The BIRTH story!

Once again, I feel as though I must start out with a disclaimer, in red for a reason--- this is a birth story, complete with photo documentation. So if you are squeemish about this sort of thing, just skip this post :-)

I started this post at 6 AM Saturday morning... I finished it Monday night 10 days later! People are already teasing me about second child syndrome… it isn’t like I don’t’ care, or that I’m not intending to do these things, but honestly, when the heck am I supposed to complete them? Two kids under 2 is time consuming, to say the least. Shoot, I barely even sleep without company, most nights I end up with both of them laying on me! But let me tell you 1) I love every moment with these two! 2) I WILL keep on Chet’s ‘documentation’ of his life! I swear it! Even if I’m lagging behind, it WILL get done!

The birth story...

Well, I had blogged earlier that yesterday at my appointment I asked the OB to strip my membranes- and she did at about 9:30 am. I had been 5 cm dilated for a week and my body was just waiting on contractions, so she and I both thought I'd be a good candidate for a stripping. She joked "see you tonight" because she had felt like it was a "good stripping" (whatever that means). I felt fine after I left my appointment and didn't have any huge contractions or anything. While I did feel like "something" was going on, I wasn't so sure that wasn't my wishful subconscious playing tricks on me.

That afternoon at about 3 pm, my mom came home and we went for a walk in the neighborhood. While we were walking I told my mom that I felt something different, my stomach was tightening and it felt like my body was making progress. Again, it didn’t feel painful or like contractions and I could walk/talk through them, so I knew it wasn’t serious labor. Mom asked if I wanted to go home but I told her that I wanted to help my body along as much as possible, and really I wasn't in any pain, it just felt like *something* was happening.

After our walk, nothing happened. We were having a family pizza and swim night at our house to welcome Paige home from South Africa and so the family could see Jeremy while he was here. I got in my swim suit and changed Evie and we went out to the pool. While we were sitting by the waterfall with our legs dangling in the edge, I felt a contraction. I eventually had another one and so I decided to ask Josh to wear his watch so that I could keep some sort of time of them without having to yell out at him each time and alarming the whole family. The contractions were not too painful; I could talk through them, and seemed to be about 10 minutes apart. I put the watch on at about 5 pm, when the party was scheduled to start. The contractions came, some about 10 minutes and then some closer to 5 minutes. My doctor had been pretty adamant that when my contractions were 5 minutes apart that I was to go to the hospital as soon as possible, because of how far dilated I already was. The contractions weren't too painful but I knew we'd be busy with dinner soon so I asked Josh to supervise Evie in the pool and decided to make my way inside to put the contents of my hospital stuff into a bag. I walked upstairs and went to put my stuff in the bag and BAM- my contractions were suddenly painful. I went outside to tell my mom that if she had wanted to wash her hair before the hospital (which is something she had expressed she wanted to do) that she'd probably better get on it; because we'd need to leave once we ate dinner.

Mommy and Evie hanging by the pool while I timed my contractions


My mom went to shower and I went back up to finish my bag, and all of the sudden, I was having serious labor- my contractions were painful and seemed to be coming faster, I didn't know how fast as I wasn't wearing Josh's watch but I hadn’t even put my stuff in my bag yet, because every time I walked upstairs things intensified. I went back downstairs, burst in on my poor mom about to get in the shower, and said, “I think you should just rinse off, don't get your hair wet, we need to go”. I went outside and told Josh that he'd better come in and get ready and asked my sister to supervise Evie. And then all of the sudden I realized- "Holy cow, it's almost 6 pm on a Friday night... we're going to hit traffic!" Coming from the 'city' where everyone works and going to Roseville, where everyone lives, on a Friday night is a baaaaaaad idea if you want to go get dinner in a timely manner. It is definitely not something you want to be doing when you are in labor, 5 cm dilated, and contracting. The idea of contracting in the car while sitting in miles of traffic made me very anxious.

As I continued to pack my bag, I continued to get more nervous as the pain was intense. I really needed to leave for the hospital, I knew it was serious. My family all came in from the poolside and helped me get my stuff together. My dad came home from getting pizzas and saw all of the chaos and was so confused, as when he left I had told him I had may need to go to the hospital within a couple of hours, and now all of the sudden it was a rush. Finally, everyone was ready and Dad wanted to pray. I almost said, "THERE'S NO TIME!" but I didn't, I figured prayer couldn't hurt - so I just said, "make it fast!". We ran out the door and got in the van, my parents got into their car to follow us. It seemed like everything was taking forever, I wanted to burst into tears. I was trying so hard to be patient but I really was anxious about getting to the hospital.

5:55 PM-- We got in the van and I didn’t know why everyone was taking so dang long! Every moment seemed like forever and I started to cry and told Josh, I just really need to get moving. I was hoping all my stuff had made it in, but I had no clue if it did, I just knew *I* needed to get to the hospital even if none of my material goods made it! I told Josh to hurry and it seemed like we hit every frustration, slow, dumb people are everywhere when you are in a hurry!

We got on the freeway and traffic is.... stopped. Meanwhile I'm having contractions and I start to have Josh time them. I realize that they are 2 to 3 minutes apart and I start to wig out- if traffic doesn't move it could take us over an HOUR to get to the hospital. I don't have an hour. I am in excruciating pain, more so than I had EVER felt when I was in labor with Evie, it's so different, no matter how I move it isn't relieved in the least. And Josh is scared for me but trying to be reassuring and asking me how he can help. My parents are right beside us, stuck. I'm started to mentally lose it. When the contractions start timing consistently 2 minutes apart I tell Josh, "I need you to do something. I need you to drive on the side of the road. I need you to just do it and not fuss about it- just get over and drive. I've got to get the hospital". He asks me, "What if I get pulled over??" I say- "GOOD! Then the cop can get us there even faster. Just drive and do it!" So he did. I know it made him nervous- gosh, he was nervous- but he did it for me. We blew past miles worth of traffic and I had contractions in the mean time. I was really starting to get worried, these contractions were awful...

6:40 -- We pulled off the freeway and hit red lights the only 2 stupid lights in between the freeway and the hospital! I found out later Josh ran one; my eyes were closed having contractions. Josh flew into the hospital parking lot and I warned him to be careful, we didn’t want to smash anyone leaving the hospital with their new baby! I jumped out of the car before he had even put the car in park. I had ANOTHER contraction as I was walking up to the entrance and was holding my stomach and BAWLING, I thought I was going to have this baby in the entry way and was so overwhelmed. I started to feel 'pressure' and was sure that I had progressed too far and was going to have to give birth to this baby naturally, something that I had no inclination or desire to do. A nurse saw me and rushed out with a wheelchair to get me, another nurse held the door. They had me sign in and sign consent -- while doing so I told them that I was at "a 5" this morning and how close my contractions were together-- it was the fastest admittance ever! They practically ran me straight to a room and started hooking me up to an IV, skipping the normal admittance procedures of going to the exam room and being monitored.

In my room I met my wonderful nurse, Debbie, and she checked me, I was at a 7. I could feel so much pressure and she said that was my bag of waters. I knew that if I let the contractions get to me, if I gave into them, that the bag would burst and the baby would come fast. I progress really fast after my water breaks… I was begging for my epidural and Debbie sent another nurse to look for one of the anesthesiologists. However, both of the anesthesiologists were in trauma and surgery at the moment and were unavailable-- and that about sent me over the edge. I thought for sure, they wouldn't make it in time, and the further I progressed the more confident I was that there was no way in heck that I wanted to give birth naturally.

Here's the deal: I always thought that if I had to, I could give birth naturally. W-R-O-N-G! Lol! The way that I expected it to feel was completely different than the reality. There was NOTHING natural about the pain I was experiencing. I thought it would feel like my body was progressing, like it would be a natural, moving of the baby and the labor would be sequential and almost, orderly. I, instead, felt sick and like I was tearing apart, not moving the baby down to its destination. It was terrible. I commend those that choose this way of giving birth or have had to do this way because of circumstances, but I can tell you-- I do not ever ever ever wish it upon myself.

Once at the hospital, my mom took over as my labor coach, rubbing my back and getting me through contractions. There is something that is more reassuring about having a woman who has been through it giving you the encouraging word than a husband who is praying his way through it for you. Don't get me wrong- Josh did awesome. But he and I both knew that we were both scared out of our minds and our words of reassurance were nothing but that-- words. We were wishing this reassurance upon ourselves. Mom's reassurance seemed like it came with authority!

Nurse Debbie was amazing. She busted her butt moving as fast as possible getting me set up and prepped for an epi and admitted. She moves so fast! She checked me at I was at 7 cm dilated and my bag of waters was bulging- so that was the pressure that I was feeling. As I waited for the anesthesiologist my contractions intensified, but I had to lay down and wear the monitors so that I could get the epi, and the monitors were squeezing my body right where my contractions were and I was trying so hard to relax so that my contractions wouldn't break my water, as I was worried I would progress too fast for an epi if my water did, in fact, break. My mom was wonderful, reassuring me and holding my hand. At one time I realized that I was about to bite her!! My mouth was literally on her arm and then I had a moment of clarity, like what the heck am I doing?! My pain just sucked, I literally was out of my mind.


I'm not sure what time but Dr. Bodily came in, but holy cow, I was so glad to see him!! The anesthesiologist made it!! He flew through it, he was so much faster than my last guy, and he was super considerate of the pain I was in. He skipped right over the doctor dialog and jumped right into administering the medication. I had 2 contractions while he was giving me the epi but I didn't dare move, I just dug my toes down into my poor mother! The dr said I did great and was surprised I didn't move- I told him that high on my list of priorities for the day was coming home un-paralyzed, and I wasn't about to move while he was inserting a needle into my back! Once my dose came in, it was wonderful, I could feel the epi spread through my body and it felt almost tingly. I could still feel my legs and stomach and everything, but the bite of the pain was gone. I was sooooo immensely grateful and praising the Lord that he had made it in time!


The nurse delayed checking me again, I think she didn't want to agitate or further things along, as my doctor was delayed. I think my OB was in a c-section delivery at the time, so we were waiting for her to come before I started to push and get ready. The anethesiologist let me know that I had low blood pressure that was concerning them; he had me lay back and relax and made me promise that I'd tell the nurse if I felt lightheaded or dizzy. After that, I was kind of paranoid that I was lightheaded! I kept thinking, "Do I feel normal?", because I really didn't want to pass out before I delivered. Luckily, I didn't and my blood pressure never was an issue.

At 8:15 my doctor arrived on the scene to check things out. She broke my water and let me know I was at an 8-9 cm, 90% effaced, and 0 station. Won't be long now!! Nurse Debbie told me to let her know if I have any pressure, as that would mean the baby had moved down. She said it could take 5 minutes or an hour. She went back to the nurse’s station and was monitoring my contractions from there.

At 8:30 I touched up my makeup. Yes, my makeup. That's so me! I had to have myself together, especially if this was going to be one of "those" big moments in my life! I was going to meet my son; I needed to look my best ;) About this time, my best friend Katie arrived. She was going to be in the delivery room when he was born, and I asked her to be in charge of updating my "twitter" so that people would have an up-to-date account of what was going on, since I had updated that I was going to the hospital and was in labor.

In the room with me: Mary Ellen (mother in law), Laurie (my mom), Paige (my sister), Jeff (my dad), Josh (my hubby and the daddy to be, again), Katie (my best friend)

In the waiting room: Jeremy (Paige's boyfriend), Dave (father-in-law), Stacey (cousin), Nate (cousin), Taylor (Nate and Stacey's daughter and Evie's bestest friend), Evie (my daughter), Grandma Jo (Josh's grandma), and Barb (my aunt).

The grandmas:


Katie and I (I look like I'm choking her, I was trying to hug her without sitting up!)


Dad on 'discreet' video duty (ie- he was positioned so he could see the birth without seeing 'the birth')


Josh getting his head rubbed by his mommy-- he wasn't feeling so great after all the stress of getting me to the hospital! We both, apparently, needed our mommies :)
1

LOL--- A "Brooke Birth"- Starbucks, Blackberry and a Camera- all that's missing is my make up bag






At 8:50 I called the nurse because I was feeling an odd pain in my lower abdomen, and I didn't know if that was the pressure I was supposed to let her know about or not. It wasn't a pressure I was expecting to feel and it was really uncomfortable and painful. Nurse Debbie checked me out and said I was 10 cm, almost all the way effaced, and that the pressure I was feeling was that the baby had moved down. She told me I may begin pushing soon!

At 9:15 Nurse Debbie had me do a practice push. She only let me push once to see how I did and then she made me stop.

At 9:24 Dr. Nelsen arrives and starts to prep for me to push. She sits down and tells me to give her a push, so I push like I remember pushing at the end with Evie, when I really started to understand how it was supposed to feel (like rowing a boat was how the nurse explained it to me last time). I push twice like that and then she tells me to stop, comments that I'm a "power house" and then tells me to give her a push that is 5% of that. I cannot tell you how hard that was to gauge! Here I am giving these little pushes, trying to follow her instructions, all while a baby is coming out of me! I pushed his head and one of his arms out, it looked like he was waving to the crowd, and he started crying. (Side note- both of my kids cried before they were all the way born!). At 9:29 I gave another push, and he was born!















It was sooooo cool! They put him right on me but his cord was so short that I had to keep him on my lower abdomen. Josh cut the cord, and since it was short the scissors were close to me. Dr. Nelsen warned him, "be careful- she'd never let you forget it if you cut her", hee hee. They let me hold Chet and see him for a bit and then they took him to the in-room care to weigh him, measure him, and clean him up. When they were taking care of him, they laid him on his stomach and he scooted on the table!! My strong boy!!

Him scooting!


Being born is hard work!


Daddy, Papa Jeff, and Chet


Proud Daddy


Alert from the very beginning!


At 2 weeks early he weighed 7 lbs 13 oz, 19.5 inches, and his head measured 35 mm. (And since everyone asks-- at 3 weeks early Evie was 7 lbs 9 oz, 19 inches, and 35 mm). He got 7/8 on his apgars.

Getting his 'stats'


They were a bit worried about his body temperature, but they put him back on me, skin-to-skin, and covered us with warm blankets. It was so amazing and very different from my experience with Evie, as she was taken away at this point to the nursery to be monitored for breathing issues. He didn't leave us- he got to stay with us which made me so amazingly happy!! It was such a special experience to have those moments with our boy! He went from 96 degrees to 100!! Guess our skin-to-skin worked!


The family came in to see him, and peeked at him under the blankets. We didn't have Evie come in because we were worried that if she saw me and then had to leave me at that hour of night, it would be a melt down. I was bummed, I really wanted her to meet her brother, but I knew it was best to wait for the next day.

Barbie showing me pictures of Evie and Taylor having fun in the waiting room


Chet under the blankets




He was sooooooo alert!! His eyes were wide open and he was soaking in the environment and the world around him, he was ready to be born! Another difference than with Evie, she was a sleepy, sleepy girl and we really didn't see her that awake until she was about a month old!

The nurse had me breastfeed him and he latched right on and fed. I could've cried in disbelief, amazement, and gratefulness. After my failed experience in trying to nurse Evie, I was having this moment with my child where my body was continuing to provide for his every need. My body was cooperating, I was producing nourishment for my son-- I could do it. And, watching him nurse so effortlessly, I forgave myself for not nursing Evie. It was one of those moments of clarity for me where I saw my experience with Evie for what it truly was and I realized how hard it truly was, and that at the time, I made the best decision for my daughter and I, and that I had to release that experience and take it for what it was.



Before the family left, my dad, Dave (my father-in law), and Josh laid hands on Chet and my dad led the family in a prayer for him. What a special moment in time that was- this little boy has come into a family who loves him so very much and truly is blessed.

The family praying (the nurse was checking his stats)


I could go on and on.... truly, what a wonderful memory his birth is for me. It makes me sad that the details will all blur together in my memory in such a short time, and that this little guy that I hold and snuggle will soon be a young man. For now, I take these moments and soak them in like the sun on warm summer day; I sniff his little head after a bath, I watch him hug my breast as he feeds and sigh contentedly when he's had his fill, I run my fingers along his tiny features, and I praise God for blessing us with another child.

So many friends encouraged me that the love was there for a second child... that the feelings would come... and what they said was so incredibly true. His presence in our family, for as brief as it has been, has been monumental. Although it's only been 10 days, it's like he's always been a part of us, that there has always been a place waiting for him in our family.