My Birth Story

Yes, that's right, I am about to write (type) the birth story of my Zoe for the very first time. I know this is a little late in coming... 9 1/2 months late to be exact, BUT there is a reason for my madness.

No actually, I completely forgot to do it in the beginning. And then when I remembered, I thought it would be lame to do it at that point. But over the last couple of weeks, as I have started planning Zoe's FIRST birthday party, I have been doing a lot of reminiscing of that last week and day that led up to her birth. It was a crazy week, and God was amazing in it. So I decided that I don't care that it is almost 10 months too late. I want to share with you about the goodness of the Lord.

It was literally a picture perfect pregnancy. It couldn't have gone any better. No issues, the doctor was thrilled, we were on schedule, we knew we were having a girl, and we were ready to go. On Tuesday, October 11th I was unfortunately awakened very early in the morning by some INSANELY terrible pain under my right ribs. It was the kind of pain where you really can't even cry. It's like I skipped the crying stage and went right to the moaning stage. But it was my ribs, not my abdomen and no contractions, so I was pretty positive that I wasn't in labor. But after 5 hours of moaning, I decided I should probably call Labor and Delivery. So I call, I explain, I get told that it doesn't sound like I'm in labor (duh), and to call back in another couple of hours if the pain does not subside. To be perfectly honest, I knew I wasn't in labor. But I also knew that something was really, very wrong. But I obeyed orders and waited for another 2 miserable hours. I call back, they say come in. I called Lee home from work and we were off!

Before I continue, I need to tell you two things: First, my due date was November 2nd.... it was 3 1/2 weeks too early for Zoe to arrive. Second: My mom was scheduled to fly in for that upcoming weekend and attend a function with my brother at his college. She was going to be flying in on Thursday, the 13th. I won't lie, we "joked" about how wild it would be if I went into labor while she was here. Key word, "joked." Moving on.....

We get to the hospital and the tests and checking of the vitals begins. Bad thing #1: My blood pressure was quite high. Bad thing #2: The protein in my urine was also high. It is supposed to be 0, and it was a 3 when I got there. Both of these are signs of preeclampsia. High blood pressure is dangerous. If my blood pressure continued to be high or rise, I could run the risk of a decreased amount of blood flow getting to the placenta, which in turn reduces the oxygen and other nutrients getting to the baby. The high protein count was the reason for the rib pain... It was actually my liver that was causing the pain. It was having a difficult time processing the high amount of protein. They ended up having us stay for around 3 hours so they could keep an eye on me. In the end, my numbers stayed the same, but the pain had subsided. Since I had a regular appointment already scheduled for Thursday (in 2 more days), they decided to let me go home. I was exhausted and thankful.

Nothing exciting happened the rest of that day or Wednesday. And other than feeling worn out, I was doing pretty good. Thursday came around, and we were off to my appointment.

The bad things were still there, and a bit worse. This time, they didn't let me leave. I honestly wasn't too thrilled about it. But it wasn't long after I was admitted that the seriousness of the situation hit me, and I was all of a sudden very grateful that they did make me stay. The liver pain returned, my protein count made it up to a 4, and my blood pressure was through the roof. The goal was to try and get my blood pressure down... way down. Their idea of accomplishing this was to put me in a triage room with 2 other pregnant women with each of our beds cordoned off with drapes, no food, no water, no pain meds, a hospital bed that a cat or dog wouldn't be caught dead on, an absolutely hideous hospital gown, AND I had to lay completely flat on my side... No sitting up. If things didn't change soon, they wanted to induce me.

And I just have to insert this little tidbit. I am a HUGE fan of natural childbirth. We did so much research about epidurals and inducing, and we did not like what we heard and read. So our goal was to have a completely natural (NO drugs) birth. I was totally determined that I would not be induced and that I would have a c-section over induction any day. And no one was going to tell me otherwise.

When the Dr. said that they needed to induce me, I am totally embarrassed to say that I caved. I think the pain, exhaustion, and the pressure they put on me to be induced was just too overwhelming for me at that point.

In the meantime, my mom had landed and if I remember correctly had also made it to her hotel.

They also said Lee had enough time to run home (which was 45 minutes away) and pack some bags for us... It was going to be a long night.

So I'm at the hospital by myself. Trying to be brave. And trying to get my body to stop shaking from the pain and exhaustion.

Lee gets back... they move me into my own room... and they give me the induction "pill." Right after I took it, I was so disgusted with myself. It was one of the decisions that meant the most to me. I just wanted to cry my head off...

But it wasn't even 10 minutes later that the Dr. came in with some new news. They had just gotten some results back from some tests that they had run earlier. It turned out that my platelet (the things that help your blood to clot... in a healthy way!) count was very low. The new fear was that by the time I actually gave birth, my platelet count would be too low and I would bleed out. Not good. My blood pressure was still dangerously high, so he says we need to do an emergency c-section. As crazy as this sounds, I was thrilled! And terrified. In that moment I just felt like the Lord was so hearing my heart... He knew what I had wanted for my baby. And even though the situation was still scary and dangerous,  I felt like the Lord was truly answering my prayer.

So the preparations began. Doctors and nurses everywhere trying to get us ready... My mom and brother were on their way... and we were about to meet our child.

Now, I don't want to scare off any future parents, but nor do I want to sugar coat this. I have never been so uncomfortable in my entire life. Pain from my ribs, the contractions had already started, you have to use a catheter when you have a c-section, the epidural for the surgery, cold rooms.... I had to keep telling myself that it would be worth it. And it SO was.

Finally, I heard Zoe cry at 1:24am on Friday, October 14th. Probably the best sound I have ever heard. She weighed in at a whopping 5 pounds 2 ounces and was 19 inches long. She was perfect. There was nothing wrong with her. And my mom and brother made it just as Lee and a nurse were taking her into another room. Couldn't have planned it better myself.

Before I wrap this up, I need to give a SHOUT OUT to my husband. What an absolutely amazing man he is. He did EVERYTHING. He held my hand, he prayed with me, he helped me get out of bed, he held Zoe through the night so I could sleep, he went and got food... The list is endless. So thankful that the Lord knew I would need Lee Briggs.

And we are so very thankful for our Zoe. God is so good and is completely sovereign. Praise Him.