Our {natural} Birth Story: Part One

Remember this photo from my Week 40 BUMP DATE?

 This moment is what started our journey to baby Rae's arrival!

For those of you who don't follow me on social media, our sweet girl was named Reagan Grace! Feel free to friend me here!

Our Birth Story: Part One

Tuesday morning, June 13th, I went in for my 40 week + 2 day appointment.

I checked in.

Left a urine sample.

Then went back for an NST.

Nate had to sit outside the door because two other gals were also sitting in the divided room on heart rate//contraction monitors next to me.

I sat there for 25-30 minutes on my phone while I watched my braxton hicks on the monitor. I remember thinking that baby girl must be sleeping because she didn't seem to be moving as much as normal.

My midwife popped in about halfway through the test to say that things looked great & that I was having regular contractions! I told her they weren't painful & the frequency was probably because I needed to drink more water & pee again (little did I know). She said that she would see me in an exam room in a few minutes.

A nurse popped in to unhook me, wipe my belly off & walk me back to see my midwife. As I stood up to pull my shirt down, I felt a H U G E gush in my pants of warm pee.. or was it?

Hahaha, I bet the look on my face was priceless!

I shockingly looked up to tell the nurse I either peed my pants or that.. *another gush* my water just broke.

Yep.

I instantly knew it.

MY WATER BROKE.

My heart started beating fast with SO much excitement!!
I immediately walked out the door to Nate sitting against the wall with huge eyes because he was able to overhear the conversation between the nurse & I behind the cracked door.

I flash him a surprised smile & waddled quickly in my soaked pants to the closest bathroom.

The flow didn't stop - there was NO doubt in my mind what had happened - but the nurse said to come on back so they could make sure.

As I sat on the table, where I snapped this photo, with water flowing down my legs, I looked at Nate in silent disbelief & we laughed.

I wanted SO badly my whole pregnancy to experience my water breaking, but knew that doesn't happen for most people until they're in labor, and often it's done for them.

Gosh, I felt so blessed already in my labor experience!

It all truly felt like a gift..
Sure enough, the midwife confirmed before she even gave me a formal exam. She asked if I wanted to be checked, which I had opted out of completely thus far, & I said sure!

(people say it's PAINFUL to be checked, but if you go in very relaxed or excited in my case & don't dread it, it's not bad at all! I only decided to get checked ONLY since my water broke in the office. I truly feel like it's un-necessary since those numbers in NO way dictate a timeline of labor.)

I was 1 centimeter dilated & 70% at 9:45am.

She mentioned I'd probably be in active labor within 12-24 hours. I told her I planned to go home & labor until my contractions were 2-3 minutes apart, as we had discussed previously from my birth plan, & she sent us on our way!

I came home & decided to workout, incase it could speed things up.

So I did a 45 minute strength training workout, but my braxton hicks still didn't change in frequency or pain.

I took a shower.

Walked a little.

Helped Nate put together the pack n play.

Then we went for a quick lunch.

The whole time, we kept saying how crazy it was to literally know that our girl was on the way!!

After lunch we came home from lunch & I mentioned that we should try for a quick nap to be rested up. I slept for about 30 minutes & woke up to some LEGIT contractions.

The contractions quickly went from painless braxton hicks to full fledged labor, about 5 minutes apart. We're still trying to decide if my body went from 0-60 or if I have a high pain tolerance & never fully felt that early stage of labor.

I used the breathing techniques from my Hypnobirthing book (HIGHLY recommended read for my natural mommas!) & labored on my hands and knees in our bedroom or walking the main living area of our house for a few hours.

Nate had detailed notes from his reading for each stage of labor, helping remind me of what was to come & giving several massages when my surges came on. I remember him saying, "I think we're way further along & totally skipped the first page of my notes!"

My mom came to the house & we decided shortly after, around 8:45pm, to head to the hospital when my contractions were averaging 2 minutes & 15 seconds apart with lots of pressure.

We hopped in the car & I sat on my knees in the floor of the back seat area, continuing to breathe through each contraction.

Then we arrived at the hospital...

Ready for part two?

Click HERE#BabyRaeGhoens

Growing Ghoens: Week 39 Bump Date

39 Weeks.. I keep thinking, "could this be the week?!"

My belly is the size of a watermelon, baby girl.

What size does that mean YOU are??

Hopefully smaller than that!! HA

We are PRAYING praying for a healthy arrival very soon!! I don't think I've ever been more ready for something in my entire life!!

___________________________________

Mommy's accountability partners, who have been praying for you so fervently, especially can't wait to meet you. They coordinated a little gift card shower for us from our the small group at church! So so thoughtful + helpful!!

Thank you, Hollen & Taylor.

We love you!

Mommy had a little sign happen like week that means you might REALLY be making your appearance anytime now. So your dad & I have gotten creative with things to try to see if it'll help you come see us asap!!

Just to name a couple (& keep it PG.. HA), we tried:

Thai Food

A a 9 mile bike ride at your Mimi & Papa's house

Even a pedicure.. shucks right?? :P

(I heard they sometimes hit labor inducing pressure points!!)

 I keep snapping photos of my belly every day to see if it & YOU are dropping!

#BellyTracking

Your movements are so fun & so BIG.

I think I can feel you getting into position to come see us.

Gosh, I'm going to MISS having you close to me in this way..

Your dad has been SO helpful.. making sure I'm fed, trying to keep me distracted from obsessing over when you're coming & helping me practice breathing/stretches for your birth! I'm beyond blessed to have him.. & so are you!

You still seem to share my DEEP love for breakfast food.. because we seem to somehow be eating it even MORE now!!

You might just come out of the womb asking for protein pancakes, turkey bacon & yogurt bowls :)

We're alssssooooooo experiencing a slightly less healthy hankering for Ben & Jerry's ice cream.

Let's hope you don't have my sweet tooth!!

So what does the week before your due date look like?

Well.. it looks like lots of healthy food, lots of exercise & lots of rest.

I've been a bit LOW on energy during workouts, partially from OBSESSIVELY cleaning & because moving this belly around ain't easy anymore, so I started drinking a little natural, plant-based energy booster (aka "energize") to help me out. 

I have a feeling this stuff will be GOLD when we're in the sleep trenches of figuring you out & not getting any sleep :)

 Our sweet neighbors invited us to relax by their pool, so mama took them up on it finally!!

Putting on a bathing suit at 39 weeks pregnant sure was an adventure.

I wonder if your fur sisters know you're coming soon!!

Tannyn, the spotted one, has been extra snuggly with you & I lately.

I ordered them some fresh flowers for their collars before you meet them - they want to be spiffy for their baby sister's homecoming!!

Speaking of that, our plan is to bring home some of your hospital blankets for them to smell & sleep with before they officially meet you.

I wonder what that will be like!?!

We're all ready, baby girl!

 I just can't stop thinking about your arrival, peanut.

We pray for you multiple times a day.

We imagine seeing you the first time.

Holding you & kissing you.

What will you look like?

(besides your dad's twin, I'm sure)

What will your NAME finally be?

So many questions!!

Come soon, sweet thing.. mama's ready!

Growing Ghoens: Week 35 Bump Date

35 Weeks of #GrowingGhoens & apparently you're the size of the cutest coconut ever right about now!

You're getting so big, sweet girl.

I bet your "house" feels teeny right about now.

Your movements in mommy's belly are starting to feel different.

It's less of a wiggle & more of BIG movements where I can actually feel your little arms, legs, hands & feet.

We LOVE laying down at night to watch you move. I can't wait to see you squirm like this when you come out & know that is what you were doing all of these months in my tummy.

This week, your dad & I took a quick trip to NOLA for our final get away as a two-some before you come join our party. We walked around hand in hand around the city, explored some new sights & ate lots of good food!! I'll be sure to blog about that trip & where we went SOON! (stay tuned!)

Goodness though - the heartburn struggle is REAL with food! And I definitely paid for all of the treats we had those two days we were away. I think because of how high up you are & how things have shifted around that the most random stuff causes heart burn & reflux.. which basically means that your mommy feels like a fire breathing dragon on the daily. Haha.

When we got home, I started trying to detox right away. So we meal prepped some healthy options! And I kicked my sweet tooth with apple, peanut butter & granola + some extra chocolate shakeology!

After we got home, mama got to go meet up with one of her accountability partners who has helped make sure I've stayed on track with my workouts during pregnancy. It was the very FIRST time we had ever met in person, after almost a whole year of our online fitness groups!!! I'm so grateful for the friendships I've formed within these groups!!

Megan, I am SO glad I got to squeeze your neck FINALLY!!

Speaking of fitnassss.

Your mama bear finished another block of her workouts (the PUSH series) over the weekend & started another this week (called the LEAN series). It's actually the FINAL 30 day block of this 90 day program called Chalene Extreme.

So for the next month, that's week 35 thru 38 of pregnancy, we'll be knocking out more weightlifting - the upper & lower body at the same time! We're having to modify a lot since these require stability/core work, but it's getting done!! And I'm so proud of us for NOT letting up!

I seriously can't imagine how much harder pregnancy would be mentally & physically if we weren't taking care of ourself!

Ladies out there who are expecting little ones OR are trying to conceive a baby - don't you dare let up. Keep on with what you're doing!! Listen to your body & do your best!

Time is ticking away.

So it's work work work all day & rest rest rest all night (feet UP at 9pm!! HA).

Some of the baby prep I did this week included shopping for maternity photo dresses + working on gifts for the nurses & midwife that are going to help deliver you in a few weeks.

Your daddy has been working on picking a stain for your nursery shelves.. oh, and reading to you from Genesis at night while mommy rests. You guys even jam out to music sometimes at night in bed together! It's pretty darn cute to listen to him sing to you while you dance around.

Okay, sugar.

That's all for now.

Mama loves you to the moon & back.

See you soon!

Growing Ghoens: Week 34 Bump Date

34 weeks of growing this precious little human..

238 days of being baby girl's mama..

5,712 hours of anticipating her arrival..

Can you tell we're excited + counting down!?

Baby G :

Even your sisters are CLEARLY ready to snuggle up with you. Tannyn, your spotted puppy, may not understand that you're hiding under this big ole belly of mine, but she sure does love to cuddle it!!

Momma loves having you as her workout buddy, but how big you're getting is making things a little more challenging. I sure am learning to modify movements each week!! You know what's really cool though? Our midwife totally supports what we're doing & she encouraged me this week at our appointment to keep going!! She believes in the female body.. so do I!

This weekend we finished another 30 day block of Chalene Extreme - that's 8 weeks straight of our strength training program. We've gotten it done by streaming our workouts using Beachbody On Demand from home or on the go.. no excuses! These tools, they work. Not just for our body, but for our lifestyle. I believed it before, but now more than EVER I believe they can truly help ANYONE who wants & needs it!!

Want to know more about how to get started with me?

Email lindseykollar@yahoo.com

Food is still the same.. breakfast foods (often twice a day), watermelon, mexican food. But RANDOM things will give me heart burn. This week, yogurt was causing flare ups! But I couldn't kick the itch. I had my yogurt bowls & even had our treat meal on Friday night, which was LOADED frozen yogurt. I realize now that I can't really handle all that sugar. But it was still a fun date night in with your daddy!

You know what my new obsession//craving is?

Coconut milk macchiatos from Starbucks!! But I'm keeping them to a minimum right now to avoid too much caffeine + sugar. They're still a great pick me up though on the days I'm zapped from not sleeping at night.

See this sign in your nursery?

We've been brainstorming & designing it for several weeks now with a local small business called Cottonwood Company. Now it's here & we LOVE it!! This verse we chose has given us so much confidence & comfort as you've been growing, sweet girl.

Jeremiah 1:5

"Before I formed you in the womb I knew you. Before you were born I set you apart."

We love you more than we can explain, sugar. But regardless of how much we love you, your Creator & heavenly Father loves you even more. We can't wait to teach you all about Him & watch you come to know Him!

Our highlight of the week?

Well, you & I got all dressed up for our very first ball with my prince charming, your papa bear. It was the 49th Annual EOD Memorial Ball to honor the men in the community who have made the ultimate sacrifice for our country.

Your Aunt Lauren actually works for the foundation that hosts this event, the EOD Warrior Foundation, so we got to visit with her & your Uncle Jason a little while we were there. My feet couldn't handle busting any moves on the dance floor after hours in heels, but you certainly were dancing it up in my belly all night!

It was such a special evening we got to be a part of.

What else what else..

Here are a few more #GrowingGhoens weekly facts!

- We've gained 23.5 pounds so far

- My hips are LOOSENING up big time

- Our midwife confirmed you're still head down (and facing back)

- We scheduled maternity photos

- We're planning a last minute baby moon to NOLA next week

- We still haven't picked out your name.. and I kind of love the anticipation

- We placed our last baby order

- Hospital bags are starting to be packed

- We mostly only fit comfortably into dresses now

- You're favorite hang out spot is under my ribs

- Daddy (& mommy ofcourse) is reading to you & praying over you often since you HEAR so much now

- You have absolutely no sleep pattern. You're UP whenever you feel like it!

- You're a CHAMP with my workouts & stretches

- You love when I rub my belly with lotion

That about sums things up!!

Girlfriend, we're just passing time & getting things done while we wait for you! Your dad & I are both full blown nesting now. Between pressure washing, organizing cabinets, cleaning blinds & wiping down walls.. we're keeping busy busy out here!!

While we're having a blast spending time together & dreaming of life when you arrive, but we're to the point now where we just want to hold you. To take you along on our little adventures. And do the day to day with our baby girl.

Just a little more over a month before you're in our arms!!

I hope you're as excited to meet us as we are to meet you.

Don't be too comfy in there.

Just a few more weeks!!

Growing Ghoens: Week 32 Bump Date

You know what 32 weeks means!? We're EIGHT months pregnant, y'all!!

Holy SMOKIES! Everyone keeps telling me that things are going to start slowing down anytime now, but your dad & I both feel like time is still FLYING by!

Baby girl, how do YOU feel in there? Apparently you have your eyes open all the time, see light & are starting to pack on a bit of fat!! I can't wait to smooch your cheeks, arms, legs, hands, belly & feet!!

Alright. So week 32 kicked off on Easter SUNDAY, which was super special. We celebrated serving our risen, LIVING Savior with our friends in Tennessee by going to church together & then enjoying a really beautiful brunch.

This is just a SMALL snap shot of the tasty spread we partook in!

A couple days after we came home from our TN trip, we had the honor of attending a graduation ceremony for a couple of our friends who are now officially co-workers of Nate. Although we only got to be near them for a short season, I'm so grateful for the special friendships we've been able to create & the moments we've had to soak up together.

You know who you are - we love you guys SO much, are praying for this next adventure ahead of your families & hope our paths cross again down the road!! GOOD LUCK you guys!

Then - we went to see our midwife again. Everything sounds//looks like we're right on track & we've only got one more bi-weekly appointment before we start going weekly. WHAT!?

Side note.. do you know how grateful I am that (1) this guy has been available to go to every appointment with me (2) he WANTS to go - even when I try to tell him he doesn't necessarily need to. It means so much to me that he wants to be as involved as he is. I don't know what I'd do without his unwavering support.

Love you, tots! You're going to be.. no, you ARE the best papa bear!

I have to tell you guys..

Baby girl DEFINITELY has my taste buds, from what I can tell so far.

Mexican 5 times & breakfast daily, plus anytime I could squeeze it in besides during the mornings.. these are our two favorite food groups!!

See this belly, you guys!? We're POPPING more & more each week..

Little girl & I have been cranking out our workouts, like normal, & are HALFWAY through this push phase of Chalene Extreme. I can still handle the heavy weights, but my squats definitely aren't as deep as they were before. My belly catches my thighs pretty early on the way down now. So wild!

Not letting anything stop us though..

We're in this until the end, right girl? Doing our very best with every bodily change that comes our way as you grow big & strong!

Baby G, your fur sisters LOVE being in your room now. They like to smell everything we put in there.. and I think they MIGHT be a little jealous of all the cool toys we put in there. Tannyn, the spotted one, actually has been taking little naps beside your crib when I accidentally leave the door to your room open. It melts my heart because I'm pretty sure you two are going to be best buds!

OH! You know what else?

Momma's breast pump came in this week.

Talk about OVERWHELMING pulling out each item & having no clue how to use them!! I actually face-timed with your aunt Lauren so she could tell me what each piece was!

Thanks, sis, for calming me down & sharing your knowledge with me.

At the end of the week, mama & papa bear decided to spend some time outside!

 We know that things will be very different once you join us, so we're making time for a few of our hobbies now!! I can't wait for you to be big enough to do these things with us though. I was thinking about one day getting to strap you to my chest when we go on hikes, sitting with you under a tent on the beach & playing in the sand or holding you one day when we go out on the water.

Your daddy & I LOVE adventures - I have no doubt that you will be one of our greatest!!

After our time outdoors, we treated ourselves to some FRESH, tasty seafood. I've been cravings some crab & shrimp for a while now, so we finally made it happen.

It was such a WONDERFUL week, little one.

Even though I'm tired. Even though I'm getting pretty uncomfortable (achy back & ribs galore).. I still cherish ALL of your kicks, wiggles & squirms. I love you so much, little pumpkin!!

We'll see you in a few weeks!