The Long Road Home: Guess Who Arrived!

Guess who's here!

Brooks Charlie was born in his perfect time, one hour and 14 minutes shy of his due date, on January 29, 2014 at 10:46 pm in a spectacular, amazing natural water birth where he was born 'en caul', or fully encased in his amniotic sac. If you know anything about this, this is quite rare and for centuries it has been believed to be a sign of anointment, reverence, and a child that is born with very special visions and understanding of life beyond that of our world.

Both of my boys are incredibly special for very different reasons, and I love that about their journey's to be here. As admitted, I did wonder how in the world I would ever love another boy like I love Preston, so I was a little nervous about loving Brooks immediately and possibly favoring Preston. But, for me, nope, this was no problem at all. I loved him instantly! My focus was on him, and I couldn't get enough of him! I was totally smitten. It was UH-MAZING how my heart just instantly grew and within seconds I already couldn't imagine my life without him. God is so cool!

Now for Brooks' birth story. What a cool one it is.

He was born on a Wednesday night. Monday afternoon I started having a bloody show, but wasn't having any contractions yet. I started bouncing on my yoga ball trying to open up my pelvis and move things along, as he was still really high and had not yet dropped down. Late Monday night I started having contractions, and by 3am Tuesday morning I was bleeding a lot more and I also lost my mucous plug. So I knew my cervix was starting to change. The contractions started to really pick up in intensity and started coming a lot closer together, At some regular points, they were 2 minutes a part. Given that the hospital is an hour away barring any traffic, and knowing I needed my antibiotics at least 4 hours prior to birth, we felt it was time to head into the hospital to be safe.

We called our sitter over around 4am and also had the birth photographer head up to the hospital. Well, things didn't quite go as planned. My contractions slowed way down and I was only 2cm dilated and 80% effaced at that time. Bummer! I felt so bad for having woke up our sitter and the photographer! The midwife said she would induce me if I preferred, although she did not want to and did not feel it was best, but she would leave the decision up to me if I wanted to get things going and not have to go back home only to come right back at any moment. Even though we did explore all of our options, and I felt really, really bad that we woke up our photographer and sitter in the middle of the night for false labor, I knew induction was not the choice for me. Kevin was actually wanting me to get induced, as he felt Brooks was full term and I was already " favorable" for delivery, so he felt it would cause no harm and it would enable us to not have to go home only to call everyone back out at any moment. But I knew that was not the birth I wanted for Brooks or myself, and I'd regret my decision later. There was a moment of 'practice what you preach' as the importance of ease and convenience weighed in. But I firmly believe in birth, and the women's body to do what is best for Mom and baby, and it was very important to me to let things happen on its own, as " inconvenient" as it was. :) So I declined induction, and we left for home.

In good time, too. Hours later Atlanta was hit with a monstrous snow/ice storm that crippled the city. People were sleeping on the side of highways stranded on the side of the road, kids were sleeping in school gymnasiums, and car wrecks galore; the roads were impassable. Tuesday evening we had Kevin's Step Dad, Carter, and his wife, Mary, fly in to come help us during the birth, and it took them 5 hours to drive 40 miles, but thankfully they flew into town right as the storm was beginning and were able to make it to us! And, so thankful, the timing of their trip worked out so perfectly! I was so worried about leaving Preston with a sitter, and having to have Kevin make the long drive home daily to take care of the dogs. God again worked his famed magic for us. Although Preston does not know Carter and Mary super well, they are wonderful with little ones and dogs, and were incredibly loving and gracious and did and outstanding job at taking care of Preston and the house for us. What a blessing they are!

So Tuesday evening rolled around, and I was still contracting, and I could tell they had once again picked up the pace and were much more painful. I did have a pretty big freak out moment, as I saw my bleeding was definitely increasing and I was in a lot of pain, for sure in early labor. But not knowing how close I was to going into active labor....or was I already in it??...and if I was, there was no way for us to get to a hospital. We would literally have to call an ambulance and even possibly have a home birth..all with no midwife or antibiotics. Not exactly my birth plan. So Tuesday night I prayed and prayed and prayed that he would not come quite yet. I laid in the bed all night and the next morning trying to keep the contractions to a minimum. But I knew I was close. I was awake all night with painful regular contractions.

Wednesday afternoon I called my midwife and asked for her opinion on when I should go back to the hospital based on what I was feeling. She said it still could be days of early labor, or I could be super close, there is just no way to tell. After talking with her, Kevin took a test drive of the roads, which he felt he could navigate, and also mapped out all the hospitals along the way to my hospital. We decided it was time to head back in, as I really felt like this was it. And, if not, we made plans to stay in a hotel near the hospital and just wait it out near by.

I was overcome by utter sadness to leave Preston on that Wednesday afternoon. I was an emotional wreck. I knew his whole world was about to change, and he had no idea about any of it. And he was about to be left again, with people he didn't know well, and those who didn't know him and his routine well. It's so hard for me to ever know my baby is feeling any upset or discontent. But I knew there was no other way. This was it, there is no holding off labor and changing your mind. So we packed up again, made the phone call to the photographer again, and headed out. And I didn't even make it into the front seat of the car before commencement of uncontrollable sobbing ensued. I really was heartbroken to leave Preston.

We made it to the hospital around 5pm on Wednesday the 29th to have the midwife do a cervical check prior to them admitting me into the hospital so that if I still was not in active labor we could just head to a nearby hotel. BUT, it was baby time! I was 6cm and 80% effaced! Whooo hooo! I was definitely in active labor and there was no turning back! By 6pm I was getting my first dose of antibiotics, and the timing worked out perfectly, as you need at least one dose 4 hours prior to labor to be considered "treated" so that after birth the pediatricians won't want to draw blood on the baby or give them antibiotics or keep them hospitalized for three days. God was again showing how he cares about the small details of our lives. Another one of my prayers answered.

Labor progressed, and contractions stayed pretty much back to back, and nice and regular. Yees! :) By 8 or 9pm I was 8cm and fully effaced. At this point I was ready to be done, honestly. The last few days of early labor and what seemed like the slow progression ( which really wasn't. I was progressing right on track), was night and day difference from my labor with Preston. From my very first contraction with Preston to holding him was 6 hours. So we were both shocked things were not playing out similarly with Brooks. But God knew we needed to get family in town and needed time for the ice storm to calm down before we could deliver him, so as usual, His timing is best.

Kevin and I sat in a very dimly lit birthing room with very relaxing music, as our birth photographers looked on capturing our every move. I moved through labor by getting into the birthing pool, sitting on the yoga ball, rocking on all fours in the bed, laying on my side in the bed and having Kevin massage me and do relaxation techniques, and Kevin applying lavender on my skin to help relax me, all while we ate protein bars and drank lots of water.

It was an awesome experience! And exactly what I wanted. Kevin was an amazing labor and birth coach! He did an outstanding job, and I couldn't have been more impressed. The birthing pool felt UH-MAZING! whoa! The water just makes you feel weightless and the warm really helps with the pain. I highly recommend it to anyone.

Shortly after I got the word I was only at 8cm, which I felt a little discouraged by, I told the photographers to take a break. I needed some alone time, and was starting to feel some pressure to have the baby...since that was the big event they were there for. They in no way were putting pressure on me, they were wonderful, it was all in my head, but either way, I needed a break, so they went to the waiting room and would wait for Kevin to let them know when things picked up and we were a little closer. I knew I wasn't yet in transition labor. I vividly remember transition with Preston. It's hell. You skip over into an alternate universe, your eyes glaze over, and you have no real awareness of anything other than your body. You're almost in your own floating bubble---but one that's filled with writing, bone searing pain that won't seem to let up and you think it might be killing you. And you have no idea how you're going to survive it. That's my best description of transition labor. :) The daisies and unicorns don't come until after you're holding the baby.

Right about the time I hit transition, a major issue arose. The nurse, who was supposed to be draining some of the pool water to be able to refill it with warmer water, accidentally used the ' contaminated' water hose, instead of the sterile one, therefore, the entire pool was now unsafe to deliver in and needed to be drained and refilled. UUHHH WHAT?! Is what I yelled from the bed and I was on all fours grinding my head into the head board. I knew I had very little time left and I was planning on delivering this baby in the pool. Knowing I was about to get into the water was my mental saving grace. The nurse started the draining process, but everyone knows how slow this process is, much less refilling a pool. Kevin saw how close I was to delivering, as I writhed in pain and alternated between saying, " I CAN'T!" and crying meltdowns. Ugh, I hate transition.

Kevin picks up a 5 gallon bucket in the room and begins removing water from the pool to help speed up the process. He's working furiously to get the water out. He bent down and lifted out 5 gallons of water in that bucket over and over and over again as fast as he could. Soon the nurse began helping him by doing the same. After a lot of back breaking work, they were able to remove enough water to pull out the pool liner, put in a new, sterile one, and being refilling the pool. They made it all work in the nick of time, too. As soon as there was enough water in the tub for me to get into, I was in it.

Four hours had elapsed since my first dose of antibiotics, so it was also time for my second dose of antibiotics. Oh my, I really, really didn't want these! I was in so much pain, and the antibiotics BURN so badly going in, and it takes about 30 minutes. And I definitely did not want to be hooked up to an IV while laboring in the water. But that's what had to happen. The midwife really wanted me to have the second dose of meds. So Kevin and I climbed into the pool, he sat behind me and had to hold my arm up out of the water until the antibiotics were finished. This was not ideal, but, hey, you can't have everything perfect, right. :)

By this time the photographers were back in the room, and so was my midwife, and I remember thinking how scary it seemed that I was about to push a baby out of my vagina, and I was going to feel every bit of it, as the midwife was giving me instruction to put my feet up on the side of the pool wall so I could use that as leverage to push. At this point, with each contraction I was already feeling the urge to push, so it was 'GO' time! And a pushing I did.And while listening to Blake Shelton on the radio in the background. Moments before my first push my antibiotics finished, and my arm was free. It is a very strange feeling to push something so large from your body. It really is. And like everyone has told me, it does burn, and fairly badly, too. It felt like I pushed forever, but I was told it was only about 15 minutes. I remember specifically that getting his shoulders out was the most painful part. It felt like I was pushing and pushing as hard and long as I could and there was just so much pain and burning, and I remember thinking, " What in the heck will not come out?? Just pull it out!" Once the shoulders were out, he was out moments later! It all seemed a little overwhelming and traumatic at points, but every time they dopplered Brooks' heartbeat, he was never stressed and was handling labor perfectly.

The super, super special thing about his birth in the water was that he was born ' en caul'. So as he came down the birth canal, he was still encased in the amniotic sac, which did not rupture until he was almost completely birthed. I've actually heard about en caul babies in the past, and knew how special these babies are. Very early on in my pregnancy and at multiple points throughout, I had actually prayed and talked to God about Brooks being born en caul. What an incredible, spectacular answered prayer! There just aren't words to express how cool our God is!

After I had Brooks, he was immediately placed on my chest in the water, and his airway was not suctioned. The natural process of "suctioning" is the baby moving through the birth canal, so he was able to lay on me with no intervention whatsoever. We waited until the umbilical cord stopped pulsating before clamping and cutting it, which Kevin did. The midwife needed to assess my bleeding so Kevin hopped out of the pool, dried off, and held Brooks while I was helped to the bed. I did have a second degree internal tear from Brooks being delivered with his hand up by his face. By this time I had Brooks back on my chest. We waited for the placenta to naturally detach, and then she sutured me up. We opted for no assessment of the baby for at least an hour. During this time, I nursed Brooks and we "righted" and prayed a dedication to God prayer over Brooks with a drop of Frankincense oil on his head. Meeting him was so magical. We had the hospital save the placenta and it was picked up the next day by our placenta encapsulator.

I was finally ready for Brooks to be assessed. A nice 8 #'s and 21". Where in the world was I hiding that?! I was sure I was having another small baby! 1.5 pounds heavier and 1.5 inches longer than Preston?! We never allowed him to be bathed in the hospital, and skipped the Hep B vaccine, and the antibiotic eye ointment. We only allowed him to have the vitamin K injection. His apgar scores were 8 and 9, exactly what Preston's were. He was perfect! I was so amazed at his beauty. Just totally in love.

Carter and Mary brought Preston up to see us the next morning. They both wore their respective ' Big Bro' and ' Little Bro' shirts I made them, and it was the sweetest thing. Preston was totally enthralled with ' Baby!". All he wanted to do was touch and hold him..over and over and over again. He got quite frustrated that he couldn't be all over him. I couldn't believe in that moment that I was a mom to two fantastic boys. So surreal.

The postpartum hospital experience was totally horrid, but the on staff pediatrician told me that's what you get when you deliver in a community hospital. LOL But we survived. :)

We got to go home a day and a half later, thankfully. There was some unneeded concern by the resident pediatrician over his very normal billirubin numbers ( 7.3 at 24 hrs and 8.4 at 35 hours), and one of his ears did not fully pass the hearing test---it couldn't pick up high tones---so we are having that rechecked this week. But they say it's usually something from birth stuck in the ear canal. So praying all is well in there. But it's certainly not the end of the world if not.

Brooks looked adorable getting ready to head home. He wore the exact outfit his Big Bro wore home. So sweet!

There are so many incredible things about Brooks and his journey to be here, it's just unreal. God has yet again showed his faithfulness and his ability to meet us exactly where we are. Brooks, as you know was conceived naturally, against the odds, after God clearly told me he was ordaining the pregnancy. I had a healthy pregnancy with no health issues or preterm labor even in the midst of some wild, crazy, and very physically demanding months, his birth was perfectly organic, with no intervention whatsoever and so special--all in his and God's perfect time, and he was born en caul. Just the cherry on top proving this little one's specialness. There is just no measure to this blessing we have received.

I will post pics of all of this as soon as I get them uploaded and/or get photos back from the birth photographer. Can't wait!