Introducing...Abby Lynn Huntington

November 2, 2013

I woke up at 7:30AM with contractions 10 min. apart and not very painful.  The doctor had checked me the day before at close to a 4 and so I actually planned on going into labor that night. (After they checked me with Ellie, I went into labor that night, so I had a feeling it would be the same.  It's like it signals to my body to get going.  Wierd but nice.)  I actually started having mild contractions at 2am, but they weren't bad at all so I decided to sleep.  When I got out of bed at 8 I decided not to eat and instead took a shower and did my hair.  Whilst doing these activities my contractions started getting closer and more intense, causing me to stop and breath through them.  Then I decided to polish off my bathroom and put some laundry away.  Now we were rolling.  My contractions started getting really painful and so we called our babysitter who came over promptly and we headed to the hospital 5 minutes away. (The beauty of a small town.)  Ellie was wondering why I would suddenly moan and sway or hold onto the wall or furniture, and then be just fine.  She kept asking if I was "getting better" and I would explain to her that yes, it just got better.  She was quite concerned.  Michael was amazed that I was progressing so fast.  Ellie's labor took 14 hours with a lot of walking the halls.  This is a picture of my belly as Ellie and I finished packing the hospital bag.  And yes, I have a lot of wierd things in my bedroom at the time, thank heavens the foam is gone amongst other things.

When we checked into the hospital at 11AM and I was dialated to an 8 and 100% effaced.  We both looked at eachother and said "Good thing we didn't wait!"  Michael really was amazed at how fast this labor was going.  He had just finished hooking up my computer with my Pandora yoga music to help me relax, but at this point the music wasn't going to help.  It actually became the joke.  My contractions were reaching epic proportions on the pain scale, much stronger than with Ellie, and all I could do was moan loudly(sometimes scream) and push and pull the rails on the bed, as if I could distance myself from the pain like, I quote, "a crazy possessed woman" according to Michael, who couldn't help but chuckle a couple times.  And I couldn't blame him because I felt insane with the pain.  So glad it only lasted about 30 seconds each time.  I didn't care about being quiet this time round like I was with Ellie's labor.  I was excited with my progress and that it would all be over within a couple hours at this rate and I did whatever I could to get through the pain.  They checked me after a while and I was at 9.5cm and they decided to get the doctor.  Just when he was coming in I felt the urge to push and told them that I was going to push at which they replied to just not push too hard, as the doctor was still getting his stuff on.  Oh and I had a mirror this time.  I wanted one last time, but they forgot so I made it very clear this time.  It was awesome to see everything I was feeling, as I don't get epidurals.  It was also awesome to see the progress I made with each push.  I was so excited to start pushing because I had learned a new technique and had been practicing it.  It's called the Tupler Technique and it really made all the difference in the world.  She teaches you how to engage your abs properly and breathing out while pushing instead of holding your breath.  The nurse kept telling me to fill my lungs with air and to hold it and push, and after doing that just a little during one contraction, I could feel a dramatic difference in the power of my pushes.  Breathing out is awesome!  I only had to push for 15 minutes/5 contractions worth.  With Ellie I had to push for 2 hours, so I was so happy!  And out came Abby!  I was so happy and felt great.  I barely broke a sweat.  Abby was so cute and nursed right away for 90 amazing minutes.  She is such a good eater, really gets down to business.

Abby Lynn Huntington

6 lbs. 3oz

18 1/2 inches long

Proud Papa

Hanging out on Mom's flabby belly.

Ellie meeting Abby for the first time.  She thought she was "so tiny and cute".

Grandma Kathy stayed for a whole wonderful week.  This is Ellie coming in from playing out in the snow with Grandma.  Such a cute face.

Sometimes Abby would turn her head so much that her hat would slip down over her eyes.  So funny.

Already mastering the pouting lip.

Abby looks so much like Ellie in this picture.  I love her hat.  Someone in Laramie makes them and donates them to our hospital.  Ellie's was really cute too.

Baby Burrito anyone?

Ellie made a Birthday cake for Abby.  It was the first thing I did with Ellie after recouping for a couple days.  She did everything from making the cake, to the frosting, and decorating it.  I love how it turned out.  It was pretty tasty too.  We invited our neighbors over for a "birthday party" and lit candles and sang.  Ellie absolutely loves birthday parties and cake.  She is exceptionally good at blowing out candles.

Five days after Abby was born I was feeling so great that we did a little photo shoot in the living room.  It was fun and interesting working with a newborn.  Here's some of those pictures.  I love the one of her yawning.  And notice the cute "fur" all over this girl!  It's all gone now, a good thing :)

Ellie woke from her nap and decided that Abby was cold and needed a blanket.  It was cute.

Oh, and I had my 28th birthday on the 10th of Nov.  Michael's sister and kids came to meet Abby the next weekend along with my inlaws.  So we lit some candles on a yummy Marie Calendar's coconut cream pie.  It was delicious.  If I recall, I had help blowing out the candles by someone...

I feel so blessed to have had such a good birthing experience.  My doctor and the nurses were the best.  I was sort of sad to leave the next day, I loved them so much.  I felt so cared for.  However, I love my bed and was glad to get in it.  

Two weeks later I ended up in the ER at 5:30AM for hemorraging.  Apparently my body had to get rid of something and thats how it did it.  I passed out three times on the way to the car I had lost so much blood.  Let's just say, I'm grateful Michael is a good catch.  I felt so incredibly weak.  It was weird.  After getting two bags of fluids, I felt so much better.  They did an ultrasound and found nothing and assumed my body had flushed some remnants of placenta out. ( I had to get a DNC ten weeks after having Ellie for remnants of placenta stuck to the uteran wall. )  The OB came down and did an exam, etc. and put me on a drug for a week.  Oh the joys.  And just when I was so proud of not being anemic after having a baby for once, ta da, I was now anemic.