It's funny how as soon as you have a third child people automatically ask when you're having a fourth. I'm here to tell you there won't be a fourth Smith sister. That's right, I said sister. Because we all know if we were to have another kiddo, it would be another girl. I think God isn't giving me a son because he knows boys aren't very fun to dress. Have you been to the boy section of Target lately? You probably haven't because there isn't one. Anyway...let's get back on track...
Anna Grace Smith arrived on October 3rd at 2:45 in the morning, after a long day of labor and an even longer 9 months of pregnancy. Anna kept us on our toes from the day I found out I was carrying her.
A few weeks after finding out I was pregnant, I began to have complications. I went to my OB to have blood work done and while I was there she did an ultrasound. Much to my dismay, there wasn't a baby on the screen. I was crushed. My OB said 1 of 2 things was happening - either my days were wrong or I had a blighted ovum. A blighted ovum occurs when there's an egg sac but no embryo. Your body thinks it is pregnant and continues to show signs of pregnancy, but realizes around week 12 that there's no actual baby. Many women "miscarry" at that point. If your body doesn't pass the sac, your options are to take pills that help you pass it or have a D&C. Yep, a D&C.
So, my OB had me do some blood work over the next week to see if my hormone levels increased. They didn't. I just sat around thinking about what to do next, so ready to put the whole ordeal behind me and get pregnant again. There was a lot of prayer and asking God to just let "it" happen, whatever "it" was going to be. It was such a rough week. I scheduled an appointment to go in and discuss my options, still not sure what to do and very sad.
I dropped the girls off at my mom's house on the morning of the appointment and headed to the OB. Weight, blood pressure, blah blah blah. Then the ultrasound to see the empty sac and talk about the bad, rough week ahead.
Except the sac wasn't empty.
There was a baby! Anna Grace was alive and well. And the entire room was in tears. A miracle in exam room 3!
Talk about an amazing and unforgettable moment. It was a testament to prayer and knowing that our lives are truly in God's hands. He can bring you from the lowest of the lows to the highest of the highs in a matter of seconds.
That was just the start to Anna's antics during her stay on the inside! The next 30ish weeks were full of spinning, kicking, back flipping, raging heartburn, and some of the most intense back pain I've ever felt. I'll spare you those wonderful details and put them in a later post - the title will be something like "What your girlfriends don't tell you about pregnancy"...
At around week 20, Dr. B did an ultrasound that showed that Anna was sideways. Not upside down (Breech), but completely sideways. She told me not to worry because Anna still had plenty of time to turn. Liar. I knew Anna was going to keep her booty right where it was. And she did. So at week 38 Dr. B scheduled a C section for October 2nd, which was great because it is my mom's birthday. AND Anna is named after my mom, Mona Ann. Cute, huh? Name twins share a birthday! Such a fun idea.
Anna didn't think so.
Luc and I arrived at 5 am the morning of my c/s. No makeup, glasses on, scrubbed with the skin burning soap, and ready to meet Anna at around 7:30. They took us back and started to get me ready for the surgery. IVs, monitors, paperwork, etc. Shortly before taking me back, there was a loud sound on the fetal monitor because Anna moved. Like, she tried to move to Louisiana. HUGE movement. And then her heartbeat went silent on the monitor. The nurse came back in a found it again, but on the opposite end of my belly. I told her I thought Anna had turned and she agreed that an ultrasound was probably a good idea before heading to surgery.
Sure enough, she had turned. Anna was head down. I turned to Dr. B and said, "Induce me. NOW! Before Anna turns again!" So she did and told me she'd see me early in the morning because this was going to be a looooong labor.
Fantastic.
Side note - this is where I stopped writing six months ago. Let's see if I can remember the day of Anna's birth...
Labor was hard, and long. And I was so hungry. The L&D nurse started my pitocin around 7:00 but I didn't progress at all. Come to find out months later, she was an OR/C-Section nurse, not a labor nurse and she wasn't giving me to correct amount of medicine needed to make contractions happen. This nurse had a nursing student (male) shadowing her that day and he loved to ask questions. My favorite question was "Isn't clear, swirly fluid discharge a sign of spinal fluid?" as the CRNA was attempting to insert my epidural. Mind you, at this point the nurse had totally amped up the pitocin so I was in serious pain, already scared (epidurals HURT and anyone who tells you otherwise is lying), and trying my best not to fall into a heaping ball of preggo on the floor. Needless to say, after that he wasn't allowed back in the room.
Why attempting to insert? Because the CRNA tried about 5 times to hit the right spot. She hit a spot, but it was the wrong one. Only my arms went numb and I was still in a great deal of pain. And so tired. And so hungry. And very nervous that a C/S was in my near future after all of that labor.
And then a ray of light came in the form of a shift change!
My night nurse (I really wish I could remember her name!) came in like a knight in shining armor. She was determined to deliver my baby and do it in a timely manner. Her first order of business was to get me out of pain. She called the anesthesiologist to come in and check my epidural. Sure enough, it was inserted wrong. He pulled it out and put in a new one on the first try. He was a saint! I was instantly out of pain and able to relax. The nurse snuck me some food and told me to take a nap. And I did. For about 4 hours. At around 2:00 in the morning, she woke me up and told me it was time to push. And I did. For about 20 minutes.
And then we met Anna Grace, our little miracle baby who almost wasn't. And we've been in love ever since! She is the squishiest, softest little snuggle bug that ever was. She loves her big sisters. She was made to be the best little sister, just like Caroline is the perfect big sister and Ellie is the greatest middle sister. Anna Grace has completed our little family. She's our grande finale!
