Bailey's Birth Story

It's been awhile since I have updated this thing. Being a new momma is a lot of work. I wanna start documenting Bailey's growth on here because I'm afraid I will forget such cute memories if I don't. A few of my friends just wrote their birth stories so I thought that would be a good place to start.

My little sweet pea just took her time. She must have been enjoying herself in there because she just didn't wanna come out. Her due date was November 21 but she didn't make her debut till December 2. That was the longest 11 days of my life! I was so ready for her to be here. My doctor first told me that she would only allow me to go 5 days past due before having to induce. Pete and I were determined to have her naturally and had read the Bradley Method book and practiced it's techniques. I wasn't super worried that she wouldn't come by then. I thought for sure it wouldn't come to that. But little did I know day 5 came and she still wasn't here. I had heard so many horror stories of being induced and that it was nearly impossible to do it naturally because your contractions are right on top of her each other and it's too painful. I called my doctor and asked if we could wait a couple more days. She agreed only if I came in and got an ultrasound to make sure Bailey was okay and that she wasn't getting too big and if there was enough fluid still. So I went in and sure enough everything was fine. Those next couple days I was googling all kinds of things to see if there was anyway to naturally induce labor. There were some funny suggestions. I decided that I would just continue walking every morning and evening. Then day 2 came and still no signs of Bailey coming out. What is she doing in there? Surely she is ready to meet her momma. So I go to see my doctor and once again ask if we could just wait it out a little longer. They checked her heartbeat and took another ultrasound and said everything still looked good. She said she would give me till the 1 of December but no later. She said once you go past 2 weeks it could be dangerous for the mom and baby. She scheduled an induction for the morning of December 1 for 8am. My friends Shannon and Megan were wanting to fly in to be there for her debut and they and already had to cancel their flights once. I was just happy to know that she was for sure going to be here in 2 days! Shannon and Megan got in on the 30 of November. And we just waited. My team were all back in the states on visa runs so it was just Pete and I, 2 other guys on our team, and Shannon and Meg. I was so thankful for them. But by the time Bailey actually got here my whole team made it back. I guess Bailey just wanted a bigger audience.

The night of November 30 I just prepared myself for having the induction. There was still no signs she was coming out anytime soon. I never even had Braxton Hicks contractions. Then at around midnight I woke up with some pains. They weren't bad but I was definitely getting excited. I woke Pete up and we just hung out in our bedroom with excitement that the process had started on it's own. By 4am they started to get pretty painful to the point that I had to sit down during them. They were lasting about 60 to 90 seconds with a few minutes in between. I didn't want to get to the hospital too early. So I waited it out for another hour and a half and then at 530 we left for the hospital.

We got there at 6am and checked in and got settled into our room. They checked to see how much I was dilated and I was only at a 2!!!! What!? I had been having contractions for about 6 hours now! Bummer. For the next 13 hours Pete and I were hanging out in the room watching movies, playing cards, anything to take my mind off the pain. I tried to do some of the Bradley techniques but it got to the point that those just went out the window. Pete quotes me as saying "This relaxation stuff is CRAP!!" haha. I stayed pretty mellow during these hours and just tried to breathe during the contractions. Pete was such a trooper, being so helpful and encouraging and even rubbing my back when needed. The doctors would come in every few hours to see how I was doing and how far I had progressed. At around 10am they checked me again and I was only to a 3!! Why was my body working so slowly? I was worn out to say the least and starving. At around 12pm they decided to induce to help the process move faster. The gave me some oxytocin but had to take me off of it only 30 minutes later because it was making Bailey's heart rate go up. Bummer. . . They came around 430pm to check my progress again and I was at a 5. I thought to myself, "Okay I am halfway there, I can do this." I was in so much pain. Pete had dimmed the lights and was just being so supportive. There were so many times that I was almost about to lose it and in tears and he would just give me these motivating pep talks. I kept thinking "This was not how it was supposed to be. She should be here by now. We did everything we could to prepare for this moment and I feel like everything is going out the window and I am just trying with everything in me not to have a nervous breakdown." Little did I know that you can plan and prepare how ever much you want but your body and baby make the decisions, haha.

At around 7pm, with little sleep and hardly any food I decided that I didn't want to do it on my own anymore. I was worn out. At that point I was at a 6. They moved me to the labor room and gave me an epidural. I was so afraid I would be disappointed in myself and that Pete would too. I had been through 19 hours of labor on my own and I just didn't have any more energy to give. So they moved me into the labor room at gave me an epidural. It was the best decision I ever made! It was incredible. What was I thinking? I should have done this a long time ago. I felt no pain at all! Finally, I was able to relax and get some much needed sleep so I could have some energy when it came time to push. They gave me a walking epidural, so I was able to still get up and walk around. Pete said the atmosphere totally changed after that, haha. I went from not saying a word to not shutting up, haha. My friends Christina, Lauren, Megan, and Shannon came and hung out with me for a couple of hours. I got to eat a little. Things were looking up. Well 1230am rolls around and I am at a 7 and my water still hasn't broke. They decide to break my water hoping it would speed things up. At about 4am I was at a 9 and almost ready to push.

Finally at 7am I'm at a 10 and it's time to push! I was so excited! I look over and Pete was on the chair asleep. Poor guy hasn't slept in days. He was in and out of it for the first 30 minutes of pushing, haha. The doctors said they weren't even able to see her head. I was doing all I could to push as best as I could. After about an hour of pushing they told me to rest and walk around and we would try again. They wanted me to wean off the epidural so I could feel my contractions better and push better. Around 815 they came back in and I started to push again. It was soo painful. I went from no pain to excruciating pain. After another hour of pushing still no sight of Bailey. They said her head probably isn't positioning right or that she is too big to fit through the birth canal. The baby's head is supposed to turn right before going through the birth canal. After 2 full hours of pushing the doctors tell me that it's probably best to prep for a c-sectin. That was my ultimate worst nightmare. I was trying so hard to keep my cool but I started to cry and shake uncontrollably. It was pretty dramatic. I was also in a lot of pain being off the epidural too. At around 10am they were wheeling me down for surgery and I was freaking out. They were trying their best to calm me down. Pete had to leave to put his scrubs on. This part is pretty much a blur. It went by so fast. When I got to the surgery room my doctor wanted me to push for 5 more minutes before they started the surgery because their might be a chance that from all the moving around she may be in a better position. Pete was finally there and I remember thinking that he looked so good in scrubs, haha. They already had the sheet wall up between me and the doctor. I started to push as hard as I could. In my head I was preparing myself for the c-section. They were about to give me another epidural for surgery then on the third push I hear the sweetest cry and the doctor say "Here's your little girl!" She came out from behind the white sheet with the most precious baby and put her in my arms. I was in shock. We both were. We couldn't believe it. That stinker literally waited till the last minute to make her debut. I think she liked all the drama. She was beautiful and perfect and Pete and I were both teary eyed just staring at our daughter. 10:18am December 2 was when she chose to make her debut. The whole labor process was so worth that one moment to finally hold her in my arms and look into her eyes and call her mine! It was perfect. She weighed 9 lbs 2 ounces and was 21.6 inches long. She was a big girl!

My experience of having my baby in India was great. The only hard part was not having my family there. But as soon as we could we skyped them to show her off. They were all just waiting and checking facebook every 5 seconds for the news! The hospital and staff were incredible and so patient. They never pressured me into doing something I didn't want to do. Who allows a woman to go through 34 hours of labor anymore? But my doctors assured me that as long as the baby and I were okay that we could continue with a normal delivery. They were so encouraging. I am so thankful for them. Bailey was the talk of the hospital that day. Nurses and staff were coming by all day to see "the beautiful BIG white baby." We are so happy Bailey is here and she is pretty happy she made such an "edge of your seat" dramatic entrance into the world. We are a happy family of 3!! God is SO good!! Below are some pictures.

Izzy and her friends threw a party back home for Bailey's arrival. So sweet!

So many friends were being updated through facebook and twitter and leaving encouraging words. Parker was ready for Bailey to come out and wrote us an encouraging note via twitter. So Cute! We love the Click family!!

This is the night before we went to the hospital. Just waiting for Bailey and staring at my huge belly.

We made it to the hospital!

In the labor room with my epidural. So happy! We didn't take any pictures pre-epidural, it wasn't pretty, haha!

First family pic!

Back into our room just staring at Bailey!

Beautiful

Our little Angel

Finally home. She was a big hit with the neighborhood kids.

The team welcomed us home

Bailey being shown off to the team at the hospital

The team waiting for Bailey

Leaving for the hospital

Megan ans Shannon are such GREAT friends. So glad they were there.

Coming So Soon!!

We are waiting and waiting for Bailey to get here!  I really hope she comes this next week.  I have been praying really hard for that to happen.  Her due date is actually November 21 but I just don't think I can wait that much longer.  We are getting so excited about her arrival!!  We have everything prepared.  The nursery is done (except the rocking chair), hospital bag is packed, the Bradley method has been practiced over and over, and our birth plan is in the hands of our doctor (we even made extra copies).  We are ready to go!  I have been getting a little uncomfortable but not bad.  I have had some trouble sleeping at night, mostly because I cant turn my mind off about everything.  I am just getting SOOOO excited.  I can't wait to see her.  I wonder what she will look like and how big she will be.  I hope she is chunky.  I have always loved chunky babies, they are the cutest.  At my last appointment my doctor told me she thinks Bailey will come early due to how low she was sitting.  I sure hope so.  She also said that she was a good size baby.  Yay!!  I was almost 9 lbs when I was born.  My twin was 8.5.  That is pretty big for twins!!  Pete was 10 lbs but I think he was 2 weeks late.  So I really think she will be a chunk!!  Wahoo!!  I am getting a little nervous about labor.  I have read so many books and feel pretty educated about everything but there is still now way to know exactly what to expect.  I can't wait to hold her in my arms!!  Well I guess I will give you a sneak peak of the nursery.  I did a few projects for her room.  You can click on the pictures to zoom them in if you'd like. 

38 weeks!!

I got this idea from etsy.  I just traced them and used scrapbook paper

I had these sent over from Hobby Lobby

 Just put some scrapbook paper in a frame.  Bailey's hand and foot print will be put in the little round frames.

Here is a closer look of the framed art.

I got this frame from the craft store for about $10 and painted it pink.  We need to touch up the green there on the lower left corner.  We thought about painting the walls green but decided to leave them grey.  

That's it for now.  Once we get the rocking chair in I will show you the finished product.  It's pretty cute.  

More Projects. . .

 So I have been pretty busy trying to get Bailey's nursery done before she gets here.  I have done a few projects for her room but they are not done yet.  When they are I will post some pictures on here.  I am so glad I have hobby that is cheap and that I enjoy.  It is so refreshing to use some of my free time to do some little projects.  I'm not sure how much free time I will have once Bailey is here.  I'm sure the first few months I won't have much.  Time is flying by.  Only 60 more days and she is here!  Pete and I are getting so excited!  A little nervous too, okay actually really nervous.  Our lives are going to drastically change.  But we are so excited about this next step in life.  We have enjoyed our 5 almost 6 years together and we are so excited to have a little one join us.  I will be 32 weeks on Monday so I will have to post a new belly pic.  My belly is getting huge and I just cant seem to wrap my mind around it getting any bigger.  Pete loves it.  He will just stare at me and giggle and say "Babe your belly is getting so big!"  I just take that as a compliment.  I told him he needs to re-word that phrase to "Bailey is getting so big." haha.  It is so sweet seeing how excited Pete gets about everything.  He is going to be such a great dad, it makes me a little teary eyed thinking about it.  I can't wait to watch him be a father!  I have my next appointment on Monday.  I am going to get a scan because my doctor thinks I am further along than she thought.  She thinks I will be 34 weeks on Monday not 32.  I hope she is right!  Well below I posted some pics of my latest projects.  I think I am done for now with projects except for Bailey's room.  It was a good run.  Hopefully I will be able to find time for it again after Bailey is born.   

So I have been wanting a large P for our living room so I made one out of paper to give to the carpenter to make.

He made it for me out of some cheap wood.  I payed him about $7 for it.  Its huge

I painted 2 coats of a deep purple and then distressed it a little.  Its now hanging on our wall.  It looks great.

I traced these little birds for him too.

 He made 5 of them for me.  

 I painted 2 coats and then distressed them.  They look so cute on the shelves.

I got this frame for $4 and put some chicken wire on it. 

 Put on some paint and sanded it a little.  Its on a shelf with some pictures in it.

I actually copied this idea from a friends blog.  Thank you Carmen!! 

I taped a design on the canvas then painted a couple of coats on.

Took the tape off and "tada!"  

I love them!

Well, that is about it for my projects.  Cant wait to show you Bailey's room.  

My new hobby!!

I have been trying to develop some hobbies here in India.  I love playing sports and being outdoors but most girls don't like that stuff here so there aren't a lot of options.  So I had to be creative with how I was going to spend my free time.  I have never been creative or crafty.  I have always wanted to be.  My mom is great at it.  She can make and do about anything.  She has sewn and made many wedding dresses and pageant dresses and can also draw, paint, write poetry and so on.  My little sister is pretty creative too.  As for me and my twin, we just love sports and being outdoorsy.  So when I came to India and learned that people aren't really outdoorsy here and girls don't really play sports I had to find something.  I love having hobbies.  So I decided to learn to be crafty.  How did I do it?  Well, by trial and error.  I also watch tutorials on youtube too.  Pinterest is a new thing that gives me so many ideas, I'm obsessed.  I cant come up with ideas on my own.  I have always envied people that can take old things and make them look new or shabby chic.  I wanted to do something that would benefit me and my family.  So I chose crafting.  I surprisingly LOVE it!  I feel like I am being a better steward of our money because you can decorate and create stuff so cheap instead of buying things new!  It's so budget friendly.  So I thought I would share with you some of my recent projects.  Keep in mind that I am new at this, haha.  You can click on the pictures to make them bigger if you want.

Here is my first project.  

 I found these cute round mirrors at a craft mall called Shilparamam.  They were about $4 each.  I love the wood detail

 I decided to paint them white and distress them a little bit.

I have really been liking silhouettes so thats what i decided to do with these instead of mirrors

Here they are.  I just used scrapbook paper for the background and silhouettes.

Here is another project

 I also found this at the craft mall.  A whopping $10

 I love the wood detail

 I decided to paint it green, 2 coats

 Sanded and distressed it a little

I decided to put a vintage India travel poster in it.  I love how it turned out.

I will show you one more and leave the rest for another time.  I actually forgot to take a before photo of this.  It was just a plain wooden frame that I got at the craft mall for $5.  It has some cute flower details

 I decided to paint it light blue and distress it a little bit so the flower details would show through.

 I then decided I wanted to make it a chalkboard and used some blackboard paint on the back.

There it is.

I love having hobbies!  I want to be a woman who pursues her hobbies and I am so glad I found a hobby that I enjoy and that girls here enjoy too.  It allows me to bond with girls here and spend some good quality time with them doing fun things.  I am actually working on a few things for Bailey's nursery so I will keep you updated on those.

1 Year India Anniversary!!

I cant believe we have been in India a year already!  It has flown by!  It has been one of the best years of our life.  We love it here.  We have grown so much.  We have learned a lot about ourselves, our "Father" and about Indian culture.  It has been one of the biggest learning experiences that we have ever been through.  This journey hasn't been easy but its so worth it.  We have gotten to experience so much and create so many memories together.   I thought I would let you in on some of our highlights of India from the year.  Pete and I have been reflecting a lot on this past year and it was hard to narrow down to a blog size summary. We are so thankful for so many things, but mostly our "Father," who has shown Himself so much to us this year and comforted us through the homesick times.  We are also so thankful for our family for being so loving and supportive.  Lastly, for our team.  They are incredible and have become like family.   

So here are a few highlights:

1.  Getting our visas to come to India.  We learned a lot of patience through this process.

2.  Finally arriving in India and getting through the setup process.  I feel like we were really blessed with a smooth transition.  It was nice to finally get settled in.

3.  Our Indian friends.  We made so many friends through our work.

4.  Our large groups.  These really helped build momentum and community; and they were really FUN!

5.  Festivals!  This is by far one of our favorite things about India.

6.  The WET team.  It was so fun and refreshing to have some of our friends come visit us.

7.  Winter Staff training.  We got to go to Dubai for this.  It was so great to be around other like-minded people and talk through our vision.

8.  The neighborhood kids.  It is so fun to see them everyday.  They are so much fun and soo cute.

9.  Getting Pregnant!!  We are so excited for this next stage in life of being parents!

10.  Mussorrie.  We got to come here for language training.  It was beautiful.  I got really sick so I didn't enjoy it as much as Pete.  So this highlight is mostly for him, haha.

11.  The Summer Team.  Right now we have a team of 15 college students with us.  They are here for 7 weeks.  It has been so much fun to hang out with them.  They have sparked an excitement for India in us that was starting to fade.  

12.  The culture.  It has been so much fun to immerse ourselves into another culture. 

13.  The Newly added team.  Pete and I got to help set up the new team here in India.  We are so excited they are finally here!  We love the Pierce's and Meg.  We had the honor of working with them at OSU.  Their team is incredible.  We will tell you more about them in our newsletter.

14.  Skype.  This has definitely been a life saver.  It has allowed us to stay connected with family and friends.

15.  Our team.  We are SO thankful for our team.  They have become some of our best friends and more importantly our family.  We love them.

16.  Marriage.  This has by far been the biggest highlight.  We feel like our marriage just continues to get better and better and we continue to fall more and more in love with each other.  We feel very blessed to have each other.  This year has allowed us to learn new things about each other and create wonderful memories together.  We also celebrated our 5 year anniversary this year!

We definitely could have put so much more on here.  It has been quite an experience.  We are so thankful for all of you who support us in our adventure.  This year has been incredible and we cant wait to come home and visit in 7 months to tell you all about it.