Kal's Birth Story: Part 1

My sweet, smiley, little chunk-chunk Kal! Oh, I'm so glad he is in our lives. He has brought so much joy, stress, sadness, and blessings in our lives that I couldn't even imagine before. We've been through quite a few rough patches in his 3 and a 1/2 month life so far, but we have also seen and felt the outpouring of the Spirit and love from Heavenly Father as well as our dear family and friends.

After coming home from the Philippines, I was about 7 months pregnant. Boy, was I exhausted after such a long trip from so far away. I didn't want to do anything more than lay on the couch all day and rest. Plus, it didn't help the fact that once we got home, Kayelee decided to climb out of and basically Kamikaze jump from her crib. So, we decided to move her to a toddler bed, and she was NOT having it. We eventually gave up and let her sleep on the floor by the door in her room. We figured sleep anywhere in her room was MUCH better than no sleep at all. All those late nights fighting her to get to sleep on her bed was just too much to handle at the time.

In the Philippines with Jonald's family when I was 7 months pregnant.

Throughout my pregnancy with Kal, I felt exhausted.all.the.time. I never got that "2nd wind" burst of energy during my second semester, either. It was more like I was tired the moment I was pregnant and my energy just went downhill after that, for the most part. For that reason, I was ready to just get the pregnancy over with and meet him. On the other hand, I was terrified of soon experiencing that transition from 1 to 2 kids. I was hoping and praying I would be able to be a good mom to both kids. I didn't want Kayelee to feel shoved out of the picture and not get any attention. I also didn't want Kayelee to get jealous or just not be a good sister overall, as though she resented her sibling or something like that. So, when people would see my humongous belly, most would comment, "Wow, I bet you're ready to give birth already!" I would usually laugh and agree, but deep down I had a huge fear of the unknown ahead of me, and if I would be capable to still do my best as a mama of two.

When we found out we were having a boy, Jonald was elated! Don't get me wrong, I was happy to be expecting a boy as well, but I was also scared. I had no idea how to raise a boy! I was used to the pink, the bows, the dresses, the dollies, and all the other girly things with Kayelee. I mean, c'mon this girl squeals if she sees a fruit fly. How was I supposed to know how to raise a boy that might be all, "rough and tumble" or "lets collect bugs and play in the mud"? Hahaha. Well, I guess I would have the opportunity to learn now!

We were going back and forth on what to name him. When we were watching the new Superman movie, the moment I heard his "other name" that his parents had given him, "Kal-El," I thought the name "Kal" would be super cute. That name was basically our #1 choice, but I wanted to make sure I had explored all the options before deciding for sure.

Also a pic in the Philippines at 7 months pregnant. I was excited to eat some taho. Preggo lady loves her food, man!

A couple weeks before he was born, I was already super exhausted. My baby bump had "dropped" and I was waddling around as though I didn't put my pants on right. At 35 weeks, my OB said according to their measurements, my baby was already about 6 pounds, 14 ounces. He said if I went full term, if the baby gains weight on average a 1/2 pound a week, I was looking at a 9 pound(ish) baby... Oh my! He wasn't sure my body would be able to deliver a baby that big, so he decided to schedule me to be induced a week before my due date. You see that, there? Yeah, he asked my opinion if I wanted to be induced early, and I was afraid of the effects my body (and baby too) might have by being induced. BUT, he scheduled a day of induction anyway. Okie doke, so much for my decision. I see where he was coming from, I mean, he said if baby would be too big, I might end up getting a C-section, so I shouldn't wait longer than was needful. But, just the thought of being induced early and possibly emergency C-section was stressing me out! Luckily, that weekend, Sam, Janice, and Cinthya threw me a fun baby shower that helped me relax, have some fun, and get my mind off of those things.

The Sunday before I gave birth, I was terrrrribly sick. I couldn't hardly eat anything all day, except for a few saltine crackers. I thought I had experienced some sort of food poisoning. But, also in the back of my mind, the thought kept running through my head of how my friend Janice told me how she would get pretty sick before going into labor. I kept brushing off those thoughts by saying, "Ah, I still have three weeks before my due date. I have plenty of time to go into labor, and even expect to go past my due date, since Kayelee was 5 days overdue." The next day, I went over to my friend Sam's house for Kayelee to have a play date with her kids, as well as Janice's kids. I tried to recover from the previous day's sickness by eating more and more that day to regain my strength. Sam and Janice kept joking about my sickness meaning I might go into labor early, but I wasn't convinced... other than the fact I was having crazy pressure in my pelvis that day.

Last family pictures at Sundance before our boy came- probably at 35 weeks pregnant.

Saying I haven't even gotten to the actual "labor/birth" part of the story yet, I should probably break this up into another post...