TAYT'S BIRTH STORY

Sorry for the wait.. been a little busy :)

Sunday, October 19, 2014 Tayt Elizabeth Engle was born at 8:43pm. The baby beauty was 8 lbs 10 ounces, 18 inches long.

 (Shaun cutting the cord)

                                      

It all started (FINALLY) Sunday morning... we had a great lazy morning, playing cars, kicking/shooting/throwing/hitting balls around the house and hanging around in our robes until the late morning. Once we finally decided to get ready and get out, we headed to the San Clemente pier to get an ice coffee, let Trenton play in the sand and see the "Choo Choo" train pass by. Just as we parked I had my first contraction. I looked at Shaun and said, "ouch, that was not just a contraction, that was a labor contraction..the real deal". He responded, "are you serious? is this going down today? What do I do, do I proceed? We probably shouldn't be in mexico right now." I laughed and said "well we are here, let's time them and see how regular and far apart they are". It had just started so we knew we had time. As we walked around, our minds were spinning and suddenly our relaxing family outing wasn't as relaxing as planned since we were trying to figure out the next steps. Nevertheless I tried to remain calm and just enjoy our morning since I knew it would be our last memory as a family of three. We loved on Trenton, played and kept walking to keep the contractions going. I was having to stop to breathe through them but they were still about 7-10 minutes apart. After a couple consistent contractions Shaun decided he didnt want to 'catch' his baby girl onthe pier so we started heading for the car. We went home, put Trenton down for a nap (trying to keep everything calm and normal for him), packed and rested while still timing the contractions. By the time my parents came to our house, the contractions were about 5 minutes apart and getting stronger as I laid there watching the cooking channel. An hour or so later, I barely made it from the kitchen to the couch before I had back to back strong contractions that had me huntched over in pain. My dad looked at me and said, "um, those were only a couple minutes apart, I suggest you go now." We called the doctor, kissed our baby boy goodbye (so hard) and we were on our way. I was so happy I was able to labor at home. Shaun made me a great lunch and we just got to relax a little before the chaos, but by the time we got to the hospital around 3:30pm it had been about 4 hours of consistent laboring and I was in a lot of pain. We were checked into the same birthing suite that we had Trenton in which made us feel comfortable. By then I was dialated to 6 cm but the nurse thought it was still early labor since my contractions weren't consistent once we got to the hospital, of course right?! Well, as I got settled and calmed down they started back up regularly and in full force, bringing me to tears from the intensity. I got the epidural and was able to finally relax again. My friend's doctor came in and broke my water per my docs instructions to speed things up. Shortly after I was at 8-9cm and started feeling a lot of pressure. We were ready. They called my doc who lives 20 minutes from the hospital and by the time he got there and scrubbed up I was pushing. About three short pushes later, at 8:43pm, Tayt Elizabeth was born. Shaun cut the cord, she cried (unlike her brother) and was handed to us. We were now a family of four. Looking at her we couldn't believe how blessed we were to have another perfect baby.

Our families came in after our golden hour (skin to skin time with just baby, mom & dad) to meet our little girl. Trenton came running in the room and it made me so sad to barely recognize him. There was this big boy that was acting so timid and almost scared around me since I was laying in a hospital bed and suddenly he only wanted daddy...he wasn't my little baby boy, the mommas boy I had left just a few short hours prior. He was a big brother and that was going to take some getting used to, for all of us.

That week was so nice to have Shaun home helping. He and Trenton were connected at the hip. We kind of divided and conquered. Not the best idea as we both felt lonely and were sleeping in different beds to take care of the kids, but we were in survival mode and just getting our bearings. Learning to juggle both kids was tough at first but each day it got easier. My first day home alone with both kids was a scary and stressful day but I knew the day had to come at some point. Needless to say Trenton and I wanted to cry when Shaun left that morning and we missed him tremendously all day (which we do everyday, but that day especially). Trenton needed to get used to me again and since then has. He loves his mommy again, yay! Things are going great and we are LOVING having a baby again. She is very mild mannered like Trenton was, only crying when she needs something. She is sleeping great, so far, only wakes around midnight and 3am for feedings. It is still hard to entertain and chase Trenton all day while not getting sleep at night. Not to mention our naps have momentarily ceased to exist ;-/ Since we brought her home, Trenton's sleep schedule has really been thrown off and we are still not quite there. I cannot wait to get them both on the same sleep schedule so I can get back to crafting, cleaning or sleeping :) A little me time will be nice. Speaking of, we gave Tayt a bottle on her on her one month mark to get her used to it so I could pump and leave at some point and she took it like a champ. No nipple confusion or issues there, thank goodness. That success meant that I was able to go to a friends baby shower ALL BY MYSELF while Shaun watched both kids for the first time! It was a lovely afternoon, I got to use both hands and sit. It was wonderful. Such a gift. And, Shaun did great... of course. We are so happy with our little family.. and our new minivan! HaHa, that's right! I gave in and we got an awesome VW Van fully loaded with TV's and the like. Trenton is in heaven and so is mom with all the room and organization. We have everything we could want and need now... so blessed.

The other day on our family walk, a woman stopped us and said, "Are you home with him?" pointing to Trenton. I responded, "yes, I am" with a quizative look on my face. She said, "You can tell, he is talking so well and is very social. You are doing a great job. It really makes a difference." I couldn't believe it. Shaun looked at me as we walked away and said, "she knew our whole life story?! See you are doing good babe". My heart was so warmed. I told Shaun that was a sign from God reassuring us that what we are doing, as hard as it is at times, is the right thing to do for our kids. I thanked Shaun for working so hard in order for us to keep me home. I love those bold, in your face kind of reminders like that...a sign that you cannot miss and that answers your questions/prayers. God is so good.

We cannot wait for all of you to meet our baby girl and witness the family of four in action (and all of our craziness). We love you all, thank you for the kind words, gifts, support, messages and meals! Hope to see you all soon.

Here are the most up to date pics of our little one month old angel...

Hugs,
Momma T