Rowdy, Taylor, Blake & Brooklyn: Brooklyn's Birth Story

The birth of our baby girl was quite interesting and exciting. Brooklyn was due April 23, which happened to also be her aunt Lacey's birthday. I went in on Thursday, April 10th for my normal OB appointment, everything looked great, he stripped my membranes just to help move things in the right direction since Blake was so overdue when he finally came into the world. Dr. Hoffman said everything was exactly where it was supposed to be progress-wise for her to come right around her due date, I measured spot on, I was dilating and effacing just fine. As I left he said "maybe I'll see you next week, maybe I won't" I told him I had no doubt he would see me the following week, I had little faith in having her early, especially two weeks early.

Friday, my mother in-law treated me to a pedicure, it was heavenly. It was also my last day of work, nothing too crazy to speak of, Molly and I walked to Strohecker's for some ice cream since it was so nice out. It was a very easy going day and I enjoyed spending it with her. I planned to take the next two weeks to nest; get her car seat installed, clean out my car, get bags packed, rooms unpacked and put together, get a couple massages and spend time with Blaker's one-on-one.

Saturday was my last baby shower that my mom threw for me with family friends and church friends. At 4:30am I woke up having contractions, nothing serious but at times were a bit painful. I told myself it was just false labor (I had that with Blake right around his due date) and that I shouldn't get excited. They subsided after a couple of hours and I tried to get a couple minutes of sleep before Blake woke up for the day. I was a bit crampy but no contractions the majority of the day. Mom asked that she stay in there and that I keep my legs closed until after the shower :) We had a wonderful time at my shower, good food and great people, I started to have a couple contractions towards the end but again, they went away. After everyone went home and we got everything cleaned up, the contractions started to come again around six-ish. I told Rowdy I wanted to get my car cleaned and to install her seat (in my head I was starting to worry she may come early, but I didn't tell Rowdy this yet because I didn't want to freak him out) so he helped me get my car squared away and that's when my contractions started to pick up.

I told my mother in-law, Jane that if things continue to go how they were that I may be in early labor. She told me that we will just have to see as the night goes on! As Rowdy and I finished the car and installing the seat, I had to stop what I was doing just to get through the contractions. I looked at Rowdy and said "Babe, I think I'm in labor". He had a look of horror on his face, "You can't go into labor, we have 11 days left. She can't come before that!" He must have called his sister, Danielle or something because he said she told him to have me drink lots of water and put my feet up. HA! I told him that there wasn't much we could do at this point, that the ball was rolling and I wasn't going to stop it, I was done being pregnant. So I proceeded to walk up and down the stairs to do stuff; It was around 7:30 or 8pm by this time and my contractions were steadily coming every four minutes and lasting 60-90 seconds. I texted my mom but didn't hear from her which was odd, and my dad couldn't get a hold of her either. I definitely needed my mom if I was in labor. I tried to get everything I could think of out of Blake's room to pack for our daughter, but I was a little scatter brained and suddenly wasn't sure what to pack! I thought I would have two weeks left to do all this.

We got Blake ready for bed and put him down one last time as an only child. I called the Dr. at 8:30pm and they told me to come right in because of the contractions and other labor signs I was having, but I decided against that and chose to labor at home a bit longer to insure I wouldn't be sent home. I told Rowdy to go play BBall with his buddies at the church down the road and when it was time to go, someone would call him. He wasn't any use to me at this point anyway in my labor and I knew he would just be stressing out watching me, so having him out of the house was best for everyone. I started to pack my bag and get her car seat straps adjusted. This was a long process, because I had to stop every few minutes to get through the contractions. My mom called me around this time as well. "Mom, I'm in labor." I then had a contraction and she said, "Yep, sounds like it!". We planned to have her come up to the hospital when we did so we coordinated that.

I went down stairs and my father in-law was nervous I was going to have the baby at home. It was around 9:30 and they were getting a lot stronger. I decided to eat some pineapple just to get something in my stomach. That was a mistake I wouldn't know about until later. I went back upstairs and tried to pack and around ten I yelled down for Jane to call Rowdy home. Rowdy rushed home and took a shower and he and his dad packed up the car. Just before Rowdy and I left, we were standing in our room and I just had a wave of emotion. I was scared for Blake, I didn't want him to think I loved him any less or be jealous. He had no idea his little world was about to change forever. It made me sad and I started to shake and cry. Rowdy calmed me down and got me to the car.

On our way to the hospital we hit EVERY red light. I'm sure we looked crazy to surrounding drivers as I looked like the typical woman in labor that you see in the movies, breathing and moaning in pain and Rowdy trying to look calm but was really anxious about potentially birthing a baby in the car and the slow drivers in front of us. We got there just after 11pm. Spent about 45 mins in triage and then got admitted. We got into our room and I got my epidural around 12:45am but it took FOREVER to kick in. The anesthesiologist had to give me 3 extra doses just to get it to work, then I couldn't feel a thing. My epidural with Blake was perfect because I could feel the pressure of the contraction but no pain. With this one, I couldn't feel anything for a few hours, no pressure, no nothing. I was at 4cm at 1am and so we decided to wait until I was about 7cm to call anyone who wanted to be there for the labor up. We turned the lights down and rested for a while.

At 3:15 my nurse, Sunni (whom I LOVED) came in and checked me. "You feeling any pressure?" I said yeah I was feeling something but figured it was just because those extra doses were wearing off and I was feeling the pressure from my contractions again. She checked me, "You're at a ten. Let's have a baby!" "Excuse me? A TEN?! Can we wait a little longer? We have people who wanted to be here for the birth" I said in total shock. Sunni said no problem, we could hold off for a half an hour. Sweet. We all got on our phones and let those who wanted to be there know. Suddenly I had that same urge I had with Blake, the urge to throw up. Poor Rowdy, he doesn't do throw up. But he stood by my bedside as everything inside of me came out, including the very acidic pineapple I had eaten just hours prior. I felt something different, "You need to check me again" I said. Sunni checked me, "Whoa! No time to wait baby is coming out NOW. Grab the doctor! Taylor, do not push. DON'T PUSH."

Everyone started rushing around trying to find the doctor. Sunni told me it looked like she may be delivering my baby if the doctor didn't show up fast. Suddenly her head popped out. Literally. There was no easing her way out, she literally popped out like a bullet. Suddenly the doctor was there, she washed her hands and turned around just in time to catch the rest of Brooklyn's little body. And there she was. 6lbs 3oz 18.5 inches long. She was a tiny little bug, so tiny that I never pushed, not even once! She had lots of curly hair and was very alert and awake for the first few hours. She latched within the first five minutes and ate for a solid hour. She was perfect. She also had a set of lungs on her that could be heard from a mile away. And she had the cutest cry that always had a little squeek at the end before she caught her breath, she sounded like the squeeker toy from Toy Story.

Brooklyn has been a great baby from the beginning. She sleeps through the night, and still makes me wake her up for feedings during the day. She hardly ever cries, ever. She is just a calm, docile baby, which I am grateful for because her older brother is anything but these days. He's a typical toddler boy, getting into EVERYTHING, jumping all over the furniture, climbing on anything he can. He's extremely active. Blake loves his little sister, sometimes a little too much. He loves to touch her and hug her and give her kisses. He held her for the first time on Easter and loved every minute of it. I am so grateful he isn't aggressive towards her and seems to genuinely be interested in her. When she cries, he starts to whine and point towards her, like her crying makes him worry. It's very sweet.

Being a mom of two is a lot more work and requires more energy than with just one (duh). And a LOT more juggling. I don't even know where my days go sometimes, they seriously fly with two kids keeping me busy. Honestly it was a bit daunting in the beginning to think that this was my new life. Luckily, I have lots of family around that are willing to help when they can and I am so grateful. My recovery was pretty much close to painless. A fast labor to a tiny baby made it a piece of cake, which was nice since Blake's was not as accommodating, weighing in over two pounds heavier and over three inches longer. I'd have ten babies though if they were all like Brooklyn (knock on wood). I didn't think it was possible to have two babies that sleep so well, but so far, I have been really lucky. It's cute seeing Rowdy with his daughter, singing to her and rocking her. I can honestly say there is nothing like watching your husband with a newborn baby.

Brooklyn was so tiny she didn't fit in newborn clothes until she was almost a month old. I was a little worried she would grow out of all her cute newborn stuff before she had a chance to wear anything, but we didn't have that problem. She is such a doll, sometimes she will make a face that looks like Blake, but sometimes I don't have a clue who she looks like. However, I must say, Rowdy and I make some cute babies! I'm thrilled to add another bundle of joy to our lives and can't wait to watch her grow and see her and Blake's relationship develop.