October Baby- Brooklyn Judy Merrill- Birthday Story

Introducing Brooklyn Judy Merrill
She made her appearance on
October 16th at 6:01pm
Weight: 6 pounds 11 ounces
Length: 20 inches
Head Circumference: 12.5inches
Best day of our lives.


We love you beyond words.

 

We are so happy you are here safe and healthy!

Brooklyn Judy Merrill - Birth Story

I have to start writing down these moments so I don't forget them. My brain still hasn't recovered from pregnancy brain- or maybe it is just sleep deprivation that has overcome my mental abilities. Either way our sweet baby girl joined our family this month and it has been nothing but Bliss. Except the lack of sleep part, but I am getting acquainted with that fact. Honestly we even considered having bliss be her middle name- I love the word and the meaning, but Mitch thought otherwise and that is just fine, maybe her nick name will be Bliss. I know she has already brought so much bliss to our lives J
So here is the story of Brooklyn's birth - one of the most amazing experiences of my life.
Currently she is peacefully sleeping in her little bassinet while I type this. She is starting to make little baby peeps so this story may take a few attempts to write the entire thing. Well going way back to the beginning of the 9 month pregnancy my initial due date was October 15th 2014. A few appointments later the ultrasound tech moved our due date to October 27th. Well quite frankly I hated that news… but I was fine with it and told everybody I had two due dates, it bothered Mitch- he just wanted me to say the 27th. I was persistent and would explain I had 2 due dates- so really she could come anytime in between that time frame. I desperately hoped sooner rather then later. 
Fast forward to October 15^th 2014.
I went to work not feeling well at all.   My back was killing me, I hadn't slept and I really just wanted to cry because I had to go to work. I like my job- just not my day! My body had hit a pregnancy wall and it was telling me it was done being pregnant. I put my scrubs on, gave a sad, pathetic look at Mitch and walked out the door. I was fine at work- answering phone notes, still just not feeling well when my back pain just became much more intense and very painful. It was really hurting, I was trying to just ignore it, but it was very persistent.
I had the thought to just go and get checked up stairs. Linda Webster was in the clinic thankfully! So I go to the women's clinic- mind you I took the stairs. By the time I got back there I was in tears. Linda gave me a huge big hug along with Shannon ( the ultrasound tech) she is Kirt Hansen's daughter, so we have a connection there. She is so sweet and kind. So Linda checked me, I was dilated to a 3 and 90% effaced. The baby's head was really already in place and ready to come. She stripped my membranes. Yup that hurt pretty darn bad. It was very uncomfortable to say the least. So she calmed me down and she cried with me. I headed back down stairs to work and thought I should probably let my husband know what was going on. I called Mitch in the bathroom @ work and just broke down and told him how bad my back labor was and that my body was just ready to get this baby out. He was so sweet, and offered to come pick me up, but I told him I was fine. I tried to be tough and go back to pediatrics and work. But then of course everyone asked me, "Becca, are you okay?" Then the tears came again. If you know me well enough you are bound to get me to cry with that question when I am already trying to compose myself. Well, I had everyone worried and everybody was surrounding telling me I was in labor and I needed to go home. Even Dr. Cottrell was offering to drive me home right then and there! Everyone was so sweet- Haha, looking back now- I definitely stressed everyone out. I'm sorry! It is funny looking back on the whole situation now. 
So after everyone convinced me, I headed home from work- called Mitch, called my Mom and headed to our apartment. Mitch met me at home and helped me get comfortable. My mom then showed up with some dinner a few hours later. I was trying to relax, but my back was really hurting. Mom and I went and got a pedicure. That evening I tried to rest on the couch- but no sleep would come. I took some Tylenol and that definitely helped with the pain, I bounced for 1-2 hours on our exercise ball. Then Mitch and I went on a date to Big 5, Broulims and Sodavine. We WALKED pretty much every isle. I wanted this baby to come, I was ready for her to come, but I didn't think she would make her appearance for a few days. Well night came and I was still very uncomfortable. Mitch and I got ready for bed and we talked late into the night. We finally fell asleep around midnight. I woke up @ 3:30am having contractions. At the time I didn’t really know they were contractions, I could just feel a lot of pressure and my entire abdomen was tight and tense. It was happening pretty close together so I was up walking around our apartment organizing things trying to get my mind off of it. Until 5:00am rolled around and they were not going away. So I softly woke Mitch up. He woke up a little panicked when I said I was having contractions. I told him we didn't need to hurry. I wanted to take a shower and make sure we had everything before we headed up to the hospital because I did not want to be sent home. So we took our time- meanwhile the contractions were still coming strong and consistent, but bearable.
Hospital time- 5:50AM- We got to the hospital and they sent us to Exam Room #1. A really sweet nurse came in asked me questions and hooked me up to the monitors. I was contracting and baby girl Merrill's heart rate was in the 150 range, beating nice and strong. Then it was 6:00 AM, still in Exam room 1 but change in Nurses. Little did I know Jill, my labor and delivery nurse was going to be my new best friend.
My blood pressure started playing games and my body was showing signs of preclampsia. I had a headache, my blood pressure was ranging 167/103 . It was pretty high. So Jill called Dr. Lovell, he showed up around 7:45AM and quietly stated, " Well I am going to break your water." I barely heard what he said, and surprisingly needed to hear what he said, I asked, "What?" He repeated that sentence and walked out of the room. I looked at Mitch and I got a big smile on my face, but felt a little nervous about what was about to take place. Mitch smiled back sweetly. I am sure he got a little nervous also, but he hid it well. Jill smiled and said let’s take you to our labor room and off we went. Mitch called my mom and let her know what was happening. Dr. Lovell came about 8:10AM, broke my water and said, “See ya later, I hope things go well.” Then my contractions really started. My mom showed up and Mitch and her seriously made me so comfortable and were so helpful. Another nurse started my IV and Jill got me all situated. I bounced on a ball to help with my contraction pain. Then about 9:30am I really was in a lot of pain with each contraction. They were coming strong and fast. I felt like I didn't even have time to catch my breath from the previous one and a new contraction would start. It was very painful and pretty much I have decided you will never know what a contraction feels like until you experience it. My thoughts of not getting an epidural quickly disappeared. I said, “let’s get the epidural.” And Jill was right on it. That was amazing. The anesthesiologist was there pretty quickly! Apparently, the anesthesiologist said I was going through an contraction and I honestly couldn't feel it.  I looked at him and said, "YOU ARE AWESOME!"
No more extreme unbearable pain for this pregnant woman. At noon I was dilated to a 5. They started some Pitocin, the smallest amount and I started to dilate about a centimeter and hour.  The whole afternoon was honestly enjoyable. I was able to sleep for 20 minute here and there and the day went by really quick. At 4 I was a 9  and really only had a small piece of my cervix that needed to dilate then I could start pushing. I hadn't seen Dr. Lovell @ all at this point. Jill said she had kept calling him- with no luck. Well 5'oclock rolled around and I was ready to push! Pushing took all my strength and will power. By 5:40pm she was crowning and she was ready to be born. Only problem, no doctor to deliver her. Jill was seriously holding our sweet baby girls head in, so she wouldn't come yet. For the next 20 minutes I truly learned what patience was and how difficult it is to not push when I wanted to so badly. It took all of my will power to stop my body from pushing and my emotions were just exhausted. All I wanted was to see my sweet baby girl. I had worked so hard, and now I was being forced to wait.  The moment Dr. Codd walked through the doors I couldn’t help but let a big sigh of relief. I could see on my sweet mother’s face and on Mitch’s face they both were feeling the exact same thing. Mitch and my mom helped me be patient through that entire process and were my number #1 fans. I am so grateful Mitch was right there by my side, helping me through this and my mom to encourage me.
Within moments, 1 push actually, our sweet baby girl’s cry was being heard. Dr. Codd put her on my chest immediately and I was overcome with the sweetest spirit I had ever felt.  Knowing this sweet baby was sent from Heaven was completely overwhelming and humbling. I looked at Mitch and back at Brooklyn and this was all I had ever wanted, I could tell Mitch felt the same way. The room was filled with the most incredible spirit as Brooklyn came to earth. She was born @ 6:01pm, weighing 6 pounds 11 ounces and measuring 20 inches long full of life and a healthy body. She was born with dark black hair, quite a bit and a little fuzzy body. October 16^th will be an unforgettable day. I am so grateful for the opportunity to be her mother and have Mitch by my side to raise her in our home. Brooklyn Judy Merrill, welcome home. We love you so much already.