I wasn't as excited about having Skye as I was when I was pregnant with Kaiden. In fact, there was this deep fear that hung in the back of my mind. This time I knew what to expect and I was not looking forward to going through it. Many people would ask me, "Are you excited to meet your little girl?" and I was but that fear seemed to override any other emotion. I spent a lot of time talking it out with Ethan, praying over it and meditating on verses that encouraged me not to worry. I suppose there is a reason they term it "labor" and while I wish I could tell you it's all beautiful and glamorous, the reality is it's not. It's just as I had remembered. BUT, the end result was beyond worth it. So for those who are interested, here is Skye's birth story:

On June 3rd, I woke up at 3:30 am feeling a lot of pressure in my belly. It felt pretty close to how I felt when my water broke with Kaiden. I thought my water would break at any moment  buuuuut it didn't. There were irregular contractions coming and going which deemed me pretty much useless because of all the discomfort I felt. I tried going back to bed and got a few hours of sleep. My 40 week check up was that morning at 10 am but I was hoping something would happen before then...nope. Nothing. I showed up at my appointment and had noticed some bleeding that was cause for concern. They sent me up to labor and delivery where I stayed for two hours to be closely monitored. The medical staff had yet to determine if I would be admitted and at that point I was around 3.5 cm dilated. I didn't want to get sent home. I was so uncomfortable, at this point I was ready to just go through it all knowing what awaited me at the finish line. By the end of my time there I had made it to 4 cm (which is when you are considered in active labor) and they casually told me I could get admitted if I wanted or I could walk around for a few hours to help things progress. I knew that I would end up being stuck in the boring delivery room just waiting and so walking around seemed like a better decision. After an hour and a half of walking in active labor, I felt exhausted and decided to go in. They hooked me up to the monitors and the waiting game began. Once the contractions started to get stronger, I asked for an epidural. The anestheioslogist came up and administered it but something felt wrong. After they had inserted the catheter into my back, the doc gave me a test dosage to make sure everything was done correctly. I remember sitting on the side of the bed, holding Ethan's hands and looking into his eyes. All of a sudden everything felt fuzzy. I saw walls closing in as my vision got dark around the edges. I struggled to spit out the words, "I'm dizzy. I can't breathe. Something's wrong." The next thing I know, I am laying on the bed and there are doctors and nurses all around me. An oxygen mask was placed on my face and the anethesiologist kept telling me to "stay with him" and "keep talking." In those moments, my pulse went from 120 beats per minute down to somewhere around the fifties. My seemingly normal blood pressure also dropped down to read 64/50. They had to turn off the epidural and wouldn't turn it back on until I was fully stabilized. In the meantime, the contractions grew stronger. When I got to a point where I could take the epidural again, one of the doctors made the decision to break my water for me. They told me the anesthesiologist would be up shortly after but he got a life-threatening call else where in the hospital and so I had to wait. The contractions kept getting closer together and my pain became unbearable. I had dilated to a 9 before he made it back to my delivery room. Let me just say that that was the worst pain in my life. I asked the doc if this was what natural labor felt like and he confirmed it was. Thankfully, he was incredibly sweet and had delievered hundreds of babies, so he took my hand and led me through several breathing exercises that actually took my focus off the pain. Once the epidural kicked in, I was ready to push. A little over 20 minutes later, I met my baby girl for the first time ever. Just as it happened with Kaiden, all the pain, worries, stress were pushed aside. My eyes swelled with tears and my heart melted as I held her closely to my chest. She is and was beyond worth all the labor I went through that day.

I am so thankful to God for not only blessing me with her but for giving me a healthy delivery and strength to get through it all. My heart has somehow managed to make even more room for this new being and I couldn't be happier. Thank you to all our friends and family that have kept us in your thoughts and prayers.

Poor Ethan...he blinked in this picture but it's the only one we have of all three of us after the delivery lol.