Brooklyn's Birth Story

Tuesday, May 1, 2012
9am:We had a doctor’s appointment . We started with an ultrasound and then had the non-stress test. Dr. Hess came in and told us that the baby was estimated to be 9lbs 14 oz (which could be off by 20%) and that my fluid levels were still high. My doctor said that she didn’t want to risk me going into labor any longer because of the complications that can come from having too much fluid. So we scheduled our induction for Wednesday night. When she checked me I was dilated to 3 cm. We called our family and told them that Brooklyn should be born sometime on Wednesday.

6pm: We decided to do a special date night with Sam as it would be our last family outing just the three of us. We went through the drive thru at Dairy Queen and got ice cream. We then headed to the movie theatre to see Disney Nature’s Chimpanzee.

7pm: The movie started and almost immediately I started having some painful cramps. They were hurting my back and I stood up at the movie theatre and started to walk around because I was uncomfortable. They would come and go about every 20-30 minutes. I got up and went to the bathroom several times and was kind of confused as to what I was feeling.

9pm: We got home and put Sam down to bed. I continued to feel uncomfortable and I told Nic that this was the worst I had felt. He suggested calling labor and delivery, but I didn’t know if painful cramps could be contractions. So we decided to start timing them. They were about 12-13 minutes apart so I decided to get a priesthood blessing from Nic. I was still confused (because my contractions with Sam felt so different from this). The blessing said that everything would go well with the delivery and that I would know what to do. I decided we should go to bed and see if these went away.

10:30pm: Nic starts timing the contractions for me on an app on my phone. I could no longer sit down through them and was pacing around our bedroom with each one. They were coming about 10 minutes apart. I started crying through a lot of them because they were so painful. Nic was helping me to think of happy things to get through them. At this time we still weren’t sure when/if we should go to the hospital.

Midnight: Contractions were between 6-8 minutes apart. We decided it was time to go to the hospital. We called our amazing neighbor Tammy and asked her to come sleep at our house while Sam slept. Nic loaded up the car with a few things that weren’t already packed in our suitcases.

Wednesday, May 2, 2012
12:30am: We leave for the hospital. When we arrive they hooked me up to monitor my contractions. They said they would watch me for awhile and see if they would admit me. I was freaking out with each contraction because I was stuck on the bed and couldn’t move. I kept asking Nic to go get the nurse to have her check me. He reassured me that they would be in soon. When the nurse came in to check me I was 9cm (I was shocked and relieved). She asked if I had wanted an epidural and I said “yes please, as soon as possible”. They said that the anesthesiologist was already on the floor and I was so relieved.

1:15am: We are admitted to our room. We quickly do paperwork and get hooked up to an IV. I was so anxious to get the epidural because I knew I was close to delivery and I didn’t want to push without it.

2am: My doctor arrives and they bring in all of the delivery equipment to my room. Still no sign of the anesthesiologist. My doctor was trying to decide if she should break my water right then or wait until later in the morning. That way I could rest for a few hours after I get my epidural and wait till there are more people on hand in case they have complications after my water breaks. The anesthesiologist finally comes in the room around 2:15am and takes her precious time going over paper work and explaining things I already knew. Every time I asked her to just start the epidural she would explain that these things don’t work right away etc etc.

2:45am: I get the epidural. My doctor goes to check me and my water breaks. She immediately feels for the chord to make sure it doesn’t come out first. And as she lets go they lose Brooklyn’s heartbeat. My doctor explains that the baby is stunned and that we have 5 minutes to either rush to the OR or do a vacuum assisted delivery. I asked her what she suggested and she said it was up to us but we had to quickly decide. I looked at Nic, said a quick prayer, and said lets push. I was very panicked as we got ready. I felt so much pressure to deliver her so quickly, but I felt very strengthened by my Heavenly Father. I felt very strongly that he was there with us and would bring her here safely.

3:09am Brooklyn is born after 5 pushes. She swallowed a lot of fluid so they spent the first few minutes suctioning fluid out of her lungs.

She is beyond beautiful and I am so happy that she is finally here! I am so happy that I went into labor on my own and naturally. I am so grateful to Nic for coaching me through the labor and being such a fantastic support. I was so thankful that we had taken child birth classes before we had Sam, I never thought we would need them, but I was sure grateful we had that knowledge to get us through without our planned medication. I am so happy that I am not pregnant anymore :)