Labor and Delivery Story

Thought I better record all this while it's fresh on my mind.  It's long and perhaps more information than some would like, so consider yourself warned! 

So, I had gone into the doctors on Tuesday morning (the 14th).  I was growing more and more impatient that I was now past my due date (the 11th).  I was really hoping that I would have progressed enough that we could schedule an induction.  The week before--so just a few days before my due date--he had checked me and I was at a ZERO with an unfavorable cervix.  So, when he checked me and I was at a 1.5, I was pretty happy!  He said they could go ahead and set up a time for me to be induced.  Yippee!  I was so happy.  He said he'd have his nurse call the hospital to set it up.  She came in a few minutes later and told me that the hospital couldn't get me in for one week!  I couldn't believe it would take so long.  I would be about 10 days past my due date at that point!  So, I left the doctor's office a little disappointed and now hoping more than ever that I'd just go into labor on my own very soon! 

The next morning I woke up with some pretty strong contractions.  Well, I wasn't having very many contractions, but the ones I was having were a little bit stronger and more painful than what I had been experiencing.  I began to hope that I'd soon be in labor!  I got the boys breakfast and did a few things.  Then around 9:30 my doctor's office called.  When I saw on my caller i.d. that it was my doctor's office, I got my hopes up that they were calling to say that the hospital could get me in sooner, but I figured that'd be too good to be true.  Anyways, they asked if I could be induced today.  Apparently my doctor had pulled some strings at the hospital to get me in that day because he was on call anyways so it was more convenient for him!  I was so excited.  I asked them what time I should show up at the hospital.  They told me that the hospital would call me shortly with a time.  So, I started to get ready.  The boys still weren't dressed.  I still had a few things to pack.  I needed to get a hold of Jeff and my mom.  I still needed to put on my makeup.  Ah!  I started to get ready thinking they'd probably tell me to come at noon or something.  The hospital called a few minutes later and asked me when I could get there.  I said that I live a half hour away and that I needed to make arrangements for my kids.  They said they were worried that I could lose my spot so they told me to hurry and to call before I came to make sure it was still okay.  So, there was NO way I was going to lose my spot--NO way!  So, I began rushing.  I couldn't get a hold of my husband (who had left his cell phone in a motor pool car at work and hadn't gotten it back yet) or my mom.  So, I just hurried to get myself and the kids ready.  I finally got a hold of everyone and my mom said she couldn't get to my place for an hour or so and Jeff and I made plans for him just to meet me at the hospital--he works right by our hospital.  I was thinking I would try and call my neighbor, Emily, to see if she could watch the boys until my mom could get there.  The day before she had invited them to come play so I figured she'd be available.  Just as I was about to call her, I looked out the front window and she was walking towards my house.  She had just headed up to get the boys to see if they could come play (we hadn't even discussed a time so the timing couldn't have been better).  She took my boys to her place and was a huge lifesaver!  Then I headed to the hospital.  I was relieved that they were able to get me a room right away and get me checked in! 

I had a great nurse that got right to work!  All the nurses seem so amused that I had four boys and was finally getting a girl.  Everytime a different nurse would come in they knew all about my boys and our baby girl that was almost here.  So, I know the nurses were talking about this.  The nurse took my blood and got my i.v. started right away.  She put the monitors on.  As she was discussing my medical history and past labor and delivery history with me, I told her that with all my babies we had had problems with them getting very stressed out during labor.  We've always had scary drops in their heartrates.  With Braeden I almost had to have an emergency c-section.  With Carter we also had a few scares.  Tanner's wasn't quite as bad, but Coleman's was pretty bad to where they had to hurry and give me a shot to make the contractions stop.  So, I wanted to make sure she knew to really watch my baby's heartrate throughout my labor.  She said she was already noticing the baby was struggling a little bit--this was with my natural contractions--I hadn't even started the pitocin yet.  She'd assured me that she'd keep a very close eye on us.  I felt good being in her care.  She seemed so attentive. 

So, they started the pitocin around 12:30.  Even at the lowest level little Brynlee was struggling a bit.  the nurse said she felt that she should warn me that there was a strong possibility that I would have to have c-section.  She wanted to make sure I wasn't caught off guard if that ended up being the case.  My doctor came and broke my water around 2:30.  I was at about a 3, but the baby's head was up so high and the doctor was a bit worried about this.  In fact, the nurse was worried that she might be breech because she couldn't feel her head--she did an ultrasound to confirm that she was head down.  My doctor expressed his concern that she was so high up.  He was also extremely concerned that she was struggling so much through labor--especially that she was struggling so much in the beginning stages of labor.  We kept plugging away though.  The nurse was continually watching us.  I was on oxygen virtually the whole time.  I was stuck on one side--whichever side she seemed to do better on.  They would adjust the pitocin a lot turning it up and down depending on what she could tolerate.  This little girl did not like labor! 

My doctor came in when he was done seeing patients around 5:30 or 6:00.  I was still only at a 3.5 or 4 at this point and she had not come down at all.  He again expressed his concern and the reality that this would very likely end in a c-section.  He said let's keep trying and see how it goes, but be prepared.  So, we just continued on.  They tried to put up my pitocin as much as she could handle it!

The doctor came in a little after 9:00 and checked me.  He said I was at a 5, but that that was stretching it.  She still had not come down at all.  He just sat there staring at the monitors for what felt like forever.  I knew he was pondering what to do and his concern was evident.  He told us to talk about it, but that he just didn't know how much longer the baby could handle the stress of labor.  He said if I were getting closer or if she had dropped some, we could probably keep going because there'd be an end in sight.  He was so baffled as to why she wouldn't drop.  He was concerned that there was a reason for this--a complication of sorts.  He just seemed stumped.  So, he asked us what we would like to do.   He said we could talk about it.  I asked him if he thought it would be safe to keep trying for another hour or so.  I wanted to make sure that wouldn't be putting the baby at risk.  He said that should be fine.  He left us to talk things over and make a decision on going forward with the c-section. 

Now I know that many, many women have had to have c-sections.  I knew that everything would be okay if that were what would happen.  BUT...I just really didn't want to have a c-section if I didn't have to.  I would of course, go forward with that if it was what was best for the baby, but I was a little scared of having to have surgery.  I'm a wimp and am so scared of surgery!  I also was nervous about the recovery with a c-section and 4 active boys and a newborn to care for.  So, I came up with a plan.  I asked Jeff to give me a blessing and then we'd give it a bit more time and if she didn't drop or make some serious progress, then that'd be our answer.  So, Jeff gave me a blessing.  Literally as he was giving me the blessing, I started to feel a lot of pressure.  I thought gosh that'd weird, maybe it was just because my epidural was wearing off a bit.  So, he finished the blessing and I felt a lot of comfort knowing that no matter what everything would be okay.  He gave me the blessing about 10 minutes after the doctor left my room--probably around 9:30 or so.  I started to feel more and more with my contractions so I thought I'd better tell the nurse that I wan't to push my epidural button for more relief (one time I had a nurse get upset with me that I didn't ask her first if I could push the button so I was a little timid).  So, she came in and I told her I thought the epidural was wearing off and that I was feeling a bit of pressure.  She kind of brushed off the whole pressure thing and pushed the glorious red button for more relief!  Well, with each contraction, I kept feeling more and more intense pressure.  I knew this feeling with it being my fifth kid and all.  I was started to feel like I wanted to, needed to, push!  So, I kept telling Jeff how confused I was.  What could this be?  There was no way I was complete yet--my doctor had just checked me, I had an unfavorable cervix, I was barely at a five, the baby was up way high!  There was no way.  So, Jeff was like oh just wait for the epidural to kick in and lets give it some time.  After a few more difficult contractions, I said we need to call the nurse in.  So, I explained what I was feeling.  I knew she was skeptical (understandably), but she decided to check me anyways.  She checked and seemed so shocked that I was complete!  She also noted that the baby had dropped a bit--she was still up high (I was at a negative 1 station).  I was shocked too.  I couldn't believe that I had progressed so quickly. 

The nurse then had another nurse let my doctor know that I was complete.  My nurse had me start pushing.  I figured I'd have to push for a really long time since the baby was still up so high.  We had a lot of distance to cover so I prepared myself mentally for a long hour or so of pushing.  After pushing through a few contractions with my nurse, the doctor came in.  He seemed so shocked.  He could not believe that I was complete.  He could not believe that I felt like pushing and that this was happening.  He kept saying how he just thought that there was no way we were going to avoid a c-section--even joking with me that he was reading up on how to do a c-section.  As he kept marveling at how he could not believe that this was happening he kept questioning the whole situation, Jeff and I both later said that we thought about explaining to him that the only explanation was that I had received a Priesthood blessing (plus my parents and the boys were praying for us).  So, the doctor came and had me push though a few contractions.  He was again surprised as I didn't have to push very much before she was ready to come.  He told me to stop pushing so they could prepare for her birth.  Once they were ready (felt like a long time because I really needed to push at that point), she came out with a push or two.  I was so relieved that I didn't have to push forever and ever--she came relatively quick as she was born at 10:06 p.m. after probably a total of 15 minutes of pushing. 

It felt so good to hear her cry for the first time.  I got to hold her right away and Jeff got to cut the cord!  I began counting her fingers and toes and examining her!  I immediately noticed that she had a little skin tag by her left ear.  Braeden also had a skin tag which we had removed.  I was excited to show Braeden her skin tag because he's always been a little fascinated by this and a little curious about what it looked like since he got to see it.  He just has a little bump about the size of a small mosquito bite where his skin tag was.  I was excited that she had hair--not a ton, but by far more than any of the boys.  She has the most hair by her neck in the back.  I also noted that it was darker than any of the boys hair.  I couldn't believe how great she looked.  There's always a greater chance that a baby who has struggled so much through labor will end up in the NICU, but she looked as healthy as can be!  I couldn't wait for the boys to come and see her!  Since it was so late at night, they were all sound asleep so I knew they wouldn't see her until the next day. 

Sooooo cute!!!

Here's our little cutie at 8 days old!!!  She is now 16 days old and we are loving every minute with her.  She is so fun!!!  I am having so much fun with all this pink!!! 

She's here!!!!!

Brynlee Heidi was born August 15th at 10:06 p.m.
6 lbs. 9 oz.  -   20 inches
She's cute and we love her to pieces!!!
Brynlee and Alice are doing great and her brothers adore her!  We'll post more details and pictures later.

Family Reunion

Here are a few pictures from the family reunion we attended in June!  Getting all of Jeff's family together is no small task considering the size of this family!  It was so good to be together.  The kids had so much fun playing with their cousins nonstop.  We are so blessed to have such a great family.  These kids/cousins are pretty special.  I am amazed at what great kids these are.  They are so much fun!  Jeff's parents left the day after the reunion to head to the MTC to prepare for their 18-month mission to Ghana!  We sure are going to miss them.  We were thankful that they got to stay with us for a few days after the MTC before their flight to Ghana.  Jeff got to take them to the airport early Monday morning.  We are so excited for their adventure and we know that they will touch many lives, but we sure are going to miss them.  Jeff and I won't change much in 18 months (well, hopefully I will in that I will lose all this darn baby weight--still got to lose Coleman's baby weight too), but the kids will change a lot in 18 months.  Our baby will be almost 1 1/2 (hard to believe seeming how she's not even born yet)!  Coleman will be almost 4 years old (also hard to believe since he's a crazy toddler now).  Tanner will be 6 and in kindergarten!  Carter will be 7 1/2 getting to close to the magic EIGHT number.  And, Braeden will be 9 1/2.  Agh!  When I think about it those terms, it kind of makes me freak out about how fast these kids are growing up! 

Here's the darling grandkids!  I'm sure you can understand why Grandma says the hardest part about going on a mission is leaving these cuties behind!  You can't see in this picture, but all the kids have a number on the back of their shirts indicating which grandchild they are.  The two newborns on the blanket are the twins' babies born only a week or two apart.  There are 35 grandkids (the quads didn't get to come) and our new baby will be the 36th grandchild.  We got a cute picture of all the grandkids standing in age order and facing backwards so we could see the backs of their shirts and their numbers--I opted not to post this as it has our last name on it!  Jeff and his brothers and sisters also have their number on the back of their shirts (Jeff is the 2nd child so he has a #2 on the back of his shirt--the spouses had the same number so I had a #2 on my shirt).  They also got a great picture of the 11 siblings in age order facing backwards with their #'s showing, but it also had the family name on it so I'm not posting it.  The kids had so much fun talking about which number they were.  It was pretty cute.  They all know their number now!  We thought it was funny when Braeden went up to Jeff and said "hey #2 the other #2 (meaning me) is looking for you". 

Here's Jeff's parents and his 10 siblings. 

See, Jeff's side of the famiy is HUGE!  This isn't even everyone.  Four of Shanda's kids aren't even in this picture. 

6 1/2 weeks to go!

You know you're getting pretty far along when you get asked a million times at church "how much longer to you have?".  Well, I am 33 1/2 weeks along.  So, we've got 6 1/2 weeks left!  Really this pregnancy has flown by.  I think it has defininatley gone by faster than any of my other pregnancies.  I guess having four kids and a lot going on keeps me so busy that time just flies.  I also get asked a lot if this pregnancy has been different because it's a girl.  The answer to that is no, it really hasn't been any different than the pregnancies with the boys.  Just like my other pregnancies, I lucked out with no morning sickness.  I almost hate to mention that because so many people get so sick and I know that I am so lucky!  I just get tired a lot and have the weird carpal tunel/arm issues that I always seem to have.  With the weather warming up, I am feeling the heat but not nearly as bad as I thought I would.  I had predicted that I would be feeling downright miserable by the point, but I'm really not.  I don't feel horrible, I think I felt much worse at this point with Coleman's pregnancy and much, much, much worse with Tanner's pregnancy at this same time (and Tanner was born at the end of November).  We are getting excited for this little babe!  I am getting a little bit worried about how I am going to juggle 4 crazy boys + an infant.  I think I feel that every time we have another one and somehow I get through it.  Since this is the grand finale to our  family, I just keep hoping that things go smoothly (as much as can be expected) so that I can really enjoy this baby rather than operating solely in survival mode and feeling like wishing the time away.  The baby is due August 11th and the kids don't start school until Sept. 4th.  Every year I've been complaining that school started so early (usually around the 3rd week in August).  I never could understand why school couldn't just start the day after Labor Day.  It seemed so pointless to go for a week and then have a holiday.  So, this year they changed the first day of school to the way I always thought it should be.  This is good overall, but I'm really worried about having all the kids at home to entertain and keep out of trouble with a brand new baby.  We are so darn curious about what the girl version will look like.  The boys all look so much alike that we could pretty much predict that she will have a similar look.  I have slowly been buying some clothes for her and it really is just so much fun.  I am really trying to stay in control and not buy too much though.  Knowing that she won't have a little sister to hand things down to and knowing how fast babies grow, I just don't want to overdo it.  So, I've put a little pressure on myself to limit how much I buy which actually ends up putting me in a position where I overthink things when it comes to buying her clothes.  I worry that I'll buy something and then regret it if I find something cuter!  Dumb, I know, but after having 4 boys, I'm a little excited for all the girly, cute stuff and really want to do it right!  Plus, I know that if this little girl is anything like her mama was, I won't have much time where I have full control as to what she wears and how her hair is done.  Apparently, I was a little paticular about what I would and would not wear at a very young age.  That is one thing that is going to be a huge change from boys.  With the boys, I just hand them their clothes every morning and they never complain about what they are told to wear.  It's never an issue.  That has been a really great thing about the boys.  I am fully expecting a girl to be completely different.  Well, I think I've rambled on enough about the baby stuff.  We'll keep you posted as things get closer.  Before we know it, we'll be heading to the hospital and checking into labor and delivery.  I am curious if I will go on my own (mostly) as I did with Coleman or have to be induced (like I did with the other three).  With Coleman my water broke, but he was majorly stressing out during labor and having big drops in his heartrate with contractions so they had to give me a shot to stop the contractions so he would be okay.  Then the contractions wouldn't start back up on their own, so they ended up getting me some help from my good buddy, pitocin.  With the other three, I had to be induced because my amniotic fluid was running low.  So, we'll see what happens this time.  A part of me hopes that I could go all on my own this time (and as long as I'm wishing, I'd love to have a quick labor too--something that I have never experienced).  It's always so crazy to me when I hear of women heading to the hospital and having a baby in the arms a few hours later!  All in all, as trite as it sounds, I really just hope for a safe delivery and a healthy baby!  That's all I can really ask for!

Braeden's Baptism

It's hard to believe our first has just gotten baptized.  Braeden was baptized on May 12th--the day after his birthday.  It was a wonderful day for our family.  My favorite part was seeing Braeden's huge smile and the obvious happiness he felt.  We were so proud of him for preparing himself for this day and making this choice.  I know it could seem like an 8 year old is too young to make this decision or that they are just doing it because it is what is expected of them, but Braeden has been waiting and waiting for his chance to be baptized.  He really wanted to be baptized!  We are so proud of him not only for choosing to be baptized and conducting himself so appropriately, but just for the great kid that he is!  We are lucky to have him in our family.  It was an added bonus for him (and us) that he was able to be baptized the same day as one of his best friends.  It was great to share the day with their wonderful family.  Thanks to our wonderful family and friends who were able to help make it such a special day for us. 

Carter's Birthday

Carter wanted a Superhero party for his 6th birthday.  From my perspective, it was a pretty easy party to pull off.  The kids all came wearing a superhero costume.  At this age, they think it's pretty fun to dress up.  The kids got to make their own little pizza.  We did a Spiderman pinata and had a silly string war.  Carter seemed really happy and felt special and that's all that matters to me.  I can't believe he's 6 already.  Carter is a pure joy to have in our family.  He is such an easy-going kid.  He has such a sweet, fun personality.  We love him so much and wish he'd stop growing up. 

Pregnancy Update

Once again I am apologizing for the lack of updates.  I have had several people ask me if my 20-week ultrasound confirmed that it is a girl.  Sorry for the lack of follow up.  But, YES the ultrasound showed that it is a girl for sure.  I am now 28+ weeks and overall I'm doing pretty good.  It is starting to feel real HOT though.  It's going to be a long, hot summer.  We're getting excited though.  I feel like I have so much to do before this little one makes her apprearance.  Most importantly, we've got to figure out a name.  I thought that this would be a piece of cake with it being our first girl.  But, it is proving to be more difficult than I thought.  We'll figure it out though. 

Exciting Announcement

Just a quick update to share our exciting news with everyone.  Come August 11th (or thereabouts), we will grow from a family of 6 to a family of 7!  We just got an ultrasound and were shocked to see that it looks like a baby girl.  That is something I never thought I'd see.  I figured we were just destined to be an all-boy family!  An all-boy family would have been great, but I have to admit I'm pretty excited to have a daughter.  Jeffrey is waiting a few weeks for our 20 week ultrasound to really feel confident that it's a girl.  I can't imagine what it would be like for the little girl to have four big brothers!