She's Here! Hadley Kate McClellan's Birth Story

Apparently working full time and being pregnant really interferes with a girls desire to blog! Oops. So if you were left wondering how the last 9 months went...here you go!

After the first trimester, all my nausea and fatigue went away and I started to feel like a real person again. I was able to enjoy watching my best friend Sarah get married in Canada, and we visited both of our families back in the states in August and September. Right before we flew back to Kwaj, we had our 20 week ultrasound done in Texas. Being the pedi nurse that I am, I was very nervous for the ultrasound because it was the ultrasound were most abnormalities are seen. Fortunately, all looked well, and my mom and Johnathon got to sit in and watch baby Mac float around all cute as can be!

My second trimester was pretty uneventful, and was marked by a serious appetite increase, Halloween, a trip to Roi, Thanksgiving spent with our island friends, a wonderful Kwaj baby shower, and finally Christmas.Three days after Christmas I flew back to Texas at thirty four and a half weeks pregnant to begin my island maternity leave stateside. Fortunately my good friend Sarah was due a day before me, so we got to fly back to Honolulu together, which made the flight so much more bearable. Johnathon also took pity on me, and agreed to fly me back first class. I have to say...after flying first class, including one leg of the journey in a pod seat...I'm pretty sure I can't fly any other way ever again! Hear that honey???!! ;)

It's the Kwaj Hospital's policy that all pregnant women leave island by 36 weeks in order to ensure that they deliver stateside. Because Johnathon couldn't take that much time off of work, I flew back a month before he did. Making a hormonal and VERY pregnant woman spend a month away from her husband at 9 months pregnant is never a good idea, but getting to spend extra time with my family in Austin before the baby came was wonderful. We ate lots of delicious restaurant food that I don't get to eat on Kwaj, and took lots of walks in an attempt to get the baby to "drop." Johnathon finally flew to Texas on January 27th, and my due date was estimated at February 8th. We had ONE wonderful date night...and then I had my OB checkup on the 29th. I was making a little progress (40% effaced) but I wasn't even dilated yet, the baby hadn't dropped, and my doctor made it seem like Baby Mac wouldn't be making an appearance anytime soon.

Fast forward 24 hours, and I wake up with what I will describe as a "potential, probable, definite water leakage." Although, at the time, I was positive that wasn't what was happening. I always assumed that when your water breaks, its a super dramatic moment in the middle of a crowded store, and that the "water" goes everywhere. Not the case here my friends. Johnathon asked me if it was
"go time," and for as much as I wanted this baby to come out, I couldn't fathom in that moment that I was really in labor. So I coolly replied...."PSH...NAH!"

So we went about our day, and I pretty quickly realized I was having contractions. Again, I had been reassured by all my baby books, blogs, and doctors, that first time babies usually don't come early, and that you can have contractions for days before your in "real labor." So my mom, Johnathon, and I headed out to Babies 'R Us to buy a diaper bag, because this planner ( i.e yours truly) waited to the last possible second to buy one. I'm one of those super prepared moms you can tell. : ) We had lunch, and had so much fun getting excited when I could feel a contraction. Looking back, I totally want to slap myself for thinking "man...contractions aren't bad...maybe I could do this naturally next time!" Ugh...I want to slap my giddy, happy, pregnant self right out of my silly fantasy 'cause I had no idea what was coming, or at the very least, what was coming out of my mouth!

My contractions started to get stronger in the evening and by bedtime I was starting to get uncomfortable. I tried to get some sleep but couldn't. My doctor told me my contractions had to be 1 minute long, coming every 5 minutes for at least 1 hour. This confused the hell out of me because I would have contractions every 4 minutes that lasted for 1 minute, and this would go on for about 45 minutes before they would slow down and start coming every 6 or 7 minutes. I really didn't want to be THAT GIRL that rolls into the ER swearing she's in labor, just to be laughed at and sent home, so I tried to power through as long as I could. By about 4:30am I was really in a lot of pain so I decided to sit in the bathtub. Right as I got in the tub, I felt more "water," and this time I was more apt to believe my water had broken or at the very least was leaking. I still waited to call the doctor as my contractions weren't consistent, but the pain was so bad by 7am that I started throwing up. That's when I threw in the towel, woke up Johnathon and my mom, and we headed to the hospital.

By the time we got there, I was miserable and every person there could see it. They stuck me in a triage room and examined me, only to be told I was 2cm dilated and about 60% effaced. Read: I had a long way to go. They told me to walk around the unit to help speed things along, but not to get my hopes up because I would probably be sent home. I was drooling over the idea of getting my epidural ASAP so you better believe I hauled my large and in charge self around that unit as much as I could. They checked me again around 10:30am and a different nurse told me I was 1.5cm dilated and 70% effaced....HOW DO YOU GO BACKWARDS IN DILATION??!?! I was bummed. The doctor came and talked to me and was going to send me home with an Ambien so I could try and sleep, but then he saw me have a contraction. He said something to the tune of "well your definitely having contractions..." no duh. He then went on to say that they couldn't admit me based on my current situation, but if my water had broken THEN I could be admitted. I realized that as I was in so much pain I had forgotten to tell them about my potential "water leakage." A quick test confirmed that I was indeed leaking amniotic fluid and I was admitted to Labor and Delivery. HALLELUIAH!

They admitted me to my delivery room, started my IV, and told me that because I was in so much pain I wasn't relaxing enough to let my body do what it needed to do. Their recommendation: an epidural. I have never been more on board with a plan in my entire life. They put in my epidural, started some Pitocin to speed things up, and let me get a nap in. I felt glorious. I think I told my nurse that if she could guarantee that I got enough of the epidural medicine to not feel ANYTHING, that I would push this baby out no problem! She just laughed and said she would see what she could do. My dad and sister came later in the day, and we all hung out for a few hours.

The doctor on call that night was Dr. Campaign. She wasn't the doctor I had been seeing, but I couldn't have been more pleased with her. She was so calm and encouraging without being in my face and peppy...loved her.  She came and checked me around 8pm and announced that I was 5-6cm dilated and 100% effaced. She thought I would be ready to push in a couple of hours, and she would be back around 11pm or so to check on my progress. Around 10pm I started to feel more pressure and started shaking a lot. My nurse said I was probably ready to start pushing, but Dr. Campaign was in the middle of a c-section so I had to wait a little bit longer. Dr. Campaign arrived around 11:30pm and told me I was ready to push, and she would be close by. My family left to the waiting room, and it was just Johnathon, my nurse Dana, and I. I pushed for about 20-30min and my nurse said I was making enough progress that she wanted me to stop until Dr. Campaign got there. Once the doctor arrived I pushed for maybe 15 more minutes, then in the middle of a push, Dr. Campaign said "stop pushing!" so I did, and Hadley just kind of slid right out!

Hadley Kate McClellan was born February 1st at 12:35am, weighed 6lbs 2oz, and was 20in long.They let Johnathon announce that Hadley was a girl, and I have to say it was the greatest surprise of my life! Johnathon and I couldn't stop smiling. Johnathon insisted through my whole pregnancy that I was having a boy, so I was worried he might be disappointed, but the second he saw Hadley, he couldn't stop beaming. Johnathon cut the cord, and they placed Hadley on my chest. They got me cleaned up, let me nurse Hadley, then let my family back in to watch the nurses bathe her.

The thought of labor was this huge, ominous thing that I knew I had to endure to meet my baby, but was really terrified of going through. It was definitely painful, but I have never been more proud of anything that I've done, and it really is the most miraculous experience, and one that I know definitely made Johnathon and I love each other even more. We are so blessed to have a healthy baby girl made in God's image, that we love more than life itself. One of my parents neighbors told me that before children you know love, but having children is knowing BIG LOVE, and I think that is so true.  Here are some pictures of Hadley's birthday:

Psalm 139:14

I will praise You, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made; marvelous are Your works, and that my soul knows full well.

Our last photo as a family of two :)

A VERY TIRED me, meeting Hadley for the first time

Amanda and I went to nursing school together and she was my post-partem nurse. GO FROGS!!!

Johnathon, Hadley, and I on our discharge day

Hadley all bundled up and ready to go home!

And Baby Makes 3!

Well...you heard it here last...were having a baby!! We are beyond excited, and can't wait to welcome our baby in February 2015! But I should probably back up a little bit and start from the beginning...

*DISCLAIMER: Lots of fertility and pregnancy details ahead...*

When we first moved out here we talked about trying to get pregnant in our last couple of months before we moved back, so that we could deliver and be home for good once the baby was born. However, once we got out here, we saw that so many couples have had kids while they were out here, and had an amazing support structure from the other families on island. This got us thinking that maybe we didn't have to wait, and that we could speed our timeline up a bit. So at the end of April of this year I got off birth control.

Flash forward a month to May of this year and we decided to officially start "trying." I know with my mom it took her over a year to get pregnant with both my sister and I, and I have had several friends who have struggled to get pregnant, so I really didn't have very high expectations for anything to happen right away. After talking with some of my friends who have had success with temperature charting I chose to chart my temperature as well. We had our friends Jen and Ryan come and visit us toward the end of May, and while we had a great time, I was really tired the whole time. I wrote it off to us just being busy with guests. Toward the end of their stay, I started to get excited because my temperatures were staying elevated, meaning a possible pregnancy. I had promised myself I wouldn't test before I was "late," but I caved and tested anyway....negative. So our friends left, I was still tired and my temps were still elevated, so I tested again...negative. I swore I wouldn't test again until I had 18 days of elevated temperatures which pretty much means your pregnant. At the end of that week I reached day 18, but was still not sure I wanted to test again just to see a negative result. So I went to work and had a kinda bad day, and out of nowhere started crying about it. Not something I normally do. So at lunch I went home and took a test. I gave it 3 minutes before I looked. I said a quick prayer then looked at it, and there it was...POSITIVE!! I honestly sat there staring at it for a long time and I just kept saying "thank you God!" over and over again. I remember looking at  myself in the mirror trying to tell if I somehow looked pregnant or different in some way lol. I didn't want to tell Johnathon over the phone while he was at work, so I shoved the test in my purse and let it burn a hole there until the end of the day, so I could come home and tell him in person. I always envisioned telling Johnathon in some cute way, but I was so excited I just came and sat on the couch next to him and told him to close his eyes. He did and I pulled the test out of my purse and put it in his hand. He opened his eyes and looked at it, looked at me, and was like "Does this mean your pregnant??!!" I just nodded and we both started laughing uncontrollably. Then, of course, we had to go to the store to buy about 5 more tests just to be sure! Here's our results:

Definitely pregnant :) -the bottom one is the first one I took

We went for a long walk that night and just talked about how excited we were, and started imagining the future...next to my wedding this was probably the happiest day of my life. :)

We're having a baby!

My friend on island, Sarah and her husband had been trying for several months to get pregnant, and Sarah had helped me learn to chart my temperatures. We had been comparing notes all month and we knew that both of us had been having elevated temperatures. We met up over the weekend at the dog park, and we were both like "I HAVE SOMETHING TO TELL YOU!" and come to find out...we are both expecting our first baby 1 day apart from each other! God really does work in mysterious ways. I was nervous about going through my first pregnancy so far away from my family back in the states, and I still am, but having a friend to experience the same things right along with me has been such a blessing!

The first couple of weeks after we found out were pretty easy...I pretty much just had an intense craving for mac n' cheese at all times. Part of me was hoping to have some kind of pregnancy symptom just so I knew there really was a baby in there. Then I hit 6 weeks...I felt like I got hit by a car. All of a sudden I was going to bed at 8:30pm and waking up exhausted. I really don't think I've ever been this tired in my life. In addition to that I began to feel really nauseous. I guess I've been lucky because I haven't thrown up at all, but I'm gonna go ahead and say that feeling nauseous 24/7 is no picnic. Fortunately, my doctor took pity on me a prescribed me some anti-nausea medication that has really helped, but the nausea and exhaustion are still there and I am at week 12 now. I sure am hoping that I only have a few more weeks left of this before I start to feel better!

One thing I was not ready for was that I found out I was pregnant pretty early on. When I called to make an appointment, I was told they would see me when I was 8 weeks...that was 1 month away!! I was so paranoid that something would happen before my doctors appointment that I took a pregnancy test once a week for a whole month just to make sure it kept saying pregnant on there! lol yes I am a little bit nuts. But I'm pregnant so I get a free pass, right?!

We finally got to have our first ultrasound on July 2nd. Johnathon came with me, and it was one of the coolest things we've ever seen. There floating away on the screen was our little peanut! We got to see the head, the heart beating, and even two little flippers hands waving hello! Here is our first image of our little peanut:

Our 8week and 3day old baby McClellan- Due February 8th!

We went ahead and told our immediate families on Father's Day which was a lot of fun. We got each of our dad's bibs that said "I love my grandpa" on them, and watched them open them on Skype! It was so much fun to watch there expressions, and both of our families were very surprised and happy! I waited to tell close friends until after the first ultrasound, and we waited to tell everyone else/put it on social media until 12 weeks. Of course I had to ask Sarah to take our pictures for our announcement and we couldn't have been more pleased with them. Here is the picture we used for our announcement, and a couple of the extra's that I wanted to share:

I was so impressed that Sarah actually got a picture of Sadie looking at the camera!

This was the one we went with for our announcement

I can safely say our summer has been pretty low key....mostly involving me laying on the couch napping, then going to bed at 8:30, but we really couldn't be happier. It truly breaks my heart to see other friends struggle with fertility issues, but I know God has a plan and purpose for everyone. It also reminds me how fortunate we are, and we are so blessed to get to be a mommy and daddy to our little one. Thank you to everyone for all the love and support. We can't wait for you all to meet baby McClellan in February!!

The Sekol's Come to Kwaj!

About 2 weeks ago, our friends Jen and Ryan flew all the way from Michigan to Kwaj to visit us! We wanted to make sure they got to experience all that Kwaj has to offer, so needless to say we had one crazy, busy, fun, whirlwind week!

First I gotta say, Ryan and Jen get major brownie points for one of the best gifts ever! A few months before they came, Ryan asked me if we wanted them to bring anything special out to us, since we can't get a lot of stateside luxuries out here on Kwaj. I kid you not the only thing I could think to ask for was a Chai Latte from Starbucks! Lame I know. I told them I was just joking cause I knew there was no convenient way to get a Starbucks drink to me, but really...I'd been craving one for months and that's all I really wanted. After they landed, Johnathon took Ryan and Jen to visit me at work and the first thing they did was hand me a GIANT THERMOS OF STEAMING HOT CHAI LATTE!!!! I mean...these people packed an empty thermos, and asked the people at Starbucks to make it extra hot so it would make the flight from Honolulu to Kwaj and still be warm! Like I said...BEST GIFT EVER!!

Anywho....back to Ryan and Jen! They had a super long flight the first day, so we tried to keep things pretty low key. Johnathon took them on a tour of the island, then, after I got off work we went to watch the sunset at Emon, then finished the night with drinks on our patio.

Part of the island tour: highest point on the island is from telemetry hill

Panoramic view of Coral Sands beach

the "hot tub": the power plant shoots out warm water into the lagoon, and at low tide the warm water gets caught in this rock formation making a hot tub....that may or may not be safe to get in....

Sadie enjoying the sunset (and actually looking at the camera...amazing!)

Watching the sunset on the first night...Sadie wanted to come too

It had rained all day so I'm glad the sun appeared in time for a perfect sunset

Chillin at Casa McClellan

The next morning we took the Sekol's to play golf at Kwaj's super professional , world renowned 9 hole golf course! While none of us are good by any means, Jen, who hasn't played since she was a kid, schooled all of us! She was awesome! I had to work that afternoon, but that evening we all went to watch the first game in the Kwaj World Series.

Jen showing us how its done!

This is me trying really hard to just get the ball airborne!

Taking in the baseball game...(sorry Jen this is the only photo I had of the game) lol

The next day we got up bright and early to catch the flight to Roi-Namur, the island that Johnathon works on at the North end of the atoll. Unfortunately we were flying standby and both the flights were unusually full so we didn't end up making it. However our back up plan wasn't too shabby...

Ryan and Jen getting some quality time at Emon Beach

Love this guy!

Our day in a nutshell..floating the day away...

The next day Jon and Jerrod took us fishing on their boat the Nalu. We were really hoping that Ryan and Jen would catch something while we were out, and boy did they! Jon was our captain and he took us out ocean side along the West side of the atoll. We hadn't been out very long when we caught an Ono which is a kind of tuna that looks like an over sized baracuda. We trolled up the atoll for a few hours, then stopped near a reef so the guys could snorkel. I had no interest in jumping in open water, but the ocean was the closest thing I had to a restroom for the next few hours so...in I went!

I sat on the side for about 15mins trying to convince myself I could jump in, pee, and climb back in without getting eaten by a shark

Me looking totally relaxed after jumping in....

The boys on the other hand were having a blast snorkeling

On our way back to Kwaj we were about to call it a day, when Jon saw a HUGE bird pile off in the distance. A bird pile usually indicates there are fish beneath the surface, and man were there fish! Our lines started going crazy the second we passed through the bird pile. Jen started reeling in a nice yellow fin when we noticed something swimming behind it. Jerrod thought it was a marlin at first, but we quickly realized it was a shark trying to steal out catch! Jen was a pro though, and reeled in the fish without losing it to the shark. Jon wasn't so lucky though...what I would call a "sizeable" shark came up and took a huge chunk out of his fish! It was crazy! I felt like I was in an episode of Deadliest Catch! After hitting it big in the bird pile we took it easy and enjoyed a spectacular sunset over the Pacific. After it got dark, my seasickness decided to rear its ugly head. We went through some pretty rough water as we crossed from the ocean into the lagoon, and I was holding on for dear life. Everyone else seemed to be doing fine though, so I did my best to suck it up. :) I have to say ...I've never been more excited than I was when we reached the dock. Here are some pictures of the bird pile, sunset, and and our catch!

Johnathon, Ryan, and Jerrod ready to fish!

Captain Jon

Jen and I

just some of our catch

fearsome fisherman :)

Massive bird pile..picture this all the way around our little boat

The next day I had to work, but everyone else made it up to Roi to tour the radar Johnathon works at, as well as all the WWII sites. The Japanese had control over the Marshall Islands through most of WWII, and Roi Namur still has lots of Japanese bunkers still intact on the island. Later that night we celebrated having our friends come and visit by having everyone down for a shrimp boil on the beach. It was our first time hosting a shrimp boil, and besides having some technical difficulties getting the water to boil, ( may have had something to do with Johanthon sticking the pot where wind was blowing directly at it...not sure?!?!?) the food was great and it was a big success!

Large Japanese guns!

Ryan comparing foot prints with the Japanese footprints still visible in the concrete

Johnathon showing us how "hard" he works everyday ;)

Ryan and Jen at the Gabby Shack

Of course our one pic of the whole group I wasn't looking..oh well! Here's everyone at the shrimp boil!

The last day of Ryan and Jen's visit we just took it easy and went for a low key boat ride to see some of the ship wrecks in the atoll, then logged some more quality beach time. We couldn't let them leave, however, without making some sushi! Ryan and Johnathon went to town making some awesome tuna rolls for us. Jen was a little scared of eating raw fish, but the rest of us ate some and it was delicious!

This never gets old...

Cheers from Kwaj!

Panoramic of Emon Beach

Boys making some sushi rolls

Prinz Eugen..a German heavy cruiser that sunk off one of the islands in the atoll....

For my dad: Wikipedia says the Prinz Eugen sailed with the Bismarck and helped the Bismarck engage the British ships Hood and Prince of Wales. It was given to the US Navy after the war and was used during the nuclear testing at Bikini Atoll. How cool?!

The concrete wreck...who makes a whole ship out of concrete!?!?

We are so glad the Sekol's came to visit, and that we got to show them where we live! Thanks for coming to visit Sekol's! We hope y'all had as much fun as we did!