Family and Newborn Pictures 2015

Pictures by the amazing Jadie Jo Photography

Lincoln Douglas

This is the birth story of Lincoln.

My doctor and I decided that we would induce my labor with our Lincoln 5 days before my due date. It was a Monday. December 14, 2015. It was the day of the giant snow storm here in Salt Lake Valley. We made the trek to the hospital taking back roads to avoid sliding and traffic. It took us much longer than usual, but we made it safely. 

They started me on Oxytocin by 9:00 AM. Contractions began fairly quickly after that. The on-call doctor received a phone call from my doctor asking to break my water so he didn't have to drive in the snow until we were closer to delivery. Once my water was truly broken (for some reason, both with Noah's labor and Lincoln's, my bags of water are thicker than expected and take putting an internal fetal heart monitor on the baby's head to really break the water), the contractions really picked up. I lasted about an hour before getting my epidural. That anesthesiologist was AMAZING. The epidural was perfect-enough to rid the harsh, stabbing of the contractions but not too much. I could still feel the pressure and knew when it was time to push. I was at a 5 when he placed the epidural. Not even an hour after the epidural I went to an 8. The nurse quickly called my doctor so he could make the snowy drive over to Alta View from his office near Lone Peak Hospital. 

The nurse noticed the baby's heart rate dropped just a bit too low during a few of the stronger contractions, so she had me on oxygen and turned the oxytocin down. I was at a ten in 30 minutes after that. I began pushing at 5:00 PM.  Dr. Smith arrived just in time to catch the baby about just an hour and a half later. 

I had such a great team supporting me. Craig counted during the pushes. My mom and Jessi helped hold my legs. I'm so grateful they could be there for me. I couldn't have done it without them cheering me on. 

Lincoln was born at 6:21 PM

Weight: 7 lbs 14 oz

Height: 21 in

He was born with a slight fever, so after weighing him and having skin to skin, they needed to do some blood work to rule out any infections. I am a strong believer that skin to skin is critical in that first couple hours, and I also believe that it was what made his fever go down immediately. 

I'm a lucky gal that I only needed two internal stitches. I hear about horror stories of tearing or episiotomy, so I'm seriously grateful I have such an easy recovery. 

I love this photo of my mom and me. It shows just how incredible the "circle of life" really is. I am so dedicated to being as good of a mother as she has always been to me. She has spent my whole life doing all she can to make me happy and safe. I love her so much. 

I had the thought 'How could I love another as much as I love Noah?' multiple times throughout my pregnancy. I worried about it a bit but not too much. I knew I already loved this beautiful little boy of mine before he even arrived. I just needed to see him to realize that my love for Noah wouldn't change. The heart is weird that way. There is always more room to add love for a new someone. So much room. So much love. 

We are so blessed to have a healthy, happy baby boy. We love Lincoln so much! 

WELCOME TO THE WORLD, BABY LD!!

Photography by Red Mug Photography