Reagan Dawn- Birth Story

Reagan Dawn Wille was born on Friday, May 18 at 3:06pm.  She was 6 lbs, 9 oz, and 19.5 inches.  I went to work my normal half day that Friday and left the office at noon to head to my weekly appointment to get "checked".  I wasn't dilated at all, but had been having some contractions.  To be honest, I didn't really know they were contractions because I hadn't been in labor before since Rylie was a scheduled c-section. I noticed them a little more regularly once I got to my appointment. They hooked me up to a monitor and sure enough they were coming about every four minutes.  Because my doctor happened to be on call that day, she thought we should go ahead with the c-section that day...as in at 2:30pm (it was currently 1:30pm). 

I was 37 weeks and 2 days, technically full term.  Neither Dan nor I were prepared for this.  I was really hoping for one more weekend at home and another week at work to get things in order, but Reagan had other plans for us.  I didn't have a bag completely packed yet and didn't have a single thing with me.  Dan just happened to come along to this appointment because he thought she might move the date up based on how I was looking and feeling...we just didn't expect it to be that day.  We had two cars there and she wouldn't allow me to go home.  She did allow me to drive across the street to the hospital to start checking in while Dan ran home and grab a few things. He called his parents who were in Green Bay for a Lion's event that weekend.  And he made some calls to let them know he wouldn't be returning to work.

I called both my parents at work, home and cell phones and couldn't get a hold of them at first. I did end up getting a hold of my mom at work and asked if they could pack their bags and get on the road that day (she would be staying the whole following week with us).  I texted my Dad that I was having the baby in an hour.  I later found out he was on the golf course and said to the guys "I gotta go".  He was able to finish up the front 9 as my mom had to finish work yet and they met at home to pack things up.  In the mean time I was checking in at the hospital by myself and texting as fast as I can.  To Beth that I would need her to keep Rylie until we figured things out after the baby was born.  I was texting Dan a list of things to grab for me.  And coincidentally, my friend Sarah just happened to text me while I was checking in to ee how things were going. 

Once I was up in my room, I got changed into my gown, they put in the IV's and drew some blood.  The anesthesiologist came in to talk with me for a couple of minutes about the spinal and that was pretty much it.  Dan got there and got changed into his scrubs and they wheeled me across the hall to the operating room.  I ended up having two spinals because the block in the first one didn't work. And in my opinion, they were far less painful to me than them putting the IV in my hand.  So to recap:  I left work at noon, drove the half hour to my appointment and ended up meeting Reagan at 3:06. It was the most eventful 3 hours of my life.  As with Rylie, the moment we hear those first cries, we were overwhelmed with relief and happiness and were both crying tears of joy.  Reagan's birth story was the total opposite of Rylie's, where we had everything packed, her room ready, loose ends tied up at work, and we woke up on our scheduled date and checked in two hours prior to our scheduled time.  In the end, we have a fun story to tell, a healthy baby girl that we are head over heels in love with, and everything worked out the way it was supposed to.

The c-section and recovery seemed to go better the second time around. I think I was a little more prepared and knew what to expect having been through this once before. With Rylie I was completely out of it the entire first day. This time, I was tired, but was still coherent right after the surgery. I was up and moving around 24 hours later and showered the next morning and checked out Sunday evening.

My parents arrived around 7pm Friday night. Rylie was going to spend the night at Brian and Beth's.  So this time, we had a few hours with just the 3 of us, which I loved.  I really wanted to see Rylie, but it was nice to have this time together. My mom and Dad picked Rylie up the next morning and brought her over.  She looked like such a big girl when she walked in and looked completely different to me.  This has been the hardest part for me.  Having a newborn in the house, Rylie isn't my baby anymore.  She's my big girl and she looks so much older to me now.  She has handled the transition very well so far.  She's a great big sister and helper.

And now for the picture extravaganza!!

Loved this moment

First picture of the 3 of us- my attempt to look normal and NOT look like I've been sweating, dry heaving and crying-
instead I look a little creepy  

First bath

Warming up

Meeting Papa

Meeting Gamma

Praying

Rylie meeting her little sister

Daddy and his girls

Meeting Grr & Grr Mom

We had quite a few visitors in the 3 hours before we left:

Auntie Stephanie and Miss Pattie from work were the first two visitors (forgot to get a picture with Pattie!)

Cousin Michael

Cousin Brady

Cousin Sophie

Grr & Grr Mom with their 5 grandkids

Aunt Sha She

Uncle T

Auntie Leslie

Uncle Chris- the Godfather

Auntie Christa

Uncle Earl

Auntie Sarah and Gwen

First picture as a family of four

Heading home!

Home!  Please ignore my tennis shoes with no socks- flip flops are one of the things I hadn't packed. 
And I'm pretty sure I'm wearing my pajamas as well. Whatev.  Everything is much more relaxed the second time around, no?