My Birth Story

Photo by Bohac Photography 

Hey, Loves! Today’s post is oh so special to me; My Birth Story with Reina Ruby! It seems like I just announced my pregnancy to you all and now here I am telling you the story of how our second Angel came into the world. I still catch myself in disbelief that I have two kids! Like, whaaat! I never would have thought that I would have two kids by this point in my life. I always thought they would come later. God obviously had other (better!) plans for Brody and I. Remember in my MOM GUILT post how I said expecting another girl left me wondering how I would love another the way I love Noelia? Well it is so true what they say…your heart just grows even more with love to the point where you cannot imagine life without your new addition! Reina has filled our hearts with such love and joy. Plus it’s a bonus when she looks like her Mama 😉

Without further a-due, here is my Birth Story with Miss Reina Ruby Schmaderer.

My pregnancy with Reina was truly great. It went by sooo fast that I feel like I am still processing that 9 months forming her in my womb has already come and gone. I don’t think Brody thought we would conceive as quick as we did. It was just one year ago that we started talking about getting off birth control and seeing what could happen. I conceived in October and we welcomed our daughter just two weeks ago on July 17th.

I felt great my whole pregnancy, but once I hit 35 weeks Mama was feeeeeling it! My body started to feel super heavy…like my legs couldn’t process the fact that I wanted them to move. I woke up every morning with my hands tight and swollen like I had been sitting on them for 8 hours and walking up a flight of stairs left my heart racing. I don’t remember experiencing such a drastic shift with Noelia, but maybe I did. I was just READY with Reina. I was not necessarily ready for our lives to change but ready to get this girl out so I somewhat felt “normal” again. I was always worried about my skin around my belly button since that is where the mass of my belly was. I got Diastasis Recti with Noelia (it never goes away completely) so it was only magnified with Reina. My skin looked like saran wrap! There was only so much lotion and oil I could put on it, haha. Once I hit 38 weeks I got my cervix checked and I was 3cm dilated and 70% thinned out. I was shocked as I barely progressed with Noelia. I think I was 1cm for 37 weeks on with her. My doctor didn’t think I would make it to week 39 so of course that put me in freak out mode! Suddenly nesting set in and all I could think about was all the things I still had to do to prepare for Reina; nursery decor, hospital bags, cleaning, organizing, pictures I wanted done, etc. Some important, some totally not…but when you’re in nesting mode everything is important to you! I spend that whole week wondering Is this the day? and I felt like I was walking on eggshells! I still trained at the gym that week hoping my water wouldn’t break on a treadmill (now that would have been a funny story to tell!), and I worked at my day job until that Thursday. I did all the things that week to make me feel better for delivery and after, you know….the important things like getting my nails done, getting a spray tan, getting lash extensions…haha. I know, I am EXTRA for sure…but if it helps me feel better about myself then why not?

My 39 week appointment came around on Tuesday, July 16th and still no Reina! I had my cervix checked again and I was 4cm dilated, 70-80% thinned out, and my membranes were stripped. Since my membranes were stripped I knew Reina would for sure come that week. I had them stripped with Noelia and she came 2 days later! That night I didn’t feel A THING so I was pretty discouraged. I was to the point where I wanted to stay pregnant to keep our lives from changing (is that selfish?) but I wanted her here so bad to have our new normal start and to meet our Angel! That next morning I woke up still feeling the same with no pain or contractions. One thing I will always remember is that when Noelia woke up she sat up in her bed quickly and asked me, “Is Reina out of your belly yet??!” I sadly had to say no but reassured her that she would be here any day now. I ate breakfast with the family and an hour or so later put on my walking shoes and grabbed Bernard’s leash to take him for a walk. I walked with him for a good 45 minutes feeling good for the most part with some mild cramping that would come and go. Once I got back home and ate again my contractions started and they started strong and fast. The doctor said to come in immediately if my water broke or the contractions came every 5 minutes for two hours. They were definitely coming every 5 minutes but I knew for a fact I was not waiting for 2 hours. I was already 4cm dilated and I was not about to miss that epidural!! I had Brody get Noelia ready and finalize all our hospital bags because I knew that Reina was coming that day. I put on my makeup, did my hair, posted my final bump picture to Instagram (you know, all the important things to do before you go the hospital) and we were out the door. We dropped Bernard and Noelia off at my parents and Brody drove balls to the wall to the hospital. I was in PAIIINNNN. I am not sure if I don’t take pain well or the contractions were just that bad but mannn I was ready for some pain meds, haha.

We arrived at the hospital and the nurses could tell I was in labor so they immediately emitted me to a room and started hooking me up to all of the machines. Baby’s heart sounded great and I was about 5cm dilated upon arrival. This was polar opposite of when I had Noelia. I was only 2cm when I arrived and they wanted to send me home if I didn’t progress after walking, so I was shocked at how fast things were moving with Reina. I got an epidural pretty quickly and the nurses manually broke my water shortly after. I would say it was only an hour later that I could feel tons of pressure in my pelvis. The Doctor checked my cervix, and I was 10cm dilated and 100% thinned out so she told me it was time to push! Mentally, I was not ready whatsoever. I started crying to Brody because I felt like I still needed time with Noelia…one last picture, hug, and kisses with my first born before our lives were changed forever. My dad took Noelia with him to wait in the lobby while I started pushing. I had Brody and my mom with me. Even though I felt more rushed to deliver this time around since I progressed quickly, I felt confident and ready to deliver her. I pushed for about 40 minutes (I pushed for 2 hours with Noelia) and out Miss Reina Ruby came! I remember she barely cried before they placed her on my chest. She latched onto me right away and nursed like a champ for over 2 hours! A lot changed since I delivered Noelia. With Noelia, she nursed on me for about 30 minutes or so if I remember right before they took her to be cleaned, weighed, and get shots. With Reina, they put her on me and everyone left the room except for family. It was SO nice to not feel bombarded during her first few hours of life outside my belly. The only downside was that Brody didn’t hold her until 2.5 hours after she was born but other than that it was absolutely perfect. Noelia climbed on the bed with me soon after Reina was born and sat with me the whole time just gazing at her. I always thought Reina would look a lot like her Sister, but they are definitely very different! Reina has dark hair, lighter skin, and the little things like her fingers and toes are different. It appears that we have a Mini Nicky on our hands (finally!) but we will see as she matures in her first year.

I couldn’t have asked for a better way to deliver Miss Reina Ruby. I was able to deliver her during the day and my immediate family was able to be there, but most important Noelia got to experience it all. She was there for everything and that makes me extremely happy. She LOVES her Sissy more than anything, and I have never been more proud of her. She bonded with Reina immediately and still continues to show me that she’s up for this Big Sister role. Noelia was the biggest help with Reina in the hospital, and I am so grateful for all the precious memories we got to experience those first couple days as a family. I look forward to the new “challenge” of being a Mom of two and getting to stay with my girls at home. Again, I never would have thought being a Mama of two by 27 would be my reality but I am so happy it is!

Thank you for reading my Birth Story! Maybe you will get to read just one more someday 😉

Our first photo as a family of four