Kennedy made my day by coming one day early from her due date. I started having contractions on Monday, July 9th around 3:00am. After about an hour and a half of contractions my water broke and we grabbed our stuff and headed to the hospital. Luckily, my brother Matt was living with us and was able to watch Ben. It worked out because we did not need to wake Ben up and bring him elsewhere before we left.
We got to Mercy Gilbert Medical Center and got checked in. In triage they confirmed that my water had broken and that I was 4cm dialated. We were in our labor and delivery room by around 6:30 and by 7 I had my epidural in and was measuring at 6cm. By 9:15 it was time for the delivery part. With Ben, I pushed for about 45 minutes. With Kennedy, she was out after 3 pushes and one contraction. She was born at 9:29am. It was amazing how quick she came!
She was perfect and had an apgar score of 9 and 9. She weighed 8 lbs 6 oz and was 21 inches long. Ben weighed 8 lbs 2 oz, so she was a little heavier. She was born with a nice head of hair too! Nursing with Kennedy was easy. She latched on right away without a problem.
The nurse I had during labor and delivery was wonderful. She was so nice and made me very comfortable.
We enjoyed the first 24 hours with Kennedy. She had a great appetite and we cuddled a lot. We knew we would be at the hospital for at least 48 hours because I had strep B and I only got one dose of antibiotics.
On Tuesday afternoon, the results of Kennedy's bilirubin test came back with her in the high risk zone. This meant that Kennedy had severe jaundice. The doctor came in and explained where Kennedy was on the bilirubin chart and that the course of treatment would be to put her under lights for therapy for 24 hours. This meant she would be in the nursery, stripped down to a diaper, and would only be allowed out of the lights to nurse 20 minutes at a time. They would also feed her extra fluids with a syringe while under the lights. Corey was not there when the doctor came in because he went home to spend some time with Ben.
I kept a brave face as the doctor explained all of this to me, but then when I went to explain all of this to Corey over the phone I started crying. I knew jaundice was very treatable and that she would most likely be fine, but the idea of her being away from us and alone in the nursery was scary. I worried that she would cry and cry while in the nursery and we wouldn't be able to console her. Within a half hour of talking to the doctor, Kennedy was sent to the nursery.
Corey and our closest family friend gave Kennedy a priesthood blessing that night. The blessing was such a comfort to me.
For the next 24 hours we checked on her in the nursery throughout our time there and I fed her about every 3 hours. It was such a blessing that she was a good eater. Because she ate well during our 20 minutes together she slept for the majority of the time she was under the lights. I also pumped so that they could supplement her with breastmilk instead of formula.
After the first 24 hours, her levels had gone down overall by 1 point. But, we needed another point before the doctor would send her home. So, on wednesday I was discharged and was set up in a smaller room down the hall so that I could stay at the hospital and still feed Kennedy. Kennedy was kept under the lights for another night. In the morning our prayers were answered. Her levels dropped another 1.4 points and she was discharged. We still need to keep watch on her, but the worst is definitely over. We are home and enjoying holding her and snuggling with her. She is such a beautiful little girl and I am so glad she is here! I am also thankful for my mom who was able to watch Ben while we had an extended stay at the hospital. I am also thankful for Corey keeping me company whenever it was time to head to the nursery to feed her. I am also thankful for my sister Lauren who kept me company our last night at the hospital. And of course, the nurses in the nursery were wonderful. They helped put me at ease to know that Kennedy was in good hands.
