Brady's Birth Story

All throughout this pregnancy, the OB doctors I saw at Lackland would ask me if I wanted to have a repeat C-section or attempt another VBAC. Each time, I had a very wishy-washy response for them. The idea of a planned C-section totally freaked me out (the beauty of Shelby's C-section was that I didn't know it was happening until minutes beforehand), but the upside of the C-section would have been an easier recovery (at least in my experience). Despite my rough VBAC recovery with Hadley, part of me wanted to attempt another VBAC. And I also kind of wanted to see if my body would go into labor on its own this time around. But again, the indecisive part of me would resurface & I would get freaked out about actually going into labor on my own b/c that would have been brand-new territory for me. (I never experienced a single contraction or labor symptom with Shelby nor with Hadley until I was already admitted to the hospital to be induced.)

When we arrived in Las Vegas at nearly 39 weeks pregnant & had my first OB appointment at Nellis AFB, we learned I may not have a choice in the VBAC/C-section debacle after all. At Nellis, they will not induce labor for VBACs, period. Basically, that meant that if I didn't go into labor on my own, I would have a scheduled C-section on July 6th at 41 weeks & 2 days. When the OB at Nellis told me this, I was convinced we were having a repeat C-section b/c I figured if I hadn't shown any signs of labor by that point, I wasn't ever going to.

On the Fourth of July, I was exactly 41 weeks pregnant. Our community was having its annual parade from 9-11am. The parade route was about 1.5 miles from our house, and we figured parking would be insane so Derek thought we should walk to the parade. I really wasn't in the mood to walk 3 miles round trip in 100 degree temps & blazing sunshine, so I totally wanted to skip the parade altogether. But the other part of me didn't want the girls to miss out on the parade b/c they had endured a lot of not-so-fun days between the long drive to Vegas and all of the time spent unpacking boxes & getting our new house set up. So, off to the parade we went!

 

 

And it was HOT!!! The girls only lasted in the spot pictured above for about five minutes before they were begging for some shade. I can't blame them!!! We tried umbrellas next...

 

 

The umbrellas didn't last too long either, but thankfully we found some shade under this tree up on a big wall (pictured below). This is where they watched the majority of the parade. There was no way my big ole pregnant self could have gotten up on the wall, so I sat on the ground on the other side of the wall. At one point, an older gentleman spotted me and asked if I was okay. I guess seeing a huge pregnant girl sprawled out on the ground in 100 degree temps might be a bit alarming. ;)  I assured him I was fine, but when he asked me how far along I was and heard my response everyone in the vicinity looked a bit alarmed. ;)

After the parade, we made the 1.5 mile trek home & then did nothing except cool off! We were all worn out. After we had recuperated from the morning, we had lunch, naps, dinner, and then went out for ice cream & to see fireworks!

We snapped this picture on our way out the door, we had no idea this would be our last picture as a family of four!

Not the most flattering shot of me, but this is the last picture of me pregnant!

That night after we went to bed, I woke up a few times during the night with what I thought might be contractions. On the morning of July 5th, we woke up & got ready to head out for the hospital as I had to go in for my labs/pre-op appointment for my scheduled C-section the following day. I was still having a few contractions here & there, but I didn't think too much of them. I kept thinking some women experience Braxton Hicks contractions for weeks before delivery, I certainly shouldn't complain about a few silly contractions. Originally, just Derek & I were going to go to my appointment, but at the last minute I thought my mom & the girls should tag along too. I figured it would be a quick appointment & it would give my mom a chance to see the base/hospital before the delivery. So, we all loaded up to head to Nellis & then Panera for lunch afterwards.

We got to the hospital around 11:45ish, and of course the labs took FOR-EV-ER! They kept struggling to draw blood from me, then the anesthesiologist had to come in and talk to us, and then the nurse. The appointment was dragging and I was getting nervous watching the clock and thinking about how long my mom had been stuck in the waiting room with the girls with nothing other than their Frozen coloring sets to occupy them. Around 12:30ish, I sent Derek out to the waiting room to give them some random packs of crackers I found at the bottom of my diaper bag. Desperate times, people! Finally, the last nurse came in to talk to us shortly before 1:00, and she stopped in the midst of her spiel & asked me if I was contracting. I said yes, but that I was fine. Derek & I both just wanted to hurry up and get out of there! She said she wanted to put me on the monitor to check on the baby & my contractions just to be safe. Derek & I both exchanged frustrated glances at this point, we just wanted to go!! Of course hooking me up to the monitor took forever and I was getting increasingly uncomfortable. I just wanted to get up off the table!

The next thing I knew the nurse was asking me how far along I was the last time I'd had a cervical check. I told her I'd never been checked b/c I hadn't experienced a single labor symptom up until the night before. Well, low & behold, I was FULLY DILATED! I couldn't believe my ears when she said that, but I couldn't focus on it too much b/c I was in so much pain & suddenly there were SO MANY PEOPLE in our tiny little triage room. I heard the nurse telling Derek to hurry up and get all my jewelry off in case we had to rush to a C-section. Then my water broke! The next thing I knew, an OB rushed in and introduced herself to us and asked if I wanted to have a C-section or another VBAC (seriously, I can't tell you how many times people asked me this!), and in between the contractions I think I said something along the lines of "I don't care." Ha! ;)  Before I could really wrap my head around what was happening, they were telling me to push & that the baby was already almost here! It occurred to me then that I hadn't had ANYTHING for pain, and I was thinking to myself there was NO WAY I could do this. I remember telling them I was in a lot of pain, and I recall the doctor saying the only way to make it feel better was to get the baby out of me. And boy was she right, as soon as he came out I remember telling Derek "whew, that does feel much better!" I think there was only 5-10 minutes of pushing, and at 1:09pm Brady Mitchell Smith was here!

Despite how fast he came, my placenta took FOREVER to come. Once that was finally over, Derek went out to grab my mom & the girls to come in & meet him. It wasn't exactly the ideal way for this meeting to happen b/c I was still a complete mess with blood everywhere on the table, and I didn't want the girls to see anything that would frighten them. So we kept the visit short & sweet, and then Derek left with my mom & the girls to get them fed & back home before coming back to the hospital to stay with Brady & me until discharge the next day. Below are a few pics of my mom & the girls seeing Brady for the first time (just minutes after my first time seeing/holding him). None of the pictures are great b/c we were all in a bit of shock & we were trying to keep the girls from seeing the mess. I almost didn't include some of these pics b/c they're not the greatest (especially of me!), but these are the only pictures we'll ever have of Brady's birth day....so here they are!



My first time holding Brady, can you tell I was a little emotional & overwhelmed?!

 

The OB told us later as she was stitching me up that after 4 years at Nellis AFB, Brady's delivery was her first in a triage room. ;) Around dinner time, I finally got moved to a regular room on the Labor & Delivery floor. It made us chuckle b/c nurses kept coming in hours after his birth to put patient bracelets on me b/c things progressed too quickly for me to be "officially" admitted before having him. ;)  Here are a few pics from when we were in our room during our hospital stay.

Leaving the hospital to head home to Brady's big sisters!

I still can't believe that we went to the hospital for a routine pre-op appointment & left with a BABY! I still can't believe I had a baby without any pain meds! I still can't believe my body actually went into labor....maybe it was that 3 mile walk to/from the parade that did the trick?! Brady's speedy entrance into this world was definitely not what I was expecting!!! I feel like I've experienced the gamut of deliveries now--one C-section, one VBAC via induction with the Foley balloon & Pitocin, and one natural VBAC. I really feel like each baby's birth story is kind of indicative for what their personalities will be like, so we might be in for it with this kiddo considering how fast & furious his delivery was! But so far he is the sweetest, easiest baby and his big sisters are completely smitten with him!

Shelby's Birth Story {HERE}
Hadley's Birth Story {HERE}