Introducing Molly Katherine Brink: Birth Story

She's here!!

Her birth day started very early as we checked in L&D at 5:30 am to prep for surgery. The pre-op process was pretty seamless - IV and cath -- and some actual legitimate contractions that started about 40 minutes before I walked into the OR! I take it she was coming that day regardless.

This C-section was similar, yet very different from Lucy's. I felt a lot less pressure and pain physically, but that feeling of when I heard those first cries = the same euphoric feeling. As the doctor pulled her out, Wes was able to snap photos on my phone, and I heard the doctor say "Wow, look at those thighs!" They made a comment about the cord being twisted, but said it wasn't anything to worry about. They brought her over to the warmer but I couldn't really see her. Luckily Wes was there cutting the cord and taking photos of her getting evaluated and checked. The scale read 9 lbs 4 oz which honestly floored me a little. While we knew she'd be bigger, I was thinking somewhere in the 8's! They brought her over to me to do skin to skin as I got to lay eyes on her for the first time. There are really no words for the first time you get to meet your baby. She was all chub, roly poly thighs and arms.

Wes and Molly were able to go to the recovery room while I was getting stitched up. After I was wheeled into recovery, Molly and I were able to breastfeed for the first time. I was so thankful for this and the OR skin to skin time as Lucy and I were separated for what seemed like aeons until I was in postpartum.

We stayed in the hospital until Thursday afternoon, receiving many visitors and learning about each other. Big sister got to see her about 4 hours after. To help myself recover I sent Molly to the nursery overnight for small clips so I could rest. It was insane how much I missed her when she would get wheeled back to me -- this little meatball who I knew for all of a minute. I loved moving my hand over her soft head, arm rolls, chubby thighs and the familiar feet that I often pushed down with my hand while they were in active in utero. She took to nursing rather well and loved resting on top of my bare chest.

Toward the end of our stay, two health issues popped up for her -- billirubin levels and losing more weight than typically recommended. I spent day 3 and 4 with her on this plastic mat biliblanket which made nursing incredibly harder. Also on day 3 of our stay I had more pain and sore breasts. By discharge I was anxious to go home and worked up in tears over her weight loss and jaundice issues. But we got to all leave together Thursday afternoon -- a milestone we missed out on with Lucy's birth. Bringing her home was so surreal -- there was an entirely NEW person living in our house making us a family of four finally.

NICU Part 1

I wish I had been able to blog more in real-time last week. I don't want to forgot those days. Or maybe I do. My head is still spinning with the events of the past 12 days. One day I went to work and somehow didn't make it home for almost two weeks.

The night Lucy was born, around 4:30 am, the pediatrician came into our post-partum room, telling us that Lucy's breathing was too fast and that she'd be spending some days in the Level II nursery. I immediately panicked (and found it hard to process as I had been sleeping, was hours out of surgery, and was probably heavily medicated). I was so upset that she wouldn't be able to be in our room. I felt like I barely held her the night before ... never even made sure she had all 10 fingers and toes.

The next morning I was wheeled into the Level II nursery to see Lucy. It was heartbreaking to see her with her CPAP mask on and all the wires connected to her. I just couldn't believe that I couldn't hold my new baby. Her breathing was so fast, her chest rising sharply up and down with each breath. I spent the rest of the day in a numb state. We received visitors, but each visitor reminded me I didn't have a baby to show off like all the other moms in the other rooms did. That night we were told they wanted to transport Lucy to a NICU at a hospital 45 minutes away as a precaution in case transport became too difficult during the impending Hurricane Sandy. And then things got to the NICU level anyway, so at 4:30 am Monday morning, I was awoken by a pediatrician, nurses, and three people from the neonatal transport team. They had wheeled Lucy in on some crazy looking isolette transporter with plastic windows all around it. I could see she was hooked up to a ventilator. It was possibly the most awful moment of my life to see my baby, with her rapid chest/breathing movements, laid out hooked up to a ventilator and monitors inside that tent, knowing she was being taken away from me.

Monday morning was spent trying to recover and get discharged as soon as possible so we could drive to the NICU to be with our girl and also to beat the hurricane. I was in no way physically recovered from my C-section, but considering the situation, discharge was a must. As we frantically threw things into bags at home and made our way to the NICU, we couldn't shake the utter fear in our hearts -- that we may not get to bring home our little girl at all.

We arrived to the NICU Monday afternoon.On the way down, while trying to brace myself for literal bumps in the road, I read through Facebook comments and messages. There were so many of my friends and family leaving comments on my statuses and then sharing the story and requesting prayers from their friends. Each message made me cry a little harder. When we arrived at the NICU, Lucy didn't look nearly as scary as when I last saw her. She was hooked up the a ventilator and a feeding tube with monitors on her and needles taped to her head. She was having some tremoring they were keeping an eye on. Wes had to run out to make sure we could get a room at the hospital's nonprofit housing facility. After picking up prescriptions for me and a fast food dinner, we spent more time with Lucy in the uncomfortable, outdated NICU before going to our room. Wes and I were both feeling numb, just existing on some sort of auto pilot. I've never seen my husband so attentive to my needs, providing the ultimate care and compassion for my broken physical and mental self. The next morning I called back the mom of a friend who had graciously offered to host us during our stay to take her up on the offer.

The next several days after are a bit of a blur. We spent all of our days in the NICU by Lucy's bedside. At first they couldn't even give us a diagnosis or treatment plan as they tried different testing to weed out other things like pneumonia and infection. By Tuesday night/Wednesday morning they landed on our original diagnosis -- premature lung disease (respiratory distress syndrome)

TO BE CONTINUED.

Birth Story Part 2

Induction Day 2 started Saturday morning around 7 am. As the morning went on the contractions got more and more intense. The midwife broke my water rather easily enough. I was expecting a tidal wave of epic proportions considering my polyhydramnios, but it wasn't as much as I thought. I had three doses of fentinyl to hold me off until it was epidural time. I should have asked for the epi about 20 minutes earlier than I did because the last set of contractions were awful. Actually getting the epi wasn't bad at all. I had a hard time understanding why women don't opt for it! Unfortunately I didn't progress much during the day -- only ending up around 5 cm dilated by 8 pm. The OB came in to check me and we made the call to consider it a failed induction and do the C-section.

I was devastated but I think I always had a feeling it would result in a C-section. I cried a little as we got ready, but I was still able to make a joke about Wes looking like an astronaut in his OR gear. As they wheeled me into the OR and I laid under the bright lights, I couldn't stop shaking. I was absolutely terrified about what was going to happen. 

They brought Wes in right before they started the procedure. He and the anesthesiology team talked with me about anything and everything to distract me from what was happening on the other side of the curtain. I felt some pressure and wondered how far along they were in the process. Soon the doc said "Dad, you ready to see your baby?" and as Wes stood up to look, I remember shouting "Don't let him -- he'll faint!" But then Wes said "Oh my God" and started crying and said "She's beautiful!" I remember the doc saying "Wow, that's a big girl!" I couldn't believe she was here, even after hearing her little baby cries. I turned my head to the side to watch them take her to the isolette to clean her off. I couldn't see all of her, but I could see all of her dark hair and her chubby limbs. I couldn't get over how big and healthy she looked. They brought her over to me and I had my lips to her face just telling her how much we love her and how happy we were she was here. Then as Daddy held her, I had to focus pretty hard on her and not the pain I was feeling as the docs put me back together. I felt more of it than I thought I would.

They wheeled me into a recovery room while Lucy got cleaned up in the nursery. Then I was transported to my post-partum room and they brought Lucy in, wearing a pink sleep gown and a pink knitted hat. When they placed her into my arms I couldn't get over how heavy she was! We tried to breastfeed but she wasn't interested in latching. I had them return her to her nursery after a bit because I was so exhausted and out of it I couldn't keep my eyes open and knew I wouldn't be able to take care of that night. I didn't know that was the last time I'd get to hold her in my arms for another 5 days.

TO BE CONTINUED.

Birth Story Part 1

On Thursday, Oct. 25, I had an ultrasound to check fluid levels, a midwife appointment, and a nonstress test. The fluid went up again another 4 cm, so at my appointment we decided on induction at 39 weeks. But during my NST, another midwife consulted with one of the OBs and came back and said that because they were thinking I may gestational diabetes, they wanted to have me stay that night to monitor glucose levels and do a "test" induction in the morning. (Spoiler alert -- my fasting glucose was in normal limits, so the cause of my polyhymdramnios wasn't GD.)

I never imagined that when I went to work Thursday morning, I wouldn't be coming back home anytime soon! I moved into an L&D suite and had friends pick up my things from home. I mainly hung out that night. Friday morning the activities started with an IV and Pitocin drip. The contractions were pretty easy at first (and I guess I had been contracting on my own before that though I was only a fingertip dilated and 25% effaced). 

Around 10:30 am, the contractions were getting stronger, and around noon the midwife inserted a cervical balloon to help me dilate to 4-5 cm, in the hopes that they'd be able to break my water then.


Between the balloon, the more intense contractions, and a full bladder that I couldn't relieve because of the balloon, I was struggling. I had three rounds of fentinoyl which helped for all of 5 minutes each time. They took out the balloon a little early because I was having such a tough time. I only got to 3-4 cm and 75% effaced. The OB thought it would be better to just take a break and start again in the morning. I think that was the best idea because it allowed my body a break, and I got to eat, sleep, and take a walk outside.


TO BE CONTINUED.