We found out we were pregnant back in September and most of the pregnancy few by with normal visits and regular life circumstances. After our 20 week ultrasound we had a higher level ultrasound to take a closer look at one of our baby's kidneys but no abnormalities were found so we continued as usual. I had my 28 week appointment and passed my glucose test at the end of February and after that my appointments started to be impacted by COVID-19. My clinic decided to cancel all appointments other than the initial appointment and those occurring at 20 and 28 weeks as well as everything from 36 weeks on. It was strange to not go to appointments and I was very antsy to go at 36 weeks. I had been having quite a few braxton hicks contractions leading up to this appointment. After my last labor and delivery experience I wanted to have a conversation about when I should pursue going to the hospital with contractions. I didn't want to go to the hospital unnecessarily during a pandemic but I also didn't want to have another baby in our bathtub. I also wanted to confirm that our baby was head down. Additionally, I wanted to ask some questions about how the pandemic would impact our birthing experience and hospital stay. Unfortunately I didn;t get to see my regular provider because of adjustments that had been made to schedules but I was still able to get my questions answered. I also received a shot I would have gotten at a previous appointment that was canceled, got my Group B Strep test done, and found out I was already progressed to a 1 with baby head down at -1 station -- it was a full appointment! I left my appointment that Wednesday feeling a little more calm and prepared for what things would look like in the coming weeks (haha) when our baby would come. I didn't think too much about being at a 1 because I knew it didn't necessarily mean our baby would be coming very soon, but it was nice to know my body was preparing.
The next day was a normal day at home with the kids as Michael worked downstairs. We played with toys, read books, and I did some grading for my homeschool co-op classes while the kids played with rainbow rice. The kids and I talked about the baby countdown -- our baby’s duedate was in 27 days, but if that was Rosie the baby would come in 20 days, if Baby was like Ruby it would be here in 19 days, and if the baby was like Harrison the birth would be in 6 days (every time I got to Harrison’s number I thought about how I was glad the baby would likely not come that early). As I always did when we did our countdown I reminded the kids that sometimes babies come early, sometimes late, and sometimes on their duedate. I always told them that God knows the perfect time for our baby to be born just like He knows whether our baby would be a boy or a girl. He is in charge and knows what is best for our family. I took some time that day to repack my hospital bag. I also confirmed with Shelb that we were planning on having her watch our kids when we needed to go to the hospital. We had talked about it before, but waited to finalize the decision until after getting questions answered at my appointment. That night we had a nice little family walk after supper where we walked to a hill near our house and did some running around (I of course just walked -- though I did get up the big hill twice while following Rosie to make sure she didn’t fall). It was a really sweet day and that night we got our kids to bed and then Michael played a video game with his brother while I worked on Rosie’s baby book and talked with my sister-in-law on the phone for a little bit. I fell asleep before Michael got to bed and slept really well that whole night which hadn’t happened in a while.
The next morning I woke up at 5:55 to my water breaking. I knew immediately that my water had broken having had this happen with both Harrison and Rubyanna. I went to the bathroom thinking “ok, so we are having this baby today … this is earlier than I expected this to be.” There were some big blessings with this earlier timing. First we had done a grocery run recently so we had plenty of food for Shelb to use with the kids when she watched them, MN was still under “Shelter in Place” so Shelb hadn’t gone back to work, and with my water breaking it was very clear that we needed to go to the hospital. After a couple of minutes of processing I went back our room and told Michael my water had broken. He got up right away and started getting ready. He was a little regretful at having stayed up too late and indulging into many snacks the night before! I called Shelby and let her know and she said she would head up shortly and then I called the Mother Baby Center to let them know we would be coming in within the next hour or two. While Michael showered I made a list of schedule things for Shelb as well as some meal and activity ideas. Michael then gathered the rest of the things he needed while I took a quick shower. I was having a few contractions but nothing very strong or consistent. Our kids slowly started waking up and we were able to talk with them about how we were going to be going to the hospital because our baby was coming today! We had already talked with them about how they wouldn’t get to visit us in the hospital this time, but that we would be sure to facetime so they could see our baby. I was so thankful to be able to have a little bit of time with our kids that morning before heading to the hospital -- after a month home with them it was hard to leave and it was nice to not have to really rush off. They were excited our baby was coming and so thrilled to get to see Shelby after not being together for a month! After Michael had taken care of a couple of things for work we gave our kids hugs and kisses and headed out the door. We stopped to grab coffee for Michael and gas for the car and then made our way to the hospital talking on the way about how we didn’t quite feel prepared for how early this baby was coming, how we hoped it didn’t mean an extended hospital stay, and how excited we were to meet our baby soon.
We got to the hospital around 8:30 and were greeted by someone who screened us before we could check-in. She asked us questions and took our temperatures (Michael’s temperature was almost too high because he had been drinking his coffee). She also gave us masks to use and told us to wear them any time someone other than the two of us was in the room. After that I got my hospital bracelet/tags and was taken back to the triage area to confirm that my water had in fact broken and to complete the check in process. Michael wasn’t allowed to come back to triage with me which was different than our earlier experiences. They also checked my progress while I was back there and determined I was at a 4! This was very exciting to me because it meant we were already almost halfway there.
I was taken bay to a labor and delivery room by 10 and they brought Michael back to join me. I hadn't gotten my results back yet for my Group B Strep test so to be on the safe side they started me on the antibiotics as soon as I had my IV in. We texted some people to let them know Baby was coming and then just hung out in our room. I had contractions but they weren’t very strong or consistent. I still hoped things were progressing well on their own like they did with Rosie’s labor. Michael ordered some food and ate lunch and I was able to have some juice and a popsicle. Time passed pretty quickly and comfortably and shortly before 2:00 the nurse checked to see if I had progressed at all, but unfortunately I was still at a 4. This was of course a little disappointing because it’s hard not to progress and it meant we would start pitocin. I am really not a fan of pitocin contractions, but we wanted to get things moving along. Michael and I really hoped the pitocin would work like it did with Ruby’s labor where we had her within 4 hours after starting it. They started me at a level 2 with the plan to increase the amount every hour. After they started me on the pitocin Michael and I started playing a game of Settlers of Catan on his phone. My contractions were stronger and coming more regularly (every 5-7 minutes) and when they aligned with my turn in the game it made it hard to focus -- this wasn’t helped by the fact that I was having really bad luck in the game. I was hoping to work with gravity and went back and forth between standing and sitting on the edge of the bed for a while and then switched to the birthing ball. The nurse came in around 3:00 to readjust the baby monitor because it was having a hard time tracking the baby and she also increased my pitocin to 4. The next hour included more strong and consistent contractions coming every 3-5 minutes or so and the end of our Settlers game -- we both lost to one of the computer players (ugh “Louis”). Around 4:00 the nurse bumped my pitocin up to 6. As we got closer to 4:30 things were growing in intensity and I was tired of the birthing ball so I decided to try standing again. I wanted to lay down but I so desperately wanted to use gravity to keep things moving forward so I didn’t pursue that. Our nurse came back in and I asked when they would check my progress again and she said whenever I wanted. Looking at the clock I noticed it was close to 4:45 so I suggested that we check again at 5. When my next contraction came I started to feel some pressure. After I mentioned this we decided I should get in the bed and be checked once the contraction was done. That contraction felt like it lasted forever and there was a ton of pressure to the point where when Michael was helping me lean back in the bed I grabbed a really tight handful of the hair on the back of his head (he very graciously removed my hand and held it in his). Once the contraction seemed to be letting up the nurse went to check me and saw that our baby was crowning. She told me not to push and hurried from the room to get the doctor and almost immediately I was having another contraction and my body wanted to push. I am convinced that fighting your body’s urge to push is one of the worst things ever. I put forth so much effort trying to fight this urge that I ended up screaming (loud enough that I hurt my throat) and immediately the nurses and doctor came running in --it felt like it took forever but in truth they were very fast! They got everything set up and through my next contraction I was able to push our baby out! I didn’t feel like my pushing was super efficient but it only took the one contraction so it must have been ok. Because things had shifted so quickly I still had my mask on when I met our baby girl face to face. Both Michael and I had been thinking this baby was a boy so we were totally shocked to have another daughter!
Aubriella Denae was born at 4:52 pm weighing 6lb 1oz and measuring 20 inches long. Immediately her look reminded us of Harrison and we have come to say that we think she is a mix between Harrison and Rosie.
It took a little while to get everything situated after Aubriella was born. I had a bit more bleeding than normal but thankfully it didn’t end up being cause for concern. As soon as we could we facetimed our kiddos to share the news with them that they had a new sister. Harrison’s reaction when we told them was “Wow! I have so many sisters!” We know he had been hoping for a brother but he responded so sweetly and was so excited.
Since she was born a little premature there were some extra tests they had to conduct that she needed to pass before we could go home. She passed the blood sugar one within 12 hours and did great with the carseat test. We were also really pleased that she was very low risk for jaundice. After completing and passing all her tests we were able to go home just over 24 hours after her birth! We were so excited to get home and introduce her to her brother and sisters face to face. They were thrilled to meet her! Both Harrison and Rubyanna were waiting at the top of the stairs when we got there and they all took turns holding their newest sister.
Obviously having a baby in the midst of a pandemic isn’t really what we would have chosen. It was really hard to not be able to have our kids (or anyone else) come visit and meet Aubrey in the hospital. It did make for a pretty peaceful hospital stay but we still wished we could have had at least our kids there. Even after leaving the hospital it has been hard not to be able to share our new baby in the way we normally would with those we love. We are exceedingly thankful for technology but really look forward to when we can introduce Aubrey to people face to face rather than through a screen. We trust God’s timing is perfect and that he is sovereign over all things and while we have been saddened by the situation we have also been really thankful for the precious time our family of six has gotten to spend together adjusting to life with our sweet Aubrey face to face and in our arms. We praise God for her life and for how smoothly this transition has gone!
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