Wow…neglect is an understatement when it comes to describing how I’ve treated my blog. Times change, though…and big changes have happened in my life. Let’s backtrack a little bit.
I’m 6 months pregnant and decide to crochet some hats for Charley and Avery. I only know a few stitches, and I don’t follow patterns…so my hats are pretty basic. I want more. I randomly decide that I’m going to teach myself to knit. Yep. So the next day I go buy some yarn and needles, sit down and youtube search how to cast on. Three hours later I had done it.
I then decide to tackle my first project. This is where I really start to get insane…because I don’t start with something simple like a scarf…nope. I decide to tackle a newborn sweater.
And I did it.
The rest is pretty much history. I kept finding new things to make…youtubing (that’s a word, right?) new stitches as I went. Suddenly people were asking me to make them things. Then people were asking when I was going to open up a store on etsy. After much convincing, I opened up Sweet Southern Purl on October 17th…about a month after I first cast on those ridiculously huge needles.
I had my first sale on October 30th…and now…a little over 3 months later I’ve made 75 sales. I’m even international!
So…that’s the main reason this blog has been blank for so long.
And I’m still swarming in orders…I even knit in labor.
However, even though Avery is the second child…I refuse to not write her the proper birth story.
If you’ve read Charley’s birth story…you know all about my marathon labor…about how much I, and the rest of my family, fell in love with my OB, Dr. Garcia. You read about my wonderful nurse, Amber…who we found out was my neighbor…and is now one of my good friends. And you read how my family was present at her birth. All of these things came into play when I chose the way I wanted Avery’s birth to be.
It’s still hard for me to even believe this myself…but as soon as the stick turned pink…I knew I wanted Dr. Garcia to deliver Avery. I knew I wanted the most important people to be there at her birth. However…at my OB office you’re not guaranteed to have your doctor deliver your baby…and with my family living four hours away…they weren’t guaranteed to get here. Who would watch Charley? All of these things racing around in my head, and I make the decision that if all the conditions were right (aka, was my body ready to have Avery) that I would be induced.
So the weeks leading up to the tentative date I did everything in my power to NOT go into labor. Entirely different than two years earlier with Charley. As the date got closer it got more and more surreal. Being pregnant with your first baby…you’re sort of just sitting around waiting. Being pregnant with your second…while knitting as fast as your hands can knit…well you’re (or at least I was) kind of in denial. Even at my last appointment when Dr. Garcia said my cervix was ready to go…I still hadn’t wrapped my head around the fact that an actual baby was going to be the result of this pregnancy.
Later on that day family started to trickle in. My mother in law from Ohio…and my parents, sister, and grandmother (famously known as Moremama). The only people that didn’t make it was my brother and sister in law (with good reason…they’re now pregnant and had an important ultrasound!). The next day…in true Carolina fashion…the temperature dropped and an ice storm came. Andy had to work all day, so everyone else hung out at home…anticipating the next day.
That night I could barely sleep. It still hadn’t hit me. This was so different than with Charley. I messaged Amber (who was working the next day and would be my nurse again…although she had already told me that no matter when I had Avery she would be working) back and forth about being excited/nervous. I put Charley to bed practically in tears…knowing that it was the last time I would put her to bed as an only child.
I took a warm bath…tried to sleep but barely could…and before I knew it, it was 5:30am. Andy and I loaded up the car and drove to the hospital. I met Amber at the front desk, and I almost broke down right there. Again…so surreal. I got hooked up to the monitor to find out that was actually contracting every 3-6 minutes. Who knew?
My sister arrived soon after. Let me pause for a second and say how wonderful it was to have her there. She rubbed my back, did my hair, fetched me water, walked with me in the hallways…she did everything…even took pictures. I love her so much.
Pretty soon the room was filled with almost all the important women in my life. I had been trying to prepare Dr. Garcia for my moremama…because like I said…she’s…well…famous. I knew she would provide some comic relief, but little did I know how much. I don’t think Dr. Garcia had been in the room more than a minute before she asked if the mesh underwear I was putting on was a hat.
Yep. Famous.
She even had a special “delivery outfit”. Rockstar.
So the way this induction worked…was Dr. Garcia inserted a gel that would bring on stronger contractions. After being monitored for about 45 minutes I walked the hallways with my sister. I will always remember that walk. Me in my personal gown…the one I wore with Charley…Jessica toting my IV pole…passing Dr. Garcia and him telling me I needed to be grimacing more.
I’m not sure what time this was….maybe 11:15? But Amber came in and said that Dr. Garcia wanted to start pitocin. I immediately sat up and was confused. I was contracting every 1-3 minutes…and my water hadn’t even been broken yet. I later found out that the reason we did pitocin first was because Avery was still high up and Dr. Garcia didn’t want to risk a prolapse cord by breaking my water too early. However, as soon as I hear the word pitocin I ask for the epidural. I’m already having a far from natural birth…and I’ve experienced pitocin contractions before. Never again if I can help it. That’s probably the one piece of Charley’s birth that has forever scarred me.
So about 30 minutes later (and a mini panic attack about being nauseous), I’m feeling pretty good. This is when things get interesting.
After about an hour or so I begin to feel my contractions…very similarly to how I started to feel them with Charley when my epidural stopped working. I’m texting my sister in law, Aimee, about how I’m feeling them…and starting to feel the urge to push. I call Amber, and she checks me…5cm. The pain and pressure continue and begin to get worse…and 20 minutes later it’s getting really intense. I call Amber again as she’s walking through the door. I get checked…10cm. Holy freakin cow.
Within minutes the room fills with nurses, and in walks Dr. Garcia who tells everyone that Andy is delivering Avery. I’m completely stunned, because at Charley’s birth he almost passed out three times…and had asked me countless times if he didn’t have to even be in there with Avery. Still…I see him being suited up in baby delivering gear.
I started to involuntarily push. I hear everyone cheering saying they can see her head already. This is insane. I push a few more times and her head was out…with the cord around her neck. Dr. Garcia steps in because up until that point Andy seriously had been delivering her. He gives the cord a tug, says “we’re good”, and has Andy step back in.
Andy literally has Avery in his hands. My sister got some real juicy shots which I’m leaving out because I promised my mom no graphic pictures.
Two more pushes later…and my second daughter was wriggling around on my belly, rather than inside it.
I had gone from 5cm to her being born in 29 minutes. Icing on the cake…Dr. Garcia asked Moremama to cut the cord. She still talks about it today and wants to send him a present for letting her do it.
At this point…and I hate even typing this part out, but I’m about being honest and real…and this was a real feeling I was having. At this point…Avery on my chest looking around…eyes wide and locking with mine…I haven’t bonded with her. I don’t know why…but I haven’t. Maybe it’s because she came out so fast…or maybe it’s because I was so busy with things leading up to the day she was born…or maybe it was because I was worried about how she would fit in our lives. I always thought the bond would be instant…and I was worried when it wasn’t.
Then the breastfeeding came…
And the bond was there.
Oh it was there.
The rest is history. I was absolutely in love with this little girl with no eyebrows and rosebud lips.
Transitioning from one to two has been interesting. That first night home was just plain weird. Charley wanted nothing to do with Avery…or me for that matter. But the next day got better, and before you know it…it was like Avery had always been there.
Watching these two makes my heart melt and explode at the same time.
And that’s the story of my second baby girl’s birth.
Love you so much Avery bug.
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