Lyla Ray.

Ahh....she is finally here!  I'm bad....I meant to update a lot earlier but ya know, we've had our hands full :)  So here is how the birth all went down.

On Thursday, May 7th I was feeling like crap.  I laid around ALL day and my back was killing me.  I took a bath that night to see if I could relieve any pain and that didn't help either.  I had a lot of trouble sleeping that night.  I just kept thinking, "I think its time".  I was so tired of feeling bad, having all these complications...I was just over being pregnant.

So I was supposed to have an OB appointment the next day (Friday, May 8th) @ 1:30.  Well, I texted my sisters and told them about the back pain, headache, being nauseous....etc, I just didn't feel good, I felt weird.  Lindsay thought I should go ahead and call to tell them how I was feeling.  I also hadn't felt Lyla move all that much so that was also concerning.  So the OB told me to come in right away.  So I packed the car with our bags and Lyla's car seat, called Erik, and headed to the doctor.  Something just told me that we would not be home again without a baby :)

I got to the OB around 11:30am.  They hooked me up to check Lyla's heart rate and she did great for most of the time.  At one point for about 2 minutes her heart rate did sky rocket.  My blood pressure was off the charts so you know what that meant....back to the hospital.  At this point I was 37 weeks, we knew Lyla weighed between 6 and 7 lbs. and she was healthy enough to be delivered, although doctors like babies to wait as close to 40 weeks as possible to ensure they are developed (especially their lungs).  I saw Lindsay (one of the midwives) and she said, if I had it my way, I would deliver you BUT I am going to send you to the hospital, have them regulate your blood pressure, take some blood work and see what they say.  I automatically asked, "Who is on call today?"  I got the best news possible....Kathy.  Kathy is AWESOME.  She is another midwife I see and she also delivered Gage (and Reese and Mia).  I knew when Lindsay said that Kathy was there, we would not be leaving without a baby!

So Erik and I headed to Cook Out (duh, I gotta eat bc they don't feed you at the hospital before birthing a baby) and then to the hospital.  As soon as I got there, they took my BP (still high) and I signed all the paperwork, JUST incase Lyla were to arrive while we were there :)  The nurse said, "what's your birth plan?"  I said, "To get this baby out and give me an epidural."  At 1:30pm (about 30 minutes after arriving) Kathy came into the room.  She said, "You ready to have a baby?"  Um yes!  Kathy knew what a long road this had been and she knew miss Lyla was ready....God put Kathy on duty that day for sure.  I was only 1 cm at that time.  They had to do blood work to check my platelets to make sure I could get an epidural.  Thankfully, my platelets were high enough and I received the epidural!  They put me on pitocin (which induces labor) and broke my water, then it was a waiting game.  It took a while to get to 5 cm (about 8 hours) but then I went from 5 cm to 10 cm in an hour!!  Kathy came in at 10:00pm and I was 10 cm!  We were shocked.

This delivery was night and day from Gage's delivery.  At 10:03pm I started pushing and Lyla was born at 10:12pm :)  I literally pushed 2 or 3 times.  I couldn't believe how easy it was.  She was as precious as we knew she would be.  I did not feel a thing and we couldn't have been happier with her arrival.  Of course there were still concerns as far as her heart rate issues but we knew God was taking care of her :)

Lyla Ray was born on May 8th, 2014 @ 10:12pm.  Her daddy, Nanny, Aunt Lindsay, Aunt Lauren, Great-Aunt Gale, and Great-Grandmother Mimi were there to witness her birth.  Her Gammy J and Aunt Alicia was also there waiting patiently for her arrival.  She weighed 6 lbs, 9 oz and was 20 inches long.  She had black or really dark brown hair and is said to look like her daddy :)  Love at first sight.

The first night she slept REALLY well.  They said she was probably exhausted from the delivery and not to worry if she didn't want to eat much.  Of course she was tired but I couldn't sleep.  I would be lieing if I said I wasn't concerned about her heart.  I was just nervous although she had been checked out and so far, so good.  We were thinking, man she is quiet and likes to sleep.  Ha, we spoke WAY too soon!  The next night in the hospital she didn't hardly sleep at all so I was pretty tired.  Gage came to see Lyla at the hospital on Saturday.  He kept calling her Emma, which is my cousins little girl.  He did give her a kiss but then didn't pay her anymore attention, typical boy.  We did get to go home on Saturday (the day before Mother's Day).

Gage is adjusting.  He is a little rough but doesn't realize it.  He has hit her in the head with a stuffed animal and yanked the paci out of her mouth.....but who's counting?!  Up until yesterday, he kept calling her Emma.  But we had my cousins over and Emma for dinner last night.  Once he saw Emma AND Lyla in the same room, he realized who was who.  So now he calls Lyla, Lyla Ray..... its so cute :)  He loves to give her kisses and wants to do things for her.  Like.....push her swing back and forth at 90 mph.  He does ask where she is if he doesn't see her and will say "that's my sister" but he doesn't pay her too much attention, which is a good thing for now.  She is so tiny, I even feel like I am going to hurt her!

Life is good as a family of 4.  It has definitely taken some adjustments but we are over the moon in love with our new family.  Erik has been amazing with Gage in making sure he doesn't feel left out.  I am playing with him as much as I can too.  We can't wait to see Gage and Lyla grow up together.

Thank you all for your prayers, concerns, meals, texts, calls, and emails.  We are happy to report that Lyla's heart is strong and healthy.  We will go back to the cardiologist in 3 months to check the membrane in her left atrium to make sure the blood is still pumping through it.  She will be checked periodically from then on out.  Continue to pray that Lyla will never have to have open heart surgery- I couldn't imagine having her go through that.  As always, God is good....ALL the time.

Love you all!

Lyla Ray Nordmark

May 8, 2014 @ 10:12pm

6 lbs 9 oz, 20 inches long

We've been waiting for this sweet sound.

Daddy's Girl...a look was all it took.

Mimi (Great-Grandmother)

Nanny (Grandmother)

Gammy J (Grandmother)

Aunt Alicia, Gammy J, Lyla, and Daddy

Gale (Great Aunt)

LaLa (Aunt)

Lindsay (Aunt)

6 lbs, 9 0z

Lyla had her first bath by her Aunt Lauren :)  Don't know what I'd do without my sisters to be there for me.  I probably called and texted them 5 times a day during this pregnancy.  I'm lucky to have sisters like them for sure!

Here comes the Big Brother......

Nanny took him to the gift shop to buy Lyla a balloon and pink pony :)

Gage's first look....melts my heart.

"What's dat Mommy?"

Our precious babies.

I love it in Black and White too :)

LaLa and Gage playing with the stethoscope

The Family of 4 :)

Ok....so this is Lyla's newborn session and I could not be happier!  These pictures are all taken by my sweet sister, Lindsay.  Megan came to help Lindsay too.  I love them both dearly and am so fortunate that they took time out of their day to photograph out sweet girl.  Thank you ladies, I seriously love them and you did a FABULOUS job!

More from the hospital.......

Minutes old :)

Big Brother Gage

Daddy and Lyla

Our itty bitty babies :)

Lyla and Cousin Emma

No More Drama....Oh Wait.

So I had a regular check-up on Monday (May 5th).  Lyla's heart rate was a steady 135 so that was good but my blood pressure was high @ 120/90.  I now get an ultrasound every two weeks to check Lyla and during the ultrasound the tech kept measuring her head.  She said that her head was measuring a little small in comparison to how she had been growing.  So I asked how much she weighed and the tech checked and said 5lbs 12 oz.  Well last ultrasound (2 weeks ago) she was 5lbs 8oz.  So....that means she only gained 4 ounces in 2 weeks, not good.  However, everything else checked out and she looked healthy.

So my midwife decided to set me up for an appointment at the Women's Institute so they could do another ultrasound on Lyla and check her growth.  They got me an appointment the next day, thankfully.  Of course we were worried.  There was speculation that maybe my placenta wasn't working anymore, meaning she wasn't getting the food/nutrients she needed so she wasn't growing...scary.  If that was the case, I would need to be induced.

So Tuesday afternoon we had an appointment at 3.  The tech was AWESOME.  She was pregnant, due May 30th, and she could definitely relate to be concerned.  She talked to us during the whole ultrasound and was very happy with what she saw.  At the beginning of the ultrasound Lyla's heart rate was still a steady 135, she was moving around a lot, and seemed great.  Her head was measuring a little smaller than usual (13th percentile) but the tech said it was probably because of her position (she has been head down for a while now) and she wasn't concerned.  She said if the placenta wasn't working than her stomach would be small and she showed us her stomach and said it was a good size :)  So of course my next question was, "how much does she weigh?"  She checked and measured 7 pounds....ok fatty girl.  So that was reasuring right there!  Now I worry because if she is 7 lbs NOW, what's she gonna be when she decides to make her appearance?!  She already weighs more than Gage did when he was born.  But then again, I know its just an estimate.

Dun, dun, dun.....right at the end of the ultrasound guess who's heart rate went up to 245?!  Yup, Lyla's....that girl, I swear.  So the tech finished the ultrasound and said she would need to go get the doctor, he would probably come back in and do another ultrasound and hopefully we would be good to go.

So the doctor came in about 10 minutes later.  When he started the ultrasound Lyla's heart rate had already dropped....yay!  He knew my history so we talked about the echocardiograms we had gotten and what the doctors had seen previously.  All the doctors have said that the baby can withstand a high heart rate for days before something happens and thankfully we haven't seen her heart rate that high in weeks....until during this ultrasound.

The doctor said if he had a crystal ball and knew I could be induced and have no complications, he would suggest for me to be induced right away.  However, he said with no big concerns we should let her "bake" as long as possible.  So he suggested for me to be induced on May 19th (4 days before my due date....whoopee).  Obviously, my midwives will do what they think is best but that was his opinion.  If its May 19th, I'm good with that....if its earlier, I'm REALLY good with that :)  I go for a regular check-up tomorrow...yep, back to twice a week.

How do I feel about the whole situation (thanks for asking)?!  With everything that keeps happening, I'm ready.  Obviously we want the best scenario possible but I will be 38 weeks on Saturday and if she is 7 lbs, she will be just fine outside the womb.  It would make us feel a lot better to have her here where the doctors can do what they need to do if something happens then have her in my belly and take the chance of us not knowing whats going on.  To me, its not worth the risk....but I know the doctors/midwives will do what's best.

Thanks again for praying for our appointment on Tuesday.  We felt relieved when we left...although I am tired of worrying because that's "not my style".  Maybe thats why all my hair is falling out?!

Oh and that's a whole nother story.  I go have a biopsy tomorrow because I have a small dent in my head.  Don't ask....who knows.  Its been there forever (since I've been losing my hair) but I just decided to tell the doctor a couple weeks ago.  It may have been there before all this happened but I don't know because I've never been bald :)  So pray that the biopsy shows nothing scary and its just a dent in my head.

Love ya'll!