It was August 4, 2021. I woke suddenly at midnight and had to use the bathroom. Upon standing up, I was shocked to find an adequate amount of blood dripping down my leg. So In full panic, I woke Grant up and ran to the bathroom and much to my dismay I was peeing out straight blood. We immediately called our midwife who helped us navigate that scary moment . It was terrifying. An instant pit-filled feeling filled my stomach as I wiped my sweaty, shaking hands on my shorts. Anxiety ridden thoughts took over my every being as I sat there and felt so incredibly scared for the health of my baby. But I reminded myself to slow down. And breathe. Just breathe. While on the phone, the bleeding shortly thereafter subsided and I felt the baby kick. So, with the guidance of my midwife, I decided to lay down and rest to see if my body kicked into labor.

I woke up out of a dead sleep at 2:48 A.M. and sure enough, my body kicked right into labor and we begun timing out the contractions. They were consistent at first- six minutes and my apart lasting for one minute, for one hour. Then five minutes apart, lasting for one minute, for one hour. But then they started to get sporadic, the same exact way that my contractions hit when I was in labor with Sadie. I was worried that this would happen this time around because with sporadic contractions, there is no clear sign of when we should head to the hospital. So, my plan was to bear with the pain until it was too painful and then head to the hospital at whatever point that may be. 

7 A.M. rolled around, Sadie woke up and my mom arrived at our house. Sadie and my mom stood by my side and breathed through some of the contractions with me and I will cherish those sweet memories for the rest of my life. Then a quick two hours later, Grant and I hugged Sadie (and my mom) and headed to the hospital where we were eagerly awaiting the arrival of our little girl or boy. (The ride to the hospital was brutal. I was begging Grant to take it slowly over each bump in the road, because for every pot hole in the road that we hit, I had a contraction). 

At 9:30 A.M. we arrived at the hospital, they put me in a wheelchair, and I contracted all the way up to the labor and delivery floor. I vaguely remember passing a son and his mother, and a sweet man congratulating Grant and I both, but I was in too much pain to even muster up a mere “thank you” to the sweet gentleman. When I am in pain, my eye stays on the prize, as I try to really “hone”into the pain and stay as relaxed as possible. The more relaxed you are, the more your cervix will open, so even mustering up a “thank you” , in that moment, felt like it would totally wreck my focus. Luckily, Grant was prepared to speak for both of us, in any and all situations. 

Because of a helpful tip, we called our hospital on the way there and were able to request the large, spacious room that had a labor tub. So when we got to the labor and delivery floor, they wheeled us right down to the room. I was ready to get in the tub but my midwife had to check me first. I had not had any checks up to that point because I didn’t have any desire to see where I was because I was scared of getting false hope. Much to my surprise I was 9.5 cm dilated, 100% effaced and at station 0. I couldn’t really process what I was hearing, but from that point on, my midwife never left the room. 

A couple of hours later, I felt my body go through transition (I get extremely cold and then extremely hot). My body naturally started pushing on its own and I pushed for 35 minutes, I remember thinking that I wanted to jump out of my skin and run away at one point. While pushing, I caught on to some subtle comments that my midwife and nurse were worried about the babies heartbeat. They were suspecting that their was a possibility of a cord around the neck or that the baby was posterior. So, as I was pushing, she said I had to push extremely slow, even though my body may wish to push as fast as possible. I heard her say to the other nurse that there was a possible chance of shoulder dystocia and and they decided to call in an additional nurse, in case they needed more help. Although I heard her say this, I wasn’t the least bit worried, because I really trusted my midwife. As the baby started to make an appearance,  my midwife realized that the babies shoulders were in fact positioned incorrectly and she did an amazing maneuver to make sure the shoulders didn’t get caught. And I’m still Praising God for protection over Hudson and myself!

Hudson Samuel was born at 11:48 AM on August 5, 2021 weighing 8 lbs. and 14 ounces and measuring 20 inches long. We were so overjoyed with the arrival of our little boy and continue to be in awe in of the miracle he truly is. 

Head to @thisoldbrickhouse on Instagram to watch a video compilation of Hudson’s arrival. 

Thank you for visiting the blog today, it means so much to me!

Jenna

Lately, life has brought on a lot of change, and when change arises, sometimes it is good to take some self care time. So that’s what I have been doing a lot of. I’ve spent a lot of needed time with friends, I’ve been working on furniture (painting, deconstructing), I’ve been doing some antique retail therapy, and I just started exercising again. It feels great to take some time for myself after its been such a looooong time of focusing on this big project of ours. Because when I do take time for myself, the big things in life don’t seem so daunting.

So, to sum up all of the changes, one of the biggest changes that rocked my world, was that I left my teaching career behind. Grant and I packed up my classroom and I officially became a stay at home momma! I am so happy to be staying at home, but it has definitely been tough knowing I will not be going back in August.

Then, I had to say goodbye to my kindergarten bestie because she and her husband moved across the country.

And of course, I’m still dealing with postpartum emotions, and the ups and downs of being a momma. But man alive, do I love my Sadie Bug.

This week, i’m going to continue prioritizing my needs and saying no when I need to, so that I don’t feel completely weighed down with the changes of life and the continual to-do list around here. We are however, getting back into the groove of things and shiplapping a lot of areas. We are also purchasing a roof and installing a couple of sliding glass doors, so that’s where all of our time (estimates) and cash flow has been going. Can’t wait to show you our progress!

PS-I post daily updates on my Instagram stories and on my Instagram feed! Feel free to follow along @thisoldbrickhouse

XO

Thanks for reading buddies!

Jenna

I’ve been overwhelmed. Overwhelmed by the fact that Sadie has grown before my eyes in a mere six weeks. Overwhelmed that before we know it, she will be walking. Overwhelmed that we said we would start redoing our second bathroom when Sadie turns one. BUT what about our living room? BUT what about all of the trim we have yet to finish? BUT what about the office that is only half-shiplapped? BUT what about the laundry room cabinets?! When I think about anything to do with the house lately, I’m consumed.

Isn’t that how life is? Constantly threatening to consume our thoughts, our time, our whole beings, instead of just laying back and enjoying the ride. Life will consume you, if you let it.   So, for the next couple of weeks, I am going to unplug, log off, and get outside and oh this postpartum momma couldn’t need anything more.

P.S. Here’s a pic of Sadie lookin like a total butterball.

P.S.S. Excited to show you all of the house updates soon. . .stay tuned!!

Love you buds!

XO

Jenna

Well, house plans went on a bit of a hold because our sweet Sadie Rose came into the world on March 3. Grant stayed home for two weeks and he officially went back to work this Monday, so its up to me to tackle these poopy diapers now. I sat down at the computer today and went down memory lane, remembering what it was like to be pregnant. Just two and a half weeks ago, I didn’t know that I had a sweet baby girl dwelling inside of me.

So, because I love reading other women’s birth stories and I don’t ever want to forget the subtle details of mine, I wanted to put Sadie’s birth story into writing. So here ya go:

It was March 2, Grant and I had just got home from a birthday party and got ready for bed and we were going to watch a movie but nine o’clock on the dot hit,  and contractions started. I remember thinking, these feel a bit different than anything I’ve felt before? A mix of anxiety and happiness started to settle in as we decided to start timing the contractions. Could this really be it? Would I really get to meet my baby soon?

I had contractions for about two and a half hours but they were spread out and sporadic, but they began to get closer. 16 minutes apart. 9 minutes apart. 2-3 minutes apart. Meanwhile I texted my family, and gave them a heads up that I thought I was in active labor, and my sister suggested that I take a shower to see if the contractions stalled at all. Still the contractions remained 2-3 minutes a part, lasting for 30-60 seconds. I labored until 3 A.M. and my contractions were still 2-3 minutes apart, lasting for 30-60 seconds. I did not have much down time between contractions and the whole idea of sleeping between contractions, or packing for the hospital between contractions, flew right out the window. Grant and I were both so confused. All of the books said to follow the 5-1-1 (5 minutes apart, lasting 1 minute, for 1 hour). THEN MY WATER BROKE. I may have watched one too many YouTube videos of people giving birth in the car, so these haunted me a bit. So I yelled to Grant, “OH MY GOSH, ONCE YOUR WATER BREAKS, CONTRACTIONS SPEED UP, AND MY CONTRACTIONS ARE ONLY 2-3 MINUTES APART!!!” So, Grant sprinted upstairs, tried to pack some last minute things into our bags, tried to find my pants, and thus set in his slight panic, “WHAT KIND OF PANTS DO YOU WANT?! WHERE IS YOUR SHAMPOO?! WHAT SHOES DO YOU WANT TO WEAR?!” Meanwhile, I am mid-contraction thinking, shoot he has to remain calm or this is going to be one chaotic mess. I have never seen Grant “frantic”. . . until that day. So he came running downstairs and I said to him, “Whatever you do, I need you to remain calm.” He took a deep breath and we calmly both walked past my puddle of water laying on the floor, hopped in the car, and headed to the hospital. We called our midwife and doula and they both said it was our choice if we felt the need to go to the hospital, but they didn’t sound worried. So, I called my backup doctor-AKA-my sister, and she stated that her contractions were all spread out for all three of her births and that I may still have lots of labor ahead. So, we turned around and headed back home.

Do you think I got out of the car? No. I put that Jeep seat in full recline and geared up to labor in the garage. After an hour and a half in the garage and driveway, Grant’s gas light went off. Well, the teacher in me, always having to be prepared, told him we NEEDED gas, no exceptions. So, we headed off to Speedway at 3:30 AM and filled the tank, meanwhile I am praying that I magically would need to go to the hospital in the midst of the full tank fill-up. Much to my dismay, we headed back home. This time, I went inside and labored for about an hour or so until things got significantly more painful. Then we headed to the hospital. At 5 A.M., I was three centimeters dilated and I was happy to hear that I had progressed a little. A few hours in, the nurses and my midwife thought I was having back labor, because my contractions were double peaking, and I wasn’t progressing much. My goal was to get through labor naturally, and this slow progression didn’t help my internal state of mind. However, I remember thinking, “Can it really get much worse?” Grant specifically recalls the determination that he saw in my eyes, as each hour and contraction passed. I did feel determined. I know it was because of prayer and because I had prepared my mind for nine months. Grant and I did a 12 week long course called, The Bradley Method, that was taught by our doula. That class was instrumental in helping us prepare for this whole birth experience.

By the way, I wish I had a sneak peak video of Grant during my entire labor process. I could cry just thinking about it. He was my biggest support and encourager. He locked eyes with me, time and time again and breathed through the contractions with me, I have never felt closer to another human being, it was beautiful.

Then, after an amazing position suggestion from our doula- (JEANETTE ALBRIGHT- Look her up and book her, you won’t regret it), contractions sped up and I started pushing. I tried pushing standing up, pushing laying down, pushing over a squatting bar, I tried it all.  An hour and twenty minutes later, adrenaline was pumping and all I remember was someone saying, “You can grab your baby!!” and that ladies and gentlemen is literally the moment that our lives changed forever. Tears staining everything, Grant and I held on to each other and our baby. We were both in awe. In the midst of all the excitement, we forgot to check if it was a boy or girl and Grant was the one that got to shout it out. We both were frantically searching for the body part when he yelled, “IT’S A GIRL!!!”

A girl. Our beautiful, chubby-cheeked, mop-headed, little baby girl. We will never be the same, Sadie Rose. Mommy and daddy may gain a few extra wrinkles from the lack of sleep, but oh how we would do anything for you, wrinkles and all.

House projects will pick up soon, but for now, we are going to enjoy as many baby snuggles as we can before these fleeting moments are forever gone.

P.S. I always knew that my parents loved me, but I never realized to what extent that was or how deep that love truly, truly was, until we had Sadie. UGH IT’S JUST ALL SO BEAUTIFUL. BRB, going to get my Kleenex for the 100th time this week.

XO

Jenna