Kaiden's Birth Story

Kaiden was due on June 22, 2015.  Unfortunately, he did not get the memo that we were expecting him that day, so he decided to wait for us to take matters into our own hands on June 26.

Leading up to my due date, I was progressing nicely upon getting a cervical check at 39 weeks.  I was already about 3 centimeters dilated and 50% effaced.  Considering I was about 3 cm when I was in active labor with Kyla, I got my hopes up that baby Kaiden would be arriving sooner than expected.  At 38 weeks, I began to get extreme discomfort in my hips and groin area, making simple tasks incredibly difficult.  I was ready to have that baby!

When my due date came along, the doctor said I was 5 centimeters dilated and 60% effaced and the water sack was bulging.  He truly did not understand how I wasn't in labor right then!  He suggested because I was already 4 days past my due date, I could go to the hospital and have my water broken.  We talked about it on the way home and we decided that's what we would do because my parents were here to help with Kyla, and I was beyond ready to have my baby.

So on the afternoon of June 26, we drove to Miami Valley Hospital in downtown Dayton and checked in effortlessly.  (This was quite a different experience that having to go to triage with Kyla while leaking fluid all over and having contractions every few minutes!)  The nurse walked us to our labor room and there we waited for Kat, the midwife on call, to come in and break my water.  While they were getting me ready, the IV was administered.  I have to say THAT was the most painful part of this entire story!  The nurse said she was "really good" at putting in an IV, however, she blew the vein she chose and it hurt SOOO bad!!! Tears burst forth from my eyes and I could not control my weeping.  Ouch!  I did not expect that and Matt didn't either because he was sitting across the room looking at his phone when it happened.  When he looked up and saw tears streaming down my face, he ran to my side to hold my hand.

After about an hour of fetal monitoring, Kat came in and broke my water.  At first, she tried to use a hook type instrument but she couldn't quite puncture the water sack that way so she ended up using a different tool to put a little hole in the water sack.  I was expecting a big gush of water, but I didn't feel anything!  I was even afraid that she didn't really even break the sack, but that wasn't the case.

Contractions did not start for 15 minutes.  Then contractions were coming about every 7 minutes.  I felt a gush of water and then more water with each contraction.  I labored naturally and moved around the room, bounced on the ball, and watched tv for about 3 hours before having the epidural administered.  The contractions were becoming quite painful by the time the epidural was in.  Once in, I was still able to feel pain in my lower right abdominal area for quite a while, but it was tolerable.  Eventually after turning over on my other side, the medicine kicked in more.

I laid in bed and rested until 9:15 (2 hours after getting the epidural) and Missy came in to check me and she said I was ready to have my baby!  I pushed for 20 minutes (about 3-4 rounds of 3 pushes each) and then Kaiden Matthew Focht was born at 9:34 pm.  Missy said he "felt solid" when she laid him on my chest.  And solid he was at 9 lbs 4 oz!  He was 20 3/4 inches long.  He had a little mohawk and a funny little cry that was much louder than our first baby.

I could not have asked for a more perfect labor and delivery!  (Well, I could have been pregnant for a few less days, but hey, I in fact was not pregnant forever!)  The whole experience (besides the IV) at the hospital was so relaxing and enjoyable.  I even liked getting to experience some hard contractions before getting the epidural.  The nurses were great and Missy delivered my first child as well so it was wonderful getting to have her again.

The pregnancy was not fun.  Yes, I loved feeling him move and I loved my cute little belly for a while, but actually holding my sweet baby boy for the first time was AMAZING.  Every birth story is different and I would not trade mine for the world.  Love you, Kaiden!

Kyla Update - 17-20 months

My little baby is turning into such a cute little toddler!

Sleep:

Sleeping great since about 17 months.

She wakes up around 9:00 am, naps from 1:00-4:00 and goes to bed at 8:00.  When she wakes up, she turns on her seahorse toy and lays in her crib until someone comes to get her.  Putting her to bed is quite easy now.  We make her leave her paci in her bed and that's where it stays. 

Food:

Here are her favorites!

Milk!

Waffles

Peanut butter sandwiches

Strawberries

Pretzels

Dokies (donuts)

Cereal

Crackers

Cookies

Talk:

What a talker! She says way too many words to even count now.  I really noticed her speech taking off around 17-18 months.  Her first words were Mama, Dada, Cookie, milk, more, up peese, pig.  She says a lot of funny things!  Now she is starting to put her own little sentences together.  "Thank you mama", "more pretzels please", etc.  She says names - Sadie, Lily, Nanny, Gpa, etc.

Likes:

Bath time, Peppa Pig, necklaces, electronics

Dislikes:

Live animals, diaper changes, getting messy, loud noises, sharing her necklaces and seahorse

Third Trimester Update - Baby #2

Time for another baby update!

 

How far along?
  30 weeks

Total weight gain: 

  25 lbs.

Maternity clothes? 

Of course! Its finally get warm enough to ditch the hoodie I have worn all winter.

 

Sleep:  

Sleep is getting more difficult now.  I wake up probably 5 times a night to roll over and re-situate.  Sometimes I have to get up once to pee.  I wake up a lot because my hips start to hurt if I lay in the same position for too long.

Best moment this week:

Feeling lots of kicks!

Miss Anything?

Feeling like my normal self.

Movement: 

He is getting pretty big now so I feel lots of movement all day long.

I'm starting to notice when he is sleeps because the rest of the time he is moving like crazy.

Food cravings: 

Fruit! Lots of strawberries. 

My go-to breakfast as of late has been vanilla yogurt, granola and strawberries.  Yum!

Anything making you queasy or sick: 

No throwing up here!

Gender: 

Boy!

 

Name:

Kaiden Matthew Focht

 

Symptoms:  

Heartburn

Back pain

Hip/pelvic bone pain

Feeling huge/stretching stomach

Hot all the time

Easily full after a small meal

 Tired

 Ring is starting to get tight

Belly button is starting to pertrude

Approximate countdown:

10 more weeks!

 

23 Weeks - Baby #2

Time for another baby update!

 

 

How far along?
  23 weeks

Total weight gain: 

11 lbs.

Maternity clothes? 

Love my maternity jeans I got last pregnancy from Old Navy. I still wear my jeggings but they are starting to fit weird because they don't cover my bump.  If I'm leaving the house, I usually wear those with one of my long sleeve pre-pregnancy shirts or a hoodie. If I'm just chilling at home, I am most definitely in yoga or sweat pants and a hoodie.

 

Sleep:  

Sleep is pretty good these days.  I usually have to get up once at night to pee but other than that I am sleeping pretty comfortably.  I only groan slightly when I have to tuck myself into my little cocoon of a pillow.

Best moment this week:

Not having heartburn for a few days.

Miss Anything?

Nothing!

Movement: 

Feeling LOTS of movement now!  Most of the kicks are pretty low, but I have, on occasion, felt some about an inch above my belly button.  He is really active at bed time.  It's kind of fun now because I can tell if he's awake or not by the amount of movement I feel.  Definitely the coolest part of being pregnant.

 

Food cravings: 

I've had a major sweet tooth lately.

 
Anything making you queasy or sick: 

I had a rough week around week 19, but since then, I have felt great in this area.

 
Gender: 

We had our anatomy ultrasound on February 2.  It did, in fact, determine that we are having a BOY!!!  We are so excited.  I can't believe that we will have one boy and one girl in our family.  Couldn't ask for anything more!

 

 

Name:

We also decided on a name, but we are still unsure of the spelling.

Kaiden Matthew Focht

 

 

Symptoms:  

OOOOhhh...the HEARTBURN!  Why oh why must it be so horrible?  It has been ridiculous on some days.  In the past, my triggers have been spicy food and lemonade.  Now, it doesn't even matter what I eat, how much I eat, etc.  The heartburn will. not. die.

I have also been experiencing some pretty severe pelvic bone/groin area pain.  It hurts so bad to stand up and start moving.  It hurts to put my pants on.  Forget about the socks.  Ouch!  I ordered a maternity support belt to see if that will help at all.  I know everything is just stretching out down there, but doesn't it know that we still have 17 weeks to go for that to happen??

Approximate countdown:
  17 more weeks!

This pregnancy is flying by.  One thing that is DRAGGING on though is this winter we are having.  I am seriously running out of fun things to do with Kyla inside this house.  Some days, I put her in the bathtub just for FUN because we have played with every toy, read every book multiple times, watched every episode of Daniel Tiger and Peppa Pig, etc. We are so ready to go play out in the sun room and back yard.  I long for the days when I can take her down to the park again or just hang out in the pool!  Come on spring.  We need you!

 

 

 

 

 

17 Weeks - Baby #2

Time for a baby update!

 

How far along?
  17 weeks

Total weight gain: 

About 3 I think.

Maternity clothes? 

Yes! I am wearing leggings or maternity jeans (still too big, but better than tight jeans!) when I leave the house, yoga pants at home.

I can still fit into most of my normal shirts.

Sleep:  

Ahhh...wonderful sleep! Kyla is sleeping great at night most of the time, so I get to "sleep in" til 9 or so.  I like that!  Matt bought me a huge pregnancy pillow so that has made sleep so comfy.  I am getting up once a night to pee usually.

Best moment this week:

On Sunday, one of the elders announced to the congregation that we have 4 expecting moms.  One of the best parts of pregnancy, in my opinion, is having friends that are going through it with you. 

Miss Anything?

Nothing!

Movement: 

I have felt a few bubbles, but at this stage, it could very well be gas.

 
Food cravings: 

I love fruit.  And Coke.

 
Anything making you queasy or sick: 

Not really anymore.

 
Gender: 

On December 29, we had a check up with the doctor.  He did a quick ultrasound to check on the health of my ovary. Of course I couldn't not ask if he was able to spot the gender even though I was only 15 weeks along at that point.  He said it was pretty clear that it was a BOY!  We will re-verify that on February 2 at the anatomy scan.  We are so excited though!! Can't believe we are lucky enough to get our girl and our boy.

Symptoms:  

Currently, I have virtually no symptoms.  It's really weird to me because I felt so horrible the first trimester.  Now, I rarely feel nauseous and I have plenty of energy most of the time.  I am really enjoying this in-between stage before my belly gets out of control.

Approximate countdown:
23 more weeks!

I am so bad about updating and taking pictures this pregnancy!  Here is a pic from 15 weeks!  I feel like I've popped out a bit more since then so hopefully I can get a new picture soon.

Kyla - 15 months

I blinked, and suddenly I realized I have a 15 month old on my hands!  She is so much fun to be around these days.  It seems like every day, she is catching on to more things and growing up way, way too fast.

SLEEP

Kyla has turned into a great sleeper.  Currently, she goes to bed around 8:00 and sleeps uninterrupted until about 8:00 am.  She is trying to decide if she can survive on one nap now instead of two, so she is typically going down for a nap around 1:00 if she can last that long.  Usually if we are out doing something, she does ok without a morning nap, but if we are at home, she will sometimes still want to go down in the morning for a long nap and then possibly a short nap around 4:00.  All I know is I'm so happy that she doesn't fight sleep!

FOOD

Kyla is eating everything!  Minus vegetables, of course.  I still give her the little veggie or fruit pouches so she will at least get SOME form of veggie in a day.  She loves most fruit, crackers, cheese, peanut butter and jelly, and macaroni and cheese.  She will give most things a try.  Of course, some days she is a picky eater.  But what toddler isn't?

LIKES

She is loving COOKIE!!! He even lets her pet him sometimes.

She loves Daniel Tiger, Micky Mouse Clubhouse, and most things animated.

She really enjoys pulling food out of the pantry and bringing it to me.  So helpful.

Recently, she likes to bring me the iPad and have me put on a video for her.

Her favorite toys are the picnic basket, kitchen toys, books, the V-Tech walker, and a cookie jar.

VERBAL

Kyla is talking up a storm these days.  Granted it's her own personal language that not many people completely understand, but hey!  She is totally into "mimicking" any sound she hears including sneezing, burping, barking, etc.  Her Daddy thinks its funny that she is starting to copy him burping.  Mommy, not so much.  As far as English words go, she says hi, no, Mama, Dada, Cookie (sounds more like Coo-coo) and that's about it. 

DEVELOPMENTAL

Kyla started walking around 13.5 months and has been on the go ever since.  For about two weeks, she would just take a few steps if I stood a foot or two away from her.  But then one day, she figured out how to stand up from sitting on the ground and she just took off!  She is starting to show interest in using a fork and spoon.  She loves to fake "eat" with all her little kitchen toys.  She loves to dance and clap when she hears music come on.  She thinks Cookie is AWESOME and loves going to wake him up every morning.  She knows how to point to her nose and tummy if you ask "Where's your nose?  Where's your tummy?"  She blows kisses when asked.  She waves hi and bye bye (sometimes). 

SICKNESS

The week of Thanksgiving, Kyla came down with a virus.  She ran a high fever (103 ish) for about three days so I took her to the doctor.  They did a throat culture and test for a UTI along with checking everything else like throat and ears and nothing came back wrong.  The fever broke about the fourth day and then she developed sores in her mouth and on her chin.  The poor kid wouldn't eat more than a bite of food a day for an entire week.  For a couple days there, I got worried because she would barely even drink her milk.  I was concerned she would become dehydrated.  But eventually the sores cleared up enough that she would eat a few more bites.  And just now, she is back to normal and eating a whole pancake or two for breakfast.  I have to say that was the most helpless feeling as a Mom.  I had a couple breakdowns because I just felt so bad for her!

Kyla is wearing size 4 diapers and 18 month clothes.

Baby #2 - 11 Weeks

Who's ready for another round of pregnancy updates??

We are so excited to announce that we are expecting Baby Focht #2 around June 22, 2015.

Don't worry, Kyla!  You are going to get a baby brother or sister to play with soon!

Let's catch up from the beginning...

On October 13, I took a home pregnancy test and it was POSITIVE!

Matt was actually home that night (surprise, because he has been working crazy hours this time of year) and I just couldn't contain my excitement.  I told him right away.  "So...do you think it's a boy or a girl?"  To which he said something along the lines of...well you have to be pregnant first!  To which I replied, I AM!!! Go look at the test!

Leading up to this point....I had only had three periods since having Kyla.  I weaned her at 13 months and BAM - got pregnant that month!  It was pretty exciting because I didn't really know if we would have difficulty getting pregnant again with having one less ovary now, but the doctor is right.  One ovary is just as good as two.

My first doctor's appointment would not be until I was 10 weeks.  So I basically had to wait until my pregnancy symptoms kicked in (and boy did they!) until I truly believed I was pregnant.

Weeks 4 and 5 - I felt AWESOME!  No sickness, no aversions, not really that tired yet either.  I truly cherished those weeks because I knew if this pregnancy was anything like the last one, I would be feeling it at about 6 weeks.

Weeks 6, 7, 8, and 9 - MORNING SICKNESS!!!! They should really call it all day sickness.  The first few days weren't horrible, but the further along I got, the less food I could keep down.  At one point around week 9, I was throwing up almost the entire weekend.  I think I might have had a touch of food poisoning or the flu because it was just bad.  During these weeks, I laid on the couch a lot.  Kyla is very well acquainted with Daniel Tiger now.  Many days I just laid on the couch with my puke bucket and tried to eat some crackers and drink ginger ale.  And then one day....it all just disappeared!

Week 10 - Thanksgiving

As soon as I hit 10 weeks, I felt like a new woman.  I wasn't even throwing up when I first got up nor was I having any types of aversions.  It was awesome!  I still don't know if I'm in the clear yet as I just had some morning sickness today, but man that week of feeling great was just what I needed.

Week 11 - Currently....

I am sleeping great!  Not even getting up to go to the bathroom yet.

I'm not really having any cravings right now.

I have some energy back!

No symptoms really other than the occassional wave of nausea.

November 26 - First Dr. Appointment

I saw Kat, one of the midwives.  She was older and very sweet.

I had a breast exam, pelvic exam, pap, checked the heartbeat, etc.

I will also need to go to a lab for blood work sometime soon.

Easy appointment.  Next time (December 29) they plan to do an ultrasound to make sure my ovary is looking good.