She's Finally Here!

There are no words to write in a blog posting about the birth of a child, so I can only explain our joy and thankfulness with a few details from the events of the last week!

From my last posting, I wrote about the plan we had to get Brooke's birthday party started as soon as possible - which involved a little help from Cervidil, possibly Pitocin, and a baby close behind.

Little did I know, things would go NO WHERE CLOSE to the way that we planned - but looking back on it all, I wouldn't have had it any other way. After all, it's her story...Brooke's story...and she's finally here!

Tuesday, September 9, 2008 - Zig's 27th Birthday:

We started our morning with our 8:30 appointment with Dr. Grill. He checked my cervix as planned and found that I was no dilated at all but was 50% effaced - half as thinned out as the cervix was supposed to be. From there, he prepared us with the risks and warnings of inducing labor but thought that it was a good idea because of a problem he found while examining me. Apparently, he had noticed this in exams before, but didn't mention it until then... My pelvic bones were extremely narrow and he was greatly concerned that I would never be able to birth the baby naturally. We knew then that our chances for a C-section had increased, but still decided to attempt labor and see what happened. I felt very confident that I could do it - and felt strongly about doing whatever I could to bring my precious baby girl into the world on my own!

By 9:30, were in our Labor and Delivery suite (with everyone other woman in Lewistown, it seemed) hooked up to all of the monitors and waiting for the Cervidil to get started! It didn't take long! Within the first hour, I was cramping and feeling pressure...which in a few hours turned into INTENSE back pain from contractions! With every contraction (coming every 2 minutes) I was in extreme pain and started telling Zig that I just couldn't do it anymore! After laboring from 9:30 to 4:30 pm, the nurses checked my cervix to see what kind of progress I had made, since surely all that pain had led to SOMETHING! No such luck...and no change at all!

I decided in that split second that I couldn't take the pain for one more minute, let alone start Pitocin and make it worse!

So, since we didn't know if I would ever dilate and knowing that I might have trouble pushing her out anyway, Zig and I decided to have the labor stopped and requested a C-section delivery. The nurses informed us that the decision would probably be made first thing in the morning when Dr. Grill came to check me...so the waiting began!

Zig and I spent the night together in the hospital room, listening to babies being born all around us! We would hear screaming mothers, then screaming babies...it was incredible! Knowing that we would soon hear the cries of our baby girl was almost overwhelming.

Wednesday, September 10, 2008 - What would have been Zig's Dad's 50th Birthday:

Dr. Grill whistled his way down the hall into our room around 7:30, ready to check me and confirm that absolutely no progress was made. He reassured us that a C-section may be our best option anyway and that all he had to do was make a phone call. He said he quite a busy morning, so not to expect anything to happen until later in the afternoon. So, Zig left with his Mom to go have breakfast and return shortly! Not 5 minutes after he left, my nurse came running into my room saying that I needed to get my husband back IMMEDIATELY because our C-section was happening at 8:30! I called Zig and my Mom in a panic so that someone would know what was happening and could alert everyone else...

By the time Zig finally got back, the nurses were literally throwing him his scrubs and walking me away to the operating room! I think I was in a state of shock as the "man with the needle" walked along with me, explaining what was about to happen.

Inside of the operating room, I was positioned on the table where the Spinal was inserted - for those of you who have any fear about Spinals or Epidurals - DON'T! Compared to back labor pains, the Spinal was heavenly! Within 10 minutes, I was numb from the belly down and Zig was sitting beside me dressed like a doctor, camera in hand!

After some pressure in my body as they struggled to pull Brooke from my very comfy insides, we heard that first squeak of a cry! Music to my ears!

At that moment, our lives changed...forever! Brooke Mackenzie Wray entered the world at 9:02 am, weighing 7 pounds, 11 3/4 ounces, measuring 19 1/2 inches long!

Zig stood to be with Brooke as she was cleaned up and checked out...when she was ready to go to the nursery (like all C-section babies do), the nurse laid her beside my head so that I could see her, kiss her, and tell her how much we loved her! Off she went, with her Daddy, to the nursery - and where her family could get their very first peek at our new little princess!

I continued to lay in the operating room for another half hour as Dr. Grill and the other doctors took care of me and my insides - I stayed calm by listening to them make jokes, tell stories, and compare their opinions about the Presidential candidates...weird, I know! They assured me that everything was going very well, and before I knew it, I was in my post-partum room in 'recovery' where I stayed for the remainder of our time in the hospital.

The next few days were a whirlwind with visitors in and out of the hospital all the time! Everyone wanted a peek at our new baby and we loved showing her off! Some of my favorite moments were when it was just Zig and I, enjoying our daughter, talking about the events of the day!

A few short days and nights later, we were packing our things and preparing to bring our baby girl HOME!

We came home on Friday, September 12 before lunch time, and found ourselves just looking at each other - wondering what to do next! Honestly though, I am so proud of us! Zig and I make such a good team! We are sharing the parental duties very well and I could not ask for a better husband!

Having had major surgery and my insides ripped around, my recovery time was much longer than it would have been with a natural birth. Zig has had to do many things for me that I would much rather do myself, but he's never complained!

So - we've been home now for 4 days and it's amazing how our lives have changed! We have enjoyed spending time with visitors at home...lots of family and friends to love this little girl! Nana just can't get enough and Aunt Meggie is actually here for a few days to soak up as much 'Brookie time' as she can!

As for me and my husband...

We laid in bed last night just talking - talking about how much we love each other, how much we love Brooke, and how we never understood what "love at first sight" truly meant until we saw her.

How did we get so lucky?

And so, Mommy, Daddy, and Baby Brooke Makes 3!

We are truly blessed to have this little girl in our lives! Life begins now...

Enjoy the most perfect baby girl in the world!