Our Life: Brooklyn's Birth Story

Thought I would post her long overdue birth story and slide show...(please forgive the poor grammar and typos, this was copy and pasted from another board and was written on NO sleep).

4/16 @ 3ish pm
I was visiting with my mom at my house and I was walking to the kitchen to get some batteries when i felt a little gush. Thought that was strange and when to the bathroom. After I peed I felt another small gush and figured it was an increased amount of CM. When i was walking back into the kitchen i felt another gush and just knew my water was now leaking. I called L&D and asked if i could just go to the clinic in town to get it checked instead of going all the way to the hospital and up to L&D. They said no point and to just come here. So my mom, Aleksia and I all drove to the hospital to get it checked out. At this point I figured it was my water but I was in denial so i told my mom that i would most likely be sent home.

4:00pm
Got checked into observation and hooked up to the monitors. Everything looked great.

4:30pm
Midwife confirmed my water was leaking. I was there to stay. Called my mom out in the waiting room and then Richard to tell them the news. My mom took off to meet Richard at our house, so he could them bring her to his cousins house in town and then the both of them came back to the hospital.

5:30pm
My mom returned to the hospital and by this time i was all hooked up in the labor and delivery room waiting for Richard to show up and for them to start my IV, so i could get my antibiotics, for i was GBS+.

7:15pm
IV has been hooked up and my first round of antibiotics went it. I wasn't having any contractions and since they wanted TWO doses of antibiotic in, that had to be given 8 hours apart. I was not put on Pitocin right away. So there we all sat waiting for the time to pass or something to happen.

8:45pm
Since i was having NO uterine activity they decided to start the Pit. at a low dose. They checked me then and i was still 3cm dilated, about 50% effaced and baby was pretty high @ -4. This is what i was on Wednesday at my appt. (except baby was a bit lower then).

10:30pm
Contractions started to regulate but they were not painful at all and they were not lasting very long. So there we sat, waiting. We walked the halls and i bounced on my ball to get her to engage a bit more.

4/17 @ 2:15am
Pit. was upped. Contractions really started to pick up and get painful quickly.

3:45am
2nd dose of antibiotics went in and i was checked again, STILL 3cm but about 60% effaced and baby was -1.

4:00am
Contractions were pretty painful and they suggested giving me a shot of Phentenol to hold me over until i could get the epi. That worked for about 45 minutes, but was pretty nice.

5:20am
Got my epidural.

6:15am
Epi worked WAY differently than with Aleksia. I wasn't feeling any contractions but i was still feeling a lot of pressure. With Aleksia i felt NOTHING and i mean NOTHING. I didn't even know when and how to push with Aleksia. I was checked again and i was only 3.5cm but 80% effaced and baby was -2.

7:10am
I was feeling a lot of pressure still. Like i said WAY different than with Aleksia. At that point i was not liking it at all and was so sad i wasn't progressing very fast and feeling very discouraged. I asked them to check again cause i was just feeling so much pressure. I was 6cm, 100% effaced and baby was fully engaged. I was then really happy with the progress in an hour. I remember the nurse saying she would come back at 8am to check me again and that is when the new midwife was starting. I was like ok, whatever you say.

7:42am
The pressure was so intense i just could not stop pushing at every contraction. i swear i felt her coming out. I was yelling for someone to go and get a nurse and then i remember trying to find the call button on the bed. A nurse came in and i said, "She is coming out, get the Dr. now" sure enough i was complete and she could see her head. In came all the nurses and my original midwife from the night.

7:52am
10 minutes later and about 4 pushes little Miss Brooklyn was out. It was so weird being able to feel the pressure and know how and where to push. With Aleksia i had no idea her head was even out and or if i was even close or if i was having a contraction. With Brooke i just knew exactly where she was and i knew exactly when her head came out. It was a great experience cause it was so fast and being able to feel all that pressure helped get her out quicker I'm sure. Actual labor was about 6 hours and i only pushed for 8 minutes.

I am just so in love. She latched on and was nursing like a champ at an hour old.

Brooklyn Michelle Hansen
7 lbs 5 oz
19.5 in
Apgars 8&9