Samuel Paul Doughty's Arrival!

Well, Sam is almost four months old and I'm just now getting to his birth story.  Poor guy!  I just realized that I have a draft from Georgia's first birthday party that was never finished and published so it's been a while since I've had time to write.  There are plenty of other things that I need to be doing right now but while the littles are napping I thought I would try to get Sam's birth story jotted down before I forget all the details.  It was quite a whirlwind of a birth so I want to make sure we have it written down. Plus, the girls have one so of course he needs one too :)  

Going back to October 5th 2016 we were debating whether or not we should evacuate for Hurricane Matthew or not.  Sam was not due until the 15th but both girls came early so my doctor was pretty sure he would as well.  We knew that we could potentially get stuck in bumper to bumper traffic so that would not be an ideal situation if I went into labor.  We literally watched every update that came out on the hurricane to see what the possibility would be of it hitting Charleston.  Of course not every track was the same so it made it very difficult to make a decision on what we should do.  The whole idea of evacuating with two children, one on the way, and Paul's grandmother with her dog just sounded like a nightmare.  I have been through quite a few hurricanes living in the Panhandle of Florida, one of which was Ivan, so I knew the potential damage and aftermath of a hurricane.  Neither option sounded great but we chose to stay since the hospital is literally across the street from our neighborhood.  We decided that if the hurricane strengthened to a category 3 or more then we would evacuate.  

I was supposed to have my doctors appointment on the 7th but was rescheduled for the morning of the 5th since the office would be closing the 6th for the hurricane.  Of course school was cancelled so I had to bring the girls with me to the appointment.  That was lovely but now looking back it probably just prepared them a little for what was to come that evening.  I had them strapped in the double stroller with lots of snacks so they wouldn't attempt to get out while I had my exam.  My doctor was not in the office that day so I saw one of her partners, Dr. Sapp.  She checked my progress and I was only dilated to a 1.  I asked her about the whole idea of pregnant ladies going into labor with the barometric pressure change and she said it was true.  I was sort of hoping it was just a wives tale haha.  At that point I knew I was not going anywhere!  Later in the day I started having some contractions but nothing too painful.  I had been having Braxton Hicks since about 28 weeks so I knew these were more like labor pains but not strong enough or consistent enough to head to the hospital.  I think it was around 4:30 that afternoon the girls and I headed to O'Charleys to pick up dinner.   My contractions were getting stronger.  Paul had gone to make arrangments with his grandmother for the storm.  I called him on my way home and told him we may be heading to the hospital that night.  Of course all our friends in the area, even our neighbors, had evacuated so we were trying to figure out what we would do with the girls if I did indeed have to go to the hospital.  We ate dinner and the contractions started picking up but still not consistent.  I tried to continue on with getting things ready for the storm but the pain was getting a little more intense.  At about 7:40 I told Paul I was going to rest on the couch for a little bit.  Next thing I know my water broke around 7:50.  Paul started frantically gathering our bags and girls.  I texted the one friend that I knew was still in town to let her know that we were heading to the hospital.  They live in Summerville which is about 30 minutes away.  Little did we know as soon as I sent her the text, her and her husband were trying to find a route to get to us.  It was not an easy task since 26 was closed heading our direction and many of the alternate routes were closed as well.  

I believe Paul made it to the hospital in record timing.    We arrived at the hospital at 8:15.  My contractions were pretty intense by the time we arrived.    They put me in a room  and started checking me into their system asking a million questions as I'm tossing around in the bed in pain trying to answer the nurse in between contractions.  The girls are sitting with Paul in the room not sure what to think.   This was definitely not how I had imagined delivering our third child haha.  Since I had Strep B they started the antibiotics and checked to see how much I was dilated.  I was at a 7 so the nurse carried on with another twenty questions.  I just kept asking her when I could get an epidural and she kept telling me they would call the anesthesiologist in as soon as I got through two rounds of antibiotics.  At this rate it was not looking good.  I think I started to panic a bit because I was not planning on a natural birth.  I have friends that have done so and I give them major credit for it but I like going the easier route with an epidural.  After being there about 20 minutes I was in a lot of pain and the nurse was till checking me into the computer system.  I told her I felt like Sam was ready to come out.  She checked me and I was at a 9.  She called in the doctor and he apologized that I would not be getting an epidural.  He said it was "go time!"  Panic and fear had pretty much taken over at that point haha.  I told Paul to take the girls out because I didn't want them in the room.  The doctor gave me a local anesthetic which I think hurt worse than not having anything at all but it sounded better than nothing at the time.  

When it was time to start pushing the doctor asked if I wanted them to bring Paul back in the room.  I never really answered him because of course I wanted Paul there for the delivery but didn't want the girls to see me in pain.  Right when the doctor said it was time to start pushing, Paul walked in the room without them.  We had no idea that our sweet friends, Jack and Jess Sanders, were on their way to the hospital.  They literally arrived just in time to stay with the girls so that Paul could be in the room for the delivery.  That was definitely no coincidence, that was the Lord!  With the girls it only took a few pushes to get them out but it was definitely a different experience without the epidural so it took a few more for Sam.  I literally had moments of hoping for a C-section so they could just get him out instead of having to push him out haha.  After about five good pushes I told them I just couldn't do it.  Paul and the doctor looked at me and said "Yes, you can!  We can see his head, you are almost there."  I think I had about two more good pushes and he was out at 9:33pm.  He weighed in at 7lbs 13oz and was 20.5" long.  This delivery was definitely a different experience than the other two.  I am so thankful that it was quick!  Our friends came in with the girls and then had to head out because the security would not allow them to stay.  Due to the hurricane, they were shorter on staff and higher security.  Technically they were not even supposed to be in the waiting room but thankfully Sam came quickly so they were able to stay until he arrived.  

Our sweet friends stayed with the girls at our house and took great care of them while we were at the hospital that night.  Paul went home to take over the following afternoon and stayed with them that night.  It was still up in the air when I would be able to go home because I had not been able to get two rounds of antibiotics in before Sam arrived.  Typically they like to monitor him an extra day to make sure all his vitals remain normal.  So the talk was that I would not be released until Saturday morning but because of the hurricane they would keep me until Sunday after it passed.  Then after the pediatrician came in on Thursday he said that he would check his vitals and blood work that evening and if things continued to look good then they may consider discharging us both Friday.  Typically they would not do this but under the circumstances they were going to make an exception.  At this point we were thinking Sam and I would be in the hospital until Sunday and Paul would stay at the house with the girls through the storm since the hospital would not allow them to stay.  Again, not an ideal situation but we really had no other choice.  Then Friday morning the nurse came in and said they were going to let us go home at noon.  I called Paul and he scrambled to get the girls ready to pick us up.  Coming home was bittersweet because I wanted to be home with my family but at the same time we were about to endure a hurricane with a two day old baby.  

We continued to watch the hurricane track and at about 1pm Friday they said there was a potential for it to gain speed and Charleston could possibly get hit worse than they were expecting.  They also said the storm surge was going to be very high.  This was a concern to us since we have the lake behind us.  At that moment we made the decision to throw our stuff together and hit the road to Columbia which is a couple of hours from us.  I think we had until 3 to get out of town before the bridges/roads could possibly shut down.  We literally threw stuff in the car and all five of us along with Paul's grandmother and dog hit the road!  Thankfully our governor had called for an evacuation earlier in the week so the majority of people had already left town.  The roads were pretty clear so we were able to make it to Columbia in a couple of hours.  Our friends allowed us to stay at their mother's house while she stayed with them so we could have the house to ourselves.  It was such a blessing!  

The news said the storm would pretty much be gone by Saturday afternoon so that morning we  started getting our things together so we could head back as soon as it was gone.  We did not want to be stuck in all the traffic heading back with a newborn.  Probably 24 hours after we packed up to head to Columbia we were back on the road driving home.  Thankfully we made it back to Charleston safely without much traffic on the road.  Sam was quite a champ on his first road trip!  He did a great job sleeping pretty much the entire drive up and back. 

Of course we didn't have power when we returned home but we did not have any damage to the house so that was a relief.   There is just something about being back in your own home.  As we were driving back to Charleston my mom, brother and cousin were on their way up from Florida.  They had to go through Georgia since parts of 95 had been washed out.  They made it up in the wee hours that Sunday morning.  It was such a blessing to have some extra hands to help out with the girls.  Thankfully we were some of the lucky ones that had our power back on by Sunday afternoon.  

Even writing this months later I still can't believe this all happened around Sam's arrival.  I think I was on a natural high because if any of this had happened with Hannah's delivery I think I would have been an emotional wreck.  I guess there is something about the third time around you just do what ya gotta do!  There was no time to be emotional or tired haha.  I have to say that even though I experienced a lot of pain with the delivery, I really did not have any postpartum.  I was up and moving around like normal very quickly which was a blessing since there was no resting after being discharged from the hospital.  

Grandpa and Nana came up a couple weeks after to visit.  It was great to have them here.

Sam is such a sweet baby and we feel so blessed to call him ours.  He truly completes our family!

Our Sweetheart's 3rd Birthday

Last weekend we celebrated Hannah's 3rd birthday.  I know I say it every year but it's so hard to believe another year has already passed us by.  When I asked her what kind of party she would like to have, she just kept saying "a red party."  I mentioned all these other themes but she turned them all down.  I'm guessing the reason why she chose red was because that's her favorite color.  When I looked at the calendar to see when we would be having her party, it fell on Valentine's Day so it actually made sense to have a "red" birthday party.  She must have known all along :)  We wanted to have the party President's weekend so my family could travel up from Florida and it just so happened to be Valentine's weekend as well.  So a sweetheart party it was!

We were so thankful to some friends of ours for loaning their jump castle to us.  It was a big hit with the kids and Hannah enjoyed having some time by herself in it the day before the party.  Daddy and I even enjoyed some jumping :) 

 

Hannah had a great day celebrating her birthday with friends and family. 

This was taken before all the food was set up but daddy made some mean pulled pork on the smoker.  We had some heart PB&J's, mac and cheese, and baked beans as well.  

Testing out daddy's new toy.

With her friends Jake and Addison.  Daddy trying to sneak a picture in with the busy birthday girl.  

My stepdad and brother watching the kids go crazy over the pinata.

Love this picture of her and her buddy, Ford, from school. 

  

Opening up gifts and then a trip to Costco with Gigi and Pop.   We can't get out of there without a hotdog.  

Worn out birthday girl with grandpa.

The Friday before her party, which was her actual birthday, she went to school in the morning and then we picked her up and took her to lunch.  We went to East Bay Deli so she could get a hot dog.  This girl loves hotdogs!  She probably would have rather gone to Costco to get one.  Like I said earlier, we usually can't leave there without one.  Anyways, there were some ladies at the booth next to us and once they found out it was Hannah's birthday one of them gave her money to pick out a dessert.  They were so sweet.  Hannah chose carrot cake and we all enjoyed some.  The plan was to take her to get her fingernails painted but she was so tired from school we decided we would do it another day.  Instead we went to the surf shop and then home to let her play in the jump castle. 

The lady in blue is the one who bought her cake.  

Her main gift for her birthday was tickets to Mickey's Magic Show.  We just went the other night and she enjoyed every minute.  Georgia was even entertained for the whole show.  We have now concluded all the birthday festivities for this year!   

To my sweet angel girl,
We are so thankful for you!  You made me a mama three years ago and turned my world upside down.  You keep me on my toes and asking the Lord for patience daily.  The last part of your two's brought some changes.  Some were easier for you to adjust to than others.  You started Preschool in the Fall and absolutely love it.  You also gained a little sister and that was a little harder for you to adjust to.  It has taken some time but I know you love Georgia and her face lights up when you are around.  She is blessed to have you as her sister.  Not having your mommy and daddy's full attention has been hard to adjust to but you are a great big sister and always try to help out when you can. 

You amaze me daily with your vocabulary and memory. I have to watch everything I say because it usually comes back to bite me :)  Your imagination has really started to develop.  I never know what imaginary friends or animals are joining us :)  You used to be a great sleeper but that's not quite the case anymore.  You usually make your appearance in our bed some time in the middle of the night.  Some times we don't even know you are there until we wake in the morning.   You are still not the best of eaters but some days are better than others.  You love to play outside, paint, play with playdoh and do arts & crafts.  You have started to be more opinionated with what you will wear.  You crack me up when you tell daddy something doesn't match.  He can no longer just throw something on you to go outside.  You love to dress up as a princess and have tea parties but you also enjoy getting dirty out in the yard with daddy or fishing in the lake.  You have become more interested in Barbies but you still have a love for Mickey Mouse and anything on Disney Jr.  All your teachers at church and school just love you.  You are very determined and quite the leader.   We are hoping and praying to direct that strong-willed behavior for the good :)  I know the Lord has great plans for you.  You already love to talk and sing about Jesus.  You melted my heart the other day when you prayed for daddy's "boo boo" out of the blue at lunch without anyone telling you to do so.  I know the Lord loves to hear your sweet prayers.  You are such a loving and compassionate little girl.  You bring so much joy to our family  We are so thankful the Lord chose us to be your parents.  You are so precious to us and we love you to pieces! 

Happy Birthday sweet girl!!!

Georgia Ruth Doughty

It's hard to believe our sweet Georgia girl has been with us for almost four months already!   She has been and continues to be such a blessing to our family.  We could not have asked for a sweeter and more easy going baby.

Many people do not know this but we found out that I was pregnant Christmas of 2013.  It was just weeks after the tragic death of Paul's grandfather.  The Lord used this precious baby to lift our spirits during a difficult time.  Unfortunately the weekend before my eight week appointment I had a miscarriage.  It was yet another time of loss for our family.   I can't really explain the roller coaster of emotions that I felt.  Of course I wondered if I would ever get pregnant again but the Lord was so faithful.  The following weeks after the miscarriage I had to do routine blood work to make sure my hormone levels were back to normal.  Much to our surprise the last part of the blood work, which was about a month later, showed that I was pregnant again!   We were shocked and excited.  I have to admit that I was a little concerned that this pregnancy may have the same outcome as the previous one.

When my eight week appointment came, we were filled with joy as we saw our precious baby with a healthy heartbeat.  When we found out that we were pregnant after losing Paul's grandfather, George, we talked about naming our child after him.  He was such a humble man and would have been so flattered.  My grandmother has also been very influential in my life and that is where Georgia gets her middle name, Ruth. 

This precious girl came into the world on October 23rd at 1:33pm.  She was 8 days early.  I started having contractions around 8:30pm the night before.  They were not very intense but when they started coming 3 minutes apart for an hour I called the doctor to see if I should head to the hospital.  Thankfully the hospital is just down the street so we didn't have far to travel.  At about 11pm we made arrangements for Hannah and headed to the hospital.  When I arrived I was only 3cm dialated so I had not progressed any since my previous doctor's appointment which was a little disappointing.  With this pregnancy I started having braxton hicks earlier than I did with Hannah and they would last for hours at a time so I had a few false alarms but never went to the extent of being that close together consistently for over an hour.  So, they said they would monitor me for an hour or two and see if I needed to stay.  After an hour the doctor agreed that I was in labor and they would go ahead and get my IV started.  Around 3am or so my contractions started slowing down and I was worried they would send me home.   The nurse came to check and see if I had made progress.  I think it was only 1/2cm progress.  The nurse wouldn't really tell me much so I waited for the doctor to come in and let me know whether I was staying or not.  Around 4am she came in and said I had progressed a little and the contractions were still steady so it was up to me whether I wanted to stay or not but she was confident that I would be back within 24 hours.  I told her I would rather just stay so she agreed that would probably be best and gave orders for the next doctor coming in at 7am.  

My doctor was not on call but I really liked the doctor that came in at 7, Dr. Devine.  I honestly didn't really care who it was as long as they could get my precious girl out safely that day.  My contractions started picking back up again so I was thankful to get my epidural around 9:30.  Call me a wimp but I was thankful for it!  Not too long after they broke my water.  Things started progressing but this time around I actually tried to sleep as much as I could.  Unlike with Hannah I was so anxious I couldn't rest and then regretted it when I didn't get much sleep afterwards.  I think it was around 12:30 my contractions were getting pretty intense.  I had so much pressure I couldn't really relax.  The nurse that came in tried to help me switch sides to see if that would help but I think when she saw how far along I was and where my contractions were she must have informed the doctor because they were in there within minutes.  They didn't even really tell me that she was about to be here.  They just started setting up all the equipment and the next thing I knew they are telling me to push.  After about four good pushes, our precious girl was in my arms.  The delivery was very similar to Hannah's.  Quick and smooth!  

This time around they let me hold her right away.  They washed her off a little after and then gave her back to us.  They had a new procedure where they did not give baths until at least 8 hours after the delivery.  I believe it is to get their vitals stable before shocking them with a bath?  Something like that haha.  So we got to spend time with her for the rest of the afternoon/evening and then they moved us to another room.  Once we got situated she received her first bath right in her room.  So things were a little different this time around but it was nice that pretty much everything was done in the room.  She wasn't a very good eater that night and just wanted to sleep.  We were both cleared the next day and left that afternoon.  It was so nice to be able to get back home even though our stay at Roper was nothing but exceptional.  With both deliveries I had such good experiences.  

 

So there it is!  Georgia's entrance into the world!  Documenting it about four months late :)  That's about right for me.  There is so much more to share about our precious girl and hope to get those blogs out soon.

Before I wrap it up though, I have to give a shout out to Angela who came to stay with Hannah the night I went to the hospital.  I don't know what we would have done without her coming to our rescue so late at night and willing to stay at our house so we didn't have to wake Hannah up.  Also so thankful to Kelly and Joe for taking Hannah for the next two days and night.  She loved spending time with you all!  It gave me such peace of mind knowing that she was in good hands and having a ball.