Hendrix Paxton McCammon

On the 4th of July I woke up having contractions that were a little more painful than my usual Braxton Hicks contractions.  I had had a Dr appointment the day before and I wasn't dilated AT ALL and had been having contractions on and off since I was 36 weeks along so I just assumed they were a false alarm. We were trying to decide what we wanted to do for the holiday when I went into the bathroom and noticed I lost my mucus plug and had bloody show. Instantly my heart started racing because my mom ALWAYS lost hers the day that she went into labor so I wondered if it would be the same for me! I ran out and told Paxton that we might be having a 4th of July baby! My contractions were getting more painful and were anywhere from 5-10 min apart so I called my mom to let her know. After about an hour I had consistent bloody show so I decided to call the hospital to see if I should come in or wait until my contractions were 5 min apart. Because of the blood they told me to come  in to get checked! We put together our last minute items in our hospital bag, grabbed the car seat and headed for the hospital! I didn't want to get my hopes up, so I kept telling myself I would probably just get sent home.

We got to the hospital at 2pm and I got hooked up to the contraction and heart monitors. I was only dilated to a 1.5 but they wanted to monitor me for an hour and see if I would progress any. After an hour the nurse came in to check me and I was only dilated to a 2 but she told us that they were concerned because our baby's heart rate would drop after each contraction so the doctor wanted to monitor us for another hour before sending us home. At this point my contractions were getting really painful and closer together so I was hoping we would be able to get admitted. After that hour passed we were told that our baby's heart rate continued to drop with contractions so the doctor didn't want to send us home yet and ordered an Ultra Sound to take a closer look at his movements. It was a 30 minute, very specific Ultrasound and the baby needed an 8/8 score for everything to be considered "normal" and for us to get sent home. He had been moving normal all day but when they started the ultrasound he decided to stop moving so our little guy scored a 2/8.  Because of that low score the doctor decided to admit us and induce me to progress labor.

My doctor was out of town for the Holiday so the on call doctor came in to introduce herself and talk to us about our situation. She said there was a chance this birth would end up in a C Section but that they wanted me to try and do a vaginal delivery if it was safe. At that point I lost it and started sobbing. I was so nervous and hated that everything was a huge unknown and I just wanted my baby to be safe! I had had a fairly normal pregnancy and so it broke my heart knowing that with every contraction he was struggling. The doctor talked me through everything and I felt better and decided to trust her and her judgement and to trust God. While I was pregnant I would always specifically pray that on the day I went into labor, I would have a team of doctors and nurses that were there to help ME get through labor and delivery and would know how to handle my anxiety and that I could fully trust them. 

It was 8pm when they started my IV and Pitocin. They had to have the anesthesiologist come and put my IV in after 4 failed and very painful attempts from 2 different nurses. While he was there I asked him a million questions about getting an epidural. My entire pregnancy I was more nervous about getting the epidural than I was about labor and delivery because I was worried it would trigger my anxiety and panic attacks. But I was in a lot of pain, had been having labor contractions for almost 12 hours now, had been trying to mentally prepare myself to get one because I felt like if I didn't feel the pain I would be able to be more present and relaxed.  He promised me if I didn't like the epidural he would take it out and that made me feel a lot better so I decided to have him come back at 10 pm. My mom arrived from Idaho at this time as well. Nothing had really gone smoothly since we got to the hospital so I wasn't super surprised when he had to redo my epidural 3 times! He said that that had NEVER happened before but it definitely made me get over my fear of getting an epidural. I felt like that numbing shot was worse than the actual epidural and it wasn't as bad as I had imagined.

Once I got situated back in bed, the nurse had to turn down the Pitocin because baby wasn't tolerating the strong contractions well. It was on a very low dose so she said it was going to be a long night and to get some rest because I basically had to progress on my own. She had to come in every hour and change my position to attempt to help baby's heart rate and a few hours into the night they had to put me on oxygen. I couldn't sleep at all. Partly because they had to change my position so often but mostly because I was so stressed about my baby! I was scared and expecting them to burst in the room for an emergency C Section at any moment. It was the worst knowing something was concerning about my baby and just having to "wait and see".  I didn't understand why they wouldn't just give me a C Section now if it was just going to end up in one but my nurse reassured me that they were watching him closely and if things stayed like this I would most likely be able to avoid a C Section. 

At 4 am my water started to break on its own and my progress was coming along great but it would still be a while before I would be able to push. Baby boy wanted to keep things interesting and decided to turn "Sunnyside Up". They put a peanut ball in between my legs to try and encourage him to turn back around but he did not like that position so they hoped that once he was lower that he would turn on his own. The morning went by soooo slowly! At 7am my new nurse predicted I would be able to start pushing at 10 am but things progressed reallllllly slowly. I could feel him dropping lower and felt pressure but I was stuck at a 9.5 FOREVER!!!I kept calling my nurse in to check me because I just wanted to start pushing! On one of the checks she told me she could see his hair and that he was no longer sunny side up! She also told me he was so low that I would not need a C Section if things went south and that made me less scared.At 12:45 she decided to call the doctor to come back to the hospital so I could start practice pushes. They wanted the doctor in the building even when I was practicing in case baby boy didn't like it. The doctor got there an hour later and I could start doing practice pushes. It was 2pm when I  could finally start pushing!

When he got lower into the birth canal it was hard to monitor his heart rate so they had to attach monitor to the top of his head so that we could watch him closely. I pushed for a little over an hour when babies heart rate started to drop and we needed to get him out ASAP. They had to use a vacuum and the first attempt it slipped off and blood went EVERYWHERE. All over the ceiling and the nurses faces. I had no idea what had just happened but it looked like a room from a horror film. They assured me everything was okay and to give one last push. I pushed as hard as I could and at 3:19pm Hendrix Paxton McCammon was born. Everything was such a blur after he came out, I was so exhausted I could barely keep my eyes open and everything happened so fast. They laid him on my chest for about 10 seconds but he was holding his breath so they took him over to the warmer to help his breathing and check his vitals. Paxton went over with him and I honestly didn't even know they were still in the same room as me, I thought they had left! I don't even really remember delivering the placenta or getting stitched up because I was so worried about my baby and was in shock he was finally here! 

After about 10 minutes they brought him back over to me and I could finally really meet him. It was the best moment of my life. My loving supportive husband right next to me and our new baby boy safe on my chest. After a few minutes of just taking it all in I asked the nurse to lift Hendrix up so I could actually see his face and what he looked like because I was too weak to even try. He didn't look anything like I had pictured except for the dark hair but he was the most beautiful baby I had ever seen. After over 24 hours of labor and extremely stressful moments we were so relieved to have our baby boy with us safe and healthy.

                         

xoxo

Bailey 

Fave 2nd Trimester Products

+Pregnancy Pillow  I got this one at the beginning of my 2nd trimester and I literally could not have gotten through my pregnancy without it!! Not even being dramatic! I would name our babies middle name after this pillow TBH. I experienced a lot of belly ligament and muscle pain when lying down it needed support at ALL times to prevent spasms. I had a lot of chest and rib pain as well as some heart "things" going on throughout the remainder of my pregnancy when lying down and this pillow helped with positioning SOOO much!

+Maternity Bras I started wearing these at the end of my first trimester when the sisters started getting bigger and my VS bras just weren't comfy anymore.  These ones are SO comfy but have a little bit more support and shape than a sports bra! And honestly I couldn't get over the price point! I read through the reviews to decide which size to get and I went with an XL and they have fit perfectly. They have the clasps on the side so that they will work for nursing as well! Highly recommend!

+My Essential Birth Class If you follow me on insta you know how this birth class has completely CHANGED everything for me. It has given me so much confidence not only in myself and my ability to get through labor & delivery with as much of an enjoyable experience as I can- but also in my decisions and birth plan! It is different than any other course out there and I could honestly dedicate an entire blog post about this course because I love it so much and have had such an incredible experience as I've taken it! It is 1000% worth the investment and I know I will be referring back to the workbook many  many times leading up to our due date as well as with my other pregnancies! I have a special discount code for 10% off BAILEY10.

+Hot water bottle and ice packs  Hot water bottle has been amazing for my low back pain and the ice packs for my chest and rib cage! I don't LOVE taking medicine so I always am using these to help with aches and pains.

+Ultra Repair Cream  Okay so my face really freaked out when I got pregnant and none of my normal skin care products were cutting it. My nose was SO SO dry and my skin just never felt soft. It was miserable.  I had a sample of this cream laying around and once I started using it my face LOVED me again!!! It is SOOOO nourishing and the most hydrating lotion EVER. I would apply a thick layer on my face at night and it made all the difference in the world. Even though it is a lotion that you can also use on your body it did not leave my skin feeling greasy or like it was too heavy. Will definitely be ordering it once I'm out!

+ Essential Oils-Aroma Touch, Past Tense, Lavender- I LOVE essential oils! I use them almost everyday and think they are a great tool! Aroma Touch has been great to diffuse if I'm feeling anxious as well as on my back if I'm achy. I plan on taking this one with me to the hospital. Past Tense has really helped with headaches/migraines and low back pain, it makes it feel icy cool and helps my muscles to relax. During my 2nd trimester I had the WORST insomnia so I would use lavender on my feet and chest at night time to help my relax!

2nd Trimester With Baby M

I am 2 weeks late writing this but better late than never (I am currently 30 weeks!) My 2nd trimester went by SO fast and SO much happened!

Fun Facts:

+Baby is a Boy! You can read all about it here

+Baby is healthy and SO active! Especially at 7am and 11pm

+Baby grew from a lemon to an eggplant

+Baby M has a name

Overall:

+2nd trimester was soooooooooooooooo much better than my 1st trimester

+I was looking forward to my 2nd trimester SO much so that I would stop throwing up and being so sick...but that day still hasn't come. I continued to throw up 3-5x a week and was nauseous everyday throughout my 2nd trimester. Luckily it was usually just a few times in the morning and I would feel better after taking medicine but it has definitely been tough some days!

+My mental health has still been overall good! A million times better than I could've ever imagined!

+Could not have gotten through my 2nd trimester without my pregnancy pillow. Oh and Pax of course because he has to help me put on my shoes and get things off of the ground for me now. 

Weeks 15-19

+I started having a little baby bump at week 15! 

+I felt Baby M kicking inside my belly for the first time week 16. Paxton didn't feel him kick until week 23! I have an anterior placenta which made it hard for anyone else to feel him.

+Week 18 I started feeling baby move every single day. It kind of freaked me out at first, not going to lie, but I grew to absolutely love it.

+I didn't have ANY appetite until after week 18. Up until that point I didn't have any cravings, it was more like there was only 1 thing on the entire planet that maybe sounded good. 

+Ligament pain surprised me SO much! I had to be SO careful when turning over in bed and had to brace my stomach before a cough or a sneeze came because the pain was sometimes EXCRUCIATING.

+Once week 19 came around I FINALLY started to understand why everyone said 2nd Trimester was the best! I had more energy & the nausea and puking decreased a little bit.

+Finding out Baby M's gender was one of the most exciting days of my life! I loved seeing him on the ultrasound! So crazy to think the next time we will see him is when he is here in our arms!

Weeks 20-28

+I didn't gain any weight until after I was 21 weeks along (most likely from being so sick all the time!)

+Finally had some serious cravings for Gatorade and Sour Punch Straws. I literally could've had gatorade every second of everyday which is SO weird because before pregnancy I NEVER drank gatorade.

+I started experiencing the beloved back and rib pain. The rib pain was WAY worse than the back pain. The back pain only lasted about a week. The rib pain has stuck with me everyday.

+At 24 Weeks I could no longer fit into a lot of my pre-pregnancy clothes! I began living in leggings, dresses, and maternity clothes!

+26 weeks my appetite finally came back and I'm hungry ALLLLL THE TIME

+We had a little scare and had to go to the hospital to monitor baby and make sure I wasn't in pre-term labor. Everything ended up being perfectly fine!

+I passed the glucose test and had to get a shot for RH factor. I didn't pass out or have a panic attack which was a HUGE win for me!

+I have to wear a heart monitor for the next 2 weeks because I have been experiencing some uncomfortable symptoms and we need to rule out that it isn't my heart.

JUST A FEW MORE MONTHS TO GO!!!!!!

xoxo

Bailey

Finding Out Baby M's Gender

From the moment we found out we were pregnant, Paxton was a 10000% sure our baby was a boy. He was absolutely certain and wouldn't even entertain the idea of us having a little girl first! I kept telling him he had to have an open mind so he wouldn't be sad if it ended up being a girl!

At the beginning of November we did the "ring test. If you don't know what that is, be ready to have your minds blown because I swear by it and believe in it 100%. You can look up videos on youtube but basically you take a string or a piece of your hair, string your wedding ring on it, hold it over your wrist or if you're pregnant you can hold it over your belly. Hold very still and it literally will start swinging on its own. It's kind of woo-woo but it's awesome. If It goes back and forth it's a boy, if it goes in a circle it's a girl. Do it to your spouse and it will literally do the exact same thing.  It's crazy. So we did it and for both me and Paxton it said BOY.  Paxton was very very excited about that.

So from that moment on I was sure we were having a boy! I even went ahead and bought a few boy outfits! But then the month of January came and I was CERTAIN it was a girl. I kept having dreams about this dark haired little baby girl and I really felt like that was our baby! After I shared that over on Instagram, everyone said that there was a saying that if you have dreams about your baby being a certain gender- that means it will be the opposite gender.  So the ring test said it was a boy and then my dreams were actually saying it was a boy. Okay! I was convinced! 

It was SOOOOOOOOOOOOOO hard waiting over 19 weeks to find out the gender FOR SURE. It's all I could think about once we finally scheduled it. I really really really wanted to go and find out earlier but I know a lot of people that had gone in, found out it was a girl and then it ended up being a boy when they went to their 20 week ultrasound. And I just didn't want to chance it being incorrect so we decided to wait it out! But dang it was hard!

We went in for our Ultrasound February 19 when I was a little over 19 weeks along. When we got there I told the tech I wanted to find out the gender RIGHT THEN but baby's legs were crossed! After a few minutes she said she had a guess and that it was a GIRL. I didn't register it because I was SO shocked and didn't want to believe one way or another until the baby's legs were uncrossed. Meanwhile, Paxton sat in the corner trying to process that his baby boy was actually a girl! He said he was a little sad but was still excited! After about 15 min I asked her- "so how positive are you that it's a girl??" And she said "oh, don't take my word for it". So that gave Paxton some hope. After about 40 minutes baby finally uncrossed it's legs and we saw for certain that IT WAS A BOY!! Paxton got up out of his chair and yelled he was so excited. I felt 100% at peace because we really had known all along!!! We were both so freaking excited.

Later that evening we both facetimed our families to tell them the news, show them the cute ultrasound pictures we got of the lil babe, and to tell them about the ultrasound! Baby boy would NOT stop moving the entire ultrasound and kept folding himself into a little ball like this with is feet in front of his face! I could have stayed there all night watching him. And was so happy we finally could really call him a HIM with confidence! We also found out that I have an anterior placenta which has made it so Paxton still hasn't felt baby kick yet. Although I feel him moving and shaking ALL THE TIME.

We decided that we did not want to do a big gender reveal party! Which kind of surprised me because I always thought I would want to but I just didn't want to wait a second longer not knowing the gender! I also just wanted it to just be mine and Paxton's little secret for a while and to tell our families on our own. We kept it simple and announced it on social media the next day!

We are so excited and can't wait to meet this little guy in July!!  He is healthy and growing perfectly and already a dream come true! 

xoxo

Bailey

The Night I Found Out I Was Pregnant!

November 1st our lives changed forever.

I was supposed to be starting my period the next day but I just kept thinking and wondering if I could possibly be pregnant. I knew it took most people a few months before conceiving their first time but I just couldn't stop thinking about it! There were a few symptoms I had had that week that were a little different than my usual PMS symptoms-
+I cried when a Buffalo Wild Wings commercial came on at 11pm because I wanted it so bad
+I was EXTREMELY bloated all week long
+I was constipated which I don't experience ever (TMI)
That week we kind of joked that I was pregnant but honestly just thought I was PMSing.

On November 1st I was over at my friends house talking about all this and I started getting my usual cramps that afternoon.  I knew I would for sure be starting my period the next day so I was a little sad. She gave me one of her pregnancy tests and a few ovulation tests for when me and Paxton really started "trying".

When I got home that night I just couldn't stop wondering and thinking and didn't want to wait to see if I would just end up starting my period so I went into the bathroom and took a pregnancy test. I was hoping it would say I was pregnant but assumed it would be negative. When I looked at it I initially thought it was negative and got pretty sad...but then I looked closer and I thought  I could see a tiny tiny tiny TINY hint of a line. I kept staring at it because I thought I was crazy but  there was definitely SOMETHING there- barely there- but it was there! I started crying and walked out to tell Paxton I thought I was pregnant. He had a hard time seeing the line so he really didn't think I was pregnant. So I threw the test away and felt kind of stupid for getting excited over nothing.

 After 5 minutes I went and got it out and looked again. The line was still SOOOO faint but I remember seeing a girl post on Instagram one time of her test and how it was barely barely there. So I took a picture and sent it to my friend so she could tell me if I was crazy or not. I told her she might have to zoom in a little to see it but within seconds she texted back "Congratulations!" and got so excited for me! Paxton still didn't believe it. I don't blame him because look at the test-

I couldn't sleep that night I just KNEW I really was pregnant but was nervous to be completely excited just in case it ended up being a fluke. I couldn't wait to take another test the next morning so Paxton could believe it and I could let myself feel the excitement I was trying to contain!!! I woke up at 4am and took another test and sure enough there was a line!! It was still pretty faint but it was DEFINITELY there! We really WERE pregnant and now Paxton finally believed me and was just as excited! WE WERE HAVING A BABY!!!!!!!!!!! There were so many emotions I felt in that moment- so much gratitude, disbelief, excitement, fear!

I'm the worst at keeping secrets from my mom... so it took everything in me not to call her right after we found out! I tell her everything and this was the biggest secret I had to keep and I wanted our families to be in on all the excitement! So we decided to take a last minute trip to Idaho the next day to tell our families! We had little gifts for them to open up with some baby clothes inside.   Everyone was SO surprised and SO excited!! Everything just felt so perfect. It will be the first grand baby for my parents and the 4th grand baby for Paxtons parents.

It surprised me how calm, normal, and "right" everything felt for  Paxton and I when this was such a huge change that was going to happen in 9 months! But honestly I knew that everything happened exactly how it was supposed to! We sure can't wait for July!

xoxo
Bailey

1st Trimester With Baby M

I can't believe I am already in my 2nd trimester! These past few weeks have been flying by! I wanted to document my first trimester here so I can remember this crazy and amazing time of my life! In many ways it's exactly how I would've expected it to go, but in more ways it was very very different than I imagined!

Fun Facts:
+Baby is due July 12
+We saw baby for the first time at week 8
+Paxton thinks baby is a boy, but I think it might just be a girl
+We got to hear babies strong heartbeat
+Baby grew from a poppyseed to a lemon

Overall:

+My mental health has been so good! I was worried my anxiety would be very bad but honestly it hasn't been an issue which I feel very blessed about. I even was able to come off of one of my meds!

+Pregnancy hasn't freaked me out as much as I thought it would! I always thought I would HATE being pregnant but that is not the case. I feel empowered and blessed.

+I didn't pass out when I got my blood drawn and I'm not anxious at every single appointment. I'm handling things well! Yay me!

+I haven't had pop or sweets consistently at all. All my favorite things just do not sound good. Breaks my heart. I miss food.

+French Fries, juice, mac & cheese, and gold fish have been a few constants that I actually can eat.

Weeks 4-7
+It SHOCKED me how much my body changed/how many symptoms I felt in just the first few weeks of finding out I was expecting.

+SO MUCH ACNE! I've never ever struggled with acne in my life but one morning I woke up and I could not even believe it!

+My breasts were more sore than I could have ever imagined. SOOOOO SORE FOR WEEKS. Not to mention the change in size.

+The exhaustion was so real. I could've fallen asleep anywhere at any given time of the day. By 8 o clock I was completely done for the day. 

+I cried a lot. Which I expected since i'm already an emotional person.
I cried because I was so excited to be a mom.
I cried because I missed my husband while he was gone for 13 hour days at school.
I cried because I went and got chick fil a and then my fries spilled on the floor in the car and I just could not even handle.
I cried because I forgot to pack a dress on our trip to California.
I cried over heartwarming Facebook videos. You name it. 

+Absolutely 0 appetite 24/7. If I didn't have to eat to survive I probably wouldn't have. I didn't really have "cravings" more like there was only 1 thing in the world that I could maybe even possibly eat. Most of the food I was able to eat during that time I probably will never eat again in my life...or at least for a long time. This included Cafe Rio which I definitely cried about.

WEEKS 7-11

+Once week 7 came along I was unbelievably sick and nauseous all the time. Throwing up 1-4 times a day. I could barely talk sometimes because if I did I knew throw up would be making its way out.
+It was hard to go outside because the cold air would make me gag gag gag. And the insane nausea was all day everyday at that point.
+I definitely called my mom crying multiple times telling her I can't believe people do this all the time.  It was just plain HARD. Harder than I could have ever have imagined!  I could not believe how much I struggled weeks 7-11.
+ It got just as mentally hard as it was physically hard because it seemed like the sickness, headaches, exhaustion would never ever end.
+I spent as much time in my bed and on my couch as I possibly could. I felt like a failure of a wife because doing chores and cooking was such a challenge.
+Mommas really are warriors!!! It was crazy that I could feel so horrible yet so grateful and blessed at the same time.

WEEKS 12-14
+Once week 12 hit things seemed to get a little better symptom wise
+I wasn't nauseous 24/7 and only throwing up once a day a few times a week.
+My energy slowly started to come back as well as a small appetite!
+Time just seemed to fly!
+We got to hear babies heart beat for the first time.
+A teeny tiny little baby bump started showing- the one where it could be a food baby or a real baby.
+Some stretch marks began to show up but I'm trying to not beat myself up too much over that because I know how beautiful and incredible my body is for growing another human!

xoxo
Bailey