Adalyn Faye Hymas - Birth Story

We are so excited to finally have our baby girl here!

Adalyn Faye Hymas

Born on 08/04/2015 at 3:32 pm. 

She weighed 6 lbs 9 oz and was 18.5 inches long. 

She has tons of dark curly hair, and is the sweetest baby ever!

We are all so in love!!

I like recording my Birth story's when they are fresh in my mind and I remember most details. If you aren't interested in all the details of her birth then scroll down to see pictures. 

Things in my pregnancy have gone quite smoothly since my subchorionic hemorrhage resolved completely at 32 weeks. I've had careful and frequent monitoring for any complications and have still had some activity restrictions to prevent problems. My blood pressure has been normal which has been both shocking and wonderful!! My high risk Dr. recommended that I deliver at 38 weeks, even if my blood pressure stays normal. He explained with my history it isn't worth waiting any longer as major problems could arise very suddenly and be extremely serious. My OB/GYN in Wyoming agreed with this. We scheduled my induction for Monday August 3rd at exactly 38 weeks. My mom arrived the Saturday before. We were all ready to go!

 I woke up at 4:30 on the 3rd and started getting ready. At 5:30 my former co-worker and friend Sarah called me to let me know that they were too busy for me to come in. Every room was full. She said they could probably get me in later in the day after some people were discharged. I needed to hang tight and wait for them to call me. I tried to go back to sleep after that without much success. 

We spent the morning sitting around, waiting. Finally at about 11 my phone rings. I thought they were calling me in! It was my OB, Dr. Wheeler. He was calling to tell me he'd been trying all morning to get me in, but it just wasn't looking good. There was just too much going on. So the new plan was 5:30 am on the 4th. 

I wanted to feel productive and pass time, so my mom and I spent hours that day cleaning out and organizing our entire storage room and garage. It was so nice to have her help and it felt good to have it done!

I went to bed at 10pm monday night ready to get a full night's rest in preparation for my early induction the next day. I checked in with Sarah who was working and they had room and were planning on seeing me in the morning.

Less than an hour later I woke up feeling the end of a contraction. I fell back asleep right away. I woke up again 4 minutes later feeling another contraction. This continued every 3-5 minutes for the next hour. I dozed between contractions, but they were uncomfortable and woke me up when I was having them. About midnight they were getting stronger and quite painful. I was breathing through them and it woke Devry. I got up and walked around and they got stronger. I showered and worked through contractions. I spent a couple of hours alternating between standing and laying down. The contractions were persistent and strong. Around 2 I felt some incredibly intense ones. I decided it was time to go to the hospital. I let Sarah know I was coming and we headed in. 

After I got my epidural.

I arrived on L&D and Sarah checked me. I was only 3 cm. I was 2 cm the week before in the office so I was sure I would be more then that. Regardless of dilation I was staying since I was scheduled to be there that morning. The contractions continued. I was exhausted. I had been up since 4:30 am the day before and knowing I would be having a baby that day, I decided it would be best to get my epidural and get some sleep. Sarah called Dr. Mack, the anesthesiologist on call. He came right in and by about 5:30am I was pain free and comfortable. Devry and I both fell asleep. 

I kept waking up feeling weird though. I realized my epidural had gotten very strong and quite high. My arms were numb, and I would feel slightly short of breath when I started falling asleep. Sarah turned off the epidural and called Dr. Mack back in. He came and turned the rate down. By that point it had worn off enough it was the perfect balance of controlling pain without taking away all feeling. I was very happy with it.

In the meantime, my contractions had spaced out quite a bit. Dr. Wheeler was planning on coming in at 6:30 to break my water. He arrived and told me he had 2 surgeries. He knew that when I delivered my twins I went from 3cm to delivery in 2 hours and with only breaking my water. We were planning on just breaking my water and not using pitocin unless it was needed. He would be in surgery for over 3 hours and didn't want to miss the delivery. We decided he should come back between the two surgeries to break my water. In the meantime Devry and I would try to rest as much as we could. 

We slept off and on from 6:30-9:30. Not much was happening with contractions. 

Dr. Wheeler came back about 9:30 to get things started. I was still 3cm. 

He broke my water and headed off to surgery. He said he would be about an hour and a half, and we all thought he would come back to me being ready or close to ready for him to deliver. 

Then nothing happened. 

I didn't contract more. I had 3 contractions in 30 minutes. 

The next 30 minutes wasn't much better. I called in Carol (my day shift nurse who had come on) and asked her to start pitocin. She checked me and I was still 3cm. My body was not doing what we thought it would. 

She started the pitocin and thought things would start moving quicker. 

She continued to turn up the pitocin, and my contractions became more regular again. 

She checked me again at 1:00, and I was only 4 cm. 

We could hardly believe how slow things were moving! With Both of my other labors I went quickly. With Payton I went from 4-10cm in 4 hours. With the twins I went from 3cm-10cm in 2 hours. 

We continued to wait. And wait. 

I made progress but it was slow. By 2:00 I was 5 cm. 

It was time to make things happen. I used my labor nurse knowledge and changed positions. I had good mobility with my epidural, so I spent the next 45 minutes alternating positions and doing what I could. It seemed to help a lot! At 2:45 I was 6-7cm. Then I started feeling pain on my right side. In a matter of 3 contractions I went from moderate pain on just my right side to very intense pain that was over most of my stomach.  I hit my "bolus" button for my epidural which was supposed to give me a boost of medicine. It didn't make a difference at all and the pain was getting much worse. With each contraction I felt more and more pain. I was breathing through them, shaking and couldn't concentrate on anything else. At 3:20 Carol checked and I was 8 cm. She called, and Dr. Wheeler was there a couple of minutes later. At this point I was having a very hard time with contractions. The pain was VERY intense. He checked me and said I was 10cm and ready to deliver. I started having a contraction and tried to push. 

I immediately felt the worst pain I have ever experienced in my life. 

Devry and Carol were holding my legs, and along with Dr Wheeler  and Carley (the nursery nurse who was there for Adalyn) they were encouraging me to push. I tried to push, and the pain would hit and I couldn't do anything but scream. 

I swear it all happened in slow motion. I look over and see poor carol fighting to hold my leg that was trying to push her away. I felt my bed inflating and raising up(which was my arm pushing buttons on the bed by accident). My blood pressure cuff was inflating, but because I was not relaxed it was getting tighter and tighter. There was just so much going on. I felt so out of control and I hated it! 

I'd push, then scream. Then try to pull myself up the bed, away from the pain. My semi rational thinking would take over. I'd think "Ok I know I need to push through it. That's the only way for it to be over. How many patients have I talked through this. I can do it." I'd start to push again and all rational thinking left when I felt the pain again. Dr. Wheeler and Carol kept telling me I was close. I was convinced they were lying to me. Devry looked like a deer in headlights. I heard myself scream and scream at the top of my lungs and think "NO I can't be this patient! I can't!" I was scared to push again. I kept saying "Carol, I can't do this I can't do this!" I wanted to stop and tell them to get Dr. Mack to fix my epidural. I was paying for an epidural! It should be working! Finally, someway, somehow I found the will power to push through the pain to get her head out. I pushed through the "ring of fire." The burning, the pain was more horrific then anything I could imagine. 

Her head was out, then with a tiny push for her shoulders she came out. I've never felt such relief in my life. Dr. Wheeler placed her on me right away. I look down and see this perfect, dark haired beauty. I started crying. From the pain. From the relief. From my PERFECT daughter laying on my chest. I fell in love instantly. She cried right away. She was pink, breathing perfectly and able to stay right with me. 

About a minute old.

She laid skin to skin with me for an hour and a half after delivery. She breastfed perfectly for over an hour. This was exactly what I had hoped for. All of my boys needed to be wisked away after delivery. I longed for instant skin to skin time with a baby and it was every bit as perfect as I'd imagined!

As soon as she finished eating, I was able to get right out of bed. I guess that was one benefit of my epidural not working. Carol went to pull out my epidural and found it was barely in. I think maybe all of my position changes to progress labor may have loosened the epidural catheter so I wasn't getting any of the medicine. I kept apologizing over and over to Dr. Wheeler and my nurses for screaming, and loosing control. They were laughing at me for apologizing and kept reassuring me that I did great and it wasn't even minutes that I had to push. It felt like forever, but in reality it was probably a minute. I'm convinced that  the most painful minute ever actually feels like 20 minutes. 

I got cleaned up and moved to our post partum room. What a difference this time around has been. I didn't need ANY stitches. That alone makes the first few days a million times easier. My blood pressure has been normal. I have had no swelling or issues. I have felt GREAT! 

I'm not sure if its because she is my last, or a girl, or because I haven't had problems or much pain, but I have spent the last 4 days completely consumed by this little girl. I can truly say that instant skin to skin with her gave me an immediate bond I've never felt before. Of course I bonded with my boys, and had no difficulty doing so, it just wasn't as instantaneous. Having her in our home has brought such a different feeling. A sense of completeness maybe? She is a wonderful, sweet, content baby. She eats great, she sleeps amazingly good, especially at night. She fits into our family and into our world with ease. We are on cloud 9 and could not be happier then with this darling little girl here.

We didn't expect her to be so small, but I sure do love it! 

First time being held by Daddy. About 2 hours old. 

The boys meeting baby Addy for the first time. 

Holding Addy for the first time. 

Sarah gave Adalyn her first bath. I was SO lucky to have such amazing nurses who were also great friends of mine. 

Hair done after her bath. 

My OB, Dr. Wheeler holding Adalyn. He really is an incredible doctor! 

It was so nice having my mom here!

Devry and the boys brought me beautiful Daisy's. 

Payton is obsessed. He asks to hold her constantly, he sings to her, he talks to her. He is so fascinated by it all!

Family picture before going home. 

Another family Picture.

Nanny helped the boys write "Welcome Adalyn" on the Driveway. They were all so excited to have her home. 

My 4 kiddos!

Precious little girl. 

21 Weeks

21 weeks feels great!

Last Monday, at 20 weeks, I had another visit with my MFM Dr. in Utah. I had another very thorough ultrasound. They checked out the blood clot, and all of baby's anatomy. She looks healthy and is growing well (something they will watch very closely since there is a large chance of her growth being restricted from the complications I have had). The Dr. came in and showed us the blood clot again. He said because of the position of it, it is hard to accurately measure it, but it doesn't look any bigger. Even better, all of the blood looks "old" so there is no active bleeding. Since things hadn't worsened, my cramping was minimal and baby was growing good he allowed me to be off strict bed rest. I am still restricted in activity (no lifting, exercise, overdoing it at all, etc), but I can be up with frequent resting. This was wonderful news. I was going crazy being stuck in bed or on the couch so being allowed to be up and semi-productive is a huge improvement. He was very thorough in explaining everything and answering all of our questions. I have 2 wonderful Dr.'s who both never rush through my appts, and take the time to address every concern I have. They answer my questions and discuss the situation with me as though it is the only thing on their mind, and they have all the time in the world to focus on me. I knew my OB/GYN would be that way since I've worked with him, but I was lucky to choose a MFM who has a similar bedside manner. As long

as things stay the way they are, he will see me again at 28 weeks in Salt Lake, and I will see my OB every 2 weeks here in Wyoming. I was told I couldn't work and I still need to listen very closely to my body to know what is overdoing it.  Here is a picture of me at 20 weeks and 5 days and one of little miss at 20 weeks on the ultrasound. 

Physically I am feeling fantastic. I do not have the terrible constant back pain I had with my other 2 pregnancies, I have a decent amount of energy, no more nausea, nothing more then very minor aches and pains that come with growing a human. So far this has physically been easier for me then either of my other pregnancies. I cramp if I overdo it, but resting helps so I am trying to still take it easy. 

Emotionally I will admit I am struggling a bit. Before these complications arose, I had a contract for an 8 week travel nursing assignment in Jackson. This would allow Devry to be off for his wrist surgery without financial strain on our family. Of course with the complications, I had to cancel that contract. Devry still needed his surgery so we went ahead with it. He was off for 3 weeks, and despite his wrist still being sore, he went back to work last week since financially we couldn't afford him to take any more time off.  Cohen ended up with a very sudden and unexpected case of pneumonia that put him in the hospital for a day. In the last week I have received thousands of dollars in medical bills from my appts, lab work, ultrasounds, Devry's surgery and more will be coming from Cohen's hospital stay. This is just the start and we have burned through a large chunk of our savings to pay medical bill after medical bill as well as make ends meet for our monthly bills with Devry's decreased income. Devry is back to work, with a sore wrist and picking up every shift of overtime he can find to try to get us back on track. I am discouraged. I feel awful not being able to work and help out financially. I feel bad encouraging him to stay late at work, or go in at 4am or even midnight to try  to catch us up because I know he will be hurting. I am grateful we chose to save the majority of what I made last year doing travel nursing. This has allowed us to pay for everything we need without any debt. I am grateful for that. But it is still hard to see that money go, when I was supposed to be working right now to prevent that from happening. Having him gone working so much is hard. It is hard for him (although he won't admit it), it is hard for the kids, and it is hard for me. Days he works long hours is emotionally exhausting for me since the kids miss him (and have gotten used to having him home all day everyday), and I have to take care of all of their needs. "Taking it easy" is challenging with three little people needing your constant help and attention. They have done well and are learning independence in a lot things. 

Through all of this I have had a hard time not becoming frustrated with the fact that I have zero paid maternity leave, medical leave, sick leave, paid time off or any other benefits that could help us during this time. My only option was to cancel my travel contract, quit my hospital job and loose all of my income for almost my entire pregnancy (longer since I will stay home after I have her for at least a few months). It is discouraging and frustrating when we have always worked so hard. The one time I have to be off work for medical reasons we have no option but going without my pay, while adding thousands in medical bills at the same time. It is just so different then the way it is in Canada and what I was raised with so I am having a bit of a hard time wrapping my head around the lack of benefits here for hardworking families that face a time of need. (In Canada, I could receive 17 weeks of paid employment insurance for pregnancy complications as well as the normal 52 weeks of paid maternity leave). I'm just not even going to open the soap box of those abusing government aid here and never working for a thing they get while hardworking people are forced to struggle. 

Yes I am ranting. It's my blog. I'm allowed.  

I am trying to stay positive. We are very blessed for Devry to have such a great job that he is able to work so much overtime. We are grateful for the money I was able to make and save doing travel nursing. We are very glad we ignored the seemingly logical decision to pay off a car, buy food storage or other great options with the money I made last year. Although we didn't know why, we felt like we needed to leave it in savings for the time being. A lot of the medical bills we've received offer a 10-20% discount for paying in full when it is first billed. Having that money in savings has allowed us to pay in full and save 10-20% on many of the bills we have had. Without that option we would not only be paying the bill in full, but also have interest added if we had to make monthly payments. I am so grateful to be feeling so great despite having to stay "down" for a month. Although I am frustrated with the situation, I am grateful that even though it will be tight I CAN be off work right now. Devry works so hard for us and I know he will work every second he can to make everything up we have lost. It is stressful, but we are both willing to do anything for the health and safety of this baby. I am incredibly grateful for an amazing husband who gets up at 3 am, works 16 hours, then comes home to help with kids, clean the house, and comfort an exhausted and emotional pregnant wife. 

I am so lucky to have him. Men like him are unusual. He spent 4 weeks taking care of EVERYTHING. I'm not kidding. Laundry, dishes, baths, meals, cleaning, cooking, disciplining, playing, yard work, house work, emotional breakdowns, bad dreams, middle of the night meltdowns, sick and cranky kiddos, EVERYTHING. If I lifted a finger to do something he was right there to take it right out of my hands and send me back to the couch or bed. He never complained. Not a single time. He willingly took on both of our roles in the house (and I think he probably did a better job then I do). Oh and did I mention for 3 weeks of it he was recovering from surgery? He is incredible.  My mom came to be here for his initial surgery recovery to help, which was great! But it didn't really stop him much. We were in idaho for a week and had some help when Grandma and Grandpa weren't working or aunts and uncles were there, but he still took care of almost everything. He stayed awake all night at the hospital because Cohen wouldn't let anyone but him hold him when he was sick. Cohen wouldn't keep oxygen on, but needed it, so Devry would wait until he was asleep and stay awake to hold it close to his face. Despite the lack of sleep he spent the next day comforting Cohen, and playing with the other boys when we were discharged from the hospital. He has the best attitude and is so willing to do everything and anything without ANY complaining. He takes very little time for himself, won't spend a cent on himself, sacrifices everything for us. I do not know what I would do without him. He is the most selfless person I know. He amazes me. 

I haven't really mentioned the fact that I am beyond thrilled to be having a little girl! Boys are fun, don't get me wrong, but after 3 of them a little girl is so exciting! I had an OB appt on Friday and we took the boys to it. They were excited to see her on the ultrasound machine, and my Dr printed them each a picture of her to keep. They constantly talk to, sing to, talk about, and pray for their baby sister. It is so sweet!  We look forward to meeting this little miss, and are hoping and praying for her safe (preferably full term) arrival! 

Pregnancy complications

When deciding to try for another baby we were very hesitant because of the serious complications I had with the twins. 

I consulted with 2 OB/GYN's and a perinatologist about my history and was told by all 3 that with careful management they felt confidant I could have another baby. 

We decided that although I have a history of infertility, we didn't want to increase the chance of twins again with medications. We decided to try to get pregnant and if it couldn't happen without medications then we would be ok with being done. After 8 months without success I was worried it wouldn't happen. I did some research and talked to a couple of OB/GYN's, and decided to follow a very strict diet with no sugar or carbs. I did that for 3 months, and in the process lost 30 lbs. On the third month I got pregnant. 

We were very excited! But also very nervous. The problems I had last time were life threatening for me. We decided to see my OB, who is WONDERFUL here in Rock Springs, but also consult with a high risk Maternal Fetal Medicine Dr. in Salt Lake City. Initially I saw him and he developed a plan of care based on history of pre-eclampsia. I would see both Doctors, and where I delivered would depend on if my blood pressure goes up and at what point in pregnancy. I felt great, my blood pressure was great, and I was doing everything I could to prevent complications. I was in great hands with my doctors and was at ease about the pregnancy. Devry was scheduled for wrist surgery and would have to take some time off work for recovery, so I signed up for an 8 week travel nursing contract to Jackson again to help make up the difference financially. I would be finished the contract at 25 weeks, before any of the problems I have had would begin. I was feeling GREAT and my Doctors both said it would be fine to work that period of time. 

Then last Monday I woke up bleeding.

As a labor and delivery nurse I am very comfortable with knowing how much bleeding can be normal in pregnancy and in what situations so I knew the amount of bleeding I was having was not normal and something wasn't right.

I called my friend who works in my OB's office. She said they didn't have an opening until 2:30 but she would talk to my Dr. as soon as he got there. A few minutes later I get a call from my Dr. I had worked with him for a couple of years, and know him well. He said to come in right away and he would get me in. I went in and luckily a spot with the ultrasound machine had opened up at the perfect time and he was able to look at things. He found a couple of concerns on the ultrasound. First, my placenta is "low-lying." This means that the placenta is low in my uterus. Typically that alone isn't a huge deal as it normally resolves as pregnancy progresses, but because of the location of the placenta, the bleeding I was having was low in my uterus, right over my cervix. There was a small area of blood that had accumulated, called a subchorionic hemorrhage. The baby looked good. He was able to confirm that the baby was a girl. He said to go home and take it easy. Not strict bed rest, but decrease my activity, no heavy lifting, exercise, strenuous activity etc until the bleeding stopped. I also needed to stop taking the Low dose Aspirin I was on to prevent pre-eclampsia. 

And he was ADAMANT that I call him personally if the bleeding gets worse or with any other concerns. 

I went home monday, and took it easy. My bleeding started decreasing to the point on Tuesday that it was hardly noticeable. We decided we wanted to tell the boys. At that point they didn't know I was even pregnant. We had a fun time telling them they were going to have a baby sister! We felt so much love and support when we made the fun announcement! It seemed like things were improving. Tuesday and Wednesday were much better!

I went to bed Wednesday night at 10. At midnight I woke up and realized I was soaked with blood. Through a pad and all of my clothes. I got up to the bathroom and had another large gush of blood. I was scared. It was WAY too much bleeding. I decided to wait and watch it. It decreased some through the rest of the night so I waited.  I spent the night tossing, turning and crying. I was so nervous I would go in the next day to find out I lost the baby. 

I text my Dr at 7:45 Thursday morning and said "I am bleeding A lot more. Can you call me when you have a minute."

He is pretty awesome. He called me right away and said come in right away. Devry had a class he couldn't miss for work, so I took my boys to a friends house (I have the best friends!) and headed in. 

I got there at 8:30 and was greeted by my good friend Makayla, who works there. She checked me in and within minutes Dr. Wheeler was in the ultrasound room. I could hardly hold it together and he was concerned too. He put the ultrasound on and immediately saw a strong heartbeat and baby girl moving around. I started crying from the relief I felt. 

He looked at the bleeding and said the area of the subchoronic hemorrhage had grown. He said I needed to cancel my work contract, and go on bed rest until the bleeding resolves. I had blood work done and was given Rhogam for my negative blood type. I went home and parked it on the couch. 

The amazing support I felt from family and friends was incredible. I had so many calls, text, messages, posts etc with offers to help with my kids, or meals, or any way I needed. My mom was traveling, but I got a hold of her Friday morning and she immediately made plans to come help me. 

Devry was scheduled for surgery on Tuesday morning. We coordinated my next Maternal Fetal Medicine (MFM) appointment for the day before. I saw Dr. Wheeler again monday morning who said the bleed was big but looked like it was clotted. Then we headed to Salt lake to my MFM appt. 

An ultrasound tech did a very thorough ultrasound of the baby and the bleeding. Dr. Esplin (my MFM), came in after reviewing the ultrasound and spent a while explaining what was found. He did an ultrasound himself to look and show us what was going on.  He said he was quite concerned with the subchorionic hemorrhage. It is a very large one, and since it is happening in my second trimester, the risks are much higher. He explained that 3 things could happen- 1. My body absorbs the blood (best case, and the least chance of problems), 2. I pass the blood (next best case), or 3. The blood stays there. This is concerning because any blood in that area causes irritation of the uterus. The blood staying there would significantly increase my chance of preterm labor or my water breaking early. Those things could potentially happen at any time. The hard part was hearing that there is nothing that can be done right now. If my body went into labor or my water broke between now and 24 weeks, I loose the baby. So I stay on bed rest, and watch the bleeding very closely to see if it is decreasing or not. If I get to 24 weeks and the bleeding and cramping is still there, he says I will probably have to go stay in Salt Lake City in case my water breaks or I go into labor. If that happened here, she wouldn't make it, but being there would give us access to the most advanced NICU and the chances of her making it are much higher. 

There is a chance the bleeding will absorb or pass, and I could go full term with no problems. We just don't know. We are praying that is what happens. Or at least that I get to a point that she can come with minimal problems. 

I am so grateful for the love and concern I have felt from people. I have some AMAZING friends who take my kids, run errands for me, bring me meals, send me words of encouragement and concern, or simply spend time with me to help me stay sane. My mom is here and helping so much. The boys ADORE her and she spends so much time with them. She cooks and cleans. She is a WONDERFUL help and having her here gives me such a calm feeling. Nothing is better then having your mom around when you're down. 

And Devry. I can't say enough about him. He had surgery yesterday and is already back up and taking care of kids, helping with meals, getting me anything I need. He is an exceptional man. He cleans, cooks, takes care of EVERYTHING around the house and does all of it willingly. He sees things that need done and does them. He will be off for 3 weeks from his surgery. I know he will spend most of his time helping me rest and taking care of everything else. I don't know what I would do without him. 

We could have a long road a head of us with this little girl. We appreciate all the thoughts, prayers and support. 

Baby #4!

We are thrilled to announce that we are expecting our 4th baby!

And it is a GIRL!!

I am 17 weeks along, and due August 17th. 

We are beyond excited to be having a little girl!