Tessa Grace

Well, this little girl has been full of surprises from the start! Little (well, not so little) Tessa Grace made her earthly debut at 8:54 a.m. last Sunday morning. She was 10 pounds even and 20 inches. Aah... we like nice round numbers! And nice round babies!

Since having Lily last year, I have learned that sharing birthing stories among moms is sort of a rite of passage - you endure carrying this baby for 9 months, you get to tell the tale of giving birth as often as you want! And everyone else's stories become so much more interesting, even if you just want to compare it to your own!

So, for those wanting the details, here you go - (don't worry, I won't get too graphic!)

Last Saturday was a BUSY day - I had a lot of errands to run. Seuao and his friend were working on our basement (don't worry, I haven't blogged about that yet - I will...), and there was just a lot going on. I really didn't feel good most of the day, but figured it was just the normal aches and pains of being close to my due date. By Saturday night, I was pooped, Lily went to bed early, and I was ready to crash too. Seuao and his buddy had talked about going to see some "manly man" movie that I had NO interest in (and if they left, I would get the remote), so I sent him on his way. I kind of felt ok, ok enough to get a little sleep, but by 3:00 a.m. awoke with TERRIBLE pains. They weren't the "normal" labor pains you hear described, so I really wasn't sure what was going on. I flipped on the TV and sort-of watched some BYU devotional thing while I couldn't go back to sleep, (Seuao had just come home and crashed) and decided to watch the clock to see if these pains were regular at all. I discovered they were happening about every 6 or 7 minutes, but still, not what I went through with Lily and not what contractions are "supposed" to feel like. I called the hospital, and told them what was going on - they said it sounded like I was in labor, but to try a couple of things to see if it helps the pain at all.

So, I tried the couple of things - Seuao is snoring away - the BYU devotional ends, and the contractions are now about 4 or 5 minutes apart. I tried to wake up Seuao, but he was so out of it, he wasn't cluing in at all. See, with Lily, I had to be induced 6 days AFTER my due date. I had my induction scheduled for this baby too, but it wasn't for another week. We were about 4 days from my due date, but going into labor naturally wasn't something either of us saw coming at all! Of course my bag wasn't packed (a terrible side effect from all of the denial we are even having another baby), so while I tried to gather up a few things, crippling over in pain, attempting to wake my dead-to-the-world husband and NOT wake up Lily, I realized this may be the real thing.

I called Sarah around 6:00 a.m. and asked her if she would mind coming over to sit with Lily while we went to the hospital. Part of me still thought we would just get sent home; that I would be told to toughen up and wait. Then I would have another contraction - and I thought if this ISN'T labor, seriously just kill me now! Sarah got here around 6:30, and after literally having to threaten to drive myself to the hospital to get Seuao to pull it together and wake up, we did leave.

The drive to the hospital was excruciating - I didn't have to say anything when we walked in - it was pretty obvious why I was there! I got all hooked up and checked and was told I was already at 5.5 cm! Seuao started making phone calls (well, after he tried to get me to do it... what was he thinking? That I could talk on the phone to people while having contractions every 3 minutes??? Seriously!!!!) The first thing I said when we got there was "I need drugs!!!" It felt like forever before the anesthesiologist made it in there, and he wasn't very good. My epidural with Lily (although it wore off before it should have) went in beautifully. This one was terrible. Half an hour after he finished, my contractions were even more intense, and I had dilated to a 7. The nurse called him back in - he gave me more drugs, but no luck. They never kicked in. Oh, I take that back - my left thigh went numb for 2 days about an hour after the baby was born. Nice.

Things were moving so quickly, but at the same time it felt like time was standing still. The next thing I knew, it was time to push - the nurse was panicking because my doctor wasn't there yet, so she was calling everyone in to get ready. I pushed through two contractions with her. My doctor literally came running in, putting on his gloves by the time we got to the third contraction, and at 8:54 a.m. our baby was born! They placed her on my stomach, and I was so overwhelmed with emotion! I was in absolute amazement that this baby had come! So much denial for so long, and here she was. And she was perfect. I don't know how many times I said "I can't believe it!"




She was nameless for a couple of days. I don't know why I ended up giving in, but I am getting used to her name (even if I did cry the first few times I said it...) She is such a miracle and a gift from heaven. She looks exactly like Lily, but her temperament seems much milder (not a bad thing!) She is beautiful in every way, and I feel so very unworthy to be the mother of these babies.

This is Tessa

This is Lily... CRAZY!

To Tessa and Lily, you are my life and my heart. I cannot imagine loving you more, although I know every minute of every hour of every day my heart will swell more and more with love and gratitude to my Heavenly Father for sending you to me. My two beautiful angels.