My Birth Stories

It's hard to believe that we brought Miss Stevie home only 3 weeks ago! She has settled in very nicely and our family has been filled with so much love and pure joy for this little girl.Having a newborn again has been a much different experience for me. Everyone told me things would be easier the second time, that everything that I had forgotten would come back and that is all very true.  What I didn't expect was how much I am enjoying it this time... hear me out.It took years of IVF to not just get pregnant with Brock, but more importantly hold onto the pregnancy. Read more about that here. Mentally, I was stressed out every single day of the pregnancy that something bad would happen. I was on bedrest at times, physically restricted, taking countless medications including self-administered injections into my belly throughout my entire pregnancy and 6 weeks after having him. Brocks labor was long and difficult. He was in the NICU for 4 days after he was born. Then once we brought him home he cried and cried, finally learning that he had colic, which lasted for a long 3 months. But even after all of that I have never been so thankful. It was hard to complain about any of the difficulties because he was here, he was healthy and he was 100% mine. As hard as it was, we were ready and willing to do it all again.Stevie has been a dream. When I found out that we had gotten pregnant naturally, with no help from IVF, I could feel that things were going to be different this time. Throughout my pregnancy with her, I took zero medications, administered no injections (not until after delivery) and was able to remain active my entire pregnancy. Mentally, I felt calm, relaxed and was able to maintain a pretty "normal" state of mind all 9 months. Even her delivery and my recovery have been easy. But most importantly, she's healthy and has been thriving since the minute we brought her home. She's my little miracle baby and I'm so thankful that I have been able to experience things again, this way.BrockI can't tell Stevie's birth story without talking about my experience with Brock first. Unknowingly, his birth would directly affect any future deliveries I would have.Brock was born almost 2 weeks early when my water broke in the middle of the night. I had gotten up for another routine trip to the bathroom when it happened. Unlike in the movies, there was no huge gush of water like I had thought would happen. It was more like a small trickle of water and to be honest (TMI), I thought I was peeing myself at first, ha! We called my doctor and she confirmed that my water had broken. I wasn't experiencing any noticeable contractions yet so she told me to shower, pack my things and come to the hospital within an hour.The roads were dark and empty at 2 am when we drove to the hospital. Just as we pulled into the entrance, remember that gush of water I was expecting? It happened. Brett dropped me in front and I continued to walk myself into Labor & Delivery soaking wet from the waist down. Cool.

 

Since my water broke before labor started, Brock had to be delivered within 24 hours becuase he lost most of his amniotic fluid. However, several hours after my water had broken at 1 am, I STILL wasn't feeling any painful contractions. My doctor decided to start me on a Pitocin to get things moving faster.The contractions came and things were finally progressing. When my doctor checked my cervix, I had dilated to 4cm, however, Brock was facing "sunny side up “and we needed him to face down. Literally didn’t even know that was a thing! The doctor had me lay in different positions throughout the day in attempts to move him checking me periodically throughout the day. When the next night rolled around, it was time to make the final cervix check and that would determine the next step. We had given it all day and I was only dilated to 6cm and he hadn't flipped over. Right around that same time I started getting feeling ill. Checking my cervix was super uncomfortable and invasive, there is also a chance of getting an infection. I was starting getting a fever and we were getting closer to that 24-hour mark. The doctor made the call and told us that they were going to be performing an emergency C-section. I was devastated.This was my first pregnancy, I had a “plan” and a C-section wasn’t part of it. I had always envisioned myself having a vaginal birth. I was upset, I cried and I was scared. Almost everything about my labor thus far hadn’t gone according to "plan". Brett and I talked, and were able to put things into perspective. The health and safety of our baby and for me was the priority. My sadness and anger turned into eagerness, I was good with it and I was ready to meet our baby.They wheeled me into the operating room for the cesarean. I had been heavily medicated most of the day so I don't remember much from the surgery other than there were a ton of people in the room, it was painless and very fast. I will however never forget hearing him cry as they pulled him out, that was one of the best sounds I had ever heard. He was here! Everyone in the OR was commenting on how big of a baby he was, I even remember someone saying "he's gotta be 10 pounds!". Seeing his chunky cheeks for the first time was the most special moment. We had our baby.

Brock measured large from very early on in my pregnancy. It was no surprise that I was going to have a bigger baby, we just didn't know how big. When he was born, he measured 9 lbs. 6 oz and he was almost 2 weeks early. I know people have large babies vaginally every day, my own mom gave birth vaginally to me (9 lbs. 3 oz) and my brother was over 10 lbs.  However, it never sat well with me that my water had broken but my body never “labored” on its own. Never dilating past 6 cm’s was concerning too. So much about childbirth is a mystery. Was I not able to deliver him vaginally because of how large he was? Was it something that I did? I had a lot of questions but was sure I would never find answers for them.Remember me quickly touching on Brock being in the NICU for 4 days? Because he was so big, he was having a difficult time regulating his blood sugar on his own and his levels were a few points high. They explained to us that if the levels get too high there can be damage to his brain so they wanted to monitor him in the NICU. To say that I was a wreak is an understatement. I finally had our baby and the hospital was taking him from me… at least that's how I felt. The thought of him hooked up to IV’s and machines in the NICU without me broke my heart.  I don't think I've ever cried so hard in my life. I could be wheeled down to his floor whenever I wanted but at least every 2-3 hours to feed him. I had to be wheeled back up to my room every so often to try and sleep too. It was a very difficult time for us. Thankfully, Brock passed all his tests after 4 long days of the NICU and we were discharged from the hospital. I had never felt so excited to get home. StevieContrary to what many people think, including myself, some doctors will let a woman try a vaginal birth after having a prior cesarean. I was very happy to learn that my doctor was one of them. There were however several stipulations that needed to happen to be considered. (1) Baby #2 had to be measuring smaller than Baby #1 and she was. At our growth ultrasounds she was consistently measuring around 60% as opposed to Brock measuring 99% at the same point. (2)  My body had to go into labor on its own. This was a big one. After a woman has a C-section they cannot be medically induced. (3) If I went into labor on my own, the earlier, the better. The baby would be smaller which would give me a better chance of getting her out vaginally. (4) Having a vaginal birth after a C-section poses so many risks and possible complications. For doctors to be ok with letting me try this, I had to basically sign my life away.The other deal was, if I hadn't gone into labor on my own by 40 weeks, I had to have a C-section. We had one scheduled for that exact day. With that, I started feeling a lot of pressure to go into labor naturally in the weeks leading up to my due date.During week 37 I began experiencing an increase in Braxton Hick's contractions and then light cramping began. That same week, I also decided to do anything I could to "help" speed up the process. You name it, I tried it. Spicy foods, going for walks, sex, pineapple, many reflexology massages, etc. Since I had been experiencing contractions and working on getting things going on my own, I couldn't wait for my next OB appointment to check and see if I was dilated. I finally got to see my doctor at 38 weeks. When she checked my cervix, I was dilated.... ready for this.... ZERO. I was beyond disappointed. I couldn't help but feel like my body was failing me in the labor and delivery department again. My doctor and I needed to regroup and decide what we were going to do. Remember, I had a scheduled cesarean at 40 weeks regardless, I had to determine how confident I was that my body would go into labor itself and successfully delivery a baby within the next 9 days. It was a very hard decision but one that had me feeling like a weight had been lifted off my shoulders instantly. We decided to schedule a cesarean at 39 weeks.... and that was in 2 days. The decision felt right... for me, my health and my family. On Friday, August 24th at 10am, Brett and I walked into Labor & Delivery. Things felt much better this time. For one, I wasn't soaking wet, half asleep and scared out of my mind for the unknown. This time I felt calm and excited, my hair had a fresh blow out, I was rested and things had already been arranged for Brock to be with Grandma all day.We checked in and were assigned to our room. I was hooked up to an IV and some heart-monitoring equipment for the baby.  There wasn't much more for us to do so we waited, we talked, I may have dozed off for a few minutes too. Shortly after our nurse came in and informed us that it was go time! My OBGYN and the anesthesiologist were ready for me so I was rolled down the hall to the OR. Brett had to stay outside the room while I got a spinal block, no epidural this time. This may have been the scariest part of the day for me because I didn't know what to expect with the spinal. To my surprise it was fast and painless. Once it was done, they laid me down and we waited for the medication to be distributed and make sure that I was numb from the waist down. Brett was brought into the room and he sat behind the surgical curtain with me holding my hand the entire time. Before we knew it, the room had filled up with at least a dozen people and everyone was ready to deliver our baby.Stevie Kay was born at 1:43pm weighing 7 lbs. 13 oz and was 20 inches long. Tears instantly ran down my face the second I heard her cry as they pulled her out. Best sound ever. Brett got to watch as they cleaned her off and swaddled her, then they immediately brought her to me and put her on my chest. She had a big head of dark hair and she was so beautiful.Everything was going very smoothly with Stevie. She was so sweet and cuddled with me all afternoon, best of all she was nursing great. We got to spend a few hours to ourselves before the new big brother came to meet his new baby sister. When Brock arrived, he was a little shy to see us but warmed up immediately, especially after he had received a "gift" from Baby Stevie. He seemed so proud, watching him meet her was probably my favorite moment ever.Like I said, things were different this time. Stevie was passing her screenings, my milk came in so fast, she was doing nursing so well and I was recovering so much faster this time from my C-section. Best news, we were discharged by my OB and Stevie’s pediatrician to leave the hospital after 2 nights instead of the usual 3. We couldn't wait to bring her home.If I had to do it again, I wouldn't change a thing. Being in labor with Brock for 18 hours then having to get an emergency C-section was beyond difficult on me. Given my circumstances and having the option to schedule a C-section was the right decision for us. Brock was starting 5-day preschool the day after Labor Day. Having a C-section at 40 weeks would have prevented me from being a part of that.  There was a lot of change coming Brock’s way and as a mom, I wanted to do everything I could to make the transition easier on him.  Brock was able to get used to having a baby at home before going to school for 5-days. I was able to recover from major surgery and be there for his first day of school. That was all every important to me. The new addition to the family was such a blessing, however, we knew that it would be affecting everyone in different ways so we made the decision that was best for our family and I’m so happy we did.More updates coming soon! Thank you so much for following along and let me know if you have any comments or questions regarding my birth with Brock or Stevie.Xo, Shawna 

Professional Photos by Shiloh Colleen Photography