Little Sister is HERE!
Welcome to the world sweet Daughter, we are so happy that you are here.
Israelene Joy Nālani Recaido. Born on Monday August 7, 2017 at 5:58pm in Silverdale, Washington. Weighing 8 pounds, 7 ounces and measuring 21 inches long, every bit of her absolute perfection.
Her first name, Israelene, is a combination of "Israel" and my middle name, "Raelene". At the first Sequim special meeting that Josh and I went to when we were dating, we had sung a hymn that had "Israel" under the title and for some reason, I happened to notice that I could just add "ene" to the end of it and it would have my middle name! So in the margin of my notebook, I wrote down "Israelene", just in case I ever needed a cool name. ;-) Oddly enough, during the same meeting, Josh also wrote down a name in his notebook... "Izzy", which he pointed out to me with a smile. We hadn't been talking about baby names, as far as I can remember, but I think it's safe to say that our daughter's name was laid on our hearts by God and so, before we were even married, before we ever knew that we would have a daughter, Israelene got her name.
Her middle name, Joy Nālani, took a bit longer to decided upon. "Joy" is short for "Joyce", my maiden name. It also reminds me of the message that our worker, Andy Scholl, spoke about at our wedding. It was about Jesus' first miracle, turning the water into wine at the wedding, and Andy compared the wine to joy in a marriage, and how joy can run out, but if we trust God, that he will restore our joy, and make it even better (rough paraphrasing to be sure- Andy's message was much more eloquent). "Nālani" is Josh's mother's Hawaiian middle name. We knew we wanted to honor our kids's Tutu (grandmother) but weren't sure if we were going to have it as part of a longer name or have just the name as it was. After much debate and some research, we finally settled on simply keeping it as Mom had it, Nālani. I only wish Mom was here to hold her beautiful granddaughter...
Israelene's birth story:
I had been having contractions on and off for a while. Enough so that Mom had come up on July 31st, the day before my due date. It wasn't until Sunday the 6th, that I decided to finally go to the hospital and get checked out, even though at my appointment on Friday I had not been dilated at all. But by Sunday I was actively loosing my mucous plug and felt like the contractions were getting real, so around midnight, Josh and I headed to the hospital while Grammy and Kamuela slept in bed.
At the labor and delivery triage, I was checked and was relieved to know that I was now 3cm dilated! Progress! But since my water had yet to break and since my contractions were more like 8 to 11 minutes apart while I was there (laying in bed) they weren't going to admit me until I was at least at 5cm. So we walked around for a while and after two hours, I was checked again. No progress. So we were sent home around 3am and I was so annoyed. UGH! How do I not know the right time to get to the hospital?!
My contractions continued throughout the night, waking me up, and I stayed in bed pretty much all morning on Monday too. The contractions continued to increase in intensity and they seemed to be getting closer together so I started to time them, while staying in bed. Eventually they reached about 6 minutes apart and I was really having to breathe through them so I got dressed, packed up my toiletry bag and went downstairs to tell Josh that I wanted to go back to the hospital. I was in the kitchen when I heard the front door open and I said "Babe?" It was my mom, not Josh, but she came in and took one look at me and said "It's time isn't it?" I bust into tears and mom yelled for Josh. "IT'S TIME TO GO! BRING THE TRUCK AROUND!"
We loaded up and headed to the Arnall's house to drop off Kamu. He was excited to get to go see his cousins! I continued to have intense contractions, which is NOT at all fun while you're sitting in a truck. The only thing getting me through each painful wave was the knowledge that they do eventually end. "It has to end. It has to end. It won't go forever. It's going to end." I kept repeating to myself over and over in my head. During one contraction, I was holding Kamu's hand, because he asked "Hold Mama hand please!" as he often does when we're driving, and feeling his little hand in mine really helped me stay relaxed through the contraction, it was such a cool experience.
We made it to the Arnall's and I was able to give Kamu a snuggle in between contractions. At one point, when DoRe' came out, a contraction hit and my mom called out to DoRe' to rub my back for me because Mom was stuck in the back between the carseats. I was bent over the front seat, trying to breathe, DoRe' rubbing my lower back. One of the girls was holding Kamu and when he saw what DoRe' was doing, he wanted to help. I remember so clearly feeling his little hand on my back and it was so perfect. Such a sweet moment for me to focus on in the midst of my pain. I tell you, this kid is so in tune with me, he always knows just what to do to make me feel better! I love him so much... and started crying as we drove away because I missed him already.
A short ride and finally we were back at the hospital. As we were walking in, I had to stop and have Josh support me as another contraction rolled through. This was real. If they tried to send me home this time, I would refuse! We got checked in, breathing through two contractions while doing the admitting paperwork, and then back to triage we went. The contractions continued while I changed into the gown and got into bed. Ohhhhhhhh man, they were so intense! And all in my lower back! Completely different then the contractions I had with Kamu.
Finally I got checked again... it was around 12:45pm. And I was at 5cm! "All right," the nurse said, "You're staying and having a baby!" Finally.
We got moved to our delivery room and as we're settling in, one of the nurses asked me what my pain management plan was. "EPIDURAL PLEASE" was my reply after maybe a nanosecond of hesitation. The anesthesiologist came in to administer the epidural and let me tell you that when she says "It'll feel like a bee sting," it's the most ridiculous thing in the world. Getting an epidural is a million times worse than any bee sting! It's horrible... more like being stabbed in the back with a knife that's on fire... but so worth it when you finally get that sweet relief and you no longer feel like each contraction is your body trying to kill you from the inside.
Once I was all set up, epidural in, catheter in, large cup of ice chips in my hand, I was finally able to relax a bit but I could still feel the contractions in my right hip, bum cheek, and love handle. So even though it was still a little painful, it was at least tolerable, and I was happy to still be able to tell what was going on with my body.
At some point, my mom made the prediction that Baby Girl would make her arrival by 5pm, and then she changed her mind to 6pm, taking into account how fast I progressed with Kamuela. Turns out that Mama is pretty spot on. :)
Josh and Mom both got dinner at some point, I ate my ice chips and tried to rest as much as possible. Pretty sure Josh got a little nap also. My contractions were still painful enough that I would ask Josh to press on my right hip, so we labored together and Mom studied the monitor, watching each contraction build in intensity and frequency. At one point, I felt some liquid on my thighs and assumed that I was (finally) starting to leak some amniotic fluid. Then a bit later I felt the "POP" and gush... my water had officially broke! I pushed the call button to inform our nurse and when she came in, the doctor on call (not my doctor- she was off) also came in. The nurse informed him of my water breaking and his response was "Oh good! I was just coming in to see if she wanted me to break her water!" Then, since my water broke, the nurse had checked me, and I was fully dilated! And plus three apparently. Didn't know that was possible. The nurse had been asking me if I was feeling any pressure down there and I hadn't yet, although I was desperately hoping to feel it because I knew that would mean it was go time! But then the doctor asked me "So, do you want to have your baby? Or do you want to wait until tomorrow to giver the 8/8 birthday?" Ha. Ha. Ha. "No, I think today is good!" might have been my reply. So the doctor started to suit up and I was a little confused because I still hadn't felt the pressure yet but apparently that didn't matter anymore! It was go time!
And so the doctor, who Josh likes to refer to as a "Master Craftsman", instructed me on when to push and how to push and how hard to push and when not to push and to just let the contractions push her out... and 9 minutes later, at 5:58pm, I watched Josh's face as he watched our daughter being born and I'll never forget the look of pure joy he had when she was all the way here! It still brings tears to my eyes.
Overall, Israelene's birth was such an incredible experience, so surreal, so calm, so perfect. I still am in awe. (Plus I didn't tear at all so YAY!) I seriously give our doctor so much credit for helping me to have such an easy and wonderful delivery experience. I am so thankful.
We spent the night at the hospital, Kamuela spent the night at Josh's sister's house, and then in the morning, on Tuesday, my son met my daughter and my whole world was complete.
Israelene Joy Nālani Recaido. Born on Monday August 7, 2017 at 5:58pm in Silverdale, Washington. Weighing 8 pounds, 7 ounces and measuring 21 inches long, every bit of her absolute perfection.
Her first name, Israelene, is a combination of "Israel" and my middle name, "Raelene". At the first Sequim special meeting that Josh and I went to when we were dating, we had sung a hymn that had "Israel" under the title and for some reason, I happened to notice that I could just add "ene" to the end of it and it would have my middle name! So in the margin of my notebook, I wrote down "Israelene", just in case I ever needed a cool name. ;-) Oddly enough, during the same meeting, Josh also wrote down a name in his notebook... "Izzy", which he pointed out to me with a smile. We hadn't been talking about baby names, as far as I can remember, but I think it's safe to say that our daughter's name was laid on our hearts by God and so, before we were even married, before we ever knew that we would have a daughter, Israelene got her name.
Her middle name, Joy Nālani, took a bit longer to decided upon. "Joy" is short for "Joyce", my maiden name. It also reminds me of the message that our worker, Andy Scholl, spoke about at our wedding. It was about Jesus' first miracle, turning the water into wine at the wedding, and Andy compared the wine to joy in a marriage, and how joy can run out, but if we trust God, that he will restore our joy, and make it even better (rough paraphrasing to be sure- Andy's message was much more eloquent). "Nālani" is Josh's mother's Hawaiian middle name. We knew we wanted to honor our kids's Tutu (grandmother) but weren't sure if we were going to have it as part of a longer name or have just the name as it was. After much debate and some research, we finally settled on simply keeping it as Mom had it, Nālani. I only wish Mom was here to hold her beautiful granddaughter...
Israelene's birth story:
I had been having contractions on and off for a while. Enough so that Mom had come up on July 31st, the day before my due date. It wasn't until Sunday the 6th, that I decided to finally go to the hospital and get checked out, even though at my appointment on Friday I had not been dilated at all. But by Sunday I was actively loosing my mucous plug and felt like the contractions were getting real, so around midnight, Josh and I headed to the hospital while Grammy and Kamuela slept in bed.
At the labor and delivery triage, I was checked and was relieved to know that I was now 3cm dilated! Progress! But since my water had yet to break and since my contractions were more like 8 to 11 minutes apart while I was there (laying in bed) they weren't going to admit me until I was at least at 5cm. So we walked around for a while and after two hours, I was checked again. No progress. So we were sent home around 3am and I was so annoyed. UGH! How do I not know the right time to get to the hospital?!
My contractions continued throughout the night, waking me up, and I stayed in bed pretty much all morning on Monday too. The contractions continued to increase in intensity and they seemed to be getting closer together so I started to time them, while staying in bed. Eventually they reached about 6 minutes apart and I was really having to breathe through them so I got dressed, packed up my toiletry bag and went downstairs to tell Josh that I wanted to go back to the hospital. I was in the kitchen when I heard the front door open and I said "Babe?" It was my mom, not Josh, but she came in and took one look at me and said "It's time isn't it?" I bust into tears and mom yelled for Josh. "IT'S TIME TO GO! BRING THE TRUCK AROUND!"
We loaded up and headed to the Arnall's house to drop off Kamu. He was excited to get to go see his cousins! I continued to have intense contractions, which is NOT at all fun while you're sitting in a truck. The only thing getting me through each painful wave was the knowledge that they do eventually end. "It has to end. It has to end. It won't go forever. It's going to end." I kept repeating to myself over and over in my head. During one contraction, I was holding Kamu's hand, because he asked "Hold Mama hand please!" as he often does when we're driving, and feeling his little hand in mine really helped me stay relaxed through the contraction, it was such a cool experience.
We made it to the Arnall's and I was able to give Kamu a snuggle in between contractions. At one point, when DoRe' came out, a contraction hit and my mom called out to DoRe' to rub my back for me because Mom was stuck in the back between the carseats. I was bent over the front seat, trying to breathe, DoRe' rubbing my lower back. One of the girls was holding Kamu and when he saw what DoRe' was doing, he wanted to help. I remember so clearly feeling his little hand on my back and it was so perfect. Such a sweet moment for me to focus on in the midst of my pain. I tell you, this kid is so in tune with me, he always knows just what to do to make me feel better! I love him so much... and started crying as we drove away because I missed him already.
A short ride and finally we were back at the hospital. As we were walking in, I had to stop and have Josh support me as another contraction rolled through. This was real. If they tried to send me home this time, I would refuse! We got checked in, breathing through two contractions while doing the admitting paperwork, and then back to triage we went. The contractions continued while I changed into the gown and got into bed. Ohhhhhhhh man, they were so intense! And all in my lower back! Completely different then the contractions I had with Kamu.
Finally I got checked again... it was around 12:45pm. And I was at 5cm! "All right," the nurse said, "You're staying and having a baby!" Finally.
We got moved to our delivery room and as we're settling in, one of the nurses asked me what my pain management plan was. "EPIDURAL PLEASE" was my reply after maybe a nanosecond of hesitation. The anesthesiologist came in to administer the epidural and let me tell you that when she says "It'll feel like a bee sting," it's the most ridiculous thing in the world. Getting an epidural is a million times worse than any bee sting! It's horrible... more like being stabbed in the back with a knife that's on fire... but so worth it when you finally get that sweet relief and you no longer feel like each contraction is your body trying to kill you from the inside.
Once I was all set up, epidural in, catheter in, large cup of ice chips in my hand, I was finally able to relax a bit but I could still feel the contractions in my right hip, bum cheek, and love handle. So even though it was still a little painful, it was at least tolerable, and I was happy to still be able to tell what was going on with my body.
At some point, my mom made the prediction that Baby Girl would make her arrival by 5pm, and then she changed her mind to 6pm, taking into account how fast I progressed with Kamuela. Turns out that Mama is pretty spot on. :)
Josh and Mom both got dinner at some point, I ate my ice chips and tried to rest as much as possible. Pretty sure Josh got a little nap also. My contractions were still painful enough that I would ask Josh to press on my right hip, so we labored together and Mom studied the monitor, watching each contraction build in intensity and frequency. At one point, I felt some liquid on my thighs and assumed that I was (finally) starting to leak some amniotic fluid. Then a bit later I felt the "POP" and gush... my water had officially broke! I pushed the call button to inform our nurse and when she came in, the doctor on call (not my doctor- she was off) also came in. The nurse informed him of my water breaking and his response was "Oh good! I was just coming in to see if she wanted me to break her water!" Then, since my water broke, the nurse had checked me, and I was fully dilated! And plus three apparently. Didn't know that was possible. The nurse had been asking me if I was feeling any pressure down there and I hadn't yet, although I was desperately hoping to feel it because I knew that would mean it was go time! But then the doctor asked me "So, do you want to have your baby? Or do you want to wait until tomorrow to giver the 8/8 birthday?" Ha. Ha. Ha. "No, I think today is good!" might have been my reply. So the doctor started to suit up and I was a little confused because I still hadn't felt the pressure yet but apparently that didn't matter anymore! It was go time!
And so the doctor, who Josh likes to refer to as a "Master Craftsman", instructed me on when to push and how to push and how hard to push and when not to push and to just let the contractions push her out... and 9 minutes later, at 5:58pm, I watched Josh's face as he watched our daughter being born and I'll never forget the look of pure joy he had when she was all the way here! It still brings tears to my eyes.
Overall, Israelene's birth was such an incredible experience, so surreal, so calm, so perfect. I still am in awe. (Plus I didn't tear at all so YAY!) I seriously give our doctor so much credit for helping me to have such an easy and wonderful delivery experience. I am so thankful.
We spent the night at the hospital, Kamuela spent the night at Josh's sister's house, and then in the morning, on Tuesday, my son met my daughter and my whole world was complete.
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