These are the words that were repeated multiple times after giving birth to my little baby girl, it all happened so fast and one minute we were there, and the next minute SHE was there. After having almost a week to process the events of that day I can see that we really were very close to having the baby at our house or in the car. Thankfully we left our house when we did and all went perfectly at the very quiet hospital early Saturday morning.
Thursday night Ben had a campout with the boys because there wasn't any school for the boys on Friday, allowing me to enjoy our bed and sleep in until 9:30 in the morning. It was probably one of the best nights sleep I had had in a long time. I then made oatmeal and eggs over-easy with toast for breakfast and that was how the morning started... and that was also when I noticed that my belly was getting tight consistently over a period of time. I didn't think too much about it and Ben and I decided we were going to hang up pictures and take care of some things around the house. We took an afternoon break and played some games with the boys, lit a smoky fire in the backyard, and just kept on noticing the contractions were still coming pretty regularly, nothing painful, but they were consistent. I called my mom and we chatted, I told her what was going on and that I was probably going to have the baby sometime tomorrow afternoon if things kept going the way they were. So the evening came and Ben ran to the grocery store to get milk and something to cook up for dinner. He told me that he ran into one of our friends at the store and I needed to call his wife Lydia, which I did and we decided that they should come over and play some games with us. Again, I didn't feel like I was so uncomfortable that I couldn't actively participate in a good game of Ticket to Ride. So I took a nice warm shower and the Becks made it over around 9:30. We played two rounds, Ben won each time, and then they left around 11 that night.
THAT is when things started getting serious. I actually was thinking that I could probably try to sleep and we would go into the hospital in the morning. I had a 9 o'clock appointment scheduled, why would I not keep my appointment? But I had a very strong contraction that I just couldn't relax all the way through. So I told Ben we should go to the hospital "just to be safe" and we called our neighbor Angie, whom I had also asked if she would come to the hospital with us, and her daughter came over to keep an eye on the boys while we were away. We pulled away from the house at midnight and got to the hospital around 12:30. There were some uncomfortable moments on the drive, but thankfully Angie was there to push on my low back during the contractions and I was able to concentrate on my breathing, slowly in through my nose and out of my mouth.
The front desk woman told us to go to the ER before going to the delivery room. We made our way over there, but the people there told us to go straight to the delivery room floor. We buzzed the door and this little old lady opened the door. I was having a strong contraction at the moment so Ben said "My wife is going to have a baby." The lady nodded her head and said "Goot" (or good in German) and we followed her very slowly (because she was old and walking very slowly) into one of the rooms on the floor.
It was probably around 12:45, and each surge felt like it was getting stronger and stronger. I tried to move into different positions, kneeling on the bed, using pillows as supports, and finally I sat on one of the birthing balls while I was leaning forward on the bed. The nurse brought in some paperwork that Ben began filling out, and then she told him to "go to the ER and get lots of stickers" on the papers as well. We hadn't seen a doctor yet, in fact it was just Angie and I in the room, so we didn't know exactly how much longer these strong surges were going to last. I was beginning to feel exhausted and not able to catch my breath. Ben had left to get the stickers, and that is when I told Angie I didn't think I could do this much longer. I was starting to "grunt" during the surges, not because I wanted to, but because that was what my body was doing on its own. I had my eyes closed and that was when during the next contraction I felt like my water had broken, or at least I felt like the baby was coming out. I stood up and reached down grabbing onto a smooth, round "head". I still had my eyes closed, and at that moment the nurse came in with Ben right behind her. They kept asking me if I wanted to get on the bed but I honestly couldn't move, the baby was coming out! So I held onto the edge of the bed and waited only a minute. The round "head" was actually the amniotic sac, which popped and the baby's head was out. The next thing I knew Ben was handing me our baby. I felt her being born, but it wasn't painful at all, it just happened. I gently picked up my tiny little baby and held her on my chest. She was finally here and IT WAS INCREDIBLE!!
Brielle Rebecca
April 7, 2012
1:10 AM 3450 grams 51 cm long 35 cm head
(7 lbs 9 oz 20 inches long 14 inches)
Just enjoying those first precious moments together
My dear Angie who was there from the first pregnancy appointment to delivery day. She is amazing as a neighbor and friend, someone I knew I could talk to and she would be there for me no matter what. She is the one who helped me make it through while Ben was deployed and while Brielle was born. I am so lucky
to have such a wonderful friend!
It was so different to put on a girly flower bow on my baby, but it needed to be done since we only had a blue blanket that belonged to Cael. Don't judge... she had made a mess on the only pink blanket we had brought!
The boys were trying to stay entertained while we were waiting to leave. Just so everyone knows, Brielle wasn't inside the baby cart during this play time.... honestly!
That day (Saturday) the boys were brought to the hospital to meet there new little sister. They were all excited and so very careful while holding her and gently giving her kisses over her face and head. They left for the afternoon with Ben and everyone came back that night to eat pudding and jello together. Sunday Ben took the boys to church and came to pick us up in the afternoon. We were anxious to get home together and be in our own space, and in our haste we actually left my suitcase and purse on the curb where our car was parked. We made it all the way home before we realized our mistake. Thankfully when Ben went back everything was still there waiting for us! Such a huge relief.
We have had a wonderful Spring Break just being together as a little family. Ben and the boys have been building forts in the house, they had a campout in the backyard (and it rained that night) they also went swimming and shopping together. I have loved watching the boys and how tender they are with their tiny baby sister. It melts my heart to see my little family together and to have a sweet little baby in our home. It really is the honeymoon newborn phase and I absolutely love it!
