Jovi Aloa Willman

My mom flew in and we picked her up from the airport on the morning of Monday, May 16th, and though I would have loved to have already had the baby by then, I was totally and completely relieved that she was finally there and that anytime I went into labor (be it 4 am), we would have someone to be at our apartment for when the girls woke up and to be able to take care of them for the next 48 hours plus that Kyle and I would be at the hospital. It was a huge blessing (and burden off of my shoulders) to finally have her here. Now all we needed was for Jovi to make her appearance! And yet again, my mom would prove to have perfect timing in that department (see Aurelle's birth post)! I had my 38 week OB appointment that afternoon, and was already dilated to a 3, so that gave me a pretty good idea that things would be happening fairly soon. That night I just could not sleep comfortably... which was something I had already been suffering for several weeks, but this particular night was extremely rough. I wasn't having contractions (at least regularly or strongly) but I just felt extremely crampy. The next day, same thing. The entire day felt like it was spent in a non-stop contraction that just wouldn't let up. I felt tired and achey, almost like I was getting the flu- which I have heard other women describe feeling so as one of their earliest signs of labor. And I even told my mom (on Tuesday) that if I could say with any amount of certainty that I felt like I was going into labor soon, then this was definitely it! That night I woke up sometime around 2 am or so to some contractions that I knew at once were the real deal. I got up and started timing them, and they were coming anywhere from 4 to 7 minutes apart. They didn't have the regularity that I was looking for, so I hung out for a couple of hours, but then they began to intensify and the word epidural started coming to mind. Now, most women would probably not have decided to head to the hospital quite yet, with contractions only 5-7 minutes apart and not very regular, but considering my labor with Aurelle was only 2 1/2 hours long, and that this time around I tested positive for group B strep and would need two doses of antibiotics spaced 4 hours apart to be given during labor and completed prior to delivery, you could say I was not wanting to waste any time! So I finally decided to wake up my mom and Kyle. Kyle started getting ready, and while he was showering my contractions intensified, and I had the tiniest little panic attack about not getting there in time for an epidural and started nagging Kyle to HURRY UP because "I was not about to miss getting an epidural because he was taking so long in the shower!!" (OK, looking back, I may not have been entirely rational, but can you really blame me?? I was exhausted and in labor, what to you expect?) Finally, he was ready, and around 4 am Kyle took a picture of me on my last morning being pregnant with Jovi, I kissed my mom goodbye and we headed out!

4 am on the morning little Jovi arrived!

Once we arrived at the hospital, I got situated in triage where they did the routine hook-up and examination, and I was measuring around 4-ish. The nurse called my doctor and I was admitted to labor and delivery! I was still contracting about every 5 minutes, and the nurse asked me on a scale from 1-10 where my contraction pain level was at and I told her a 6. Then she asked me at what number between 1 and 10 would I like to recieve an epidural... and I took about half a second to respond, "How about a 6?" She replied, "smart girl!" and immediately sent in my epidural order! After asking me what seemed like a bajillion and a half questions, signing some paperwork, I was wheeled into my labor and delivery room. Within about half an hour to 45 minutes I had my IV fluids, antibiotics and epidural in place, and right about then is when my contractions almost completely dropped off.

They were now coming no closer than 8 minutes apart and at a fraction of the intensity that they had previously had. As I watched the monitors, all I could keep thinking was whether they would decide to just unhook my IV and send me home (again, not the most rational thought process). But when they came into to check me again I was now dilated to a 6 and the nurse explained to me that they don't judge labor by contractions, but by cervical change, and that I was definitely on track in that department! So after calling my doctor they decided to give me some pitocin to help move things along. All this time I'm sitting completely comfortable with my epidural, which with it,  this time around, I was given a magic button to press if I started feeling any contractions, in order to give me an extra dose if I felt I needed it. After giving me the pitocin, and my doctor breaking my water, my contractions started really picking up in both timing and intensty, and within 15-20 minutes I was definitely feeling it! So I pressed my migic button (which I was told would take around 15 minutes to kick in) and waited for the discomfort to fade... which isn't exactly what ended up happening. I patiently waited the 15 minutes or so for it to kick in, and strangely, the dicomfort that I was feeling with my contractions didn't seem to be going away. I was only allowed to get an extra dose of medicine every 20 minutes, so I intently watched the clock, and just over 20 minutes later pressed my little magic button again, certain that I would soon feel relief from my contractions. I wait another 15 minutes... and nada. I begin eagerly anticipating the next several opportunities to press the button because, by now, my contractions were really beginning to come through and were getting pretty uncomfortable, and I had not, as of yet, felt any relief whatsoever from my previous extra doses. About an hour and a half into this situation, I finally decided to mention something to my nurse about it, and after a short investigation she discovered that the "extra dose" button on my epidural machine (my very scientific name for it) was, in fact, BROKEN. She called in some nurse back-up team who quickly got me a new one, which we found out within the next little while was ALSO broken! By around 8 am or so (maybe a little earlier) I was fully dilated and ready to have this baby, except that I was definitely not as comfortable as I had hoped to be. Unfortunatley, in order to get the amount of extra medicine at this point that I needed to catch up to the level of intensty that my contractions were at, the anaesthesiologist would have to come back in and administer the dose himself, which he did, and ended up making me wait another 30-45 minutes, which, in my opinion, was totally worth it. (Though, after the delivery I would be totally regretting it because due to the insanely large dose of meds I got all at once, my entire lower body went so numb that I couldn't even move my legs, and they would remain that way for HOURS. In fact, I would not even be able to walk until late that afternoon!!!) So, finally, I got my extra dose, and after around 10-15 minutes I was again feeling warm and tingly, and I was able to start pushing.

With my next contraction, I pushed once and gave what my doctor asked for as "a good wimbledon grunt" (which, by the way, was completely hilarious at the time) and Baby Jovi was finally here!

Wednesday, May 18th, 2011 at 9:23 am, Jovi Aloa Willman came into the world weighing 
7 lbs 14 oz. (our biggest by 1 ounce) and measuring 20 in. long!

She was given a 9 for her inital APGAR score (which the pediatrician later told me was only because she didn't immediately start crying after delivery.) and she was absolutely perfect!

Kyle looking like a seasoned pro. What? He's only done this three times in less than three years... no biggie.

She had the sweetest, chubbiest little cheeks and the cutest little double chin! These pictures hardly do them justice!!

Early that afternoon, Kyle headed home to help my mom with lunch and nap time with the girls, and as soon as they woke up, they were all able to come and see the newest member of our little family!

I love how little Aurelle looks in this picture... even compared to a tiny newborn! Can you believe that Aurelle is a BIG sister?!

Aurelle giving Jovi kisses.

Minnette was such a proud big sister! And I was completely amazed at the level of understanding she had about the whole situation... that baby Jovi, who was in Mommy's tummy, is now out, and you are holding her, and she is you baby sister... Oh, she totally got it! Amazing!

Minnette giving some sweet big sister kisses.

And so happy to be holding her baby sister!



A HUGE thank you to my Mom who was absolutely a heaven-sent angel to our family while we were in the hospital (and for the next month). It was so nice to not have to worry and to know our girls were taken care of! We love you, Mom!

Raquel was able to come and visit, too!



Kyle is such a goof!



Eyes open!

Our family of FIVE!!!

We now have apicture of Kyle snuggling with each one of his baby girls all bundled up in the hospital just like this!! And boy, does Kyle look tired!



Jovi in her going home outfit.

These next three pictures are a perfect example of what you get when Daddy is in charge of getting pictures of the baby:

And of course, the classic crying-while-being-strapped-into-the-carseat-for-the-first-time shot which is now a Willman family tradition!



I had really hoped to head home the next morning (Thursday), because after more than 24 hours of being confined to a hospital bed, which is never nearly as comfortable as you are wanting it to be, and being checked on what seems like every 20 minutes, no amount of free bacon or pudding can make me want to stay! But due to the fact that I had tested positive for group B strep (which can cause pneumonia in the baby), the pediatrician wanted to be able to moniter Jovi for as close to 48 hours as possible, so leaving on Thursday was simply not meant to be. Friday morning we were finally able to pack up and head for home. Here we are just before leaving the hospital, wearing jackets, because, being the end of May, it was rainy and freezing, of course!

Finally bringing Jovi home, it was hard to imagine the complications that we had experienced early on in my pregnancy with her only a few short months before, and I was so grateful to my Father in Heaven for all of the wonderful blessings we had experienced, that everything had worked out and that, most imprtantly, we now had our beautiful little Jovi, who has been such an amazing blessing to our family. We all love her so much and she fits in our family perfectly!