And then there were FIVE!

Viewer discretion is advised!

Maylee Rayne Stock
Tuesday February 3, 2009
1:49 pm
5 lbs 1oz 18 inches
She shares a birthday with her daddy!

The Birth:
Skylar and I made our way to the hospital Tuesday morning two hours before my scheduled c-section. I had my IV put in and blood taken, then got to sit for about an hour before the surgery people started coming in to introduce themselves to me and explain what was going to happen. Everyone was really nice and my anesthesiologist was especially good. He explained what he was doing and why, but I still ended up getting poked twice because I wasn't getting numb on my right side. The worst part of the whole experience is getting the spinal, but after that, its a breeze.

This is me hanging out while the doctor does his thing. I felt some tugging and pulling but it feels like getting a strange stomach massage so I was quite comfortable. This was my third c-section and so far :) it was the best! My doctor made conversation during the whole surgery, either to me or to his surgery crew, and it helped take my mind off of everything.
There she is! I guess my doctor thought it was funny to give me a cute smiley face flower marker tattoo. The nurses say its his signature and they all know who did the surgery when they check out the incision during post-op. Anyway, the ring that you see is called a "baby slide". This is the first time I've had this and it was awesome! It goes around the uterus and acts as a barrier so my intestines don't have to be moved around so much which makes it less painful later on. I always know when the baby comes out because they push REALLY hard on my chest and I can hardly breathe for a few moments. When Maylee came out, I didn't hear any crying but it usually takes a few minutes for that to happen, so I waited.

I waited and waited but couldn't hear anything! I could hear suctioning and gurgling and finally I heard a small squeak. That was pretty much it. My doctor asked the nurse how the baby was doing, and she said that the baby had thick fluid in her lungs and was having a hard time breathing. Apparently she came out purple, but Skylar told me later that her color eventually came back which indicates that she was getting enough oxygen.

The nurse brought her over to me so I could see her before she had to take her to the nursery. She explained what was going on with her breathing and assured me that she will be well taken care of. We were able to get a picture with her before she was taken away. Her breathing was awful! All she did was grunt as she tried to get air. I thought she was so beautiful and felt that she would be okay. I had to sit in a post-op room for two hours while I was being monitored but the nurses were really good at updating me about Maylee so it wasn't horrible. My parents were there as well as my mother in-law, who was able to experience the birth of a grand baby for the first time! I'm sure it was somewhat nerve-racking with the baby's condition, but I'm happy that she came. She had a baby on the same day, 27 year earlier.

Don't you think she looks like Skylar? And Slade and Daisy? :)

I wasn't able to see her until late Tuesday night because I wasn't able to walk until then and she wasn't allowed out of the Level 2 nursery. I couldn't hold her until the next day and it wasn't for very long. She ended up having low oxygen levels so she was put under an oxygen hood. They also stuck a long straw down her nose and into her lungs to help suck out the mucus. She had an x-ray done which showed her lungs were functioning properly and they were able to see exactly where the mucus was. They decided that she would be able to expel the rest of the mucus on her own, and she did! She didn't get any food until late on Wednesday and when they gave her formula, she would spit it all up. They allowed me to try nursing and within a few feedings, I didn't have to try to supplement with formula! It was awesome. They were amazed at how well she nursed and so every three hours I got myself out of bed and headed to the nursery. I fed her, changed her and loved her, then I headed back to my room to try to sleep for two hours before returning to her. She would cry every time I left the nursery and I loved that! She improved so quickly but had to stay in the nursery because she was on antibiotics and they had to monitor her while she was on them. She came into my room for the first time on Friday morning, just a few hours before we were discharged.

The Name:

We had such a hard time choosing a name for her! We would call her a name but it just didn't fit. We decided to just pick a name and go with it because her look will change and it just might fit her eventually. I have always liked the name Maely but Skylar didn't like the spelling of that, so he chose to spell it as Maylee. Skylar chose the middle name, but had it spelled 'rain'. I didn't love it that way so I changed it to Rayne. That is how we came up with Maylee Rayne Stock.

Home:

We were finally headed home at noon on Friday. It felt so good to be bringing her home with me! The kids had been playing at the park with my mom before we got home, so she had them take a bath before seeing the baby. They could hardly contain themselves and were SO excited to see their baby sister. They wanted to hold her immediately and kiss her all over.

Daisy was especially excited to hold Maylee, as you can see.

She didn't want to let her go!

She is going to be such a good helper :)

Its good to be home and its going to be interesting on the days Skylar has to work! We are very grateful for all of your thoughts and prayers throughout this whole pregnancy.

Verdict:

My doctor told me that the placenta was very hard, disc-like and small, so he sent it to a lab to be looked over. He is blaming the placenta for her being growth restricted because she is absolutely perfect. I was informed that having kids close in age doesn't have anything to do with what was going on with her. Because I do have c-sections, I always check with my doctor before getting pregnant to make sure my body is ready. My doctor knows I want more children, and he said I can have has many kids as I want! During surgery, he said he made my uterus pretty so I could endure having more kids. He really is a great doctor. Maylee was born weighing more than expected, but still considered pretty small. I continue to compare her to Daisy who was born at 34 weeks weighing 4lbs 14 oz and Maylee was born at 37 weeks, 5 lbs 1oz. There is only a 3oz difference although Maylee was born three weeks later than Daisy.

She is doing great and LOVES to eat. She has such a cute cry, I actually like hearing it. She is very alert and looks around all the time. She is such a joy to have around already.

And her name is.....

Maylee Rayne Stock!!!!!

More Baby pics

It's Kendyl again....

I went to see Kari and Baby Girl last night (no name yet). Baby is doing great, she was having to spend time in the nursery to, in the words of my Dad, "prove how good her lungs will be." Here she is in her cute oxygen bubble. Check out those kissers and curly hair!!

Kari with her favorite sister... (It's my post, I can write whatever I want)

Kari's nurse came in with this thing (like my medical terminology?) that makes sure Kari is able to take deep breaths without any pain.. to which she replied "this doesn't hurt at all." Guess you had to be there but it was hilarious!

Skylar testing his breath... looks like he's doing something else..

Can you believe Skylar smiled for me?? He was obviously really excited about their new daughter. He was SO sweet to her when we were in the nursery, holding her finger and softly stroking her leg.. made me teary.

As you can see, Kari looked absolutely beautiful. I told her I want to look as hot as her after I have my children, she jokingly told me to have C-sections! Baby Girl doesn't have a name as of yet because Kari wanted to be able to spend more time with her before naming her. When I was visiting last night Kari had only seen her for a minute right after they had pulled her out, and on people's cameras once they had visited her in the nursery. I am told that Slade and Daisy get to meet their sister this morning so I am anxiously awaiting more pictures, and a name.

She's Here!!

This is Kendyl, Kari's sister.. Just wanted to let all of you know that Baby Girl Stock (that's right.. no name yet) has made it here! She was born at 1:49pm this afternoon. She weighed in at 5lbs and is 18 inches long. We are all so happy that she came out a little bigger than expected! The picture above isn't the greatest but I wanted proof that she had arrived. Kari and baby are doing well (Kari is texting me back and forth so that's gotta tell you something) Kari said the baby is having a little trouble breathing on her own but is otherwise wonderful.

Thank you for all of your prayers on Kari and this new baby's behalf, I know the entire family greatly appreciates it. I am so happy for Kari and Skylar to have this little girl join their family.

I will keep you all posted on the name Skylar approves..... you have no idea...

Happy Birthday Skylar! a little early

Tuesday, February 3rd, you will turn 27 years old. These are all the things we love about you:


You were such a cute chubby baby!


You are a very hard worker and won't quit until the job is done.
You always seem to have the best of luck.

You are anxious to teach your son how to use a bow and arrow...in the house.

You enjoy giving lessons on how to hit things with a stick.

You can sleep almost anywhere.

You have the patience to teach a 3 year old and a 1 year old how to fly a kite.

You are such a softy when it comes to your daughter.

You are a good sport to dress up as a hunter :)

You endure all the picture taking that your wife makes you pose for.

You are SO handsome!

You love your wife and she knows it.

You give your kids fire to play with.

You enjoy killing Bambi.

You like telling me its time to put the camera away.

You endured the fire academy!

You enjoy playing with your kids.

You like bringing home the bacon.

Squirting water on a fire amuses you.

You love your job.

You like getting woken up in the wee hours of the morning to put on a heavy suit in order to save lives.

Skylar, you are such an amazing man, husband and father. We love your sense of humor and your wonderful laugh. We are grateful for how hard you work for us and love when you are able to spend the day playing with us. I love the example you are to our children and am grateful for your patience! We hope you have a wonderful birthday and WE LOVE YOU!!

Love,

Kari, Slade and Daisy

Just to Clarify

Some of you may be confused at why my baby needs to come early, so I am going to try to explain it better.

My baby girl is not growing like she should be.
Her environment is good, meaning she is getting the blood flow that she needs and there is plenty of amniotic fluid for her.
She has a strong heart and moves around just fine.

The Problem: Because everything looks good from an ultrasound point of view, she should be gaining weight consistently like a normal baby, but she isn't. That is the puzzling thing. Why isn't she growing if her environment is good?
That is why my doctor wants her out to see if there is an underlying issue that is not showing up in the ultrasounds and tests. The sooner she is out, the sooner she can be treated if there is something going on.
If I were to wait and deliver her as normally planned, it may be too late and the outcome could be bad.
My doctor was planning on taking her at 32 weeks, but at that time she decided to gain weight. He decided to wait and monitor her to see if she would continue to grow.
Since then, she has not made enough progress for my doctor to be comfortable to keep in her the womb, and that is why she will come early. He is being cautious regarding the development of her lungs and I believe that is very important.
I hope that clears up any questions that some of you may have. I know its all been quite confusing for some of you but I hope this helped.

Photo Shoot!

Last Saturday I had the opportunity to have my awesome photographer sister, Kendyl, take some maternity pictures of me. I absolutely love how they turned out! Thanks Kendyl! She was also able to snap a few of my kids...
I was 35 weeks when these were taken.