I was at a 1 so I was progressing some but after monitoring me for an hour I was only at a 2+ but not quite a 3. Not enough to be admitted so she told me she wanted to send me home for a while. Well my mom was freaking out at home because she didn't want me going all the way back to salt lake and have something change really quick and not be able to make it back down to the hospital and when I told the nurse I lived in Salt Lake, she was really nervous too and told me she was pretty confident this was early labor not false labor. She asked if I could stay another hour and be monitored but it was time for Jason to leave for class because he had a test that day. My Mom was just leaving to come up to be with me but she wouldn't be there for another 2 hours at least. So I called Jamie and she said I could come hang out with her so Jason left to come back up for class and I stayed at the hospital and they monitored me for about another hour. I still was at about a 2+ or 3 but not far enough to be admitted. She told me I should have a shot of morphine and phenigren. Morphine to help with the pain of the contractions and phenigren so I could get some sleep since I hadn't had any since 3:30 that morning. She also said that it would be good because if it was false labor then the medicine would stop contractions all together but if it were early labor, they wouldn't. So she gave me the shot and I went and waited for Jamie to come get me. It was hilarious though because Jamie was busy for a minute and they said I could wait in the room but I decided to go into the waiting room and wait cause I didn't think it would be that long. So here I am sitting in the chair of the waiting room trying EVERYTHING I could not to fall asleep because the phenigren was knocking me out! I sat there and played games on my phone and would nod off and jerk back awake, it was hilarious. So Jamie came and got me but needed to run a few errands before going home so she stopped and got me lunch and ran to costco for a sec then we went to her house and I laid down to sleep. While I was alseep, my mom got there and Jamie left for work. I slept for probably about two hours. When I woke up, I was still having contractions but they had gone from about 5 or 6 min. apart at the hospital to about 8 min. apart as I woke up. I got in the shower and did my hair and stuff while I waited for Jason to come back down from class. After he was done, he drove back down to Jamie's. My mom gave him a haircut as we were just filling time making sure that it was time to go back to the hospital so I wouldn't be sent home again. Well about 8:30 pm we were debating whether we should go walk around the mall for a minute or if we should go back to the hospital but I decided that my contractions were strong enough and painful enough and about 6 min apart again so we should probably go back to the hospital. So we went back and they took me into the monitoring room again. She checked my dilation and said I was about a 4+ or 5 and that this was the real thing and I needed to be admitted. So they took me back and got me all settled in my room. The cool thing about this hospital is that the beds come apart and you deliver in the same room that you are staying in so you don't have to switch rooms the whole time you are there. The rooms are huge and nice and the care is amazing! So after we got paperwork done and I got settled, I was ready for my epidural. My contractions were definitely painful and I was ready but they had to call in the nurse anesthetist from home since it was so late. He finally got there about 11:00 at night and I was so glad to see him. He did awesome with my epidural. I still had control of my leg movement and could feel the pressure of my contractions but not the pain so I would know when to push when it came that time. They told me to just rest know that I had my epidural since I wasn't in pain and so I just went to sleep for a while. The nurse came back in a while later at probably around 1 in the morning. She checked my dilation again and said I was at an 8+ or more. So the doctor came in about 10 min. later and checked and said no she's complete (which means completely dilated) The crazy thing was my doctor was gone that day (monday) in california and had gotten home that night but was off until tuesday morning so I knew he wouldn't be there to deliver Adi but she had decided it was time to come anyways. So Dr. Mcarter was the name of the covering doctor. He told me that he wanted to do what is called rest and descend for about a half hour where we just wait and let the baby come down on her own a little but Adi was already so so low that they could feel her head every time they checked dilation. So we waited about a half hour and he came back in and said it was time to push. I pushed for about 5 contractions and she was here! I have never felt so much love and joy overcome me at one time in my life. It's such a miracle! It was so neat to see your baby that had been inside of you for the past nine months right there. They took Adi over to the bed in the same room for the respiratory therapist to clean out her lungs and do all her checks. She did start to cry right as she was born so she aspirated just a little bit of fluid that she had to work out over the next couple of days. I had torn a 2nd degree tear and so the doctor had to stitch me back up and that took about an hour to do. He had started stitching and realized the tear went much farther back than he thought so he had to start over so that's why it took so long. While they were stitching me up, they brought adi over to Jason and I and I finally got to hold my little girl. Best feeling ever! So indescribable!

Well Jason's test didn't go so well to say the least that day as he was so worried about me but Adilynn Ann Jensen finally was here! We stayed in the hospital until thursday morning and then came home. My mom came and stayed at my house until thursday to help me and then I went to her house Sunday night and Dale and Barbara brought me back on Wednesday. and boy do I miss having my mom here and all her help! But it is so fun to have Adi here and she's doing great. She's a good sleeper and sometimes I have to wake her up at night to eat. Other nights, she wakes up for about a three hour block and I'm so ready for her to go back to bed. But I will take all the sleepless nights for sure to have her here! The time has gone by so fast and I can't believe she's already almost 2 weeks old! It's so crazy! She has her first Dr. appointment this wednesday so hopefully that goes well. Her bilirubin was a little high in the hospital so I had to have it checked again the day after we came home but then he said just to wait until this appointment and her skin tone looks much better so I think she's doing great that way. She was 7 lbs. 3 oz. and 20 in. long. and so so cute (although I may be a little bias!!)

Kassi is adjusting pretty well! When we first brought her home she just stayed away from her. Now she'll smell her but we won't let her touch her for sure but she's doing much better! It's funny though cause she was actually kinda scared of me when we first came home. I must be momma bear and she knows it! :) But we are all adjusting well and doing great!

I just want to thank all those who have been so so kind to us! Kim and Cody were so amazing and watched Kassi for us, decorated our house and brought dinner and everything! They have been awesome! I definitely couldn't do it without my mom! She's been there for everything, even if it is just a phone call to talk while Jason is at school. All those who have brought us dinner! All those who have come to visit and all those who have just given support and sweet gifts! Thanks so so much! Adi is well loved that's for sure!

Again sorry this is so long but I am making this blog kind of a Journal for me since I am a horrible Journal keeper and then I can print it into a book! But here are some fun pictures!

Adilynn Ann Jensen

Born Oct. 4th at 2:07 am

7 lbs. 3 oz.

20" long