The Birth Story of Brinley Elizabeth

My pregnancy with Brinley went smoothly and similarly to my first three pregnancies.  I felt good for most of the pregnancy, but knew that she was going to be a healthy-sized baby and was hopeful that she’d be early like my other babies.  My singleton pregnancies seem to follow a trend of my uterus measuring “big” at the end of pregnancy, my doctor ordering a growth ultrasound in the third trimester where the baby measures on the bigger side, and my doctor making the decision to strip my membranes (if I want her to) during my 37 weeks appointment.  With Kenzie, this appointment landed at 37 weeks 6 days. My water broke shortly after my appointment and I had her the next day at 2:32pm.  With Ryken, this appointment landed at 37 weeks 3 days and I went into labor that evening and had him the next morning at 7:32am. 

As my pregnancy with Brinley unfolded, it followed the pattern I’d come to expect.  At 32 weeks, I was measuring correctly.  By 34.5 weeks I was measuring closer to 37 weeks and my doctor ordered the growth ultrasound.  I went for the ultrasound a week later, when I was 35 weeks 4 days pregnant with Bri and she was estimated to be 7lbs 5oz.  The other thing causing me to measure on the large side was excessive amounts of amniotic fluid.  The fluid surrounding Brinley was about twice the “normal” amount of fluid. 

Between Brinley’s size and the extra fluid, I was getting very uncomfortable and taking care of the house and kids was getting harder. Thankfully, I was still sleeping well at night and since I was carrying Brinley high, I only was waking up once in the night to use the bathroom at the most…sometimes I was able to sleep through without using the bathroom. 

By my 36 week (I was 36 weeks 5 days) appointment which was on Thursday March 8th, my doctor had decided that she wanted to start non-stress tests twice a week starting the next week.  She wanted me to come on Mondays and Thursdays.  I made my appointment for Monday, March 12th. She told me that if I wanted her to strip my membranes that day, she would do that for me, and that she would like to try to get things going.

Over the weekend, we had to decide if I would have my doctor strip my membranes. I desperately WANTED Brinley OUT, but there were some things that made the decision somewhat hard.  The biggest thing was Chip’s work schedule. On Monday and Tuesday, March 12th and 13th most of the managers and shift leads that work with Chip were out of town.  I also had a dinner planned with two of my friends on the evening of March 12th. I didn’t want to miss it : ) But I really wanted her out. Chip decided that work would be ok without him on Monday and Tuesday if I were to go into labor and I decided that I would just have the doctor go ahead and strip me and we’d see what happened.  I was trying not to get my hopes up too much and remember that “each pregnancy/labor/delivery can be different”. 

Here I am on Saturday, March 10th...about 48 hours before going into labor.

Monday, March 12th
8:30am Chip left for work and I got ready for my appointment.
10:15am His mom came over to watch the kids and my Aunt Ruth who played the part of my “doula” came over to take me to my appointment. 

11:00am We got to my appointment and waited for awhile until the machine was available for the non-stress test. I got hooked up and they monitored Brinley for about 20 minutes. She looked great. We moved into an exam room and my doctor checked me. My cervix was harder to reach than previous weeks and I was still only around 30% effaced and 2-3cm dilated.  My doctor stripped my membranes and said she’d come back in around 10 minutes to do them one more time, which she did.

12:30pm We left the office and my aunt dropped me off at home.  I asked my mother-in-law if she would come back over later that night when I got home from dinner so that Chip and I could go for a walk.  I felt no different than before the appointment and was preparing myself mentally that I’d probably still be pregnant and would be going to my next appointment that Thursday.  I was excited that I had the dinner plans with friends because it gave me something exciting to look forward to since nothing seemed to be happening baby-wise.

 Around late afternoon, I had a few very sporadic, spread out contractions which weren’t really any different than other contractions I’d been having. I sent text messages to my friends that dinner was still on, telling one of them that it would be perfect if we could go out to dinner and then I could go into labor after that, but I wasn’t planning on it.

6:30pm I called my mom on the way to dinner. I told her that I’d had some contractions but nothing significant and we talked about how I had been so discouraged the whole day that I had my membranes stripped with Ryken too, thinking nothing would happen. Remembering that gave me a little bit of hope that something may still happen, but I was still trying to mentally prepare myself to be pregnant for awhile longer.

6:45pm I got to Pei Wei and was walking from my car to the restaurant and had a contraction that was a little bit stronger and lasted a little bit longer, but still nothing that made me very excited.  At this point, I must have started having contractions every 15-20 minutes that were getting much more noticeable. I remember having one while I was outside sitting on a bench talking to my friend Jamie waiting for Melissa to get there. I had 2 more while we waited in the long line. I had another one or two while we ate and another one when we walked down to Paradise Bakery to get cookies.  By that point, I was a little bit more excited, especially since Chip’s mom was coming so we could go for a walk. I was starting to get hopeful that the walk might really get things going.

8:50pm I got home and Chip’s mom was there, so we headed out on a walk around the neighborhood. Almost right away, the contractions started coming regularly…around every 3 minutes.  They were lasting around 35-45 seconds.  As we walked further some of them got stronger and lasted longer, others stayed shorter.  They were anywhere from 2 minutes apart lasting a full minute to 4 minutes apart lasting 40 seconds.  We had been walking for around 15-20 minutes and decided to head back so I could use the bathroom. I also wanted to rest for awhile to see if the contractions stayed consistent or went away.

9:12pm On our way back, I called my mom and told her that things were starting to look pretty promising for that night. She decided she’d still wait until morning to drive up.

9:25pm We got back from our walk and I went to the bathroom and was having some bloody show. 

9:30pm I called my aunt to tell her what was going on. I decided I’d rest for awhile and then go for another walk and I would call her if/when we decided to go to the hospital based on how things were going.  Chip decided to take a shower and was updating his MP3 player. As I sat around, contractions continued to come, although a little bit further apart, maybe every 5-6 minutes.  Whenever I was up, they were stronger and closer, but when I sat down they stayed strong enough that I knew things were still happening. 

9:40pm I called my sister-in-law, Liz, to let her know what was going on.  Chip’s dad dropped some stuff off for Chip’s mom since it was looking like she’d be staying over night with the kids and we finished packing up for the hospital. 

10:30pm We decided that we’d put our bags in the car and take another walk. With my labor with Ryken and my labor with the twins, I had to walk A LOT at the hospital. I wanted to walk outside in the nice weather as long as possible.

We put everything in the car and started out on our second walk.  We got about 50ft from our condo complex when I told Chip we better turn around and just go to the hospital.  The contractions were getting significantly stronger and I didn’t want to get into the neighborhood and not be able to walk back. 

10:42pm I called Aunt Ruth to tell her we were in the car headed to the hospital and that she could come whenever she wanted to.  I got to labor and delivery and checked in.

11:01pm I sent my aunt a text telling her which triage room I was in so she’d know where to find us. The nurse came in and got all of my information and got me hooked up to monitors and my aunt got there.

11:28pm I text my mom to tell her that I was definitely staying. I was 5-6cm dilated and around 60% effaced. 

I was moved to a labor and delivery room before midnight.  We got my laptop set up and got some music going. I was still having a lot of good easy time between contractions. I talked with the nurses and asked to get a Hep-Lock in my arm so that if I ended up needing an IV at any point I’d be ready for it.  I didn’t want an IV or fluids if I didn’t need it, and really didn’t want to have the restrictions of dragging around an IV pole, but I liked the idea of them having quick access if needed. 

Apparently at this point the pain, while unpleasant, was still something I could work through easily.

Having fun between contractions.

Feeling good.

 I spent the next 2 hours getting the Hep-Lock put in place and laboring. The Hep-Lock ended up being a bit of an ordeal because my nurse hit the vein wall on her first attempt and was afraid to try again so she called in another nurse.  That nurse tried to put it in at a less than ideal spot because “her spot” had been the one the first nurse tried and was unsuccessful at.  So the second attempt in the not as good spot didn’t work either.  She finally got it on the third try. Thankfully, needles don’t bother me. But they do bother Chip, so he kept leaving and coming in to see if they were done and he’d have to leave again.  The contractions were getting fairly intense during those two hours, but I still had time in between where I felt great. I’d walk around and talk and joke and just wait for the next contraction and then when a contraction would start I would lean up against the wall or lean over on the bed with my face in a pillow and breath through it.  During these earlier contractions, I’d breath slow and long and I wanted someone rubbing my back quickly.  As they got worse later on, I switched to short, quick, rhythmic breathing but wanted Chip and my aunt to push on my back or rub me slowly instead of quickly.

1:45am my nurse checked me again.  At that point I was at least 7cm dilated, maybe even close to 8cm (according to her).  We talked and decided that she’d let my doctor know. Typically, they call the doctor at 8-9cm, but my nurse was concerned that I’d go quite quickly after my water broke and since we didn’t know when it would break, she wanted to at least give my doctor fair warning. 

1:55am I updated FB: If you're up at 2am and on Facebook, then you are lucky enough to know that I am a good 7cm dilated (almost 8cm) at the hospital and getting close to meeting my sweet baby girl!! : ) Things are going great but prayers are appreciated!! : )

I was still feeling good between contractions but it was at this point that the contractions were getting really intense.  I still had at least a minute or two of pain-free resting time between them though.  I also sent a text to my mom at 1:58am giving her an update.

Still smiling during pain-free times : )

Having to work harder through the pain.

Just workin' it out. 

After that my nurse came back in and said that my doctor told her to call back when I was 8-9cm or when my water broke, but my nurse said she thought we’d probably see her soon.  By around 2:25ish my doctor showed up.  She checked me and said I was 7cm (not close to 8 according to her) and my water was “bulging”.  We talked about our options at that point.  I could continue to labor and see how things went or she could break my water for me.  Both my doctor and the nurse told me that if she broke my water, it would get 1,000 times worse, but that they were pretty sure it would be over quickly.  If I continued on, they thought it would take longer since I had the extra fluid that was keeping Brinley’s head from really pushing down as fully as they’d like (she was “floating” in the fluid).  The other concern my doctor had, was that with large amounts of fluid and a floating baby, there is an increased risk of cord prolapse if your water breaks in a big gush.  Cord prolapse happens when the cord comes out with the gush of water and then the baby’s head presses down on the cord cutting off the blood and oxygen flow to the baby.  It still wasn’t very likely to happen, but it was more of a possibility than if the baby’s head is firmly against the cervix because in that case (which is normal) there is no way the cord can come out before the head.  My doctor liked the idea of breaking my water because she’d be able to control the gush of fluid and Brinley’s head and make sure the cord was not coming out.  I was starting to get tired and I liked the idea of my doctor controlling my water breaking. 

2:42am My doctor broke my water. There was SO MUCH WATER. It just kept coming and coming. After a lot of it had come out, I decided to get up and use the bathroom and let the nurses put dry bedding on the bed.  The contractions were coming closer together and I remember worrying about how I’d make it from the bed to the bathroom in the short time between pain.  I made it there and had one or two bad contractions in the bathroom.  I decided I wanted to try the birthing ball by the bed and headed over as soon as I had a short break between contractions.  I made it to the birthing ball. This is when I remember doing the short shallow breaths.  The contractions were so much more intense.  I tried to sing along to my music some, but couldn’t.  After being on the birthing ball for a few contractions I decided I needed to get back into the bed.  The contractions were getting worse with each one and closer and closer together.  By the time I got up on the bed, I felt like I couldn’t even move to position myself well because of the pain. It was getting overwhelming.  I started to moan through these contractions and as the contraction got worse I’d get louder and possibly more high-pitched (I’m not sure…I just know the pitch and volume changed through them, I’m not sure how) and vocally I’d come back down with the contraction. It was somewhat surreal because I knew I was doing it and I HAD to do it. I almost felt like I had no control over my body or the pain. I was experiencing it and couldn’t do anything to overcome it.

This picture was taken at 3:08am. Bri was born 27 minutes later. This was when the pain was really starting to take over.

I remember thinking a few things during this time. I remember telling Chip that if I thought I could move that I thought it would feel good to be in the water, but I was thinking that I knew there was no way I’d be able to go anywhere. I was barely able to move on the bed.  I also said something about that it better be transition (which I had heard was the most horrible part). I was thinking as I said it that if it wasn’t transition that I had no idea how I would survive.  My aunt was telling me to relax and I was feeling frustrated because there was no way I could relax.  Trying to overcome the pain with the mental will-power of “trying” to relax was a completely impossible task at that point.  Chip and my aunt would tell me that the contraction was ending but I wouldn’t feel any relief from the pain…the next one would already be starting.  I remember asking if one was almost over and them saying yes and feeling no relief and that was when I started to worry and wondered how I’d ever keep going. At some point during the end I asked for a wet washcloth for my head.

The nurse told me to tell her if anything changed with contraction and if I felt any urge to push.  I was having trouble staying connected enough through the pain to be able to tell if anything was different. I told her that I thought maybe I was feeling some urge to push on one contraction. She said to see if it happened again the next contraction and I  didn’t feel it on the next one which confused me and frustrated me (in my mind…I didn’t say or do anything to show frustration).  Then the next one I thought maybe I felt it again.  She checked me and said I just had one little lip to go and was about ready to push.  She let my doctor know who had been waiting out in the hall.  During those next few contractions I know my body pushed some without me trying and I was then completely dilated. 

My doctor came in and Brinley was ready to come out.  My doctor had no time to get dressed for delivery. In fact, she only had one glove on as she delivered Brinley’s head.  They told me to pull my legs back, which I couldn’t do through the pain.  My aunt helped with one leg and the nurse with the other and they told me to push as hard as I could to get her shoulders out.  I already felt like I was pushing as hard as I could, but I needed her out so I pushed more, which, like I said, didn’t seem possible.

3:35am Out she came, just 53 minutes after my doctor broke my water.  They placed her on me and while I was excited to see her, my honest first reaction was just relief from the pain. I was just so glad to be done that I almost didn’t care about her (this was only for the first 20 seconds or so).  They let me have her for a few minutes and my aunt cut her cord (Chip has never wanted to…it completely grosses him out). It was interesting and a little bit scary to see that her cord had a true knot in it. Thankfully it had never gotten too tight or caused any problems. 

She's out. And gooey!

SO happy it's over. I look a little crazy.

Crazy knot in her cord.

Admiring my goo-ball that I worked so hard for. ♥

Getting her covered up.

Telling her to cry. (Then my doctor reminded me she was ok since her cord wasn't cut yet)

They took her over to the warmer to check her out while my doctor and I waited for the placenta.  Waiting for the placenta was much more uncomfortable than I realized it was going to be.

Good little lungs.

I love that Chip was with her across the room ♥

Checking her out.

More goober-baby

Chubby cheeks.

As soon as the placenta was delivered they brought her back to me and we got a picture with my doctor.

I love love love my doctor.

  Then they worked on cleaning her up and weighing and measuring her. She weighed in at 8lbs 0.4oz (we just say 8lbs) and 20 inches long.   

So upset.

Thank you for coming out early, Bri.

Teeny Toes.

4:00am I had her back and was nursing her.  She latched on great right away and nursed for 40 minutes straight. By around 6am they moved us to a recovery room since they had more people needing the labor rooms.

Once we were in the recovery room, Chip held Bri for a few minutes but then decided to sleep for awhile. I just admired my little Bri. I was too excited to sleep. 

6:25am. Almost 3 hours old with her Daddy.

I was SO happy to have her OUT of my belly and IN my arms!

Chip left around 8:30am to go home and get the kids so they could come meet their sister. I was feeling GREAT and was able to take a shower, get dressed and blow dry and straighten my hair....just 6 hours after having her : ) The kids got there a little after 10 and LOVED meeting their sister. We got a GREAT first family photo, too!

All 7 of us! : )
Casey, Kenzie, Brinely, Me, Emery, Chip, Ryken

Immediately after having her, I decided I would NEVER EVER do THAT ever again. I thought at the time it was one of the dumbest things I've ever done (a natural birth...no epidural). Of course now, 6 weeks later, my memory is already blurred and the horrific pain is far enough behind me and I can now say that I'm sure I'll probably do it again.