our lives have been a blissful whirlwind, and we've been enjoying every single second with our two beautiful little boys.
here is colby'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 colby's birth story to include in his personal memory book. just keep that in mind when you read.}
for those of you who don't know, we made the move from DC to missouri just six weeks before the baby's due date. i still cannot believe that we successfully moved from DC to missouri, lived with john's parents for a month, found an apartment for us to live in, moved in, bought furniture, bought a second car, and got everything set up all before our baby made his appearance. it's seriously a miracle.
when we found out that we were moving to st. louis, i was so worried about how everything was going to work out with finding a new place to live, finding a doctor that would take me as a new patient with me being so far along (34 weeks), and how liam was going to handle the transitions. but miraculously, we found our new apartment within a few days of being in missouri, my fabulous ob/gyn accepted me as a new patient, and liam has handled all of the transitions like a champ. with sleeping in multiple different hotel rooms and places, moving to a completely new place, leaving all of his little buddies behind, and becoming a big brother, our little liam continuously amazes me with his flexibility and ability to adapt quickly to his surroundings. especially when our new apartment is right on railroad tracks and trains come blasting through at 2:00 in the morning right next to his room. he's seriously a keeper.
after moving to missouri, i immediately started going to my ob/gyn's office weekly for my check-ups.
when i was 36 weeks, i was already dilated to a 2.
at 37 weeks, i was dilated to a 3.
at 38 weeks, i was dilated to a 4.
and at 39 weeks, i was dilated to a 5. the crazy part about it was that i wasn't having any contractions at all! my ob/gyn was convinced that this baby was going to slide out any second.
after my 39 week appointment and finding out i was dilated to a 5, my ob/gyn and i discussed my options. because i was already so far along in dilation, she felt very strongly that i should be induced right at 40 weeks because if i started having contractions and laboring at home, she was worried that it was going to happen way too fast and we wouldn't be able to make it to the hospital without having a baby in the car. i completely agreed, and we scheduled my induction for november 24th, a day shy of 40 weeks. i couldn't believe it! we were going to have a baby that day, or possibly sooner. we were just waiting and planning for it to happen anytime. our hospital bag was packed, i was registered at the hospital, and i was registered for my epidural. we were all set!
we decided to have my mom fly in a few days earlier than she was planning just in case our little guy decided to make his way into the world before my induction date. she was supposed to fly in on liam's birthday (the 22nd), but she flew in on the 20th instead. and to my surprise, my youngest sister sharlee surprised us by flying here as well on the same night! it was such an awesome surprise! i had two of my sisters and my mom here to help. it was such a blessing, and i'm so thankful that they all made the sacrifice to come and help us out.
days passed by- the 20th, the 21st...still no action. we reached liam's birthday on the 22nd, and i secretly hoped that this baby wouldn't come so liam could have his own special day. my wish came true, and we celebrated his birthday labor-free at my in-law's home with presents and a delicious chocolate cake. it was an awesome day celebrating our two-year old, and that blog post is in the works. that night, my sisters decided to help me try and induce labor by helping me do exercises and stretches and voodoo therapy on my stomach to try and convince the baby to come, but to no avail. he stayed in for another night.
the 23rd came, and we decided to try and walk this baby out! we decided to head over to the st. louis zoo to walk around and check out all of the cool animals. after walking around the zoo for a few hours, we headed to the infamous Pappy's BBQ restaurant and ate a delicious lunch. afterwards, we decided to do the st. louis arch! we thought for sure that the claustrophobic bubble elevator that brings you up into the arch, and the high elevation would for sure jumpstart labor, so we decided to give it a shot! we went up into the arch, and saw the beautiful sunset through the windows. it was so beautiful, and a special memory that i got to share with my mama, sisters, john and liam. it was the last day that we would be a family of three, and i had butterflies in my stomach just thinking that the next day, we would be holding small fry #2 in our arms.
i was told when i was scheduled for my induction that i was the first scheduled afternoon induction. they told me to keep my phone on me and that they would call me when i could come in. they said that typical afternoon inductions would be called in between 2:00 and 4:00 PM. with that information in mind, i got up on the morning of the 24th and took a shower not expecting to be called until the afternoon. after getting out of the shower, i saw that i had a missed call and a voicemail on my phone. i checked it immediately, and it was the hospital saying that i could come in! i was completely shocked! i called them back and told them that i got their message, and that we would be heading into the hospital within an hour. i yelled to john and said, "we can go in already! we're going to have a baby!". i went out to my sisters and mom in the living room, and john yelled "cassie's gonna have the baby!". they were all shocked! particularly my sister sharlee who had to fly back that night, and was hoping to be here for the birth! i rushed to get ready.
while i was getting ready, i had a flood of sadness come over me. liam wasn't going to be my one and only anymore. i was hoping that morning that i could take him to the park to have one more morning of just playing with my sweet liam boy before we headed to the hospital. now that that wasn't going to happen, i started to bawl. i was so nervous how he was going to react, i was so nervous for the labor process again, i was just a bawl bag of hormones. i called for my mom to come into my room for a second. i cried into her shoulder, and told her everything i was feeling. she hugged me, and reassured me that everything was going to be all right. i cannot explain to you all how thankful i was to have my mama there to help me at that moment. after having six children, she's pretty experienced in the child department, and i'm so grateful that she was there to hug me and reassure me that everything was going to be okay. after talking to her, i felt so much better and finished getting ready to go!
i finished getting ready, grabbed the hospital bag, and hugged my mom who was staying behind to watch liam for us. my sister hannah was coming to help and take pictures of the birth, and my sister sharlee was coming as well to witness the birth. after hugging my mom, i grabbed liam and hugged him so tight. a huge change was about to happen in his life, and i just wanted to squeeze him so hard to let him know that i loved him so much. he gave me big kisses and said, "bye mama!". gosh, that little boy knows how to melt my heart. after good-byes, we headed out the door!
as we loaded into the car, my mom brought liam out onto our balcony and he yelled, "bye, mama!" again to us. the flood gates opened once again, and after blowing a million kisses and waving good-bye, we took off for the hospital.
after arriving at the hospital, we found a parking spot, and went to get checked in.
as we were sitting there filling out the paperwork and answering all of the questions, john and i kept saying how strange this was. in comparison to liam's labor and delivery, i was having terrible contractions and was in excruciating pain before we arrived to the hospital. and here we were for the second time, sitting in comfy chairs chatting and laughing and smiling like nothing out of the ordinary was happening.
after finishing all of paperwork, we were sent out to the waiting room when almost instantly, a nurse came in and grabbed us to go back to our delivery room. i couldn't believe this was happening.
we got into our room, put my lovely hospital gown on, and sat and waited. my nurse came in, asked me a million questions, and then informed me that my ob/gyn was going to call my room to talk to me about what her plan was for this induction. while waiting for her phone call, john, hannah, sharlee and i hung out and talked and watched hilarious youtube videos.
while we were talking, i looked out the window and realized that we could see the st. louis LDS temple from the window! that brought me a lot of peace and comfort.
after a while, my fabulous ob/gyn called my room and we discussed how she was going have me be put on pitocin, then after awhile they were going to break my water, and then see how things go from there! after our phone call ended, my nurse came back in and she started me on pitocin.
in my mind, i thought that being induced and being put on pitocin meant that things were going to go from 0 to 60 in a matter of minutes, but it didn't. starting on pitocin level 1, i barely was feeling anything. every 30 minutes, they came in to check on me and they would up my pitocin level.
after being on pitocin for a little over an hour, the resident doctor at the hospital came in to break my water. i was really nervous about this because i could still feel everything down there, and i was really nervous on how this was going to feel. with liam's delivery, they broke my water when i had my epidural so i couldn't feel a thing. let's just say that getting your water broken is an extremely yucky feeling, and i was very thankful that it was over.
after having my water broken, the nurse told me that she noticed a thin meconium layer on the towel that they had underneath me. she said that the baby had had a bowel movement, that i wouldn't be able to have him placed on my chest after delivery, and that the nicu team would have to be present for his birth. for those of you that remember liam's birth story, this is exactly what happened with his. he pooped during labor and delivery, so i wasn't able to hold him immediately following his birth. having this happen a second time made me very sad, but i understood what needed to happen because i wanted him to be healthy. they checked my cervix and i was dilated to a 6! things were moving along.
after having my water broken and upping my pitocin levels higher, the contractions really started to flow and were getting more and more painful. i requested for my epidural and within five minutes, the anesthesiologist was there! who has ever heard of an anesthesiologist just finishing another patient that just happened to be right next to your room? it was amazing! he came in the nick of time, because those contractions were starting to hurt.
they sent my sisters out of the room, but john was able to stay with me and hold my hand as they gave me my epidural. i could've kissed that anesthesiologist, i didn't though. i kissed my cute hubby instead.
after the magic juice was in, i started not being able to feel the contractions, and my legs were numbing. within a few minutes, i couldn't feel a thing and i was once again happy, laughing, and smiling. knowing that i was all good and happy, john decided to run to potbelly to grab some food because my sisters and him were starving. he kissed me goodbye and i jokingly told him to hurry up because i really wanted him there for the birth. little did we know, that almost wasn't a joke.
after john left to go grab food, my little sister sharlee had to go to the airport to fly back home to take some finals. we were trying to hard to have the baby so she could meet the little guy, but unfortunately we had to say goodbye. it was so sad, but i'm so thankful that she was able to be there for a few days and to be there for part of the labor experience. after she left, it was just my sister hannah and i in the room.
while i was laying there in the bed, i all of the sudden started to feel a ton of pressure down there. like, a TON of pressure. as if the baby's head was about to come out! i turned to hannah and said, "um, i'm pretty sure the baby is coming out right now!". i immediately called my nurse to come. we waited, and waited and waited for my nurse, but she never came!
i called again, she still didn't come. at this point, i seriously thought his head was going to pop out.
i called one last time, and hannah ran outside to the hallway to see if she could see her.
finally, after what seemed like an eternity, my nurse finally showed up. apparently the phones that they use weren't working so she didn't receive my call. awesome. she checked my cervix and i was fully dilated to a 10! she left the room to call my doctor to come, and i immediately called john. luckily, he was on his way back to the hospital!
after a little bit, john came back with their food, and shortly after that, my doctor showed up! it all happened so fast. after my doctor got all set up and ready to go, we prepared to start pushing.
the contraction came, and after one set of three pushes, his head was already out! i couldn't believe it! after having such a hard time pushing with liam, this was a breeze!
we waited for the next contraction to come, and after two more pushes, we had ourselves a new baby boy!
after being told that i couldn't hold him right after birth, i was prepared for that. but because our little guy came out crying, they figured that his lungs were clear of meconium and let me hold him immediately after. i was so happy!
we were parents again! there are no words. we were immediately in love with our little guy.
after relishing the sweet moments after his birth, it was time to figure out his name. to help us in this process, we had hannah hold him in her arms, turn away from us, and turn back towards us saying a name. each time she did this, we would say no or yes to that name. after many names, we narrowed it down to nolan or colby. we did this a few more times and decided to name him colby george. it fit him perfectly.
colby george fryhoff
11.24.2015 {a day shy of his due date!}
5:25 PM
7 pounds 6 ounces
20 3/4 inches long
his middle name, george, is my maternal grandfather's name and is also john's great great grandfather's name. a few other names we brought to the hospital were jackson and asher.
after getting stitched up, and snuggling our sweet colby for awhile, my mom brought liam to the hospital!
we are officially a family of four.
i'm so thankful for my incredible husband who has always been my number one fan and better half. throughout all of our trials and struggles, he is always my constant companion and i'm so thankful for him. i'm so grateful to my sister hannah for shooting our birth story for us, and for coming out to help us start out our new life as a family of four. i'm so thankful for my sister sharlee for being able to come out to spend time with us, even though her trip was cut way too short. i'm so thankful for modern medicine, and having an incredibly smooth and easy delivery and recovery at the hospital. my nurses were great, and my doctor was nothing short of an angel. and last but definitely not least, i want to thank my incredible mother. her strength, love, and compassion never cease to amaze me. words cannot even express my love and appreciation for her. she is an incredible grandmother to my babies, and the best mom a girl could ever ask for.
our lives have been forever changed, and we are so thankful to be blessed with two healthy, perfect and handsome boys. our hearts are overflowing with gratitude.
{all picture credit to: Hannah Fine Photography}
How fun is it that your sister took pictures of it all! What a sweet story! Love you guys!
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