Vivi's birth, prologue II

in a nutshell, it got worse before it got better. 

so anyway, you get the idea. life was sortof a pile of crap for a while. things were going so badly, it was almost comical. but we finally started getting a teeny bit moved in and all that nonsense, and then i had my obgyn appointment friday. to back up a bit, early that week (maybe monday? previous friday? i don't remember) dr. j told me that my pesky blood pressure was sneaking up again, just as it did with lucy (remember, bed rest.). she wasn't super concerned just yet, but we would be keeping a close eye on it. she said that if my blood pressure stayed the same or improved, i got to stay pregnant. if not, baby time. i think given the week we had been through, we all knew my BP was going to be bad. sure enough, it had sky rocketed.

baby time, said dr. j. i begged for an extension. i just needed more time! i wasn't ready, i barely had a bed to sleep on. and hadn't my bp been much higher before with lucy? please? dr. j said that since i had made such a dramatic jump since my last appointment, she was very concerned and that i needed to be induced the next morning, 6:30 am. i was resistant, danny, ever the rule follower, felt like we just needed to get our baby OUT. totally sided with the doctor. traitor. so i accepted my fate and got excited! my mom arranged her flight. i packed my little hospital bag. max went to his BFF's house for a sleepover. i finally felt some calm. 

Friday night at about 10, Danny picked my mom up at the airport. i was so happy to see her! and then i looked at danny. and then he went to the bathroom and PUKED. and continued to do so ALL NIGHT.

NO. 

NO. 

NO.

the stomach flu and a new baby do not mix!! . things were finally falling into place and then they were falling apart. at this point i also realized that i would be next. after all, lucy had puked all over me multiple times. at this point, i started to feel numb. and empty. and hopeless.

i didn't know what to do. i called the hospital first thing in the morning and they said that i should NOT come in for my induction. too many germs. then we got a call from our friends whose house max had slept at. Max had the flu too. Amazing. I was definitely next. then i got a call from my OBGYN and she wanted me to have the baby anyway. the hospital was worried about our germs, but she was worried about my health. i was worried that i would come down with the stomach flu in the middle of labor. at one point, she suggested that i needed to have the baby that day, and maybe danny wouldn't be able to come. YOU HAVE GOT TO BE FREAKING KIDDING ME. yes. i will have a natural, drug free birth, while throwing up, without my husband. someone give me a valium. ultimately, everyone agreed that if danny or i did not have any more puking episodes before 1:00, we would come in for the induction.

so there we were, cold, moving, puking, and exhausted. and you know how you get all pumped  mentally ready for something? and then it's called off? and then it's suddenly on again? it's not a good place to be. especially preparing for hypno birth, which is all about being stress-free,  calm, and positive during natural delivery.  

oh and p.s., our main water line that provided drainage from the washing machine and 2 of the bathrooms backed up, and then clogged. one working toilet and no laundry. BONUS!

We left diarrhea Lu with her Grandma and Nana, picked pukey Max up from his friend's house and went straight over to our old bishop's house. we needed help. the situation was officially more than we could handle. Danny and I were physically and mentally SO exhausted, and Max was so sick. All three of us received priesthood blessings. It was so comforting and reassuring to hear those words of love from the Lord and be reminded that we were not alone. I don't remember a ton of the specifics of our blessings, but I remember that Danny was blessed to be healthy and able to lead our family, that Max was blessed with health and encouraged to pray for himself to get better and exercise his faith to be healed (very special), and that I was blessed with the health and strength to give birth to our baby. that i would not get sick, and that I would feel stronger than I had my entire pregnancy. Our baby was blessed to be healthy and I was assured that everything would go perfectly during delivery. The words in my blessing were exactly what I needed to go forward with our decision to have the baby that day. I honestly don't know what would have happened without those blessings. It was such a powerful experience. I can't completely describe it. 

I would like to say, that every SINGLE person that came in contact with my children within that 48 hours got the stomach flu at some point that week. My mom, Danny's mom, my brother and sister, my dad a week later, our babysitter Kaitlyn, and who knows who else. It was one BAD bug. 

I never got sick. Vivi never got sick. Not to be dramatic folks, but honestly, it was my personal miracle. 

Anyway, we went home, dropped off Max,  gathered ourselves together as best we could, and called the hospital. We were ready for induction.


POST SCRIPT.  I promise, next post is the good one! The one where we get to have a baby, and Heather takes beautiful photos of the whole thing. It's a really, really good post.


POST POST SCRIPT. Well not the WHOLE thing. If you know what I mean.


do you feel like you need a photo to cheer you up after all that? holy cow. i do.

there. much better!