Mackenzie Viviann

12:30 am on 7/7/17 is when my first contraction hit… of course the middle of the night.

My babies like to wake the whole world up for their arrival. I had been having weird pressure for a few hours. I wasn’t able to sleep through it but I didn’t know it was the prelude to labor. I kept getting out of bed trying to go to the bathroom but didn’t have to. Once the first few contractions went by I knew that I was for sure in labor.
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My labors are never putsy putsy. My contractions start strong. I tried laboring on my own for a while. I used some positioning techniques my doula encouraged me to try. I was trying to slow things down so I didn’t have to wake everyone up… that didn’t work. I finally had to wake Jared up and tell him it was time. I had just gotten through a contraction so he didn’t think I was really in labor. We sat in bed for a few minutes until another one hit, he then believed me.

I thought I would get into the shower and see if the water would slow things down. If nothing, it sped labor up. I had been so anxious towards the end of pregnancy. I was worried what I would do with Jonah when I went into labor. I had a list with literally over ten people. Many going on vacation around my due date. Everyone was telling me to relax and that it would work out.

I decided to call my brother once my contractions were six minutes apart. Hoping that would be good timing to get to the hospital. Well we did, but no answer. My anxieties were becoming reality. I really didn’t want to take my two year old to the hospital in the middle of this night while I labored! We waited about twenty minutes until we called the next person on the list. This was my coworker who had watched Jonah many times. thankfully she answered and came right over!

By the time she got to the house my contractions were really picking up intensity. Even though I knew I should probably go to the hospital I felt fine between them. I was second guessing myself but by the way I had to brace for impact, Jared knew we needed to get going.

We got to the hospital at 4:15am. A nurse came right down and wheeled me upstairs. The cold hospital air was making me mildly nauseas. During contractions each bump about set me over the edge.

This time around I was able to get through the paperwork myself. With Jonah’s labor I was not able to due to the pain. I had Jared put my Jewel radio station on. I was singing between contractions. I thought for sure I wasn’t very far along because of this. I was checked, for the first time during this pregnancy. I was dilated to 7 cm!? I was so excited I had made it so far so quickly.

I wanted to get into the tub right away, that helped tremendously with my first labor. Heidi, our doula arrived quickly and helped me in. I was only able to handle about twenty minutes of this. It was not comfortable or relaxing this time.

Getting out of the tub, I was only able to make it to the sink. It was like I was glued to the floor. I didn’t want to go any farther. I spent quite a bit of time leaning over the sink swaying side to side. Looking back I realize this was transition for me. I was having very intense surges. I was having nausea, hot flashed and intense pressure.

After a while I was helped to the bed, again I wanted to stand. I had learned in my first labor that side lunges felt really good so I started doing those. My contractions were spacing back out but now they were much more intense.

Our midwife encouraged me to try leaning onto a peanut ball on the bed. I did so on my hands and knees. It took about 45 minutes of pushing and our sweet girl was born at 6:15 on 7/7/17. Jared was able to catch her! That was an incredible moment for both of us.

Looking down at her I couldn’t believe she was here! My pregnancy really went so fast. It seemed like I had just found out I was pregnant and now she was here. I guess that is what happens when you’re chasing a toddler around! I spent time studying her. She didn’t look like anyone in our family and she was so petite and little!

Her name, Mackenzie, is a name we both liked with our first pregnancy. It is a known name but not very common. We liked Jonah for those same reasons. Viviann, her middle name, is a combination of my grandmother Vivian, and Jared’s grandmother Ann. There are also many family members who have Ann as a middle name in our families. Jared hopes to call her “Mack” someday. Jonah calls her “Kenzie.”
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She really is the sweetest baby. She always has the biggest smiles for us. She only cries when she’s hungry or when she’s in the car seat. This is a pleasant change for us. I think it is God’s way of making sure we have more children!

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