The Life of Aiesha

Following the weeks leading up to babe number two’s birth it was pretty stressful. At 36 weeks I was tested for GBS and found out I was positive, which meant antibiotics prior to delivery and no stripping of the membranes. I felt like the stripping really helped me with my first pregnancy and not being able to have it done with this irritable pregnancy I was experiencing it totally stunk. I was dilated at 1cm and 70% effaced. I was around 37 weeks when Torrey became sick. His doctor advised that he should go get a COVID test, the wait time was up to four days. Four days full of anxiety. I was so nervous that I would go into labor during the period of wait time and scared that he wouldn’t be able to go into the delivery room. So much so that I made myself have back to back contractions for hours! Once we got the test results back, negative thank gosh, I scheduled my OB appointment. I was hoping that all the consistent contractions would have done something. They didn’t, I was still stuck at 1 cm and 70% effaced. I was super bummed out and discouraged. 38 weeks rolled around and I was almost 3 cm and still 70% effaced. Still having a ton of mild contractions with no consistency and what felt like zero movement towards true labor I told my OB doctor that I was done. I was super grumpy, uncomfortable, not sleeping, and peeing constantly throughout the night. So babe got served an eviction notice.

October 7th, I arrived at the hospital at 0700. My best friend Holly was able to be my nurse. She greeted me at the entry of L&D and we walked to room 622. I changed, got hooked up to the Toco monitor, vitals taken, and an IV placed. With being GBS positive I had to receive two rounds of antibiotics prior to delivery.

The atmosphere was very calm and relaxing honestly. I wasn’t nervous about the process and my anxiety was at ease finally. I was ready to have this baby. I was put on a low dose of Pitcoin that was titrated up every 30 minutes roughly. I got up and moved around as much as possible until I got my epidural around 1200. Received my second dose of antibiotics and then my OB came in and broke my water after 1300. Holly was phenomenal, she took such great care of me. I was so blessed to have my best friend as my nurse. My contractions started to pick up some more, and my uterus wasn’t really allowing a relaxation period so we backed off on the Pitocin just a tad. Shortly after Holly came in and had me do a few turns in the bed from side to side and breathe through some contractions. Then she checked me and I was complete. It was time to have a baby.

Holly got ahold of my OB and he came right on in with a Resident. He checked and the head was right there, they broke down the bed, and then it was time to push. I grabbed onto my legs and gave two good pushes and out came babe number two. We were ready for our surprise!

Torrey announced, “It’s a girl”! 1534 Olivia Evelyn was born. 6lbs 9.4 oz and 19 1/4 inches long. Evelyn has been in my family for four generations. Torrey picked out Olivia’s name and it fit her so well. She was prepared to nurse right away and my goodness nursed almost all throughout the night and slept most of the day. Little piranha! We got to go home the next day close to 1700. We were so excited to get home to see big sis.

Welcome to this crazy world Olivia, we love you so much!

Side note: It was so weird only having us in the hospital this time around. It made the time pass slowly. We were bummed that big sis wasn’t able to come to the hospital, as well as friends and family. COVID definitely put a dent in the experience of such a exciting time in someone’s life. I was very thankful that Torrey got to be there with me, extremely grateful that my best friend was able to be another support person for me, and super blessed at how smoothly my labor went.

Aiesha

Currently we are in limbo with having a toddler and preparing for babe number two. I’ve changed around our diaper bag to accommodate the needs of my two year old for the time being.

My favorite bag is from Azaria, this is not an ad, I have the La Mère in Chestnut. It’s super easy to clean inside and out, it’s lined with a faux leather. It has the perfect amount of pockets and storage. Also, who doesn’t love the perfect shade of dusty rose that is inside this adorable bag? I absolutely adore this bag!

So what’s inside you may ask?

• Bapron- if you haven’t heard of these bibs go check them out, not an ad. They have the cutest prints, and they are actually long enough to catch the mess!

• Miniature brush- my girl has all the curls, and those darn tangles come with the curls.

• Azaria Changing Pad

• Re-useable bag for those unseen moments.

• Honest Diapers- My kiddo has super sensitive skin, we have tried multiple brands and this is one brand that works the best for her. On the plus side, they have the cutest prints!

• Honest Wipes

• Coloring pad to keep little lady busy while out and about.

• Pins

• Wallet

• Chapstick from Burts Bees

• Hand Sanitizer Spray from Grove

• Diaper Rash Cream from Young Living

• Sunscreen from Young Living

• Lotion from Young Living

• Nasal Spray

• Sunglasses

• Keys

• Water Bottles

P.S. Don’t forget to pack snacks!

I’m a total minimalist, always have been, before babe you would never catch me carrying around a purse, only my wallet. So this bag and it’s contents are perfect for me.

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Every stage comes with different ideas and adjustments. I’ll be packing a bag for two here shortly! Can’t wait to share the change.

Thanks for reading along!

Aiesha

Lately this pregnancy has been pulling at those worried heart strings. These last few weeks have been a little bit of a whirlwind. I feel for those momma’s who have had way more complications or preterm deliveries. I’ve been diagnosed with “preterm contractions”. I’m documenting my thoughts in hopes that I can relate to other momma’s out there.

I started having some Uterine Irritability with Braxton Hicks pretty early on in my pregnancy, right around 25 weeks. Currently I’m 28 weeks and five days. I’ve had Fetal Fibronectin Tests, Cervical Exams, and a Cervical Lengthening Ultrasound. I was pulled from work and hooked up to the ToCo monitor for over an hour to check on babe and my contractions. I received a shot of Terbutaline to help slow down the contractions. It made my heart race, flushed skin, and made me super shaky. It wasn’t the best feeling in that sense, but it did calm down my cranky uterus. Thankfully everything this week has come back with no immediate threat that babe would be born prematurely. Which puts my mind at ease for a couple more weeks.

My doctor will be watching me pretty closely throughout the remaining of my pregnancy. I will have a Fetal Fibronectin Test every two weeks to check and make sure that preterm labor isn’t on the horizon. Which essentially is shoving a speculum up there every two weeks and swabbing my cervix. TMI, sorry!

I’ve been placed on restrictions at work as well which as a nurse that works 12 hours on her feet is going to be interesting to say the least.

So momma’s out there that are currently going through the same thing I feel you. It’s hard not to think of the worst case scenario, right? Trying to shift my mind set, finding peace, and diffusing all the essential oils to create a positive place for my body and this growing babe. Momma’s who have gone through this, any advice? I truly appreciate it in advance!

Aiesha

I might be jumping around a bit but Zoey's 2nd birthday is five days away and I just can't believe it... So I'm going to reflect back on her first birthday and how much fun it was to get everyone together. Unfortunately this year we won't have a big celebration for her due to COVID.

I was so emotional around her first birthday, just cue all the tears... I was in denial that my sweet little babe was going to be a year old. The night before her birthday I held her so close and just cried my eyes out before I laid her down for bed. How does a year go by so fast? One minute she is this itty bitty babe and the next see is walking around doing her thing. My best advice is to capture every moment you can whether it's by picture of video. I was horrible about keeping a journal or baby book for her but I wrote down as much as I could in the note app on my phone. I spent the rest of the night reflecting back on the year of amazing photos we had taken of our sweet girl.

July 24th arrived and it was go time. My cousin and I made her cake, cookies, and macarons from scratch. It was so much fun but so much work. We held her birthday at one of our family members. They have a huge house with lots of space, so it worked out perfectly.

I was running behind per usual, we quickly got everything together. I loved the way everything turned out. I printed out some pictures of her throughout the year at Walgreens and had a little viewing area. We did a ballon sorta arch, haha.

We had so many friends and family that came and celebrated her special day, it was so much fun! It made my heart feel so full. She had so much fun digging into her cake, spending time with everyone, and opening gifts. Such a happy day.

Here are a few pictures of her special day.

What a great reminder it is reflecting to slow down and take it all in. Thanks for going back in time with me today.
We love you sweet girl!

Aiesha