Brielle's Entrance

This whole pregnancy the goal has been to make it past Christmas before delivering. I wanted to spend the day with our little family and enjoy the excitement of Kyrie and Ryan's Christmas morning. I had scheduled my repeat c-section for December 27th and hoped to make it until then. I had been having contractions for weeks before I delivered and I think I just started to "tune" them out somewhat. Luke and I sat down and watched a movie Christmas night and the contractions were stronger and closer together, but I blew it off. Looking back, there are several things I would have done differently. Fast forward a few hours and I started to realize this was really it. I woke up Luke and we began scrambling to get bags for the kids ready, and a babysitter at 3:30 in the morning. Tammy and Blake Nelson became our heroes when they agreed to take our kids in the middle of the night. I don't think I can ever thank them enough for all they did for us. The car ride to the hospital was awful to say the least. Every bump was horrible and the contractions were every 2-3 minutes. There were even a few red lights ran that night. We got to the ER and they checked us in and I got set up in the maternity triage area. I learned an important lesson that night. Never try to hide your pain!! I guess I was doing an amazing job hiding the pain I was going through, because they weren't taking me very serious. After answering all the questions for admission, 30 or so minutes had passed. Finally the doctor came in and checked me for the first time. Imagine that nurses reaction when she found out that I was already dilated to a 9!! I secretly hope she realizes her mistake but at the same time, I am partially to blame. Once they found out how far along I was, everyone started rushing to get me ready for the c-section. A lot of those preparations are somewhat of a blur. I slightly remember the nurses trying to get an IV started and several different people coming in and out. At that point the contractions had gotten so intense and close together that I couldn't focus on anything else. That was also around the point when I started hyperventilating. The pain was so intense that I just couldn't breathe. They checked me again and I was complete. There went any hope of a c-section or an epidural. So all the preparations they had done for a c-section were forgotten and they rushed me to an actual delivery room. Apparently Brielle really wanted to come out because it was only 2-3 contractions and she made her entrance into the world. The nurses even had to hold her in slightly so the doctor could get his gloves on to deliver her. It's ironic how everything turned out in the end. As extremely painful as it was to deliver vbac with no medicine, it all turned out for the better. My recovery is going to be much easier without the surgery and I can focus more on our precious new baby. Looking back, everything happened the way I didn't want it to. I didn't want to have to call anyone in the middle of the night, or deliver natural, or without an epidural. But I feel so incredibly blessed with how everything turned out. It really couldn't have gone smoother considering the circumstances. And now we have our precious Brielle and she makes it all worth it. She is the most precious little baby and we are so happy to have her as part of our family.