Stella's Birth Story

Stella's birth story is far less dramatic than Wilson's and we couldn't have been happier about that!

This was the last bump picture I took, I'm kind of bummed I didn't think tho take one before we left to the hospital like I did with Wilson. But you get the point, I was big! lol 

Stella's story starts Friday April 29th at my last doctors appointment, I was 39 weeks and 1 day.  We were planning on talking about inducing because we had a bunch of family coming into town the next week and thought it would be great if she could arrive before then. 

During the visit my blood pressure was abnormally high so they decided to recheck it three times, it came down a little but not much.  This worried Dr. Young because it points to preeclampsia and he wanted to induce me that night.  I have this weird thing about number and I really wanted Stella to be born on May 1st so I really didn't want to go in that night. Dr. Young said since I didn't have any other signs oh preeclampsia I could come in late April 30th.  I was thrilled!

April 30th comes and we got approved to go in a 7pm.  I didn't want to get there too early incase things went fast and she came before the 1st. Linda came over to spend the night with Wilson and we headed to the hospital.  We picked Timpanogos Regional Hospital because it is 2 minutes away from the apartment and a beautiful facility.  When we got there we pretty much got started, by 8 pm I was hooked to to monitors, IVs and was given the cytotec to get things progressing.

By 10 pm I was having steady contractions and ready for my epidural, unfortunately I had to wait a bit for the anesthesiologist to be available but he showed up by 10:30 pm.  I'm pretty sure getting the epidural is the hardest part of labor, haha, but I wouldn't want to do it with out one.  We got it in place and I moved weird and messed it up, so rather then hope it was still in the right place, we did it all over again... fun. But the second time was able to really feel it going in the right place and we all felt better about it's placement, by this time it was 11:30 pm.  We tried to settle in but my catheter was giving me trouble,  I felt like I had to pee really bad but couldn't.  They redid it one more time and it was still uncomfortable but bearable.  By 1 am my contractions were hurting really bad and were really strong.  The anesthesiologist came in and gave me a big boost of pain meds to help and stayed with me for another 20 mins to make sure I was comfortable and feeling and not feeling in the right places.  Needless to say.. I loved him. I was feeling good and was finally able to relax a little.

Brad got a little sleep here and there, I didn't really get any but was able to watch part of a movie.  I ended up with a fever and was SO hot around 2 am but with some medicine and a cool towel I was feeling better.  At about 2:45 am Stella was really moving down, with every contraction I could tell she was moving down and contractions got more and more intense.  

Dr. Young was on call that night and wasn't sure he could make it to the hospital in time because he was finishing another birth.  By 3:10 am I was hoping with every contraction my water wouldn't break, because I could feel it coming close each time.  Dr. Young showed up at 3:15 am and as he went to check where I was at my water broke and gushed everywhere, it was comical how much fluid there was.  Dr. Young said there was meconium in my fluid so they had a respiratory doctor come for when the baby was born.  After 6-8 pushes and a episiotomy Stella and another huge gush of fluid came out! She was all sorts of tangled in her umbilical cord but luckily it wasn't around her neck.  

Apparently the pediatricians had to resuscitate her and get her breathing, I had no idea until we later, but she recovered well and only had a fever for about an hour because I had had one. 

Stella Quinn Curnow

Born May 1, 2016

3:29 am

8 lb 4 oz 20.5 in

She is so cute and had a bunch of hair just like her brother did and took a third of the time to get here! From the time we got to the hospital to the time she was born was 8 1/2 hours! It completely flew by! What a dream!

I was beyond happy with her birth and my labor experience.  The nurses were amazing and genuinely caring.  I felt so much more in control of my body.  My doctor let me push when I wanted to and when I was ready. Right after she came out we were all happy, smiling, talking, and laughing.  I honestly couldn't have asked for a better experience.

We fell in love with her the instant we saw her, Stella is beautiful and the perfect piece to our family!

Brad was so great! He only got to sleep for a little bit (but it took 5 minutes for me to wake him up) and handled it great.  Since this go around I actually could feel my contraction, I really depended on him to get me through them and he didn't disappoint.  He's a great support and the perfect dad for our kids!

I loved the transition from the delivery room to the recovery room. Again my nurse that night was amazing, she made sure I was comfortable and could almost read my mind for my needs.  Brad stayed the rest of the night/morning with me then went home to shower and bring Wilson and Linda to meet Stella!

When 3 became 4!! Wilson really wasn't very interested in her but loved playing in the room! Ha Brad stayed home with Wilson and they came back the next day for another visit!

Shannon came to see me Sunday afternoon and to meet Stella! It was nice to have a quiet visit with just the 2 of us.

Being at the hospital by myself was kind of boring and you can only watch so much tv, but I really did enjoy my time hanging with Stella.  At night she just wanted to eat all the time but would just fall asleep.  I had her go to the nursery Sunday night because I was exhausted.  My nurse called and asked if they could give her a binky and I of course said yes.  My nurse knew I was super tired and kept Stella in the nursery as long as possible to let me sleep. 

I was hoping to go home Monday afternoon but because of the short fever and the potential of an infection from the meconium they wanted her to stay till Tuesday morning.  So when Tuesday morning came we got out of there as soon as we could! It was truly a great experience, I felt so good and recovered great! 

Stella we love you and are so happy and blessed that you are a part of our family. We can't wait to watch your life's journey to see where it takes you.

Pregnancy #2

Brad and I knew we wanted another baby and we felt like it was the right time to start trying after we had moved down to Orem.  We've been blessed with being able to get pregnant very easily so planning a spring baby was easier! I was really excited when I finally found out and did my best to keep it from Brad,  I only lasted a few days.  I decided to tell him by getting book for Wilson that had to do with Daddy's.  I still had to tell him because it was like I just got Wilson new books.. Haha 

I loved this Clearblue pregnancy test because the lines are usually so faint and hard to read.  This time I didn't want to guess, I wanted a yes or no! And it was a yes!!

This is Baby #2 at 9 weeks! I was given great medicine to help with nausea and it's really what got me through the first 15 weeks, especially trying to take care of myself and Wilson.

We decided to announce when I was 13 weeks and it happened to be October and time to carve pumpkins!  I can't believe how sweet and little Wilson was!

We decided to get everyones votes before we announced what the gender was! There was a heavy lean toward boy, which it what Brad and I thought it was going to be too! My favorite it Rachel Henshaws undecided vote! Lol

Yay!!! We're getting one of each!! We were a little in shock when they told us it was a girl but also told us she was 70% sure it was a girl and I didn't like that percentage.  My first gender appointment was at 17 weeks and I went to another gender appointment at 20 weeks where it was a for sure a girl! I felt better about that! 

At this point I was feeling pretty good and getting big fast! I couldn't believe how quick my body went into baby mode.  I quickly bought some maternity pants and some tops to get myself comfy.

I didn't realize I hadn't taken a bump picture until 23 weeks but looking at it now compared to the end it's so tiny.  I definitely was starting to feel big! It was already hard to bend to pick up toys and play with Wilson.  I also was shocked with how fast this pregnancy went.  The first 25 weeks seemed to fly!

At 25 weeks I had my wisdom teeth taken out because it A: needed to be done, it was way over due and B: I had good insurance to get it done!

Either way, it wasn't too bad, I could only have general anesthesia to numb my mouth which was probably the worst part! Recovery was great, I only needed meds for the same day and the next. Thank goodness! Loved that I could check that off the list!

Moving along and getting bigger and bigger! I did my glucose test and passed! I was so worried about having gestational diabetes again since I had it with Wilson.  I couldn't imagine trying to check my sugars on time and take care of Wilson so it was a major blessing that I passed and didn't have to deal with it.

Wilson has always liked when we play on the floor with him and it just got harder and harder to get on and off the floor! I have short legs and start to lose my lap really fast, poor Wilson barely fit! Haha

I carried this baby girl really high so as she got bigger and bigger breathing got harder and harder! She was high and poked out big time!

Moving right along! At 34 weeks they did an ultrasound to check her size and she was measuring at 5.5 lbs and I had a lot of extra fluid.  No wonder I was feeling so big.. I was! Lol

Just kept growing! Doing what a baby does!

This was the last picture I got! I was waddling like a boss and could barely get on and off the couch.  I was ready to see her and ready to be able to play with Wilson again!

I was induced at 39 weeks 2 days on April 30th.

April 2016

April was a pretty slow month since I was 9 months pregnant! We watched a lot of movies, hung out at home, hung out with cousins, and tried to throw in a few outing. 

 Wilson is constantly getting more and more adventurous and is still trying to climb anything. At least he was paying attention during Conference! While getting everything ready for the baby Wilson was my "helper" by making me work fast so he would stop getting into everything I was trying to do! Ha

We met up with the Bowles to play at The Bounce House and it was such a blast! Wilson loved the slides and the foam pit.  We stayed for 2 hours and I'm pretty sure he could have stayed even longer!

 He has the best cousins, Weston helped him get up the slide and would follow him around so I didn't have too!

Wilson and I decided to go see what Brad does at the baseball games! Wilson loved being at the game and cheered and yelled loudly so the people in front of us could hardly hear themselves! Luckily he's so cute that they thought he was adorable!

We sat right in front of the press box so Wilson could see daddy while he worked.  He also got to go in the press box because mom had a tiny bladder at this point in life! Lol

Me and my distracted toddler! 

He fell asleep in the car and I couldn't put him in his crib because I was loving the snuggles!

It dawned on me that he isn't going to be the baby anymore and I needed to soak up as much of his cuddles as possible!

Auntie Shannon was getting rid of some toys so we totally scored and took the Buzz! Wilson loves it and he goes most places with us!

No judging me because Wilson got an embarrassingly large amount of these red boxes this month because A: I didn't want to cook and B: It always sounded so good! I blame pregnancy.

Brad's cousin Jeff got married to Rachel on such a windy day you would have thought we were in Rexburg! Haha It was so special and fun to be there! 

I had something probably an appt so Wilson went and played with his cousins! Auntie Shannon took them to the park by the house and per usual Wilson loved it!

We took advantage of a warm day and went to the Bowles to play water with cousins!

More hanging at Auntie Shannon's, she really was a lifesaver in this final month when we needed to get out of the house but didn't have enough energy to actually go do something. HA

We took a lot of short walks to the skate park down the street so wilson could run and get some sun shine!

I'm getting SO close!!

 We also spent a TON of time on Snap Chat! Some from the wedding but most of the time just having fun with it at home!

 I think he's in for a rude awakening when baby comes! He thought everything we brought out for her was his. 

This was me most of this month without shame! I was huge and tired!

We made it to induction day! I really wanted to have the baby on May 1st so Brad and I went in April 30th! Pregnancy and Birth Story to come!