Oaklee Helen Merrill

Oaklee Helen Merrill

Born: October 5, 2017

11:26 AM

7 pounds 6 ounces

19.7 inches long

Oaklee’s birthday was a special day.

One week prior to her arrival, my sweet mom arrived. I had been so anxious of this sweet baby arriving and my mom not being here. For a few reasons including: 1. Having a baby in Houston Texas, with no family around. 2. What was I going to do with Brooklyn. We have some great friends here, but I didn’t want to have a crazy time dropping her off and making it traumatic. 3. Mitch is in optometry school, he leaves at 8:30 and gets home around 8pm. 4. I needed her here.

So I felt like these reasons could cause anyone some concern, you need your mom ya know.

My sweet mother bought a ticket a week early and came to my rescue.  Brooklyn had come two weeks early, and I figured this baby would be similar.  This baby was LOW the entire pregnancy, but my body was not dilating.  I was 90% at my appointment on Tuesday ( two days prior to the delivery) , with NO dilation. I was bummed. So my mom and Brooklyn got to go on really long walks, swimming and have some dance parties with me. We had a lot of fun leading up to the birth of Oaklee.  It was fun for Brooklyn to have Grandma here to play with. We did a lot of shopping and walking.  It was also nice to have my mom here to show her around Houston.  We are so far away from Idaho family  it seems at times, that it was refreshing to have family here and see what our simple lives are like in this big crazy city.

So Wednesday we went  on a long walk around our building complex, which is pretty big if you go all the way around it, and see all of the Arab/Muslim concubines…. I have yet to see another white-American couple in this complex.  My mom spotted one, so I’m still on the search.  Anyways- we walked then we went to Levy Park, that was a fun place it was hot that day.  95 degrees and it was humid.  Then we came home, took a little nap.  I spent 30 minutes on the elliptical, than we all went swimming and I did all sorts of water aerobics to help get this baby out.  That evening my mom rubbed all sorts of pressure points on my feet. She rubbed them good!!

Well nothing changed… until 1am Thursday morning.  Mitch and I had stayed up late talking all about New York for some reason and his mission. Just chatting when my contractions started.. well I didn’t sleep at all.  Mitch passed out and I just wanted the contractions to stay consistent so I didn’t try to sleep haha. They started getting more & more consistent and at 3am I was having them every 10 minutes and they were truly starting to hurt… so I started to wake up mitch and my mom around 4, by then I was like in pain and they were hurting. I called my doctor and he gave me instructions to head straight to the hospital- immediately or else I would hit early morning traffic… well at 5am there still wasn’t much traffic but we were on our way to the hospital and I knew that this sweet baby was on her way.  We arranged for our sweet friends the Basset’s to help out with Brooklyn if it permitted so my mom could come to the delivery.  Once we got to the hospital, Mitch and I were  sent to a waiting room. I was clearly in labor and this other couple was just watching me… she had a scheduled induction and was witnessing live labor pains by yours truly. Haha, finally what seemed like forever a nurse came to the room and had us  follow her to my labor and delivery room.  This nurse was from Uganda… UGANDA people haha I  could barely understand her…. And I was in intense labor… crying and trying to breathe through the contractions.  Mitch was being so sweet and helpful.

So we finally get the paperwork complete and she checks me… she gets this concerned look on her face.. I ask her what I am dilated too and she says something that I cannot understand, so I ask again and she says, “ you are fully effaced and dilated to a 10!” and she starts calling for help and a million nurses run into my room……

I FREAKED OUT!! I looked at Mitch and started to cry… I kept saying “ I CANNOT DO THIS NATURAL”

Soo we all panicked and he called my mom and said call Jen and get here as fast as you can Becca is delivering this baby like now.

My doctor shows up in 2 minutes and checks me…. With a twinkle in his eye &  with a lot of irritation in his voice he looks at the nurse and says .” She is dilated to a 4, it seems like a 10 at first, because the baby is so low and completely effaced, but she is dilated to a 4 call anesthesia she can get an epidural.”

Holy I thought Doctor Pinell was going to kiss me he grabbed my head and leaned down and whispered she isn’t coming yet…

I have no idea if my mom was there or not at that point. I just looked at Mitch and was soo relieved and happy….

I know the nurse felt sooo dumb, and I was quite happy to know that I would be getting an epidural soon.

7am rolls around I get the epidural, mitch and my mom are there and it is shift change time!! YAY!

I got a new nurse and she was AMAZING. Adrianna was her name!

Side note: they only gave me a bolus of the epidural, and my Uganda nurse took forever to go get the pain pump… so I really felt a lot of contractions for a long time and I have a lot of respect for those mamas who do it natural.  But man I wanted some pain meds if I was going to have an epidural in my spinal cord, get me the good stuff.  So my new nurse called the anesthesia department and they came up and gave me another dose with the pain pump… bliss… pure bliss after that moment, no more pain. It was a woman this time.. I think she understood my pain haha! 

My sweet Uganda nurse went home, and I told her she did a great job, but man I was happy to see her leave the room…

At 9:30am I was dilated to a 5 and Doctor Pinell, who is Jewish by the way and wears a gold necklace with rings dangling on his chest, is an incredible doctor and I am beyond blessed to have found him in the 4^th largest city of the United States to delivery my baby.

I had a little missionary experience with him the first time I met him.

Anyways Dr. Pinell broke my water at 9:40am and they started me on the lowest dose of Pitocin. He told the nurse to check me at 11am again and let him know.

We have a pleasant time just waiting until 11am. I was tired at this point and didn’t know if I would have energy to push the no sleep the night before was hitting me!!

Well 11am rolled around and  the nurse checks me, she was very thorough and wanted to make sure she was not going to be embarrassed  …  haha she says, “ this time you really are at a 10!” Lets have this baby!”

And just like that she called Dr. Pinell, he showed up and  big black NFL player who I have no idea who or what he was.. and a student doctor all arrived at the same time, with a another nurse to take care of the baby.

It was like magic.  They got all set up, and Dr. Pinell says, “Mitch do you want to see her hair?” I had not even pushed at all at this point. SO mitch could see her beautiful dark hair already. This baby was sooo low..

So Doctor Pinell, said okay lets go head and give a push, I pushed and her head was out and pushed a little more and she was in his hands above my knees!!!

I was in shock. Easiest experience of my life… and then the sweetest little cry was heard and Oaklee Helen Merrill was here.

She was covered in the white coat of vernix from head to toe. Dr. Pinell held her up and said, " I feel like the Lion King."


She was perfect. they wiped off her face a little and put her right on my chest. I couldn't believe how adorable she was. She immediately started sucking on her thumb while laying on my chest. IT WAS THE CUTEST THING. Once they wiped her off a little more, we could see how much hair was all over her body. arms, legs back cheeks, all covered in the cutest little peach fuzz. SO MUCH peach fuzz. I love it. She had soo much dark hair too. I couldn't believe how furry and fuzzy she was and soooo little. she was just this little ball of joy.

Mitch cut the cord and then we both just looked at this beautiful precious gift God had blessed us with. A sweet angel baby girl. She was so sweet and so perfect. I could not believe how beautiful she was and that Mitch and I had created another perfect little person to join Brooklyn as a sister.

Brooklyn has loved Oaklee and I hope they become bosom buddies these next few years.

SO grateful for this little sweet spirit to join our family. Oaklee is so sweet and calm. She breastfeeds so well and hardly cries. WE are so thankful for this little girl. Its crazy how she was totally this missing piece and how completely perfectly she joined our family.

My momma heart is so full to have two sweet daughters and an amazing husband to call mine.

Thankful. Grateful. Blessed.

Just to note.. my postpartum care was a little insane--- Houston...is seriously a melting pot.

Nurses:
1 from Uganda
1 from Jamaica
2 from India
1 Hispanic
1 African American


I did it. I had a baby in Houston Texas.. and survived. <3

Welcome to the family Baby Oaks.