baby liam.

well hello there everyone! our lives have been a blissful whirlwind, and we've been enjoying every single second with our beautiful little boy.

here is liam's birth story. 

{disclaimer: i am including a LOT of details that may be gross or "TMI" but i'm using this as a way to fully write out liam's birth story to include in his personal memory book. just keep that in mind when you read.}

on thursday, november 21st, john had only a six-hour work day starting at 9:00 AM. as i waited for john to return home, i had a few things i wanted to accomplish. most were simple chores around the house including laundry, cleaning the kitchen, etc, but there was one very important one that i had been working on for a few months that i was just shy of finishing. 

i made a personal goal to finish the Book of Mormon before our son was born. i had never read it before cover-to-cover on my own, and i thought it was a perfect opportunity to pursue this goal with my son while he was inside my belly. i began reading it when we moved here to Chicago, and planned to finish it by the time baby would arrive. 

at this point, i was a day short of being 40 weeks pregnant, and we were anxiously waiting for our son to begin to make his appearance. john, being well aware of my goal, jokingly teased, "I don't think baby is going to come until you finish!". i really wanted him to come, so i took that joke to heart. on november 21st, my goal of reading and pondering the Book of Mormon was fulfilled. it was a wonderful experience that i will always cherish, and it is even more special to me that my son and i were able to accomplish that together. 

later that night, john returned home and we decided to try and do whatever we could to get the ball rolling with my labor. at my last doctor's appointment, they said that i was already four centimeters dilated and 90% effaced, so we knew that we could try and get things moving and that hopefully they would go pretty fast! what's the best thing to do? go walk around the art institute of chicago for two and a half hours, of course! so that's exactly what we did. 

it was "illinois residents go for free" night, and it was a blast. we walked up and down plenty of stairs, looked at some amazing exhibits/art pieces and afterwards, we went to Potbelly to get ice cream cookie sandwiches. sadly, they were out of vanilla ice cream (boo!), so they gave us a free peppermint ice cream shake and a chocolate brownie cookie. heck to the yeah! it was an awesome night.

little did we know, it would be the last night we would spend as just the two of us.

we returned home, watched an episode of one of our favorite shows, showered and went to bed. as i laid down to go to sleep, i looked at my cell phone and the time read 12:10 AM. 

it was officially november 22nd, the baby's due date!

all of the sudden, a sharp pain began to build in my belly. my eyes opened wide. as it began to fade, my mind immediately went to contractions. i decided to ignore it, closed my eyes and tried to fall asleep. just a few minutes later, the same pain began to build in my belly. i sat up in bed and started playing on my phone. i had an app on my phone called "Full Term" which helps time your contractions, and shows how far apart they are. i began to time them. 5 minutes apart. 

our doctor had said that if my contractions were four minutes apart, lasting for one minute, and lasting for an hour overall, to head to the hospital. this is the 4-1-1 rule. 

i leaned over to john and told him that i'd been timing contractions. he rolled over towards me and said, "we'll take it as it comes. keep me updated on how you feel." after that, i decided to get myself ready and grab our go-bags just in case this was the real thing. my hair was still wet from my shower, so i decided to blow dry it. looking back at this, i just laugh! i was standing there trying to breathe through my contractions and blow drying my hair, i'm such a weirdo. 

another contraction came...and another...and another.

every time i felt a contraction start to build, i would start the timer. at this point, they were exactly four minutes apart on the dot and started to HURT. this was getting real. 

i went into our bedroom again and told john that my contractions were four minutes apart now. knowing this, he got up out of bed, got dressed and started finishing packing his things for his go-bag. i did the same thing, but had to stop frequently because every contraction was getting longer and stronger. 

as we finished getting our go-bags, the baby's bag and the car seat ready, i couldn't even believe what was about to happen. we were about to head to the hospital to have our BABY. this was an event that we had been anticipating for the past nine months and it was finally here. i started to get a little anxious and nervous for what was ahead of us. i asked john to give me a blessing before we left. he gave me a beautiful blessing of comfort and peace that left me with feelings of ease and determination. we were going to have our baby boy! this was going to be one of the best days of our lives.

1:30 AM: and with that, we were on our way to the hospital!

1:50 AM: we checked in at triage, and waited for a nurse to come and get us. as we sat there, john wrapped his arms around me and held me while i winced through my contractions. i felt so loved and protected at that moment, it made me feel like i could actually do this. with john's help, i could get through this pain and at the end we would have a cute baby boy. 

2:15 AM: we were taken into a room to be checked and monitored.  i got dressed in a hospital gown and laid down in my bed.  at this point, the contractions were SO painful! i was trying to take deep, slow breaths and i'm pretty sure i broke john's hand. my entire body was convulsing and shivering. my nurse checked how dilated i was, and i hadn't progressed from four centimeters. they paged my doctor, dr. ray, and she said that i should walk for two hours to continue my progress.  

3:00 AM: we walked around the triage area for a little while. each contraction stopped me in my tracks where i would grasp onto the wall and breathe/scream/cry and john would rub my back and massage me. in the peak of the contractions, i felt like i was going to die. as they died down, i would let out a big deep sigh of relief knowing i had gotten through another one. 

3:30 AM: as we walked around, i all of the sudden had a huge crave for food wash over me. my mouth seemed so dry, my stomach was gurgling and i wanted food! we asked my nurses if it was okay if i ate, and they said yes. (little did i know, this would be a big mistake!) we made our way back to my triage room where i downed a nature valley oats n' dark chocolate granola bar, an entire bag of dried pineapple, and a couple handfuls of jalapeno kettle chips washed down with cups of ice water. i instantly felt better and we began our journey again through the halls of triage. about halfway through our walk around, i began to feel nauseous. like, extremely nauseous. my mind immediately started searching for a trash can. i saw one at the end of the hall in the corner. i yelled, "john, i'm going to puke!", and i ran to it just in time. everything i had just eaten made itself known once again, and although i did feel better, each contraction continued to bring more up and out. i began to cry, the contractions were so painful and i just felt awful. john kept massaging my back, and was encouraging me. my nurse approached us saying that it was obvious that things were pretty miserable for me, and that they were going to check my cervix again to see if there had been any progression.

we made our way back to my room, laid down on my bed, proceeded to throw up a few more times (poor john was green!), and waited for my nurse to come check me. she finally came in, and i had only progressed to four and a half centimeters. the nurse paged my doctor again, and to my surprise, we were given the go-ahead to head up to our room in labor and delivery.

while we waited for someone to come get us, i tried to rest as much as i could and john did the same. it took a little while for someone to come get us, so after trying to rest, we decided to get up and walk around a little longer to keep things moving. now that my stomach was back to being empty (thank goodness!), i paced up and down the hallway breathing deeply through the contractions. finally, after what seemed like an eternity, someone came with a wheelchair to take us upstairs to our room in labor & delivery. 

we got upstairs to our room, met our fabulous nurse named Liz, and started settling in. she put my iv in, hooked me and the baby up to monitors, and we got acquainted. i really enjoyed talking to her and we became buddies. after talking with her for a little while, the anesthesiologist came with his assistant and they began to discuss with me the process of receiving an epidural and answered any questions that i had about it. 

before i came to the hospital, and in the months leading up to liam's birth, i had decided to not create a birth plan. i didn't want to set high expectations for myself, and then feel guilty if circumstances changed or things happened that were out of my control. specifically, having a natural birth. i loved the idea of it, and i am in awe of women who can do it! but i am not ashamed to say that i received an epidural. for me, it was the best choice and it was absolute HEAVEN. 

after receiving the epidural, i was a completely different person. i was laughing, smiling, cracking jokes with john and liz, and most of all i was able to relax! after just a short time, my doctor, dr. ray, came in to see how things were going and to check my cervix progression. much to her surprise, i was at 7 centimeters! she was shocked. she told us that she would be back in a couple hours to see how things were going. "let's aim for a centimeter an hour!" she exclaimed, and then she left. 

6:00 AM: we decided to call our families to tell them that we were at the hospital. i called my mom first, and she was freaking out so excited. after i spoke with her, i called my older sister corynn and told her what was going on. i felt bad because washington is two hours behind illinois time, so for them it was 4:00 AM. but they didn't care, they were so excited! john called his mom, talked to her for a few minutes, and then we both went to sleep. 

it was really hard for me to sleep. i was so excited! i tried to close my eyes, but my nerves and excitement got the best of me because i could imagine myself holding our precious boy. this was the finish line in my head, and we were so close to it! it was also really hard to sleep because my nurse Liz would come in every thirty minutes to check on me, and random machines would beep loudly every five minutes. somehow, i managed to get a little shut-eye while john was passed out on the guest bed by the window. 

around 8:00 AM, liz came in with two new women i hadn't met yet. liz was leaving because her shift was over, and she brought two new nurses to introduce to me. their names were ally and alyssa. they were really nice, ally was an actual nurse and alyssa was an intern. they were very caring and i loved talking to them. i was so thankful and happy that i had good nurses throughout this life-changing experience. 

at about 9:20 AM, dr. ray came in. "well, i have some good news, and some bad news." my eyes got really wide. had something happened while i was asleep? was the baby okay? my anxiety was instantly eased when she said, "well, the bad news is i actually have to be somewhere else in the hospital in an hour, so i will not be delivering your baby. but the good news is that dr. hall will be here to take my spot." i loved this doctor that had been helping me, but dr. hall was by far my favorite doctor at my practice. i could not have smiled bigger! i was so excited. 

after she told me that, she checked my cervix once again and once again was pleasantly shocked. "you are at +2 station, and ready to push! maybe i will be delivering your baby after all!" 

i could not believe it!!! this was actually going to happen. i yelled over to john who was still sleeping. he woke up and came right to my side with a big smile on his face. we were going to be parents pretty soon!

the nurses and dr. ray began to get everything ready. my epidural was still in full swing, but the cool thing about my epidural was that i controlled it with the push of a button when i wanted a shot of medicine. whenever i felt any pressure or pain at all, i could press the red button and boom! pain relief. it was fabulous. at this point, i could feel slight pressure in my pelvis which i welcomed. i was able to feel when the pressure of contractions was building which would help me be able to push more effectively. i loved this! 

9:45 AM: dr. ray was ready, alyssa had my right leg, john had my left leg, and i was ready to push. ally monitored my contractions and got me ready to push as the peak of a contraction occurred. we would do 3 pushes per contraction. dr. ray told me to bear down and push like i was constipated and had to take a huge poop. "1-2-3, push!" ally, alyssa and dr. ray were so encouraging as i pushed like my life depended on it. every time i would finish a push, i would look over at john and he would give me the biggest supportive smile. i still could not believe that this was happening. it was so surreal. 

after about 30 minutes of pushing, i began to get really tired and began to struggle with not-so-great pushes. ally then asked me if i would be interested in having a mirror placed in front of me. prior to coming to the hospital, that was one thing that i thought i would definitely not want. but honestly? i wanted it, and i am so thankful that i did it! it helped motivate me because i could see what was going on! it helped me focus my energy right to where it needed to be focused. i highly recommend it to anyone. 

after a few minutes of pushing with the mirror, they noticed a brown liquid coming out of me. instantly, ally told me that our baby had a bowel movement during the labor process, and that they would not be allowed to place him right on my chest in fear that he had swallowed some and they would need to suction it out of his lungs. i remember not feeling worried or concerned at all because i knew that we were being watched over. i was slightly disappointed to not have him placed on my chest right away after he was born, but i wanted nothing more then to make sure that he was completely okay and healthy. i just put my faith in the doctors, nurses and in my Heavenly Father. 

after a few more minutes of pushing with the mirror, dr. ray announced that she needed to leave to go to a different part of the hospital. i was sad to see her go! she was with me as a part of this experience, and i was so appreciative and thankful for the way that she had treated me. after dr. ray shook our hands and left, in came dr. hall! i was so excited to see her. she came in and got right to business with me. she was a little bit more aggressive in her approach to my pushing, but i loved it because it motivated me to push even harder then before.

after about twenty minutes, i could see baby's head! nothing could fire me up more to push then that! i pushed like nobody's business. at this point, i could really feel pressure in my pelvis, and i could feel when the contractions were building. each time they would build, i got ready and pushed. in one particular set of pushes, dr. hall yelled, "that's it, cassie! keep pushing exactly like that!" after that set was over, she said, "if you push like that again on this next push, your baby will be here!"

was this real life?

dr. hall left for a second to get completely decked out in her uniform complete with a face shield. she was legit! i got ready to push, pushed three times, but the baby didn't quite make it out. but on the next set of pushes, all of the sudden, i felt this deep sensation of opening in my pelvis and HE WAS OUT! i looked at john and he had tears in his eyes. 

our baby was here!

john immediately cut the cord, and our baby was whisked away to the warming table where a group of doctors surrounded him. all i could do was sit and wait and cry out of sheer joy! i could not wait to hold him and look into his eyes for the first time!

a few minutes passed, and a doctor i hadn't met before came up to me and said, "your baby is just fine. he didn't swallow any of the meconium that he passed during your labor. he is just fine!" a warm wave of relief swept over me. i knew that everything would work out and i was so thankful.

all of the sudden...

there are no words. 

immediately, we were in love. i couldn't stop kissing, snuggling and nuzzling him saying "hi baby! you're here! we love you!" 

i've never loved someone so much that i'd just met. 

we had been toying with a few different names, but john and i both instantly knew that his was to be liam eugene fryhoff. throughout my entire pregnancy, liam was always a favorite. other contenders were nolan, crew, and jackson, but we both knew that he was a liam. eugene is a family name on both sides. john's grandfather and great-grandfather were named eugene, and my great-great-grandfather's name was and grandma's brother's name is eugene. it was meant to be, and it fit our baby boy perfectly.

liam eugene fryhoff.

11.22.2013 {his due date!}

10:54 AM

6 pounds. 15 ounces. 20 inches long. 

proud daddy.

proud mommy.

my total labor was about 11 hours from the first contraction to the final push. it was challenging, and the most beautiful experience of my life. 

i want to say how grateful i am for a Heavenly Father who watched over me, john and baby liam during our stay at the hospital. i know that He was with me every step of the way, and i'm so thankful for that. i'm so thankful for my wonderful husband john for being there for me, being my hand to squeeze, my shoulder to cry on when it got bad, and being the best labor coach in the world. i could not have done it without his help. i'm so thankful for my mother and for all of her love, encouragement and support during this huge change in our lives. she has been nothing short of an angel, and we are so thankful that she has been here to help us. and last but certainly not least, i'm so thankful for our sweet baby boy liam eugene. he is our healthy, beautiful, and perfect baby boy. my heart is overflowing with gratitude. 

this little boy is so loved.