Caroline Nichole | One Month + Birth Story

Caroline Nichole Johnson entered the world at 12:12am on February 2, 2019 and we are so in love with her. She weighed 8 pounds 2 ounces and was 20 and 1/4 inches long. Those last 2 weeks of pregnancy, I was honestly convinced she would never be born and I would be pregnant forever. I was seeing everyone else that I knew was pregnant, having their babies and I was STILL pregnant. I’m not a very patient person anyway, so add pregnancy hormones and everything that comes with being 40 weeks pregnant to the mix and you can imagine that I was not in the best frame of mind. I’m also not someone that cries often and I really didn’t cry that much throughout pregnancy. That last week though, I cried more than I probably have in 1 year. I was tired of being hot all of the time, tired of the fear of going through labor and delivery and just tired in general. Poor Hunter…I about froze him out of the house.

On January 29, two days after my due date, I went to the doctor hoping she would send me to the hospital. They were watching me pretty closely anyway because my blood pressure had been higher than they would’ve liked during my last few weeks of pregnancy. Again, at this appointment my blood pressure was up again, so she wanted to see me back on Thursday, the 31st. I already knew I was probably going to be induced, because nothing was happening and my body was not doing what it was supposed to be doing to get labor going. The doctor went ahead and scheduled my induction date for Sunday, February 3 unless something happened before then and I was praying that I would go into labor on my own. I went back to the doctor on Thursday and my blood pressure was back in the normal range, but I wasn’t feeling very well that day. My stomach didn’t feel right and I just all around felt off. After telling this to my doctor, she said she felt that I needed to be induced that evening. I wasn’t thrilled about that, but I wanted to be done with this whole thing so badly that I didn’t care at that point. On the way home, I made phone calls to my family letting them know it was finally happening so that they could start making plans to travel. This was all starting to feel so real.

We didn’t need to be at the hospital until 8pm, so Hunter and I picked up something for dinner and “relaxed” at the house until it was time to leave. I checked myself in at the front desk in the hospital lobby and it almost felt like a hotel stay or something. A nurse brought down a wheelchair for me and I literally asked her, “Do I need to sit in that, because I can walk just fine.” This obviously was not the way I imagined this whole situation.

I was induced around 9:30pm on the 31st. It’s a good thing I didn’t know how long I would be in labor, because I would’ve probably cried…again. The sun came up on February 1st and I hadn’t slept hardly at all. They gave me something to help me sleep, but all it did was make me dizzy. Around mid-morning, the pain really started and they asked if I wanted an epidural but I wasn’t ready for that just yet. I have a pretty high pain tolerance and I’ve experienced pretty bad pain in my abdomen before, so I wanted to see how long I could endure it. It didn’t take very long before I needed something for the pain. My nurse suggested Fentanyl, and I asked what it would make me feel like. I had never taken any strong drugs before, so I was a little leery of it. But at this point, I was ready to try anything. She asked if I had ever been drunk before. I said no, and she said “Well, you’re about to find out what it feels like.” Apparently Allison gets very chatty, because I would not stop talking once it hit my system. It was also supposed to help me sleep, so I couldn’t keep my eyes open but I also couldn’t quit talking to Hunter. I don’t remember most of what I said to him, only what he has told me, but it was very amusing according to Hunter. I had three rounds of Fentanyl and slept most of the day which I desperately needed at this point, because I still had a long way to go. Around mid-afternoon, the Fentanyl wasn’t touching the pain anymore and I was ready for something stronger. I asked for the epidural and it took what felt like forever for the anesthesiologist to arrive. I was shaking uncontrollably from the pain by the time he came, which made the thought of an epidural even scarier. I managed to hold myself still just long enough for him to finish the procedure, which was an answer to prayer. By this time, Hunter’s hand was pretty squished but he was wonderful throughout the entire process.

When the epidural started to kick in, I was finally able to relax for a little while. Unfortunately, I wasn’t making much progress with labor very quickly and my epidural started to wear off on my left side after a few hours, so I was starting to feel contractions again at full force. At this point, there was nothing else I could do for the pain but to deal with it, because the epidural was doing all it could do for me. One thing that I remember my nurse telling me that I found very comical was that I was the quietest person that she had ever seen go through labor pains. Haha! I certainly didn’t feel that way on the inside.

Right before midnight, I started to feel like Caroline might be ready to make an appearance, so I called the nurse into the room and sure enough we were ready to get this party started. Then my nurse said…”I just want to let you know that for first time moms, sometimes it can take 1-3 hours of pushing.” What?! I didn’t just go through 27 hours of labor for it to take at least an hour more. I was SO ready to meet my daughter and for labor to be over with. I was bound and determined to do this as quickly as possible, so within 10 minutes Caroline was born! I really couldn’t believe it and neither could anyone else in the room. But she was here, she was finally here!! And she was so beautiful. As soon as they laid her on my chest, I started crying and so did all the nurses. I had a daughter! And suddenly everything else disappeared and all of the hours that it took to get to this moment was so worth it.

This last month has been such a wonderful, crazy, sleep deprived month. So much has happened and our lives have certainly changed, but I wouldn’t trade any of it for the world. Our sweet Caroline Nichole is one month old, which is so hard to believe. I’ve heard it said that life speeds up when you have children and I know that I’ve only been a Mom for one month, but I already feel like that statement is so true. I’m seeing her get bigger each day and while I’m so thankful that she’s perfectly healthy and growing like a weed, I want already want time to slow down. She’s already out of newborn diapers and most her newborn clothes have been put away. But I also can’t wait to see her grow into each new stage of life and to see the world all over again through her eyes.

She certainly has a little personality already, that’s for sure. Hunter and I have seen plenty of sweetness, but also a lot of sass. It’s so cute right now, but I’m sure we are in for a ride as time goes on haha!

Here are some of things I love about her and her personality in this first month:

– She snorts when she starts crying and sounds just like a little piglet

– She almost always wants to face to the right side

– All the little faces she makes when she sleeps

– She always sneezes twice (just like Hunter)

– When she doesn’t want the pacifier, she opens her mouth wide and shakes her head (so sassy)

– All of her smiles (it’s probably gas, but I’ll take it)

– Every time Hunter coughs when she’s asleep, she’ll throw her arms in the air

– When I’m holding her and she looks up at me for the longest time

– She’s measuring in the 99th percentile for length. She’s going to be tall!

– Those chubby cheeks!!

Needless to say, I’ve taken a few photos of her this past month, so here’s some of my favorites!