Sophia's Birth Story

It has been two weeks since Sophia was born so I thought that I should go ahead and write down her birth story before I forget too many details. With each pregnancy I have had dreams of going into labor naturally and having an unmediated delivery. Unfortunately that plan doesn't seem to work out for me, but each of my girls has an incredible birth story. While Sophia's was the least dramatic and traumatic, it was a beautifully special day.


On the morning of August 16 I was scheduled for an induction due to medical complications. (For details you can read all of the updates I did in July & August.) When we got to the hospital we were told that my doctor was on call for another doctor at the Mansfield hospital and wouldn't be at Arlington Memorial from 12:00-5:00. While it was disappointing news the back up doctor was one I had seen before and really liked. They had me all hooked up and in the system around 9:00am. Around 9:30 they decided that the monitors weren't keeping good track of Sophia's heartbeat so they wanted to break my water and put internal monitors in. My stubborn little angel didn't mind having the water broken, but she did manage to push the internal monitors around & gave the nurse fits! (It was quite comical!)


Overall my labor wasn't too terribly bad until 11:00am. At that point they had cranked the Pitocin up and I was having bad back labor. Jeff was a sweetheart and tried massage/ counter pressure, but it wasn't much help because there was little to no down time between the contractions. After a little while of this & having my BP start to climb I made the decision to get an epidural. The anesthesiologist was amazingly quick! The nurse was sitting there telling me what to expect and what I should feel, and I was trying not to laugh b/c he had already finished before she was 1/2 way through the explanation! Around noon the epidural had kicked in and we were in a wait and see mode.


Once I had the epidural my labor seemed to go by incredibly fast. By 12:30 I was 5-6 cm & fully effaced, by 2:45pm the nurse wanted me to see if a small push would do the trick to get past the last little lip of cervix that was being stubborn. It did the trick and they called the doctor in. The doctor came in and started getting his gear on while the nurses started breaking down the bed for delivery. As soon as they had my legs in the stirrups nurse #1 said, "I see a head!" Jeff had gone over to the table to grab the camera and he looked up after the nurse commented & he said, "Yep... its a head!" Nurse #2 looked over & for some reason felt the need to confirm that there was definitely a head coming out! The poor doctor, who barely had his booties on, said "Hey wait for me!"

The bed wasn't ready and the doctor didn't have on all the protective garb, but Sophia decided that she was ready to come! One small push was all it took to help guide her shoulders out and at 3:10pm our beautiful little girl was born!

The medical staff kept saying wow this is a big baby & trying to guess her weight & height before the official numbers came through. Sophia weighed in at 9.8lbs & 21 1/4 inches long... She was my biggest baby and quickest delivery! While they were cleaning her up and measuring her Jeff noticed that her eyes got big when she heard my voice, and she kept looking all around for me. The first thing I noticed when they were carrying her around was her hair! Neither Chloe or Hannah had much hair, but little miss Sophia has dark brown hair that I could actually put a bow in!

Chloe

Hannah

Sophia

So far we haven't had to deal with sibling rivalry, unless of course you count the arguments that Chloe and Hannah have about whose turn it is to hold Sophia, or who is going to get something for me that I need for Sophia. While there have been sleepless nights, and a bit of frustration when big sisters want to help a little too much, we are truly blessed!

The Goldsack Family

12 years ... My how time flies!

12 years ago Jeff and I were young, in love, and had a world of possibilities before us. We had no idea where our journey would lead, but we knew we wanted to travel it together. It hasn't always been easy, in fact there were times it would have been easier to give up, but we stayed together and our lives have been richly blessed!!!


We are still in love, but it has aged like a fine wine instead of the starry eyed puppy love we experienced as newlyweds.

We still don't know exactly where our journey will lead us, but the experiences we have had in our marriage thus far taught us that we can weather any storm as long as we lean on one another and trust God.


Jeff,
I am so thankful for you and everything you do for our family. You have grown into a wonderful husband and father. I know that your Dad would be proud to see what you do on a daily basis for us, and the relationship you have with your daughters!

I love you more today than I ever could have imagined when we said our "I do's" 12 years ago!

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Sophia Marie Goldsack

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I will post Sophia's birth story when I have some free time. Until then here is her birth announcement!

Thank you for all of your prayers and support!

Last day to hold 2 girls...

Well today was our last full day to hold 2 girls tight, to kiss 2 little girls good night, and to share our time as a family of four. By this time tomorrow we should have our third little girl in our arms!

The one question I am asked over & over is if I am excited. The answer is a resounding YES!!! The girls are even more excited than Jeff and I are! Chloe has been hugging and kissing my tummy while talking to Sophia. This morning Hannah was telling me how she will be a good big sister, how she will hold Sophia and rock her to sleep. (Personally the violent rocking motion Hannah was making would make me scream, but hey Sophia may like the ride!)

We will all be getting up bright and early to spend a few moments together before Jeff and I head off to the hospital. The girls each have a goodie bag of coloring fun that they will get to open tomorrow as a special treat, and a friend of mine will be watching them (aka spoiling them rotten!) while I am in labor.

Even with some of the stressful stuff I have had to deal with in the last week getting ready I feel incredibly blessed! I have had some amazing women invite me out for a last hurrah before Sophia arrives, I've spent lots of time with my little family, and have been able to catch up with several friends via phone calls/ emails.

Thank you for keeping us in your thoughts and prayers! I will do my best to post pictures after Sophia makes her arrival!

38 Weeks & counting.....

Yesterday I had my 38 week check up with a sonogram to monitor Sophia. (The sonogram that was done is called a BPP.) Shortly before I went back Sophia was kicking and wiggling, but as soon as I laid down on the table the stinker went to sleep! The sono tech ended up using a buzzer to wake Sophia up... it was quite comical because as soon as the buzzer sounded Sophia jumped and put her hands in front of her face. When it happened again she kicked the sono tech. I could almost imagine Sophia saying "What in heck are you doing?!?!?! I'm sleeping here!!!" Sophia passed all of things they were looking for and was declared a very healthy but stubborn baby! LOL

My BP is still high, but has lowered slightly, I've lost a bit more weight (I promise I am eating!), and overall I am doing well. Ohhh and shock of all shocks the GBS test came back negative!!! So I don't have to have antibiotics during labor!

If Sophia decides that she doesn't want to come out this weekend I will be induced on Tuesday morning! We will let everyone know when we are headed in and we will keep updates going on face book if we get the chance. Once Sophia is born we will send out texts w/ pictures, and will start the phone chain to ensure that all family and friends know about her arrival. The one thing we would like to ask all friends and family is to give us a bit of time before visiting Sophia in the hospital. We would like Chloe and Hannah to have a few special hours with Sophia before anyone else. After we have had our family time I will send out info about visiting hours and what room we are in.

For those that know me it won't come as a surprise, but my hospital bags are all packed, I've gone through my checklist twice now, the baby seat is in the car, friends are lined up to watch the girls while I am in labor, and we are ready for Miss Sophia Marie to make her grand entrance!

Showers of Blessings

A couple weeks ago Bethany, Kouri, and Michele all threw a baby shower for Sophia. Since Sophia is baby # 3 and our family tends to pass around all of the baby items, there really wasn't the need for clothes or toys. What we did need was the practical stuff like diapers, wipes, baby shampoo/ body wash, a new highchair, and of course a Boppy!

I felt incredibly blessed with all of the things our friends and family gave us... in fact with the exception of a stroller we were given everything off of our registry! When I woke up the next morning and saw the pile of gifts I felt an overwhelming sense of love and support from those who gave up a bit of time and hard earned money just to make sure Sophia had everything that she needed!

It's amazing how just a simple gift can add up to be a huge blessing in the lives of others!

37 Weeks... there is a light at the end of the tunnel!!!

Well today was my 37 week check up, sono to check fluid levels, and a non stress test. All the tests came back great... Sophie has plenty of fluid, she is still head down, her heart beat is steady & strong, and I am already 2-3 cm dilated!

There was a down side though... my BP was back up & even higher than before. Sooo that means I will be getting induced early unless I go into labor on my own. The good news is that Sophie is considered full term & I have already started having some nice warm up contractions.

So please keep those prayers, good thoughts, and energy this way... We are excited to see our newest little girl soon!!!

What's in a name?

I love names, their meanings, and knowing WHY someone chose a particular name for their child. Jeff and I had 4 names picked out before Chloe was even born. They were Chloe Nicole, Hannah Lee, Caleb Robert, and Jonathan Michael. When I found out I was pregnant again I started praying and searching for names. I tossed around a few names with Jeff until I found the perfect fit for our daughters name. So I jokingly told Jeff that if he didn't speak up I was naming our little one!!! At first he wasn't too thrilled about the name, but I think it has finally grown on him.

I'm sure some of you would like to know how I came across this perfect name.
#1 - I wanted a name that wasn't too incredibly common, but wasn't obscure.
#2 - It needed to have a good strong meaning.
#3 - I also wanted to name my little one after Mom. (if it was a girl)

Everyone knew my Mom as Jan or Janell, but that name was already given to one of my beautiful nieces so it was a no go. A few people knew that my Mom's FIRST name was Mary. The name Mary didn't quite fit so I played around with derivatives of Mary & viola!

Sophia \s(o)-phia\ as a girl's name is pronounced so-FEE-ah. It is of Greek origin, and the meaning of Sophia is "wisdom".

Marie \m(a)-rie\ is a French variant of Mary from which the meaning and origin of the name is derived. The meaning of Marie is "beloved"


Most of the family refers to the baby as Sophie, but Hannah refuses to call her anything other than SO-PHI-A! :)





For the record we also had a different name if it turned out to be a boy.

Gabriel - Hebrew - God is my strength.
Robert (after Jeff's Dad & Grandpa) - Teutonic - Famous, bright fame.

Changing positions

I went in today for the follow up to Friday's appointment.. read 36 Weeks post for more info.

While my blood pressure has gone down it is still elevated. (140/90) Thankfully there is no protein in my urine, but Dr Steidl wants to monitor my BP twice a week to keep tabs on things. If it stays at this level we will be looking at an induction in a few weeks. So for now I am under orders to relax, not over do it, keep hydrated, and basically not stress over anything.

Now for the good news! Baby Sophia is head down!!! So hopefully she will stay that way & not worry Mommy anymore! :)