Gwen Birth Story

My pregnancy with Gwen was more difficult for me then my pregnancy with Emmett. I had more complications with Emmett but I was a lot more sick and in pain with Gwen. Since I had preeclampsia with Emmett they watched my blood pressure like a hawk especially towards the end of my pregnancy. I was secretly hoping it would spike so they would induce me sooner but it never did. At my 37 week appointment I told my Doctor I want to schedule an induction for 39 weeks, I was so ready to be done and I couldn't bear to be pregnant any longer. I was already dilated to a 3 at this point and my doctor thought she would come before my scheduled induction, that however was not the case. My induction was scheduled for March 30th at 5:30 AM at St. Josephs hospital. When the day finally came I could not sleep at all and we were up at 3 AM getting ready and waiting, around 5 we were about to wake up Emmett to take him to my friends when the hospital called and said we need to push your induction back, they weren't sure when and said they would call me back. So here I sat thinking, seriously I am never going to birth this child am I. I ate some toast and took a nap and my phone rang at 7 AM and they said be here at 7:30 and we'll begin the induction. So we dropped Emmett off at my friends and headed to the hospital. When we arrived and were placed in our labor and delivery room they started my IV and waited for my doctor to come in to break my water. When he tried to break it though it wouldn't break so he had to place an internal monitor on her head which read her heart beat and at the same time broke my water. Then they started the pitocin. At this point I was dilated to a 4. We hung out for about 3 hours, contractions were happening regularly but nothing too painful, so they upped the pitocin to get things rolling, contractions started getting more and more painful so I asked for the anesthesiologist to come in and place my epidural. For what ever reason placing this epidural was a lot harder then with Emmett, I could not sit still, every time he poked me with the local anesthetic I would jump, eventually he had to be hard with me and said if you can not sit still I can not give you this. So I buckled down through contractions and got it done. So not fun but it started working immediately and I was so happy to find some relief. At this point I was dilated to a 6. About 15 minutes after receiving my epidural I started to notice my chest was going numb, I could still feel my feet but my whole upper half of my body was numb. I told my nurse who called the anesthesiologist who said it obviously took too well so to turn it off and wait 45 minutes and turn it back on. So they turned my epidural off. Taylor decided to go get something to eat and soon after he left I could feel her coming, of course at this time I am alone in my room so I called my nurse in and said I don't know whats going on but she feels like she is right there about to come out, so she checked me and low and behold I was dilated to a 10. The nurse said get your husband back in here and I'm going to call the doctor. I had to try so hard not to start pushing right then and there. Taylor finally got back and the nurse came in and we started pushing, after about 5 minutes it was time to deliver, my doctor was getting all ready and when it was time I pushed twice and out she came at 1:37 PM ( I labored for 5 hours). Since they had to turn the epidural off and then never got to turn it back on my doctor and nurses were saying I probably just delivered naturally, which I believe, I definitely felt the ring of fire, and I could feel her head stretching everything right there the whole time. It was really hard but since I was in so much pain I wanted to push even harder to get her out and be relieved. I did have a second degree tear so they gave some local anesthetic and stitched me up. Just like her brother Gwen didn't cry at all her eyes were wide open looking around and never made a sound. She weighed 8 lbs 12 oz, and was 19.5 inches long. Having a daughter has brought me so much joy these last two weeks, I love and adore my son and I will never favoritize my children but there is something to be said about being a mother and having a daughter. Even at 2 weeks old she has her own quirks and personality. We love her so dearly and are happy she is here happy, healthy and thriving.

Introducing Gwen Peggy Davis

Born March 30, 2017 1:37 PM

8.12 lbs 19.5 in

3 to 6 months

4 Month - Had his first airplane ride to Utah to visit family, met all of my siblings, his cousins, grandpa and great grandparents on both sides, and Taylors siblings for the first time, we then drove back to Tucson, 14 hours phew! He definitely didn't dig the long car ride. Obsessed with attention, loves to be talked to by anybody willing. Found his toes! Growing fast, eating great, and sleeping well.

4 months old

5 Month - Started eating rice/oatmeal cereal, and got his first tooth! We didn't realize it til we noticed something white in his mouth and bam he had a tooth! His second popped through soon after. Loves to be tickled, he is always smiling and laughing. Such a little flirt! We stopped swaddling him to sleep this month, it was a bit of a challenge at first but got better after a few nights. 

5 months old

6 Month - Started solids and loves everything we give him! Especially peas ;) starting to drink from a learner sippy cup. Rolls back to front and now rolls to get everywhere. Still isn't sitting very well but is a super stander! Loves his jumperoo, and anything that lights up and makes sound. Is fascinated by our cats and any other animals. Is sleeping much better at night, only wakes up once to eat. Blows bubbles and "talks" constantly. Taylor deployed this month :(

6 months old

It amazes me how much babies learn and grow so quickly! I guess thats what they mean when they say it goes by fast, which it does! I feel like I was pregnant just yesterday and now were halfway to a year! But I honestly love how much more independent he gets each day, it is so fun to watch him learn and grow. Its been tough adjusting to Taylor being gone but luckily Emmett finally started sleeping through the night except for 1 feeding which has helped keep me sane.

                    

First 3 months of life

 1 week old

1 Month - Had his first bath, which he hated, screamed the whole time. My parents were here for 2 weeks and Taylor's mom came for a week. The help and company was so nice! The first month was a tough one, I was planning on exclusively breast feeding but my supply never came in and Emmett never really learned how to latch properly, he lost over a pound from his birth weight and didn't gain until 3 weeks old. We began supplementing with formula and at 5 weeks I decided to drop breast feeding and solely formula feed. It was a very hard decision and tough time for me as I was really wanting to only breast feed but for what ever reason it just didn't work out and I came to terms with it and was just happy to be able to feed my baby and watch him grow.

1 month old

2 Month - We celebrated his first Easter, he smiled for the first time and found his hands. At 5 weeks we found out Emmett had a milk allergy and we had to switch to a hypoallergenic formula, we also found out he had acid reflux and needed to be put on medication. Because of these two unfortunate events we had a very fussy difficult baby on our hands, he didn't sleep well at all and was hardly ever not crying.

2 months old

3 Month - He learned to grasp objects, roll from his stomach to his back and he laughs out loud when we sing to him. We will never know for sure but we may have had a colicy baby on our hands, needless to say he has grown out of it and is a much much happier baby. We decided at 10 weeks to start sleep training him and he does so good, sleeps in his crib and falls asleep all on his own (finally something easy! ;) He absolutely loves the bath now, splashes and smiles constantly. He loves to look at himself in the mirror, watch the tv and play with his toys and activity gym. He can also sit in his bumbo and be propped up on the couch. He enjoys sucking on his hands and playing with his tounge.

3 months old

I have to say the newborn phase was a tough one for us, no sleep for anyone, basically living at the pediatricians office, and lots of stress. But we made it out alive and have reached the light at the end of the tunnel :) but I must say even though we always knew things would get better there were times where it seemed like it would take forever!

Emmett Birth Story

When I went to my 38 week appt I definitely was not expecting to be told I would be induced the next day! My blood pressure was rising and I had protein in my urine, signs of preeclampsia. My doctor told me she was afraid if we waited any longer I would start to get sick so she said we will be inducing you tomorrow at 7:30 AM, I was pretty shocked I did not think when I went into my appt I'd be leaving knowing I am having my baby boy tomorrow. So Wednesday morning on March 19th me and Taylor headed out to St Josephs hospital to have our baby. I got there and dressed into my gown and the nurse put my IV in, we waited a little while for my Dr to come in to start my pitocin and break my water. When she did this I was still dialated a 2 which is what I had been for the previous 2 weeks. Within the next few hours the contractions began, they felt like really bad period cramps in my back, nothing crazy but definitely uncomfortable. They checked me again and I was a 4. By this time I was pretty uncomfortable, I tried to distract myself but it wasn't working. The nurse kept asking if I wanted my epidural that I could have it when ever I wanted, I didn't want to be a wuss though so I tried to go as long as I could. I finally gave up and said call the anesthesiologist  I want it now, took him 5 minutes to get there and he explained every thing to me, I have only heard scary stories of receiving an epidural but honestly I didn't even feel it. Once he was done I laid back down and waited for it to kick in, after about an hour I was finally comfortable again, nurse checked me and I was a 6. She then told me the baby needed to turn a little so I needed to lay on my left side so I did and immediately was in a lot of pain, I started to tear up so Taylor asked the nurse to have the anesthesiologist come back and check my epidural. She checked me again and I was a 9.5, I went from a 6 to a 9.5 in 15 minutes and the she tells me they try not to give high doses of the epidural so you are able to push so I was not completely numb by any means :O. When the anesthesiologist came back he checked and my epidural had moved a little so he fixed it and I laid back, my nurse checked once more and I was a 10 and told me to get ready to push. It all happened so fast it was about 2:30 PM when I started pushing, and let me tell you pushing is hard! Not really because of the pain and pressure but because you can't breathe your doing breathe in hold for 10 seconds and push let out and again in reps of 3, after about 45 mins they had to put me on oxygen cause I was having a hard time catching my breathe, my head felt like it was gonna pop off. He kept coming down while I was pushing and as soon as I stopped he would go back, the nurse decided in between contractions I needed to keep my legs up rather then putting them down. An intern nurse and Taylor were holding my legs, yup Taylor watched the whole thing and was a super champ, I was very surprised. This did the trick so the nurse called my Dr and she came in and I pushed for about 15 minutes and he was born at 3:44 PM (I was in labor for 7 hours) Let me tell you it was not pleasant, there at the end I was screaming and saying I can't do this, I felt like I was gonna die, I couldn't breathe and it hurt. I started to tear so the Dr cut me a little and out he came. His head was big for my little body so that explained the difficulty. They told me he weighed 8.7 lbs and 19.5 in long, I was so surprised! I wasn't thinking he would be that big especially 2 weeks early. When he came out he did not cry at all he just looked around and was very content, they immediately placed him on me and I was so exhausted, and pretty out of it. All the nurses kept commenting on how cute he was, how strong he was, and how alert he was. I just couldn't stop thinking I can not believe I just did that. He was and is perfect I love my sweet little boy and every one is right you will never be the same again and your whole life changes in an instant. I still can't believe he is all mine and I have a son now, I feel too young and so old all at the same time. In the words of my sister, pregnancy is not for the faint of heart :)

Introducing Emmett Henry Scott Davis

Born March 19, 2014 3:44 PM

8.7 lbs 19.5 in

my apologies for the explicitness ;)

He sleeps and eats like a champ, he is such a good baby. He gets pretty upset when we change him but other then that he is happy and content as can be. I couldn't be happier. 

21 - 35 Weeks!

They don't lie when they say pregnancy never gets easier, I suppose my second trimester was easier then the first and third, but still not my cup of tea. Eventually around 32 weeks you feel like I can't get any bigger but then bam you do. I grew in weird spurts so instead of the steady 1 pound a week, id go weeks without gaining anything and then gain 4 pounds in one week. Lets just say I really did grow over night and it was a little crazy, instead of gradual id look in the mirror and think whoa I'm big. He is still constantly moving, especially when i lay down to go to bed, i swear he thinks its dance party time. As obnoxious as it is I am glad I know he is alright in there, although I worry how energetic he will become once he is born :O

25 weeks

27 weeks

30 weeks

31 weeks

33 weeks 

35 weeks 

Some pictures of the little man :) 24 weeks

They also say the last few weeks are the longest and they don't lie there either. I am super uncomfortable and I can't walk or stand for very long without my pelvis legs and back killing me for days. So like I tell every one my days are spent laying around being pregnant. Only 5 weeks to go til we get to meet this little guy in person, and my parents and my mother in law are coming down to help when he is born which is going to be so nice. I am nervous worried and scared but at the same time I am ready to be a mama to this little human thats been growing inside me the past 8 months. 

Next post will be labor and delivery! Due March 30th. 

Some random tidbits of my 3rd trimester - I can no longer wear my wedding rings, I passed my gestational diabetes test woot! I have had the flu and whopping cough vaccines, I have had a cold/cough twice (Dec & Feb), got my first hemorrhoid (the worst), gained 34 pounds so far, did the hospital tour and birthing class, finished the nursery, had 3 baby showers, went to triage for decreased fetal movement (everything was fine)

0 - 21 Weeks!

I found out I was pregnant in August 2013. It was a bit of a surprise and a little hard to take since Taylor was deployed at the time. I have to be honest and say pregnancy is a tough one for me as I am sure it is most women, I just never imagined it to be this hard! I was feeling pretty good at the beginning and then 10-14 weeks I threw up constantly, it was miserable. At one time I couldn't keep anything down and lost 4 pounds so my OB sent me to the ER to get an IV. I have felt fine, sickness wise, ever since then.

 Baby Davis at 10 weeks

Baby Davis at 12 weeks

Being pregnant has been such an interesting yet intense experience, I have learned so much and now have sympathy for any pregnant women on the earth! Every women is different and all women experience pregnancy and the symptoms in different ways. I think I got all the sucky symptoms :P I haven't felt like myself since before I even knew I was pregnant, and when I look in the mirror I am like whoa is that really me! It is quite the experience. I didn't start showing until 18 weeks and have been growing like a weed ever since! I have gained 10 pounds total since being pregnant which I think is pretty good. I happily only carry in my stomach and not so happily in my chest. I was already busty to begin with and now, lets just say I am worried for my backs sake! 

18 weeks

19 weeks

20 weeks

21 weeks

It is pretty crazy to see the pictures all lined up week to week, I encourage all those who are or who are planning on being pregnant at some time, take weekly pictures! It's the only way to really see the growth I think! We were very blessed that Taylor was able to make it home from deployment just 2 days before the ultra sound to find out the babies gender. I really wanted a girl but turns out baby Davis decided to be a boy, not gonna lie I was a little disappointed, I understand girls I don't understand boys, I live with one and I still don't get them. But every one keeps telling me it'll come naturally so hopefully I can be a fabulous mother to our little boy! 

Baby BOY Davis at 20 weeks

All in all I really am ready for this whole pregnancy to be over, it really sucks feeling crappy all the time, but mostly so I can hold and love our little bundle of joy. Although I have heard they come out having a lot of the same attributes they have in the womb and if that ends up being true I can tell you he is gonna be one energetic little bugger, he is moving constantly! It feels like popcorn popping in my belly, and when he shifts positions its like someone is in there moving my kidney from side to side or something ha ha! It is definitely a cool feeling. Sadly Taylor hasn't been able to feel him, but he will soon enough, got a little over 4 months left to go and still a lot of growing to do!