The Story of Peylee: Part 1

This is the story of our beautiful baby girl.

If you've ever wondered why we decided to start our family when we did, the details of my pregnancy, how we brought our girl into the world, or the explanation behind her name, then you're in the right place!

My sweet Nana passed away in May of 2018. It was so heartbreaking and one of the hardest things I've ever gone through. If you've ever lost someone, you probably know how it feels to reevaluate your life and what's truly important.

So all this to say, Kota and I decided to stop waiting to try for a baby, and started shortly after her passing.

Months passed by, and there seemed to be no signs of a pregnancy anytime soon. I've shared this before, but it got to the point where we were fearful and anxious that it may never happen for us.

We went to the beach with Kota's family the last week of July/first week of August, and TMI maybe, but this was when I had my last period before I got pregnant. I had set up a gynecologist appointment for later in the month for some weird things that were going on with my body (this was actually my very first gynecologist appt. EVER! I know, I know, don't scold me (; ), and they actually did a pregnancy test that day, but it came back negative (it was a false negative because I wasn't even a week along at that point). I drove from that appointment to Georgia, where my cousin Brooke was in labor with her sweet baby girl. I got there in time to visit family, sat in the waiting room until she delivered her, and met our newest addition! Sweet Kinsley Marie was born 3 months to the date after our precious Nana passed.

4 weeks later, on September 8th, 2018, we found out that WE were finally PREGNANT!!

We'd bought a test the day before because we both were pretty certain that I was (I have a very routine cycle, so being late was not normal). I remember that day so well. We were at home, watching college football. We'd actually had a silly argument because Kota bought a wall mount for our living room tv and he was trying to make me help him hang it. I took the test a little while later in our bathroom, sat it on the sink, and went to wait the 3 minutes for it to read with my hubs in our living room (he wouldn't let me look at it before/without him). Once those 3 minutes were up we practically raced to see what it would reveal. Kota beat me there, and when he saw what it said he immediately broke down in tears and sat on the side of the bathtub, and so did I! What's REALLY crazy is that when I did the math to figure out her due date, it was to be May 12th (my Nana's birthday- and also Mother's Day in 2019). Y'all can't convince me no matter how hard you try that she wasn't sent straight from heaven to us by that woman.

We wanted to wait until it was confirmed by the doctor before sharing with anyone else (including our family), so that's what we did. It was so funny when I called the Dr.'s office to let them know I'd taken a home test and that it was positive. They were like, wait weren't you just here? lol, but after I'd gone to have the blood work done, the nurse called back and said "YEP! You're definitely pregnant, your levels have TRIPLED since the test we did!" (the tests were done only about 2 weeks apart and the nurses thought my drastic increase in levels may indicate I was having twins).

It was extremely difficult keeping quiet around our families because of how often we see them and how sick and exhausted I was, but we were able to pull it off!

We planned a surprise 50th birthday party/dinner for my dad and his twin sister at Amigo's, so that's how we revealed it to my family! We saved our presents for last and gave him a t-shirt that said "Only the best dad's get promoted to Grandpa" and a little onesie that said "Grandpa's fishing buddy". Everyone was COMPLETELY surprised! And practically everyone there cried at our joyful news.

We told Kota's family the following day by giving his mom a t-shirt that had a bear on it and said "Grandma" while we were all over at his Grandparents house for our usual Sunday get together. Everyone there basically responded with "about time!" lol

I had a weird hunch that we were having twins (I guess the nurses maybe put that thought in my head when they were telling me about my level increases), but at our first ultrasound appointment that my mom, mother-in-law, and of course Kota, came to, we found out it was just one baby!

From there, we kept quiet with the rest of the world until we were out of the first trimester. We made it "Facebook Official" on Halloween with a sign that said "No tricks, the sweetest treat, our family is growing by 2 little feet!" and also took a picture with my husband wearing his work vest and hard hat, and me wearing a sign that said "Bump Ahead".

As mentioned, the first trimester was pretty rough with the sickness and the exhaustion (I would literally fall asleep as soon as I sat down), but after that it was pretty much smooth sailing (besides constant reflux) until I got closer to delivery.

First signs of a baby bump around 15 weeks!

We went with my mom's side of the family to Universal/Islands of Adventure and Seaworld over Thanksgiving of that year. I was super bummed not being able to ride ANY rides, but I did get to visit Harry Potter World and watch all the shows, so it was still an enjoyable trip.

We found out just 5 days before Christmas that we were expecting a little GIRL!

It was so weird, I really didn't feel strongly either way about what we were having, but Kota was convinced from day one it was a girl. The only tiny hunch I had of it being a girl is that my due date was on my Nana's birthday, and that if it was a girl she and my cousin's baby, Kinsley, would be about the same age apart that me and her mom were (we grew up really close, so it would make sense for Nana to send us another girl so they could carry on a friendship like we've always had).

We went out to eat at Amigo's (again-lol) with our parents and brothers, and gave my parents and Kota's mom little ornaments with pink sprinkles inside and a pink ribbon that said "It's a girl!". We were going to do something for Kota's family to tell them, but they were all too impatient and called right after we told our parents lol. We told my dad's side of the family on Christmas Eve at my grandparents' with an "It's a Girl!" balloon wrapped up in a box like a Christmas present. We didn't have a gender reveal party because it was so close to Christmas, and too cold outside for a family gathering (there are way too many of us for anything indoors).

We made that announcement "Facebook Official" on Christmas Day.

One of the number one questions we've received since having her, is "where did you come up with her name?"

We practically agreed on a name right after we knew it was a girl. "Peylee" was a name we'd loved since we went to Hawaii in 2017 with my dad's parents who met and got married there. While we were there, my grandpa was telling us about the Hawaiian gods and goddesses. "Pele" is the goddess of volcanoes and fire, and the creator of the Hawaiian Islands. I just really loved the idea of a name that had roots in Hawaii, because without Hawaii and my grandparents meeting there, our family (including this baby) wouldn't even exist. The fact that this specific goddess "created" these islands just put the cherry on top. Plus, I also thought it was a really cute name lol

I felt a strange sense of home and familiarity while in Hawaii and with anything related to Hawaii at anytime, so it was basically a no brainer for me, and luckily Kota agreed ;)

We obviously changed the spelling, because I wanted it to be pronounced correctly, and not like "peel" or "pee-lee", but I wanted to keep all the original letters and not derive from it too much, which is why it's spelled pEylee, instead of pAylee.

Her middle name was also a no brainer, because "Faye" is both of my grandmothers' middle name, and if you can't tell by now, I strongly believe my Nana sent her to us and she needed some representation too.

It warms my heart to have given our daughter such a meaningful name- a name that represents both of her sweet maternal grandmothers that have had SUCH an impact on my life.

We sometimes get funny looks, or people that don't understand her unusual name, but hopefully this clears it up! Not that we care (no offense), because we truly love it so much and it honestly fits her so well.

We had maternity pictures done and had 2 baby showers the following spring, one at the Community Center in Meigs County on March 23rd that Sherry (my mother-in-law) threw, and the other at the Sale Creek Fire Hall on April 6th that my mom threw. Both were pineapple and flamingo themed (what we decided to decorate her nursery in-hello HAWAII), and let's just say that silly girl was spoiled rotten before she ever even took her first breath. We were able to create a beautiful nursery for her that I still love SO MUCH! Actually, the first thing we bought for her were decorations for her room (priorities, right? lol).

Pregnancy continued on fairly smoothly, andddd then I entered my 3rd trimester.

I was getting huge, working 3rd shift on a very sporadic, random schedule was killing me, I was so exhausted, my reflux was AWFUL, my ankles were constantly swollen and hurting, I had horrible back pain, and I couldn't breathe for the life of me.

I was having ultrasounds done at every single visit (due to a medication I take for my heart that could potentially cause lower amniotic fluid levels than normal).

At 28 weeks, everything was measuring perfectly and baby girl was head down. By our next visit at 32 weeks, she had flipped back right side up (so butt down).

This is about the time that we started going for weekly checkups, so every visit they would do an ultrasound to check her position, and every time it revealed that she still hadn't flipped back over. My doctor told us she could try turning her, but after explaining how it could be extremely painful and even in some situations dangerous, and doing a little more research ourselves, I decided I didn't want her to try doing that and risk anything, so if she didn't flip back around on her own we were to schedule a c-section.

At our next visit, she was still butt down, so we scheduled a c-section for 6am on Wednesday, May 8th, 2019 (my due date was May 12th). Kota was so excited he was going to get to wear "all the cool Dr. stuff" lol

I spent the remainder of my pregnancy eating as many sno cones as possible (really the only pregnancy craving I had), and by the pool. I convinced mom to open the pool early since I wouldn't be able to swim for 6 weeks after I had her.

The last full day I was pregnant! 39 weeks and 2 days

Things remained the same, so on the 8th we got up VERY early (because I had to be at the hospital by 3:30am- I actually decided I wanted to try to stay up so I wasn't so tired waking up early and since I was used to working 3rd shift- LESSON LEARNED! lol), and headed off to welcome our sweet girl into the world.

After being checked in that morning, the nurse told me the monitor was recording contractions. She asked me if I was feeling anything, because they were pretty close together, but all I felt was an urge similar to when you kind of feel like you need to use the bathroom. They got my IV in my arm (finally! The nurse almost blew my vein & the CRNA who happened to be in the room talking me through the surgery had to intervene and got it), then my doctor came in for one last ultrasound to confirm her position (you guessed it- still butt down!), prayed over us, and off to the OR we went! As soon as I stood up and started walking to the OR, I got VERY shaky. I couldn't control it all, and it was the weirdest sensation ever. I assume it was brought on by nerves, adrenaline, and probably even some of the medication they'd given me, but I've also since read that shakes during labor are actually very common for a lot of women.

My last picture being pregnant!

I decided to have Kota and my mom come into the OR with me, but they took me in alone first to insert my catheter and administer my spinal while they gowned up in the hallway just outside.

This part really sucked- a student or someone new? I'm not sure? tried inserting my spinal first and missed, so then the CRNA tried and also missed, and finally the anesthesiologist was able to get it placed correctly! They had to numb and stick me AT LEAST 5 times! It was so miserable. They told me that part normally only took around 30 seconds, but for me it took over 10 minutes. Not to mention, the nurse standing in front of me kept pulling me more and more into her (they kept telling me to bend over as much as I could, but hello! My baby was breach and up high so I couldn't bend very far!), and that poor girl needed some more deodorant on- shew! They did FINALLY get it though (they even asked if I'd ever been diagnosed with scoliosis because of how difficult it was for them-which I haven't!).

Kota was apparently freaking out in the hall, but he and my mom finally got to come in, and they'd already started cutting. Kota says all he can remember when he walked in was the relief when he saw I was ok, and the smell of burnt flesh where they cauterized my skin lol

I was shaking so badly, but Kota held my hand the entire time while my mom took some pictures. When I heard them say they were about to pull her out, I made him stand up to watch, and he wasn't super thrilled about it, while my mom on the other hand was bobbing her head all over the place to try to see through all the nurses lol

At 6:36am, we heard our sweet Peylee Faye's cry for the first time, which immediately brought me to tears. She came out with her little right arm raised in the air, and was completely perfect.

She weighed 9lbs even and was 21.75in long (big girl! No wonder she couldn't flip back over! lol).

Kota got to watch them clean her, cut part of her cord, and get all her measurements, then did skin to skin with her the remaining time we were in the OR while they stitched me back up. All I got was a nurse that brought her over, held her to my face, and let me kiss her lol

The first things I noticed about her were her long fingernails and her tan skin.

I FINALLY got to hold her and nurse her when we got into recovery. Kota ditched me and mom at that point so he could go eat some breakfast lol, and she also got her first bath in there!

No breakfast for me yet, but I did get some ice chips which were HEAVENLY because it'd been so long since I'd had anything to eat or drink.

After our hour was up, we were wheeled into the room we'd stay in for the next 2 days. I felt so strange at that point- I was still numb, I was so tired from lack of sleep already, I was overjoyed with my new bundle, and I was starving lol

My mom held her first in the room, and then all of our family started pouring in to meet her. We had a whole entourage out in the waiting room ready to meet our girl. At least Kota had a lot of help changing her several poopy diapers because I couldn't stand up yet to change her (thanks Jebo!) lol

She looks just like my mom to me in this pic!

I finally got to eat (yuck- hospital food), and then stood and walked several hours after delivery. It was literally the most painful experience of my entire life.

They'd had to mix me a special "cocktail" because there wasn't a lot of urine in my catheter bag, so once it finally filled up and they took the catheter out, I went to try to use the restroom. If you've had a catheter you'll understand, but it was literally so hard and took me so long to pee after they took that thing out. I thought I was going to sit on that toilet forever, and that was just to pee! Much less the excruciating pain of sitting there trying to go number 2 (sorry, I know, TMI!)

Kota had to help me out of bed every time I got up, and hold my hands while walking. He practically had to bathe me when I took a shower the following day. He was so helpful and supportive and those moments, although extremely painful, brought so much joy and gratefulness to my heart and reminded me why I fell in love with him.

The rest of our hospital stay was VERY difficult. I was obviously in a lot of pain, and juggling that along with no sleep, trying to navigate the newness and unknowns of breastfeeding, frequent visitors in and out, hospital staff in and out, and her refusing to lay in her bassinet AT ALL, made for a very long 2 days. She was really "snorty" sounding too, which worried us to death with fear of her not being able to breathe, so a NICU doctor came to our room and ran a tube down both of her nostrils to make sure there was no resistance/blockage. Kota kept saying it was like having a new toy that was already broken. Everything was fine, she just had a lot of fluid she still needed to clear (normally this is done when a baby gets pushed through the vaginal cavity-but ya know, with a c-section that doesn't occur).

As I mentioned, she was VERY fussy. She either wanted to be nursing, or whoever was holding her had to wear a glove and let her suck on their finger. She would absolutely NOT lay in her bassinet without screaming her little head off- she wanted to be held! I was also really anxious about something happening to her if I fell asleep, so as tired as I was, I just had to keep my eyes on her.

We had the sweetest nurses, and we actually knew one of them from church and softball growing up! Both nights they took her out of our room to the nurses station (they don't have a nursery for the baby to go to anymore, so this was just them watching her) for about an hour so that we could get a little bit of sleep. It was the greatest blessing and it honestly meant so much to me that they were kind enough to do that. They probably would have kept her longer, but little miss wanted to nurse! She did end up laying under the heat lamp out of our room at one point as well because her temperature had dropped.

Come to find out later, my milk supply had not come in (AT ALL), so the poor little thing was starving (no wonder she was fussy! She comes by hAnger honestly!). I kept talking with the lactation specialist, and had to call the nurse in frequently because I was having a lot of trouble getting her to latch, and then when she did she'd fall asleep. I began trying to pump while still in the hospital (this is how I discovered I had no milk supply yet). I was really struggling at this point, and her latch was SO painful I wanted to cry.

She'd lost enough weight that they were starting to become concerned, and she also had jaundice, so they hesitantly let us leave the hospital on Friday with the agreement that we'd go to the pediatricians office first thing Saturday morning. We had to wait forever until the pediatrician on call discharged us, because she'd left the hospital without seeing us and had to come back.

She finally came and told us we were good to go, so we packed our bags, got dressed, and I snapped a few pictures for as long as I was able to stand, and we broke out of that place!

You can read life after leaving the hospital up until now in my next blog post, so stay tuned!