Our Rainbow Arrives

At the end of February we learned that our Rainbow baby was on the way.  In March, I had an early ultrasound scheduled.  I was so anxious about the first ultrasound.  It was held in the same room where I found out that I had lost Abraham and Issac, but this time I was blessed to have Seth holding my hand.  Hearing our baby's heartbeat for the first time was so comforting. 

I braced myself for the worst each appointment that I went to and often treated myself after the appointment. 

 

In April we got the results from the Cell Free DNA testing.  We were thrilled to find out our baby was a girl.

 

 

We shared the news with the kids via confetti cannon.  Millie was thrilled to be getting a sister. 

 

Phin was equally excited that Millie would be getting a sister.

 

Our Peloton bike was a huge part of my pregnancy journey.  It was delivered at the end of January.  I biked most mornings and loved the prenatal classes.  This photo is from when I hit my Century ride.  

I had horrible morning sickness for pretty much the entire pregnancy.  If I was at home, there is a 90% chance that I was in bed.  Silas seemed to sense when I was at my worst and would come to visit me and cheer me up.

 

Here is Millie "listening" or "talking" to the baby with a toy stethoscope.

We announced our pregnancy on May the FOURTH.  In many ways this announcement was a plea for our fourth to be with us.

 

I had my big 20 week ultrasound in June.  The ultrasound tech spent a lot of time looking at the baby's heart.  She left the room several times to speak to the doctor and would take more pictures once she came back into the room.  It was very nerve racking and I was starting to think we would be getting some difficult news...but everything ended up okay.  The baby was breech which made getting the best pictures of the heart a little more challenging.  Here is a sweet profile pic of our baby.

 

The return of Skeletor.

 

 

We also tried to get a good 3D image but I had an anterior placenta this pregnancy, which blocked good views of the baby.   The anterior placenta also made it more difficult to feel the baby kick and move on a daily basis.  I also didn't see the huge belly waves from the baby that I experienced in previous pregnancies.

 

I had one really good week during the pregnancy and it was while we were in Goblin Valley in the middle of a heatwave.  We think all the Gatorade that I was drinking may have helped.  This is one of my favorite photos from the trip as we hiked in Wild Horse Slot Canyon.

 

We went on a lot of camping trips during this pregnancy.  Here is a photo of me snuggling Silas at Dierkes Lake, Twin Falls, Idaho.

City of Rocks, Idaho.

Cecret Lake, Alta, Utah.

The most memorable camping trip was in August to Tony's Grove.  It was the weekend before the campground closed for road construction.  We arrived and found that they had removed all of the porta-pottys.  I was 28 weeks pregnant at that point.  When I asked the campground host where the nearest bathroom was he told me how sorry he was...our campsite was quite far from the only pit toilet.  Somehow I made it through the weekend and was very grateful that was our last camping trip for the summer.  I didn't manage to get a photo of myself that trip...but here a couple of the kids.

Phin was incredibly sweet when we visited Frightmares at Lagoon in October.  He knew I couldn't go on many rides so he requested to ride with me on the Sky Ride.  Phin has been so excited to be a big brother again.  He has was a huge help for the months that I wasn't feeling well.

The last photo of me this pregnancy.  I had Seth take this the Sunday before our baby arrived.  At my appointment the Friday before my blood pressure was high and it continued to be high all weekend.  I had a feeling deep down that this would be my last Sunday pregnant.

That feeling was confirmed at my next appointment on October 20th.  I had recorded my blood pressure readings since the Friday before and was consistently at 130-140/80-90.  Since I was 38 weeks along my doctor said that I needed to head to the hospital right away to be induced.  Here is our last family photo when we dropped the kids off at Nona and Papa's.

Seth and I arrived at the hospital at 4:45 PM.  We checked into OB Emergency Services to have my blood pressure monitored.  At 7:00 PM there was a shift change.  My blood pressure continued to be high and they said as soon as a room opened up over in Labor and Delivery, I would be moved.  I was moved over at 8:15 PM.  I was at 3 cm when they checked me.  At 9:05 PM they started Pitocin.  At 10:30 PM, I had my epidural placed.  At 10:55 PM, I was at a 4 and they broke my water to help the baby's head engage.  I realized shortly after that my epidural was not working.  At 12:12 AM, I was at 8 cm and had a bolus shot for my epidural.  At 12:40 AM I was fully dilated.  We were just waiting for the doctor to arrive.  She arrived shortly after and our baby girl was born after 3 contractions at 12:50 AM.  She weighed 7 lbs 13 ounces and was 20 inches long.  She was covered in more vernix than any of my other babies.  All of the nurses commented that her skin would be super soft because of the vernix.  They also loved her full head of dark hair.  She came out screaming.

 

The moment that I had visualized for months finally occurred when our sweet baby was placed on my chest.  When I was so sick that I could barely function, I would visualize this moment.  I felt like I could finally breathe, that our baby girl wouldn't be taken away from us because she was finally safe in my arms.  She had finally made it to our family.

Seth was able to cut the umbilical cord.

 

The nurses cleaned our little girl up and completed all of their checks with her.

 Then, we had over an hour to hold and bond with our sweet girl.

We moved over to recovery and settled into our room.  Seth stayed that first night.

 

The hospital was incredibly isolating.  I think it felt different this time because of covid.   The nurses only came in at shift changes or to give me medication.  Our sweet baby girl was only taken out of the room once for her newborn hearing screening.  They even gave her a bath in my room.  We were limited on visitors and our kids were not allowed to come. It gave me lots of time to bond with this sweet spirit.

I could immediately see similarities between Millie and this baby girl.  Here is a photo of Millie...

 

and here is a photo of our baby Girl.  They both have the same stork marks on their foreheads.  They also have similar noses

 

Here is another one of Millie...

 

and our baby girl.

We named our sweet girl Louisa Amy.  We often call her "Lou" or "Lou Lou."  The name Louisa comes from both sides of the family.  Louisa Farnsworth Wilde is Lou's 3rd Great-Grandmother.  She was born in Derbyshire, England in 1850.  Her family moved to Utah to join other members of the church when she was 12 years old.  She married Fredrick George Wilde when she was 16 years old.  I don't have a picture of Louisa but here is picture of Fredrick.  

 

 

 

Fredrick was a body guard for Brigham Young. He hauled many loads of granite with his wagon and ox team to the Salt Lake Temple site.  He made three trips back east across the plains to bring eager Saints to Utah.   He and Louisa had three children.  Louisa died when she was 21 years old, just 5 months after her third child was born.  

Louisa is also named after Louisa Anne Wright Marchant who is her 4th Great-Grandmother on Seth's side of the family.  Louisa Anne was born in 1862 in Salt Lake City.  She had 11 children and settled in Cowley, Wyoming.

 

 

The name Amy comes from Seth's oldest sister.  She was born prematurely and passed away when she was just a day old. We can't wait to meet her again someday.

 

Amy also comes from my very best friend Amy.  Amy and I have been friends since Junior High.  She has been there for every major milestone of my life and she feels much more like a sister than a friend.

 

 

 

Our greatest desire is for our sweet girl to follow the example of the women she is named after.  She comes from a long line of strong women.  We know that she can follow these women's examples of faith.  The name Louisa means Famous Warrior and the name Amy means Beloved or Well-Loved.  I know that there will be many challenging times ahead for our sweet Lou, but I know she can be a Warrior for our Heavenly Father as she confronts those challenges.  It goes without saying our Little Lou is Beloved.  She completes our family.  She has healed our heart. She is Well-Loved by her parents and by all her siblings...sometimes a little to loved.

 

Speaking of siblings, the kids were so excited to finally meet their baby sister.

 They couldn't believe how little she was our how littler her fingers and toes were.

Sisters...how lucky these two are to have each other.

 

In the past we have always had the baby bring a Build-A-Bear for the older kids...this time we had Lou bring them a new book.

 

 

 Lou also got to meet her Papa and Nona. 

 

Then we packed up Lou and headed home as a family of six.  I still can't get over how little she looked in her car seat. Welcome to the family Lou...we have been waiting anxiously for you.