Gorgeous Giggling Grins: "A Dream is a Wish Your Heart Makes..."

The story of Collins Elizabeth.

"A dream is a wish your heart makes,

when you're fast asleep.

In dreams you lose your heartaches

Whatever you wish for, you keep.
Have faith in your dreams and someday,
Your rainbow will come smiling thru.
No matter how your heart is grieving
If you keep on believing,
the dream that you wish will come true."

~ Cinderella

The Pregnancy

Throughout my pregnancy, this is the song I associated with our baby. It's actually quite fitting. You see, we left for a trip to Disney World with the Vance family the day after we got a positive pregnancy test. I heard this song a lot that first week...

As with any pregnancy, you hold your breath the first 8 weeks. You yearn for that first ultrasound... to see and hear your child's heartbeat for the first time. That's when it gets real (at least for us). At our first ultrasound appointment, Hannah tagged along. Any time she has to tag along for appointments, she gets iPad time as a special treat. She was sitting in her chair and playing on different apps. When she got bored, she clicked on the videos. At that moment, the ultrasound was getting started. At the EXACT moment they turned the audio for the heart beat on, this song started playing in the room. My eyes welled up with tears. We had been praying for this child and our "dream" was coming true. Throughout my pregnancy, I constantly heard and/or saw signs directly related to this song. For example, I was shopping for things for the baby's room and came across a pillow with this quote. I didn't buy it, since it was pink and we didn't know the gender.... I should have known then and there we'd have a girl.

We decided very early on that we wanted this baby's gender to be a surprise. It's one of life's truest surprises. We wanted to experience being in the delivery room and hearing the Dr saying "it's a..." with our child proudly held in the air. That was a tough wait for us! All of us were anxious and excited those final weeks. We couldn't wait to hear who would be joining our family.

We spilled the beans to our families on Christmas Day. I had just gone to a drs appointment and although it was still a bit early, we wanted those closest to us to know. Hannah "made" the announcement by wearing a "Big Sister" shirt. Everyone was so excited!

I've mentioned before that this pregnancy was very different from my first:

* I had morning sickness my first trimester

* Heartburn was, by far, my biggest struggle (symptomatically speaking) with my back secondary to that

* I CRAVED veggies and salads. Towards the end, it was salted caramel pretzel frozen yogurt from YoLo with Reese's cups and crushed graham cracker :)

* I was completely all belly and carried really low

* This baby was a mover and a shaker and once she got big enough, you could clearly see all of her movements contorting my belly

* My feet grew a half size

On being a big sister...

Despite minor discomforts, I truly enjoyed being pregnant...even chasing a very active preschooler around. Speaking of Hannah, she really didn't know what to think about the news that she was going to be a big sister. We really had to talk her through what it meant and what her role would be. She ran hot and cold on learning about it.

The Home Stretch

I always thought this baby would come early. It seemed like this baby was growing quicker and I was too ;) You also always hear how second children tend to arrive a little early, however; Miss Collins had other plans. My due date (8/2) came and went. We patiently waited. I was bound and determined to go into labor by myself since I was induced with Hannah. We tried all the old wives tales. I don't know how many miles I walked that last week. Ha! It doesn't really matter because I progressed very little.

I started measuring on the smaller side (a good 2-3 weeks smaller than normal) around week 36. Previously, I was measuring right on. Come to find out, my amniotic fluid levels were on the lower side but still in the normal range. The drs began to monitor my progress more closely. If the levels dropped anymore, they'd have to induce. Subsequent drs appointments showed I was growing week-by-week, but still measuring small. My fluid levels held steady, so I was able to keep Collins cooking a bit longer. Again, I was determined to go into labor on my own.

At my 40 week appointment (8/4), we set an induction date (8/11). If I hadn't gone into labor by then, Collins would be evicted by force. We concluded it looked like the baby wasn't coming any time soon, so I sent Wes to his national sales meeting in DC. The drive is just a few hours and we knew he'd make it back if anything happened. Little did I know... I went back to the dr on the 6th for an ultrasound and found out my fluid levels were reaching a pivotal point and the decision was made to be induced the next day. Wes was immediately called and hit the road to come back home. My dad also hit the road. Mom was already here helping with Hannah. This is it!

We told Hannah the time had come for her baby brother or sister to arrive. We'd talked a lot about how mommy and daddy have to go to the hospital to get baby out with the drs help. We'd been showing her pictures of her own birthday. She understood, but it made her nevous. She had a hard time going to bed that night and asked several times if I would be around the next morning to give her breakfast. We had a nice chat laying in her bed, just the two of us. That's certainly a memory I'll cherish.

40 weeks and 4 days

Happy Birthday!- August 7th, 2014

I was told to be ready when I got "the call" from the hospital. At 6:30am, the call came in. I had to be at the hospital by 8am. We took our time leaving and made sure to sit with Hannah during breakfast. We took a few photos and then off Wes and I went.

40 weeks, 5 days

We checked into the hospital at 8am. I was only 3cm and not very effaced at that point. I was hooked up to the Pitocin drip by 10am. The doctor that day was Dr. A, ironically, a neighbor of ours. He was fantastic! And, although, having a neighbor deliver you is awkward, we wouldn't have had it any other way.

Last official belly shot

Around noon, they broke my water. At 1:30pm, I got my epidural...ah sweet relief. Ironically, the anesthesiologist was also a neighbor. Lol! That was my first time meeting her. She is now my new best friend for taking the pain away. There is a huge difference in having contractions before and after your water breaks. Just saying. I've heard Pitocin also intensifies thing...it's all I've ever known, so I'm not sure ;) I just know it hurt!

I wasn't dilating much, but was effacing. Around two, the nurse decided to try something called a peanut with me. Basically, it's like a large balance ball with a dip in the middle...it looks just like a peanut. They placed it between my knees. Apparently, it opens up your hips and allows the baby to wiggle its way down. And, wiggle it did!

Holy cow, it worked for me! I went from a 3 to a 10 in no time flat! The nurse checked me frequently after seeing lots of activity on the fetal monitor. She finally asked if I was feeling any pressure. At the time I wasn't, but within a minute I was. She checked me again and I was at a 10! It was a little after 4pm. Dr. A was called in and the pushing began.

This birth was much different than H's. With H, my epidural made me completely numb. With this one, I could feel pressure and movement, but no pain. I have to say, it was a really cool experience this go around. Like Hannah, I asked for this little one to be cleaned off before handing her over. I was denied since it's a baby friendly hospital. In the end, I'm glad they denied me. I wouldn't trade that moment for anything. At 4:30pm, we finally heard the words "it's a girl" and welcomed our sweet Collins into the world. Here is our first skin-to-skin moment. I was instantly in love. She was perfection to me.

Collins Elizabeth weighed in at 7lbs 1 oz and was 20 inches long.

First Moments

After getting stats and a good check-up, we were left alone. Wes and I spent the "magical hour" enjoying our newest addition. Collins immediately nursed and I haven't had near the issues I had with H. Whew! We quickly realized Collins self-soothes by sucking. She loves having her hands near her face and always manages to get a finger in her mouth to suckle when upset. She does not like to be swaddled with her arms down, but is very content bundled up with her arms at her face.

After the "magical hour," we began making phone calls to our family and announcing the gender and name of our baby. I have to admit, I had fun making those calls! We waited to tell my parents and Hannah until they arrived at the hospital. It was fun having Hannah walk in. She expressed at the end of my pregnancy that she wanted a baby brother AND sister. Lol! When we told her she was only getting one, she picked a sister.

One of my favorite moments was when mom and dad brought Hannah into the room. We got to announce, in person, the gender and name of our baby. We had waited a long time for this moment! It was so fun for us! Mom and dad took Hannah to pick out a cupcake for Collins' birthday. She was proudly holding it when she walked in the room. Wes was holding Collins and Hannah immediately walked over and excitedly said "happy birthday" and handed the cupcake over. We announced the gender and name...although, I think the pink hat immediately gave it away. Hannah was cautiously optimistic when we told her about her new sister. She showed interest; however, when we asked if she wanted to hold her she politely declined. I bribed her with a cupcake :) H promptly climbed in my lap and waited to hold her new sister. It was a precious moment and I definitely welled up with tears. H got wiggly after a few minutes and promptly asked her to be taken away.