Fischer Memories: Welcome, Blakesley Ann Fischer

Blakesley Ann Fischer was born on Saturday, July 30th, 2016 at 5:53 A.M. She weighed 7 pounds, 14 ounces and was 21 inches long. Dark brown hair, blue eyes, and absolutely perfect in every way. Our hearts tripled on this day and we are so overwhelmed with joy! We have been praying about the day we would finally meet Blakesley, and that day has come and gone. It's so hard to believe!

Blakesley's Birth Story:

Last belly pictures on our way out the door!

My parents came into town on Thursday night and I am so thankful that they could be up here to help out and take care of the girls,

Marcus and I arrived at the hospital on Friday morning at 9:30 AM. We were immediately ushered into an ultrasound room to determine if baby was still head down so that we could proceed with labor, or if she had flipped and would then be prepping for a C-section. Prayers answered -- baby was still head down and in position!

We got checked into our labor and delivery room at Rush Copley Hospital, and I was already dialated to 2 cm on my own and having contractions. They started me on an IV and then later on added Pitocin. After the contractions got stronger, the Doctor came in to break my bag of water. I really thought it would hurt, but not at all. After my water broke, my contractions started getting a lot stronger and they called in for the Anesthesiologist to administer my Epidural. It's funny how you block out all of the awful and painful things from labor and delivery! I completely forgot how painful the Epidural was, but once it started setting in, it was nice to relax a bit. I was extremely hungry, since I hadn't eaten anything since dinner the night before.

Marcus texted me this picture which I was clearly not thrilled about! Marcus was trying to do a good job and eat tons of snacks and keep his blood sugar up since he tends to pass out during births. (this could be a whole other blog itself ;) )

Meanwhile I am over here eating an italian ice that I got cleared to eat.

I thought things were going just fine until my blood pressure suddenly dropped. My BP is normally on the lower side, and has been very low my entire pregnancy, but nothing that they were majorly concerned about. However, this time, my BP stayed low almost the entire labor right around an 80/40. Baby started getting very still and not moving so much, so they started me in on two different types of BP meds. Long story short: I ended up getting 2 BP meds through my IV and a total of 4 or 5 shots in both of my legs. I also had to wear an oxygen mask most of the time to try to help baby get more oxygen and become active again. The Epidural wasn't helping my low BP, so they had to back off the Epidural, which mean that I was in a LOT more pain at this point in the game. I remember telling the Anesthesiologist how much pain I was in when she turned my Epidural down and she said, " At this point ,I am trying to keep you out of the Operating Room. So hang in there!"

I had never used a peanut birthing ball before but it was the coolest thing. I loved it!

Marcus was so sweet. He kept trying to make me laugh and keep me entertained. At one point he was blowing up hospital gloves and we were playing volleyball back and forth.

Because of the way the baby was positioned, and because of her size, I started getting back labor which was the WORST pain ever! I have never experienced back labor before, and it is absolutely awful! The back labor, along with all the different meds, combined with me not eating anything for almost 36 hours, made my stomach hurt horribly. So all at once I was feeling the contractions, my stomach hurt like I was going to die of a bug or flu I caught, and the back labor. I really didn't think I was going to have any energy to push out a baby at that point. I was crying and holding a vomit bag for hours. I am NOT a person who throws up, so I was trying everything in my power to not get sick. After hours of being sick and miserable, I was told I was dialated to 10 cm and it was time to push. Along with all the stomach and back pain, this is the point when I realized pushing was hurting my ribs and sternum so bad, from baby's position during pregnancy. I was trying to stay positive, but I still didn't think I had any energy left in me to push. However, it is amazing what your body can do when you are in a situation such as giving birth! I muscled my way through everything and only pushed 7 times! I remember the nurses telling me they think she is a pretty big baby, and I knew in my heart she had to be bigger than Sonoma and Cora and that she was definitely somewhere in the 7 pound range. Hearing her sweet little newborn cry was the best sound in the world, and I was proud of Marcus for being able to cut the cord, just like he did with the other girls. Then, they immediately put her on my chest and let me hold her for a little while before they wiped her up and weighed her.

Marcus is wearing the same shirt his Dad wore when he was born!

Our first look at one another.

And just like that - all the pain temporarily goes away and you know you would do it all again in a heart beat!

The hospital sent over a birthday cake for Blakesley!

Mimi and Pa brought the girls over to meet their baby sister. The girls were just over the moon!

2 proud big sisters!

Sonoma and Cora brought me beautiful flowers with sweet little notes and then Blakesley gave the girls their Big Sister gifts!

Blakesley after her 1st bath!

All clean!

1st family of 5 picture!

One of my favorite nurses was so sweet and took Blakesley at night for 2 hours so I could get some rest. I had been up 48 hours and was so exhausted. She brought her back and said she was too cute for the regular pink hat and wanted to give her one with a bow!