Disclaimer: The following birth story may be too graphic for some. Read at your own will.On Wednesday August 5th I went to the doctor for my 41-week check-up. I had survived triple-digit temperatures the week before and was now combating a nasty sore throat/cough, that eventually morphed into a head cold. The doctor's office had me wear a mask so as not to hack my germs on all the other expectant moms. Fun times.
Since I was "overdue" they also had me do a Non-Stress Test for about a half hour. The NST is where they strap a fetal heart monitor to your belly and give you a clicker like the Jeopardy buzzer, and every time you feel the baby move, you click the button. Then they can see how the heart rate is responding to periods of activity and rest to see if the baby is healthy or in distress. Brooklyn was doing great. Lots of movement and responsive heart rate.
So the doctor talked to me about my options. I was induced with Hayden and I guess I'd say that labor went pretty well (2 hours of labor, no other medical interventions than the pitocin drip to induce labor). But because of the uncertainty of my due date, it was possible that my very original due date of August 6th was accurate and I wasn't overdue at all and the induction this time was unwarranted. I was worried that if I wasn't really 'ready' that the induction would not work as well and possibly lead to a longer labor and all kinds of other medical interventions. I didn't want to be induced if it wasn't medically necessary. On the other hand, if my due date really should be July 28th, as indicated by a few UltraSounds at various stages of my pregnancy (one even dating to July 25th), then I could be significantly overdue.
There are several concerns with an overdue pregnancy. First, the placenta starts to age rapidly and no longer provides adequate nutrients to the baby. Also, the amniotic fluid level becomes lower (which was the case with Hayden). But also, the last few weeks of pregnancy, the baby is basically fully-developed and just putting on weight, so the more overdue you are, the bigger the baby, and the harder the delivery, which if the baby is too big, can result in a C-section delivery.
I didn't want to make the decision lightly, but my gut was telling me it was time to get this baby out (my gut, LITERALLY!!). I was already almost 3cm dilated, and the doctor said he was really shocked I hadn't had the baby yet. He said the cervical conditions were ideal for an induction. So he called into the hospital to get me on the induction list and then gave me instructions to call the labor & delivery unit at 6am the next morning. When I was induced with Hayden, it took 3 days for the hospital to have "room" to get us in, so I knew that it was likely that we wouldn't actually get in that morning. But just in case, I decided it was best if Hayden spent the night at Grandma and Grandpa Lott's house that night. Phil met me over there after work, and we said our goodbyes and Hayden was happy as a clam staying with them.
On Wednesday night I could hardly sleep. Sure, I was excited at the possibility of having Brooklyn the next day (and also worried), but mostly due to the awful coughing fits every 45 minutes or so. With my abdominal muscles already stretched to full capacity, each cough was excruciating, and the thought of coughing after delivery didn't sound much more appealing.
Thursday at 6am sharp I called the hospital. The L&D receptionist said they were super full and to call back at noon to see if any rooms had opened up, but realistically it was probably going to be more like evening/night before I could get in. My friend Lisa (who was our
doula with Hayden and we wanted present again with Brooklyn) called around 6:10 as discussed on Wed to get the scoop. She was on vacation at the Oregon Coast but was willing to drive up to be here for the delivery. It's about a 5-hour drive away, and she'd probably hit morning rush-hour somewhere along the way, so she decided she'd wait a few more hours since it was going to be at least after noon that I even get admitted.
Just as Phil was pouring a big bowl of Cheerios at 8:30am, the hospital called and she said they were able to get me in after all. Right now. She wanted us there within a half hour. It took us 45 minutes to get ready, and another 45 minutes to get tot he hospital. Good thing I wasn't actually in labor!
We arrived at Overlake Hospital at 10am. After the standard admittance procedures and paperwork, my nurse ("Candy" - we loved her) took my vitals and strapped a couple monitors to my belly. I'd been having a few mild contractions on my own, but nothing strong or regular.
My doctor arrived around 10:30 am and checked my cervix. Still almost 3 cm. Knowing that I was hoping for as natural childbirth experience as possible, he suggested instead of inducing labor with pitocin, a drug that requires an IV and constant monitoring hooked up to machines, he suggested we try things the old-fashion way: breaking my water.
He broke my water at 10:37am, using a rubber glove with a little spike on the fingertip. I was surprised that it wasn't a whoosh of water, just a warm trickle, like I'd peed the bed (the nurse promptly changed the bed pads). He also noticed when he broke my water that the water was slightly brownish-green, meaning there was meconium in the water.
Meconium is the baby's first poop. It's common in overdue babies especially, and means that immediately after the baby comes out, they have to do a really good job suctioning out the baby's nose and mouth because meconium aspiration can lead to difficulty breathing. The doctor left and said he'd be back in a little while to see if that got things going.
Fifteen minutes later, around 10:55am, my contractions were strong enough to need my full concentration and breathing techniques. Boy, breaking my water really did the trick! If I had been home or anywhere else and my water broke naturally, we would have really needed to rush to the hospital! Interestingly my labor with Hayden started around 11am also (after a pitocin drip started around 9:30am).
The pain of the contractions progressed very rapidly. I was having a hard time finding a 'comfortable' position, but thankful that I wasn't strapped to anything and could move around the room and in the attached bathroom freely. Phil was doing his best to soothe and encourage me, rubbing my back, telling me I was doing a good job, offering his hands to squeeze and leaning on him when I was standing. Knowing my history of a quick delivery, the nurse got everything ready and it was exciting to see it all set up, ready for her arrival.
While I labored in the bathroom for several contractions, Lisa called on Phil's cell phone to say she was stuck in traffic still in Oregon. Phil told her how I was doing (I'm sure she could hear my moans and breathing in the background!) and she suggested Phil find out if the anesthesiologist would be available or unavailable during certain times, just in case I changed my mind about wanting to get an epidural. The nurse informed Phil that he was about to head into a c-section and wouldn't be available for an hour so I'd need to get it now or wait at least an hour. As much pain as I was in, I was determined to go at least as long as I had with Hayden. Since my labor with Hayden was only 2 hours, my new plan was to get my cervix checked after 2 hours, and if I was still less than 7cm dilated I would probably go ahead with an epidural. If I was more than 7, I would go all the way without one. I had the nurse check me to see where I was, and at first she said I was "complete" (10!) but then said, "oh wait, no, I went right over it, you're at about a 5". So I was a little disappointed, but happy to be halfway there and it had only been about 30 minutes of labor.
By 11:30am, my contractions were coming one right after the next, with barely even a break to change positions or catch my breath. The nurse even said with a sympathetic tone, "Wow, they're really coming on top of each other." About 10 minutes later, I told the nurse I was really feeling the pressure to push. She quickly checked me again and said I was only at 7 cm. I needed to "pant through" the urge to push until my cervix was fully dilated. I remember with each contraction moaning "no, no, no, not again" and trying to stay in control of my breathing. We had planned on videotaping some of the labor, but with Lisa still driving up from Oregon, and Phil my only coach, I needed him by my side. But I'm curious what I looked like and sounded like in labor. I think I did better this time than with Hayden's delivery. Still, I probably could be heard out in the hallways!
A little before noon, I grunted at Phil and the nurse that I HAD to push and then screamed "OH MY GOD, I AM PUSHING AND I CAN FEEL HER COMING!!!! OWWWWW!! OWWWW!!!" Suddenly Phil is dashing to get the video camera, the nurse is dashing to get the doctor! Luckily, a crew of nurses and my doctor all swooped in just in time. My doctor was very calm and that helped it not feel as frenzied as Hayden's delivery (the nurse didn't have anything ready, and they couldn't find a doctor!). He wanted to help me minimize any tearing and calmly talked me through pushing a little slower. Within about 3 agonizing pushes I felt her head completely out. A couple more pushes and I felt the rushing whoosh and instant pressure release of her full delivery. Phil was able to capture it all on video. All 1 minute and 40 seconds of it. Don't worry, I'm not posting the video! :)
The doctor briefly showed her to me and I could see she was alive and starting to turn pink! Yay! The nurses had to take her to the heat lamp table and get her nose and mouth fully cleaned from the meconium, but she was crying and everyone was saying how big and healthy she looked.
I joked with the doctor, "I told you I go fast!", how the water breaking really did the trick, and that I'm sure glad we decided to induce labor when we did! I told Brooklyn, "Well, Brooklyn, you beat your brother's time!" The nurses said I made it look easy and I told Phil I was definitely done having kids! I joked that we should get a partial refund on our hospital bill for such a short delivery, and for making the nurses job too easy. We also thanked them for their quick scramble!
After a few minutes, they brought her to me and I was so happy to finally meet her!
Her face was so squishy and swollen from the beating she just took down the birth canal, but I knew that was to be expected. Because the pushing was so quick, she didn't even have a chance to get a cone-head! Also, her fingernails were super long. We joked that she got a manicure in the womb before making her big debut. And I just had a feeling that she would have dark hair. Hayden's hair was a reddish light brown, and Brooklyn's is very dark brown, like my dad's.
What was most shocking to me was how big she looked and felt. I asked the nurses to weigh her. When they put her on the scale, the numbers went up and up, past the 8 lbs, 7 oz,. mark of her big brother, all the way up above 10 lbs plus before settling down to 9 lbs, 15.7 oz! Well, since 15.7 rounds up to 16 oz, and 16 oz is 1 lb, the final, official birth weight is 10 POUNDS, 0 oz! Wow. I have to admit, it felt pretty awesome that I delivered a 10 lb baby in just over an hour, without any pain medications at all. I should win some kind of medal, don't you think?! ;)
OFFICIAL STATS:
Brooklyn Nicole Lott
Date of Birth: August 6, 2009 @ 12:03pm
Weight: 10lbs, 0 oz.
Height: 20.5 inches
Overlake Hospital - Bellevue, WA
I called Lisa with the news and she was sorry to have missed it, but stilled planned on continuing to come and give us big hugs and meet Brooklyn. She arrived around 1pm and we laughed about my crazy delivery story.
Little did I know, there are a few extra concerns when babies are born this big. When inside the womb, the umbilical cord is providing all the glucose the baby needs, but when the cord is cut, a 10 lb baby requires extra glucose or their insulin spikes. So in a healthy baby, glucose levels should be around 70, and 50 would be the minimum acceptable level, but Brooklyn's was 28. Despite my desire to exclusively breastfeed, the nurses informed me that they needed to give her a little formula to get her glucose level up. Of course, I wanted them to do whatever they needed. They let me nurse her first, and she latched on great and began sucking really well, so that helped ease my concerns about giving her formula from a bottle.
After she chugged 2 oz of formula, her glucose levels rose up to 72. Yay! Over the next 24 hours, they continued to monitor her levels closely and while I nursed her as much as I could with whatever collostrum she was getting from me, we also supplemented with a little bit of formula (about an ounce, twice.) When we discharged from the hospital, her glucose number was 55, but above the crucial "50" level, so we were able to take her home.
Also because she is so big and immediately requiring the calorie intake she was getting in the womb, the nurses were also concerned that
jaundice might become an issue. And also it could be an issue because my blood type is B-negative and Brooklyn's is O-positive, and there can be red blood cell contamination issues. Before we left he hospital, her billirubin level was on the high side, so we had to take her back into the hospital the next day to get that checked again. Thankfully, everything is all normal with that now, too.
In the evening after Brooklyn's birth, we had all our family come visit and had a "Birth Day" party for Brooklyn in the hospital room. I had made a batch of pink cupcakes and a Big Brother present for Hayden. Hayden was too excited about his SUV toy from Grandma's house to really care much about meeting Baby Sister, but he definitely liked the cupcakes, singing Happy Birthday, and getting the Douglas Train from the Thomas the Tank Engine set (his middle name.) And when I asked him "Where is Baby Sister?" he pointed to the bassinet where she was, and not to my belly like he used to. So hopefully he gets it, on some level.
Recovery has been different this time than with Hayden, too. The afterpains of labor are stronger, and the doctors and nurses confirm this is common with the 2nd babies. The contractions help to shrink the uterus back down to normal size continue a few every hour, and are super intense during breastfeeding, which releases oxytocin hormone and causes contractions.
My milk came in last night and Brooklyn is eating like a champ! She is latching and sucking beautifully! And she's already had 6 poopy diapers since birth! I have a feeling her double chin and rolls on her arms and thighs will be here for quite some time! :) I love healthy, chunky babies!!! In fact, she was too big to fit in her going-home outfit and is already in Size 1 diapers instead of the Newborn size!
Hayden is doing pretty well, too. When we eat, I put Brooklyn in a little infant seat next to the table, and when she even whimpers, he tells me "hold her" in a very concerned tone of voice. The first night home, he cried as Phil sang him his favorite bedtime song and wanted him to keep repeating the last line, "mommy and daddy, we love you, yes we do, we love you". In the morning, instead of his normal soft talking he broke out in a full, hard cry and I rushed in to console him. He's been a little whinier but so far is keeping a safe distance from baby sister and respects our need to hold her, nurse her, and give her attention right now. I'm hopeful things are going pretty smoothly.
Welcome to our family, Brooklyn!
