Sydney Teresa Dopp

 Sydney Teresa Dopp
Born September 10, 2010

@ 6:41 pm
6 lbs 15.2 oz
19 inches long
In the American Fork Hospital in American Fork, Utah.

 

We want to express our excitement and joy in welcoming our latest addition to our family! Little Sydney came to us safely on September 10th in the American Fork Hospital in American Fork, Utah. There is quite a story with this little one and I will not be able to even begin to express the emotional and spiritual feelings that we felt throughout this experience. But I can at least give an idea by writing down the facts. :)

I had originally planned for a natural birth--vaginal, with little to no pain medication--but because our baby was breeched for so long, that option was no longer available. We scheduled with our doctor to do an ECV (external cephalic version), otherwise known as an inversion where the doctor gives the mom an epidural as he tries to manually flip the baby from on top of the tummy; trying to force the baby into the right position. If successful, then they induce labor to get the baby out asap before she gets the chance to flip back. If unsuccessful, they immediately do a C-section. I personally wanted to avoid a C-section at all costs--I don't know why, I just couldn't feel happy about it. We prayed that the baby would turn on her own, but after a few days of praying we felt that that just wasn't going to happen. So we started to pray that the baby put herself in the safest place possible, that our birthing experience would be a good one, and that we could accept whatever was necessary. I received two comfort blessings in the two weeks prior to Sydney's Inversion date. In them, God never promised that she would flip on her own nor did He say that I would have to undergo a C-section. We really had no idea what to expect, except that He did promise that I would be well pleased and have a good experience.

We got to the hospital at 5:30 am on the 10th. They gave me the epidural and Dr. Lamorauex slowly and nicely tried to maneuver the baby to the proper head-down position. In only 10-15 minutes of trying, Sydney slipped right into position! EVERYONE was surprised! Dr Lamorauex (who also used to be my singles ward Bishop) said he even couldn't believe it! Everyone in the room was prepared to wheel me out for a C-section. The chances they said it would actually work was about 1 in 4 (25% is not very good odds). I said to the Dr., "where is your faith, Bishop?" He chuckled, "I was banking off yours." :)

That was Miracle #1. After having one miracle in a day, we thought that was all we were gonna get. We were so wrong. Since the inversion was successful, they then induced my labor (by Pitocin) and proceeded to the next step of a normal, vaginal birth. "Yay", right?! Well, because they manually turned her, the umbilical cord ended up being right next to her head. The doctor thought about breaking my water because it was bulging anyway, but when they realized that the cord could easily come out with the water, they waited. I was glad that my water actually broke on its own about 15 minutes later. When it did, Kory calmly tells our nurse, who then rushes in with 4 or 5 other nurses to check if the cord was prolapsed. Amazingly, the cord was not! It was still really close to her head, probably by her shoulder, but it did not come out at all. This was again miraculous because if the cord had prolapsed then it would've resulted in a C-section as well. Hence, Miracle #2.

When everything seemed stable, I was able to go through most of labor just fine. I actually got to a point where I was bored and started surfing the internet. haha :) That was mostly because I wasn't expecting to be bored since I was planning to labor mostly at home and concentrating on my relaxation methods we learned. Kory did, however, have a hard time getting away for a few minutes to get some lunch. Our nurse, Jennie, ordered him to get some food in his stomach or he would not be very helpful later. (Poor kid practically starved all weekend because the hospital doesn't feed the husbands.) Every time he thought he found a second to step out, either my blood pressure would drop or the baby's heart rate would drop OR something else random would happen like my water breaking. He did finally find about 5 minutes to run down the street to get some lunch which I was grateful for.

Finally, I was dilated completely. I was only pushing for about an hour, which was good except with every contraction, the baby's heart rate would drop. This started to become very scary for the doctor because the stronger the contraction, the more the baby's heart rate would drop. It came down to it that he had to do an episiotomy to get the baby out now because she most likely wouldn't make it another twenty minutes of contractions. The doctor safely got her out on the next push and Kory cut the cord. They showed us that about a foot away from the baby, there was a true knot in the cord (an actual and literal knot that Sydney had created on her own somehow by swimming through it). They said if they had any way of knowing that there was a knot like that in the cord they never would've done a vaginal birth; they would've done a C-section. Three times we were able to avoid a C-section...I think God heard our prayers, don't you? Miracle #3.

Lastly, Sydney was not breathing when she came out, so they had to do chest compressions on her and give her oxygen for a while. It all was really quick but definitely the scariest part to me. Heavenly Father blessed me with the ability to relax through the whole event, but when I saw the baby not breathing, it was the scariest 30 seconds of the day. She was fine of course because from day one we could tell she was a fighter. Leaving us with Miracle #4.

In the end, I did not get what I "ideally" wanted or what I had envisioned in my head (episiotomy, epidural, breeched baby, low blood pressure and heart rate, etc, etc and so forth...), but it turned out better than I could've predicted. God obviously knows better than us, and he obviously knew what I would truly want before I knew it for myself. Once you put that kind of trust in him, the outcome is always the greatest you could imagine.

We absolutely love this baby and are so glad to have her with us safe and sound! Mother and baby are doing good now. :)

P.S. I am not following the name pattern of my mom's with using "S" names for girls, but I am doing a pattern. I want my children to be named after someone they can look up to and model after--either a Church/Biblical name or a Family member (see Helamen 5: 6-8). This time we chose Teresa for various reasons. Teresa is both my mom and Kory's mom's name, thus giving little Sydney two wonderful people to look up to.

I love this baby.

Giving her oxygen

Baby heart rate (red) and contractions (blue) monitor. As my contractions increased, her heart rate dropped

The true knot. The doctor predicted that it may have been there since the second trimester.

Swollen face

A hat

Sad yet cute cry... :)

A bow

Mommy, Daddy, and baby Sydney

A natural. She already shows that she loves her daddy.

Daddy's attempt to sleep on the HARDEST fold out bed in the world!!! I am SO sorry.

Nana and Grandpa Flanary, Uncles Dustin and Dakota, Aunts Savannah and Sadie
Grandma Teresa

Some CUTE things about our Sydney:

-She is a squeaker. She's seriously like a little squeaker toy! When she sleeps, eats, coos, etc.
-After being tightly bundled and swaddled, she still manages to somehow slip her arm out and stretch. She likes to sleep on her left arm once it's free.
-Nicknames: Peanut (because she is so small and curls herself up into a peanut shape), Squeaker (see above & video below), Baby Angel (because she just is), Syd (not so much now, but I've called her that a couple times).
-Has a kicker's foot. She randomly, while sleeping, kicks out her right leg numerous times for no reason. It's hilarious and I can confirm that is what I definitely felt when I'd have a striking pain in my hip for all those weeks!
-Loves to be cuddled. She's yet to sleep in her crib (also because we can't stop holding her...that may be a reason too. hehe) ;)

37 Weeks- FULL term!!

Well, I actually made it through August. Phew! Now it's coming close enough to count down almost. ;)

I went to the Doctor yesterday and he told me that our little baby is breached. I am not too concerned just yet, since I still have a good two weeks for her to flip on her own. But, out of precaution, they like to schedule a tentative delivery date where they will try to externally and manually flip the baby (called an ECV). If she successfully flips, then they like to induce and deliver that day so as to not chance her flipping back. If she does not successfully flip, then they will do a C-section. The day they scheduled was for Friday, September 10th at the American Fork Hospital (so I can have my favorite doctor).
I really would prefer for her to flip on her own, so anyone willing to pray for our little baby to do so, it would be most appreciated. :) Thanks!

34 weeks - "Can I make it?"

"Can I make it???"

Up til now, I've been surprised at how fast the summer has past. Until now....Lately, I have felt big and uncomfortable constantly. And now I realize why pregnancy seems so long: it's because of the last stretch of 4-6 weeks! At my last doctor's appointment, he told me that technically if I were to go into labor now, they wouldn't stop me. Therefore, if I had my way, she would come tomorrow. But if the baby is to have her way (which she most likely will), she will probably come between Sept 17-24th. Haha Therefore, my latest question is, "how am I going to make it through August?!"

31 weeks

A picture of me at 31 weeks and of my haircut. Now it is all even and I can start growing it out. :)

30 WEEKS! 3rd Trimester!

FINALLY, I am in my third trimester and am SO excited that we only have 10-12 weeks left til we get to have and own and hold and love and cherish a baby all of our own! :D I have grown much these past 10 weeks as you can see. I just can't wait to be a mommy.

26 Weeks!...

As of exactly June 11ish, I am approximately 26 weeks pregnant and doin' GREAT! :) Life is good.

Confirmed!

It's been confirmed: We are having a GIRL! Muah ha ha, all those out there that thought we were having a boy, sheesh! ;)
When I went to the doctor this week, he "double-checked" and for sure we are having a girl. :) We had a good laugh when we saw the baby in another funky position. It's kind of hard to see but in this ultrasound, the baby's foot is touching her forehead! (You can see her leg by her nose in this profile pic of her) LOL! It's awesome! :)

24 Weeks and counting....

So, I know I still don't show much, but at least it's more than last time, eh?! ;)
For an update: I DO feel the baby move A LOT. Everyday, I swear she has an exercise fest and a workout session in my tummy to the point that I start poking back because she's poking me so much. It's hilarious to watch, really.
Ever since we went to visit the Woods, I've wanted this baby to come now! And all my dream consist of a baby in them. I sadly have to wake up and realize that I still have to wait another 4 months. Haha, but hey! There's still lots to enjoy now!

Ultrasound Attempt #2

WE'VE HAVING A GIRL!

We got to go back to the doctor yesterday for the second attempt at an ultrasound. The doctor still had a hard time seeing the baby (because I carry so low), but he was more successful than last time. :)
This time, he was able to check the chambers of the heart, the head, and possible clefts in the face. All of which were normal! Unfortunately, throughout the whole ultrasound, he had to go back about 4 times trying to see the sex of the baby. It was apparently difficult because the baby was crossing her legs the whole time! (I'm telling ya, this baby is out to torture me. ;) ) Luckily, the baby was moving A LOT this time, yet she would not uncross her legs. Finally the doctor gave us his best guess that it was a girl. He said he was 70-80% sure. He wants to check again in four weeks when I return, just to double check. Although, those are pretty good odds for a doctor's guess, so we're gonna plan on it; and I am not disappointed at all with the outcome! Kory and I are going to have a baby girl! Won't that be cute?! hehe :)

Feet

Head- profile

Spine

Head- front/face

"Female"- the three lines below the word were his clue. As you can see, her legs are stubbornly crossed.

Ultrasound...

As most of you know, we went to the doctor yesterday to have our ultrasound and find out what we are having. But.... our little one has already decided to frustrated its mom; its revealing its stubborn personality already. ;) The baby is riding very low (with the placenta packed in above it) and was breached. It was also curled completely in a little ball. Because of this, the doctor could only get a fabulous view of the top of the baby's head and its round spine. We could see the heart beating (which was still very good news that the baby is alive!), but it was the wrong angle to see if it was functioning properly. Since the doctor couldn't get a good look at the face, he also couldn't check for facial malformations. Well, the baby refused to wake up or stretch so we had to reschedule for another ultrasound for May 18th--that was the soonest they could see me.

SO, the good news is: We are having A BABY... but not sure what gender. I'm starting to lean towards my initial impression that its a boy, but Kory is leaning more towards a girl (twit...). :) However, we wouldn't be mad if we were wrong. ;)

To be continued...dun dun dun