Labor & Delivery

On Tuesday the 22nd of May I woke up at 4am with stomach cramps & contractions. I waited a couple hours and timed them before I woke up Jeremy. The thing is my contractions were not super painful, just a consistent tightening of my stomach. I was thinking man I must be lucky these don't hurt that bad or I just have a super high pain tolerance! (I would find out later I wasn't that lucky) Since we already had a doctors appointment that day, we just bumped it up to that morning so we could see what was going on. Unfortunately even though I was thinned out I was not dilated at all. So Jeremy headed off to work & I went about my day. Jeremy came home early & we went golfing. I just sat in the cart, hoping the bumpy ride would induce labor. We ate dinner with my parents in Farmington at a Mexican restaurant & then headed over to our neighbors with Brooke & Vaughn to hang out. It was there that I started having painful contractions and headed home. That night from around 8:00pm- midnight I felt the real pain of contractions. Man it's so hard to describe how bad contractions feel, but it definitely takes your breath away each time. I found I had to pace around during them. Jeremy meticulously timed my contractions until they were about 3 minutes apart and we headed to the Davis hospital in Layton.

We had no clue where we were going since we never did the hospital tour like I had planned but eventually made it to the emergency room to check in. As Jeremy was checking us in he ran into someone he knew that was there with his wife who was also in labor. We couldn't have been more opposite as I was in Jeremys basketball shorts & a T-shirt, no make up & the look of death on my face.. She on the other hand was decked out with full make up on, hair curled & a really cute outfit with a smile on her face. Mind you it was midnight so I have no clue why anyone would need to be ready at that time of night. She started making cheery small talk with me in the middle of one of my contractions and I swear I almost kicked her in the face! 

Anyways we finally got checked in and up in our room where we found out I was dilated to a 2. I was so happy when they called my doctor and admitted me, because I was really horrified of getting sent home at that point. Within about 30 minutes a Dr. named Wally who looked like a old school cowboy came in and gave me my epidural. I thought epidurals numbed the pain, I didn't realize they totally numb your entire body from the waist down to the point where you can't move them at all or feel anything. Felt sorta creepy like I was trapped in my body. I was super glad to not feel my contractions anymore but unfortunately I don't think my body responds well to strong medicine because I felt nauseous on and off up until the time I delivered :( Jeremy got to sleep on the couch, and was glad he got some rest. At one point they gave me pitocin to speed up the process, but quickly took me off it when the baby & I didn't respond well. Thankfully I continued to dilate steadily. At about 5 in the morning my doctor Duane arrived and broke my water. We called my mom at around 7am to tell her I was in labor & to head over to the hospital. Randomly my little sister Prezley showed up around 9am figuring she wanted to watch me have my baby. Bless her heart.. I was too distracted to really care & in the end it was fine she was there. Sure it was a good learning experience for her.. haha So finally after patiently waiting & wanting to throw up all night I was dilated to a 10 at about 10am. I started pushing with my nurse Julie at about 11am. Side note: I absolutely adored all of my nurses. They were so sweet and helpful, and made me feel as comfortable as possible. I actually went thru 3 nurses until I actually delivered. I panicked when the first nurse told me her shift was over & another nurse would be replacing her. I was like you can't just leave me I need you!?

 Anyways when I started pushing at 11am I was going on 31 hours without sleep but figured it would all be over soon. This is where things took a turn for the worse. After pushing with the nurse for about 30 minutes, Duane came in and right away I knew there was a problem. He was disappointed that I hadn't made any progress with the nurse and after checking me told me it was going to be difficult getting this baby out since I apparently have a bent tailbone (probably from being dropped one too many times in cheer ) which didn't leave a large opening for the baby to come out. I felt very discouraged at this point knowing a C-section was looming over my head. I really didn't want to have a C-section and was determined to push him out naturally. As I spent more & more time exhaustingly pushing i could see in their faces things weren't getting better even with their encouraging words and smiles on their faces. I would have to say I would take 2 hours off contractions over the two hours I spent pushing. It was just the most tiring, stressful thing I have ever experienced. I hadn't expected this part of the labor to be so hard, I thought I was out of the woods after the epidural, but I was wrong. As we were nearing 1:00 I had no more energy & could feel my body & mind were giving up. I could hardly push for 5 seconds let alone the ten I was supposed to be pushing until. That's when it happened, after nearly 2 hours of pushing we all heard a large pop! (this is probably the reason I still cannot sit 2 weeks later from a cracked/bruised tailbone :() That is when Kingsley's head broke past my tailbone. Duane had turned his head sideways to get him out. At that point it was only about 5 more pushes and my little man finally came out at 12:52pm! 

I am so thankful to have had Duane as my doctor & that he stuck in there and made it possible for me to have Kingsley vaginally when I know a lot of doctors would have given up and just made me have a C-section. 

When Kingsley was finally out we found out he weighed a whopping 8 pounds 11 ounces!! Which of course is another reason he was so difficult to get out. Seriously we were all shocked he was so big, especially since Jeremy & I were both 6 pound babies. Also everyone was enamored with all of his cute dark hair. Weird he already has more hair than his dad :)

As everyone was ecstatic about the arrival of our little man I finally broke down in tears. Probably from a combination of exhaustion, and medication. I had no feelings toward this little baby that I had just about died getting out. (dramatic? maybe a little) I felt sad that I didn't feel joy for this baby but depressed for the pain and recovery my body was going to go thru. They placed Kingsley in my arms & I immediately wanted Jeremy to take him, feeling like my arms were going to fall off. My sweet nurse must have sensed how I felt when she said "now don't worry if you feel strange, everyone bonds differently with their baby & it just takes some time." It did take me a couple days to grasp the concept that this sweet little boy was mine. Interesting to me that Jeremy had a different experience and immediately felt love and bonded to Kingsley the second he came out.

 I was actually concerned how Jeremy was going to be throughout the whole delivery process, but I have to say he was amazing. He couldn't have been more comforting and supportive to me. He even was mature about all the "gross stuff" and even cut the cord. :) He is and will be the best dad! He even changed all Kingsley's diapers at the hospital since I could hardly get in & out of bed.

Below my sweet nurse Julie. Sad I don't have a picture of Duane but I will for sure get one with the next baby! Yes it's nice how much you forget after some time, because I would have sworn to you after those first coupe days that I wouldn't have anymore children!

First family photo :)

Potter Grandparents

Kemp Grandparents

Although I loved all the nurses & sweet people at the hospital it was so nice to bring Kingsley home & sleep in our own bed.

I don't know why he looks so huge in these picture, because he is really long and slender in real life. Babies always look cuter in person I guess.

Sleeping boys :) We find ourselves calling him King E Lee ever since my nephew Atlas called him that & it seems to fit his asian look :)

Well there you have it, my detailed delivery story. I just don't want to forget anything because it is probably the most monumental experience of my life so far. Can't believe it has come and gone, man life is crazy!