Pregnancy & Labor: Taylor Milan Lindsey's Birth Story

Introducing the world to our little princess, Taylor Milan Lindsey! 

First, how did we come up with her name?

While me & Cornelius were courting, we used to joke and make stick figures creating our little family. The first stick figure was a little boy named "Logan," the second, a little girl named Taylor. And.. there was a third & I think we are going to adopt him/her! :) 

So, as we searched high and low for girl names, we couldn't agree on one name. It's crazy how many people you realize you know when it comes to choosing names! :) So, we were sitting at Houston's restaurant and I said.. remember our stick figures? The names? Cornelius smiled & said "TAYLOR!" Yes!! That's it! The name we've always loved and had peace about. So, with further research, I checked out a few more things. 

Taylor definition: Transferred use of the surname derived from the Anglo-French taillour (tailor), which is from the Old French taillier (to cut).

Milan definition: "Gracious" 

So, as we paired it together, we figured that God would use Taylor to graciously share the word of God which CUTS deeper than any two edged sword. She will be used to share Christ in a dark world as she shows people how important it is to CUT out anything that isn't like Him. :)

So, onto my birth story!

If you read my birth story with Logan, that I had a ROUGH, long labor. The doctors had been measuring Logan for awhile and found that he was a big boy so a C-section was always a possibility in the back of my mind, EVEN with my birth plan. I ended up having a C-section with him but I was open to a VBAC (Vaginal birth after C-section) and so were my doctors. We agreed that we would continue to monitor the size of Taylor to determine if we were going to try for a VBAC. So, we went to our 33 week doctors appointment and Taylor was measuring 6 pounds and 11 ounces! Whoaaa! ANOTHER big baby! My doctor was shocked, she said, "And you don't even have diabetes! You just have BIG babies!" So, she suggested that I schedule a C-section because obviously, we tried that whole vaginal birth with Logan and he didn't come after 27 hours because he couldn't fit in my pelvic wall. Hey, some women are smaller down there and I just happen to be one of them that births big babies!

39 weeks & one week later with Taylor! 

So, I told the Lord that if for some reason, I go to into labor before my scheduled C-section at 39 weeks and a half, that I would go for the VBAC!

Welp.

On Tuesday, July 7th, ONE day before my scheduled C-section, I went and got my hair done (the photo above), I got a manicure and a pedicure. That morning, I noticed that I was having contractions, REAL contractions (not braxton hicks) and they were about 10 minutes apart. So, I continued about my day and they became more spread out. Then, at 6pm - the contractions were every 10 minutes until 2AM. I'm thinking.. wait, this isn't normal. My contractions are getting closer and closer together! The other part of me was thinking, "WHY LORD!?" We had PLANS to go in & get a scheduled C-section! Why are we adding extra tests?!" lol! So, then the contractions started to come every 5 minutes for an hour! Those contractions were PAINFUL! Whew! So, we rushed to the hospital and shockingly, I was already dilated to 6 CM! We were shocked! With Logan, I never went into labor and the fact that my body was going into labor was a sign to me to let it run it's course.

Until.. 12 hours later.

Lots of contractions and I was still only dilated to 6 CM! The doctor continued to check my cervix to see how far Taylor was from my cervix and we kept running into the same issue, her head wasn't dropping.

It couldn't fit. Again. 

Welp, I tried Lord. And about 18 hours later.. the doctor said to me, "Heather, we've been here before, Taylors experiencing some stress from contractions -  what do you want to do?"

C-section please, sir. 

Did I want another one? Um, who wants their abs cut open and a child ripped out of them!? lol! Of course I didn't but it wasn't about me! It was about the safety of Taylor! To me, it was a tiny sacrifice to get her here safely!

1 hour later on July 8, 2015 at 4:10pm, we were holding Taylor in our arms! She was a perfect 9 pounds and 2 ounces and 21 inches! When I heard her cry for the first time, I cried happy tears! Gosh, my little baby girl is here! I have a DAUGHTER! A mini me! There's so much I want to teach her. There's so much I want her to learn! 

So, I'm a breastfeedin' mama and right when we went into the recovery room, they let me latch her on! She latched RIGHT on and started nursing! I was so proud of her! I had just finished nursing Logan about 5 months prior to giving birth so, it's like my body already knew the drill!

But, things didn't get much easier after that. 

They noticed that her blood sugar levels were low. They said it was common with larger babies, so they sent her down to the NICU. I had no idea that it was like a baby prison down there! Of course, the nurses were awesome, but I felt like it robbed the freedom I wanted to just take my baby girl with me to my hospital room. I had to get buzzed into the back to see her every 3 hours as I nursed. The first day, I took a wheelchair to go see her, but by day 2 of my c-section, I was walking around. Although my amazing husband would have wheeled me all over the hospital, I tend to be a bit independent and if I'm nursing her on demand or every 2-3 hours, there's a chance my hubby was out grabbing food or even sleeping and I didn't want to bother him. So, as I sat on the 7th floor, taking mini- naps, I would calls to go downstairs to the 2nd floor & feed Taylor. So, up & down, up & down. We prayed for baby girl's quick recovery & that we could take her home with us when we were scheduled to leave the hospital. Talk about exhausting!

Thank GOD that after 24 hours, her blood sugar levels were stable and then they wanted to wait another 24 hours to make sure they remained that way. Sadly, they pricked her every 3 hours to make sure. Although I understand their precaution, I hated that she had to go through those things just days after birth! So, we were pretty intentional about spending hours and hours of skin-to-skin and nursing. Shoutout to my hubby who was right there, present and always active!

Logan came up to the hospital every single day and spent a few hours with us each day! We did the "gift" exchange and told Logan that his little sister bought him his little superhero toys! He was so excited! :)

Finally, we were able to take Taylor home and we got discharged at the same exact time! She was in the NICU for a total of 2 days.

What have I learned? That God's will isn't always what we think. Obviously, I prayed, believed the best but I learned that I cannot control every thing that happens to me, but I can control my response towards it.

Now, back at home-- I'm pretty intentional about resting, walking and getting back into the swing of things. I'm not good at just laying around for hours and hours. I love to be active, work, and run errands but I understand that my body needs to heal! So, I've been in the house dealing with cabin fever BUT I'm enjoying all of this snuggle and bonding time with my Taylor. Never will I have just days and days and days of constant skin-to-skin and laying around together. I'm going to soak up every single moment!

Will we have more?

Long answer short, NO. lol! My prayer is that the Lord will close my womb and that we will be able to adopt a couple babies! :) I have pretty big babies, my pregnancies are usually pretty hard on my body and labor & delivery is a hot mess! My prayer is that the Lord will allow somebody else to do the work & we get the baby via adoption! :) Hey, I'm adopted so I support adoption 100%!

And now, we are a family of four and my heart is seriously exploding. I LOVE being Cornelius's wife, Logan & Taylor's mama! Our hearts are so at peace and we are THANKFUL that God chose us to be parents of 2 precious babies!

Taylor and Logan are getting along quite well and Logan is SUPER helpful. He even tried to explain to me that he needed to nurse Taylor. (blank stare). Hey, he's only 2 years old! lol!

Thank you for your prayers, support and encouragement along the way!

God loves you all like crazy,

Heather Lindsey

Our first family stroll with Taylor! She's one week old!

I love my family! 

Pregnancy: I'm Almost Due! What's in my Hospital Bag?

I cannot BELIEVE that I am now 39 weeks pregnant! What a beautiful journey! I've shared here & there but I will share the story of how baby girl came about! :)

After we had Logan in 2013, I didn't want to get pregnant for another year. I wanted to at least have a 1 year old before we added to the family. And, no, we don't believe in birth control. It's a personal conviction of ours so we did lots of praying and tracking my ovulation. I think that the studies are scary that come out 10 years after the birth control is introduced and then all of the sudden, it causes all of these problems for women! I have also learned that God closed & opens the door of our wombs so even if you are on birth control, you can still get pregnant. (Like my sister who got pregnant with twins in the pill! :)) Nonetheless, after Logan turned one, we "actively tried" to get pregnant for eight months. Nothing happened. The cut off date to "actively" try was September of 2014 and I explained to the Lord that we had the 2015 Pinky Promise Conference in June of 2015, plus our marriage retreat, singles retreat in July.. so of COURSE we cannot get pregnant in October because it will put us right at giving birth in the middle of those events. But, the Lord had other plans. On November 14th, my sister-in-love Agatha was talking to me as I straightened my hair in the bathroom. She told me that I look like I have a bump. So, I gave her the side-eye because .. "I've been gaining weight and I'm working out like crazy! Get off my back!" Then, she pretty much forced me to take a pregnancy test. Long story short, it immediately popped up as "Pregnant." WAIT. Hold on, Lord!" This was NOT a part of MY plan Lord!! And He quickly stopped me.. "But it's a part of MY plan. My interruptions are not interruptions, but the actual plans for your life. " 

Welp. 

So, we started the beautiful journey of pregnancy! I'm going to do a blog on my new favorite vitamins, including the vitamins that I use for Logan and our baby girl when she gets here.

I wanted to share with you all the things that I'm packing in my bag!

So, a few things first, you will need a overnight bag! I am taking 3 bags! I know, I know but baby girl needs one and I need two!

Here's my thoughts on the bags! I came across this GORGEOUS personalized faux leather camel bag on Instagram. It's from Our Monogram Boutique  now, the only thing that I realized in using it is that if you stuff it TOO full, the zipper breaks. :( So sadly, I can't use it unless I get the zipper fixed! Nonetheless, it's a gorgeous bag that I'm definitely going to get fixed in the future AND not stuff it so full.

So, instead I just happened to be at Target the other day and I came across these gorgeous Morena Weekender Tassle bags! From TARGET! For the price, I had to do it! I'm such a fan of tassels in general so I was pretty excited! I couldn't find the blue one on Targets website so you may be able to find it in your local stores!

Next, I will add baby girls clothes to her diaper bag! I'm using THIS beautiful Lily Jade Diaper Bag! I love that with this diaper bag, that I can wear it as a backpack as well and when the kiddos are older, I can use it as a purse! It's so convenient as a mama of 2!

Ok, now that we have the bags figured out, let's discuss the nightgowns! When I gave birth to Logan, I wore this hospital gown and my thought was.. how many other women have wore this same gown in labor? The thought of that made my stomach a little queasy so I decided that if the Lord opens up my womb again, then I am wearing my own gown! As I searched around on Etsy, I came across this PERFECT gown! 

I ended up ordering 4 different gowns and I love these gowns because they are one size fits all so you can tie the gown to adjust to your size as you lose your baby weight after the hospital as well! It's a perfect cover up for around the house AND there's a zipper in the front that goes down to the middle of your chest for skin to skin & breastfeeding! If you do order from this 

"A Different Weave" Etsy Store, be sure to tell her that Heather Lindsey sent you! :) She will take care of you!

Up next, I am a breastfeeding mama! I LOVE nursing and I actually miss it! I nursed Logan for 2 years and I had to stop after the first trimester of this pregnancy because my doctor said that it could put me into pre-term labor. :( It was hard to break him from nursing but I eased out of it for about a month and a half so it wasn't sudden. Anyways, I am going to start pumping while I'm in the hospital.  I SWEAR by & totally LOVE my Medela Freestyle Hands-Free Double Electric Breast Pump. I know that some breastfeeding classes don't encourage pumping right away, well-- It worked for me with Logan because he was 10 pounds & 1 ounce and he ate a TON! I needed my milk to come in quicker so I pumped away and I didn't want to supplement with formula. I figured, the sooner the better and it worked out in my favor! At times, it can take your milk up to a week to come in and it took my milk about 4 days to come in! So, I'm packing my pump and the accessories shown here! I got the pump from Babies R Us on my registry when I was pregnant with Logan and I'm thankful to continue to get usage out of it!

Up next, here's a few essentials for you mama to make sure that your stay is comfortable! 

1. A long sleeved robe! Those hospitals can get really chilly!

2. A pair of cozy socks! 

3. Your own pillows! I'm bringing my Snoogle pillow because it's most comfortable and as a pregnant woman, I cannot sleep without it! 

4. Pajamas that button down. So, I do have my gowns but just in case, I grabbed a couple pair of PJ's that button down so I can do skin to skin or nurse as needed. 

5. My makeup & hair supplies. Hey, there's nothing like some concealer, bronzer, and some eye liner to brighten up your face! I'm a girly girl and PLUS, we are doing a lifestyle shoot while at the hospital so I want to look my best. 

6. A take home out fit for you! I'm packing two outfits-- one dress and one pair of shorts and a flowy top! Mamas, keep in mind that you are still going to have a stomach a couple days after you give birth so you don't want anything that is too tight. In my case, with Logan I had to get a C-section so I didn't want anything on that area when I left the hospital. 

7. Toiletries! You want to make sure that you bring your favorites so you don't have to use the hospitals items! (Toothbrush, toothpaste, face wash,  shower cap etc)

8. Shower shoes or flip flops! Be sure to pack these to protect yourself from germs! 

9. Hair ties & bobby pins! It's going to be important to pull that hair away from your face! 

10. Chapstick 

11. A nursing bra (I packed 3)

12. TONS of snacks! Me and my hubby are HUGE snackers! So, we went to the grocery story to stock up on snacks!

13. My camera for lots of photos! :) Including charger

14. My Boppy Pillow for nursing! I didn't have it with Logan and I had to use a ton of the hospital pillows which was no fun!

15. My bible and journal

16. My laptop for any down time

17. A great book 

18. Your favorite scented Candle so the hotel room smells like home!

19. A fluffy towel! Hotel towels aren't the softest and post baby, everything is sensitive!

20. Nursing Cover 

21. My phone, chargers, etc.

22. A Wet bag: For your laundry, dirty burp cloths, etc. 

23. A roll of toilet paper! Hey, it's better than the sandpaper towel provided! 

24. Lots of bottled water! I know the hospital doesn't provide alkaline water, so I'm bringing my own!

25. A restaurant list of nearby restaurants. Hey, I'm a vegetarian and it's hard for me to find food, so I want to make sure that I know the options nearby! 

 Now, for baby girl's bag:

1. Tons of pink blankets & baby swaddlers! I would rather she uses the stuff I bought vs. the hospital stuff! 

2. Onsies 

3. Hats

4. Hair bows

5. Take-home outfit 

6. Socks 

7. A brush (hey, she may or may not have hair! lol)

8. Nail clippers

9. A few newborn diapers & wipes  

10. Her carseat! You cannot leave the hospital without it! :) 

*Not packing body wash as she won't need that for about 7-10 days after birth 

Fun Extras!

1. So, our son Logan is going to get the opportunity to meet his sister for the FIRST time! This is what we are doing! 

Upon arrival, we will ask the nurse to wheel baby girl out into the hallway and when Logan walks in-- it will just be me and my husband. So, we will love on him, give him sweets and just spend time with him. Then, after about 10 minutes, baby girl will come back in the room and we will introduce Logan to his new sister. Each day we are in the hospital, we will do a gift exchange from baby girl to Logan. For Logan, he loves superheros so we got him a few of his favorite superheros! For baby girl, we got her a few teething and little noise makers that can go on her carseat!

2. We also understand that nurses work SUPER long hours so we want to make sure that we take care of them! :) We purchased a large candy jar and we are filling it with candy from Party City! There will be sign in front of it that says, "Thank you for your help, nurses!" And of course, I'm sure our guests will snack as well! :)

Ok, so yes, I admit, I packed a lot. But I like to be comfortable! If I'm going to be somewhere for a couple days (natural birth) or 4 days with a c-section, I like to have all of my areas covered! Feel free to comment and leave anything else that you found helpful!

Just a few things:

1. Find my (4) books (including my NEW book, "The Runaway Bride"), purity rings, shirts & all that good stuff via pinkypromiseboutiques.com!

2. We have developed an APP! Think: daily post notifications + weekly devotionals, recipes and so much more! It's out NOW for iphones + Androids. Under: Heather & Cornelius Lindsey: Today With the Lindsey's

3.  If you live in Atlanta, I want to invite you to our church. Join us on Sundays at 11:00am at Landmark Midtown Art Cinemas. Our churches name is: "The Gathering Oasis"  931 Monroe Drive NE Atlanta, GA. 

4. Register for the 2016 Pinky Promise in Atlanta, GA! It sold out last year so you don't want to miss out! http://pinkypromise2016.eventbee.com

6. As always, you can join a Pinky Promise group locally! There's about 35,000 ladies that have joined! Find a group near you by joining & checking out the intro page! Join here: www.PinkyPromiseMovement.com

7. Pinky Promise is hosting a statewide baby shower for low income & single mamas in Atlanta, GA on September 12. If you want to donate or be a part of it, please email pinkypromisequestions@gmail.com For donations only, you can send the payment via PayPal to pinkypmovement@gmail.com & be sure to note that its for the Statewide Baby Shower. All donations are tax deductible. 

I love you all so much!
God loves you like crazy,
Heather Lindsey