BROOKLYNN NOELLE

Our little bee made her grand entrance! Here is her birth story;

**I am talking about dilation in this post so if that makes you uncomfortable please refrain from reading! I didn't update everyone publically as my labor progressed and didn't actually plan on making a detailed blog post about it...but her birth is so special to me and I want to share it (:

I had been super uncomfortable. I was only 38 weeks and 4 days pregnant but my petite frame was making the last weeks more uncomfortable than I had imagined. Little miss LOVED to stretch out with her feet on my ribs. I had tried many many things to get dilated or just any sort of progression at all. I walked around a mile a day from 35 weeks on, I started pumping at 37 weeks (which I'm so glad I did), I was eating spicier foods, and doing other things that were safe and natural ways to help labor come on its own. I really wanted her to come on her own terms in the first place. However, because of my small frame, my doctor wanted to induce me on the 11th. Every single weekly appointment I went to I'd be checked for any dilation and every single time...nothing. I finally gave up and just came to terms with her being here on the 11th. In addition to weekly appointments at my OB, I was having scans every week to monitor Brooklynn's growth and the spot on her heart. 

On January 2nd I had a scheduled ultrasound and NST. I woke up and got ready just like any other time I went in. They started with an NST. Normally Brooke passed these quickly and I only sat around for about 5-10 minutes. This time I was monitored for 20 minutes and she wasn't being as active as they wanted her to be. They made me drink some cold water and monitored me for another 10. Finally, they saw what they wanted and I waited for the sonographer to come get me for my ultrasound. The lady came and took me to another room. She checked her growth and estimated her at 6 pounds 7 ounces to 9 ounces. Then she began to measure her amniotic fluid. I don't completely understand this but I guess around the 38th week of pregnancy the placenta starts to slow down and your amniotic fluid starts to decrease. 

On the monitor, I could see where her levels of fluid should be versus where they were. Her levels were supposed to be a "3.7." I'm not sure what the measurement was recorded with (like ounces, mL, etc.), but Brooklynn's levels were only at a .03. The sonographer said, "That looks low but let me ask the Dr." The Dr. came in (not my OB), and sat down. He looked at me and said, "Are you ready to have a baby tomorrow?" Which took me by complete surprise. I'm sure the expression on my face was comical. Anyway, he explained to me that the amniotic fluid starts decreasing at this time. He said that she is pretty much done in there, and at this point, it is safer for her to just come out. He left the room to confirm changing my induction date with my OB. She wanted to wait until Thursday (it was a Tuesday), but he was really pushing to get her out immediately. He even said he would send me right over but my doctor had to confirm it. 

After a while, he came back in and said I should expect a call from the hospital and they'd tell me either that night or that Thursday. I left and called my mom, dad, Shayne and went to my mom's work because I was freaking out. While I was there explaining everything to her, I got the call and my date had been changed to January 3rd at midnight! I was super nervous but also very excited. My nerves were calmed a lot by Susie, thank you so much for praying with me and Brooklynn. I thought this was so special, when you put your hand on Brooke she moved and that was such a cool moment. God was right there with us three. 

I went home and packed the few things I had neglected to for me. I took a bath and relaxed for a little while. I cleaned the house and made sure someone could help with the dogs. I waited for Shayne to get home and just watched TV for a few hours. He got home around 9 and he took a shower, packed his bag, and by the time we talked and did everything it was around 11 and time to get going.

We got to the hospital at 11:45 and had to go in the ER entrance. I filled out a few papers and was told someone would come and get me at 12. A nurse came and got another girl and I and we went to the second floor and went to labor and delivery. We got settled in our room and waited for our nurse to come in.

I wish I could remember my nurses names, if I saw them again or just saw their names I know I'd remember. My night nurse came in along with a few other women. One was there to do my IV, and two were there for paperwork. The lady that did my IV acted like it was going to hurt really bad. She gave me the numbing shot in my wrist and then placed my IV in and I didn't feel anything. She got me on the first try!

Everyone but my nurse and Shayne left at this point. I started to get SUPER nauseas after my IV was placed. My nurse offered my Zofran but I said no, she started to fan me and the nauseasness went away thankfully. My nurse explained what was going to happen. I'd get three doeses of Cervidil and then I'd get Pitocin 3 hours after my last dose of the Cervidil. She predicted it would be around 10 in the morning.

At 1 AM I was given my first dose of Cervidil. I was told to get some rest and to let them know when I needed something. I think I called this nurse like 20 times to unhook me from the fetal & contraction monitors so I could go to the bathroom! Shayne slept through most of the night. The nurse came in and checked me after the first does and I still hadn't started dilating at all. At around 3-4 she came and checked me again and administered another does of the Cervidil. I think I had progressed to a 1 at that point. I still wasn't feeling anything so it wasn't painful yet.

At around 5 AM, things started to feel not so great. My nurse told me it would feel like period pains, but these were NOT period pains. At 5:30 the nurses switched and I got a new nurse. Also at 5:50 I was ALMOST at a 2. I was so discouraged I thought I'd be inlabor forever. The pain was picking up and I was so not getting any rest. Around 5:50-6:30 I was given two doses of some pain medication. I didn't want to do pain meds through my IV but I couldn't take it. They made me a little loopy and took the edge off the first time. The second time I was given the medicine through my IV it only lasted about 3 minutes.

I started recording my contractions so I could see how long they were apart and how long they lasted. At 6:15 I began doing that on this contraction timer app. They were 1 minute and 20-45 seconds apart and they were lasting for around 30-45 seconds each. They were getting really intense at this point. My nurse was so sweet, she had me put my arm under my pillow and had me spoon another and she told me to lean in to my contractions. The nurse then gave me my last dose of Cervidil.

My contractions started getting worse and worse. I was only having back labor because Brooklynn was facing up. I had no breaks in between contractions and they were lasting way longer. My mom got to the hospital at around 7 in the morning. By this time, my contractions were so painful I had my eyes closed the whole time and I was gripping on to the hospital bed. I was in a lot of pain so I'm not sure about the time during the next few events.

At some point I had heard my mom say that they were too close to not have something happening. She asked me about an epidural and I said yes. She told my nurse that I was wanting it then and they started to prep me for that.I remember screaming one time. My mom left the room so my nurse could check me again. Since there was no breaks between my contractions, there was no way she could wait until one was over to check me. So she did during one. That was the most painful thing I've ever felt in my entire life! 

I was at a 3 and the nurse called for the anesthesiologist. She was there very quickly. She came in and raised my bed up, and started telling me what she was going to do and what was happening. I just remember crying and my legs were shaking like crazy. They raised my bed up and gave me a pillow to bend over. My feet were resting on Shayne's knees while he sat on a chair below my bed. I was given the numbing shot and then my epidural. It kicked in very fast, I remember feeling warmth go down my legs and then they were numb along with my waist and back.

After the epidural process (about twenty minutes), the nurse checked me and I had already progressed to a 5. My mom came back into the room and we just talked for maybe 10 minutes and I started telling the nurse I felt like something was happening. She went ahead and checked me even though she just had ten minutes prior. I was at a 7.5, my Dr was in the room when she checked me and at that time she broke my water. I didn't feel that or any warmth or anything like people describe. After she broke my water, she left and my nurse told me to tell her if I felt the urge to push. My dad had been waiting outside and he came in to wish my good luck but not even two minutes after he came in, I told her I felt like I needed to push.

She checked me at 10:05 and I was sure enough at a 10! Two minutes after she broke my water, I went from a 7.5 to a 10! The nurse started calling for my doctor. The nurse started doing practise pushes with me. I only did around 5-6 of them and her head was THERE. My nurse asked me, "Are you pushing?" and I shook my head. Brooklynn was literally going to fly out of there. There was definitley a point where I thought I would have to reach down and catch her! My nurse stayed down south until my doctor got there. Before my doctor arrived she said 'Honey, you have to stop pushing." And I wasn't! Finally my doctor came in, and got ready to deliver Miss Brooklynn.

After ONE push, at 10:47 AM our little princess came in to the world. I can't describe the feeling I felt in that moment at all. It was so amazing. I just cried from the moment she was born until they laid her back on me after weighing her and giving her shots. She weighed 6 pounds and 2 ounces, and she was 18 inches long. She was so perfect. She was so tiny to. I never ever knew how much I could love something until that moment. Time went completley still and it was just perfect.

We did around an hour to two of skin-to-skin together. My amazing doctor delivered my placenta and cleand everything up. My nurse took my catheder out and they started prepping me to go to the Mother-Baby area of the hospital. My awesome nurse wheeled me across the hall and took me to our new room. It was so much bigger and nicer than the labor & delivery room! She said it was one of the fastest first time baby births she'd ever seen in her 30 years of nursing! My doctor was also very impressed and reffered to me as a "super delivery woman."

I met my new nurse, Melissa, and she took care of me the rest of Wednesday. She was so sweet! She gave me my RhoGam shot since I'm O- and Brooklynn is O+. My epidural had worn off and I was able to get up, go to the bathroom myself and everything! After a while we started having some visitors. Then we met our night nurse, Kristen, who was so sweet. She came and got Brooklynn a few times for her PKU tests. I got stuck a few more times to test my blood as well. Melissa was my nurse for a little while on Thursday, but then she had to get switched and we had a nurse named Alexandra. All of my nurses were so lovely and kind. Alexandra really was so sweet and she just really calmed a lot of my nerves and overall just really made me smile. Not that my other nurses didn't, Alexandra was just my nurse for most of our time there. She was also our nurse all Friday until we left. She listened to all my concerns and she would also just talk to Shayne and I. It was so nice of her. I will never forget any of my nurses kindness and really just selfless personalities.

The next few days were pretty tiring with all the visitors coming and going, and the nurses doing their routinely checks on baby and me. It was somewhat hard to get any sleep. The only downside to our hospital stay was feeding this girl. I had some problems with breastfeeding her. Anatomically I don't have the ideal "parts" for breastfeeding. So I was having to hand express colostrum into a medicine cup and give it to her through a syringe. Hand expression was exhausting and so so stressful. Also, the fact she just couldn't latch on to me made me very sad. Instead of hand expressing into a medicine cup, I started pumping. I'm so glad I started pumping once a day from 37 weeks on. I was used to the feeling so I wasn't in a lot of pain doing it.

We left on Friday night, and went home. She had lost weight of course and was 5' pounds and 13 ounces when we took her home, she was wearing preemie clothes! The dogs were very sweet when we got home and our first night home we got so much more rest than what we did in the hospital. It was great! Saturday we had some visitors, Sunday she had a weight check. She had dropped more at 5 pounds and 10 ounces. On Monday, we had her first pediatrican appointment. She was weighed again and she had gained 3 ounces in one night! My milk had come in on Sunday so she was able to really start packing it on!
Two weeks later she had her first appointment with her actual pediatrician. She was already past her birth weight! 

Brooklynn is such a sweet baby. She is so cute and we just are obssessed with her. She has the sweetest little face and is sooooo fun to cuddle with. I will never be able to describe the love I have for her. It is unlike anything I've ever felt before.