Introducing Skyler Mae Brinkerhoff

I have been putting this off for a while now because it seemed a bit daunting, and I have been a little busy with a new baby and all.  But, alas, I shall recall the events of my first child's birth before I forget the experience entirely - which is not likely, but some of the details are already fading, believe it or not. 

It was early on a Friday morning (I'm talking seriously early, about 3am) when I finally realized how true labor contractions felt.  Definitely different from the Braxton-Hicks that I had encountered so much of throughout my pregnancy.  So I started timing.  At this point, they were only happening about every 10-12 minutes.  So I tried to sleep in between because I definitely couldn't during.  As the morning progressed, the contractions became closer together, another hint that these were the real thing - in case I wasn't sure yet.  I was trying to wait as long as I could before calling the doctor, so we decided to go grab some lunch, knowing that I wouldn't be able to eat for however long once I got to the hospital.  We went to Fuzzy's Tacos and I tried to enjoy my meal in between the contractions.

I finally called the doctor's office after lunch and they had me come in to the office instead of going straight to the hospital because the hospital was FULL!  We later found out that it was the busiest day in probably two years with 11 babies being born on the 26th.  So I was checked at the doctor's office and was dilated to a 3.5 and having contractions every 5-6 minutes.  I stayed there for a couple hours being monitored.  The midwife at the office called the midwife at the hospital and told her I was there and ready to come in.  She said she would let us know as soon as a room became available and we could sneak in before anyone else.  I finally got checked in to the hospital around 4pm on Friday.  Contractions continued to get stronger and closer.  I spent about 30 minutes in the jacuzzi tub which helped a bit.  Once I got out, I was checked and dilated to a 6.  It was shortly after this that I decided I wanted to get an epidural to help with the pain.  Unfortunately the anesthesiologist for L&D was in on a c-section and it was going to be a while.  They had to call the on-call anesthesiologist for the whole hospital to come in for me... which took a while.  It felt like a lifetime for me, at least.  The timing of everything is a bit of a blur to me now, but it seriously felt like forever.  Finally, I got the epidural (which, I will add, was WAY less painful than getting the IV put in) and they checked me again and I was dilated to 8.5cm.  I felt like a new person once I got the epidural and was actually able to rest for a short time before the final stages of labor.  Phew!  I eventually made it to a 10, and the midwife thought I should hold off on pushing for a little while to see if the baby would scoot down a little further on her own before I started, and I think she did a little bit.  It was 11:30pm when they started having me push.  I could move my lower half surprisingly well after getting the epidural.  They had me change positions a few times for pushing and at one point I was even on my hands and knees on the bed for a few contractions which was kinda cool, I thought.  I didn't realize it at the time (because I was a little out of it, and so exhausted I couldn't even open my eyes in between contractions) but the baby's heart rate was dropping each time I had a contraction, so they thought the cord may have been around her neck, or getting pinched somewhere which is why they were having me move positions so frequently.  I had been pushing for 2.5 hours when my midwife suggested an episiotomy (possible TMI warning: she thought I might tear up ways and down ways if not...).  So I obliged and on my next push, there she was!  They gave her to me right away, which was so, so cool.  I got to hold her while they cleared her airways, wiped her off, when James cut the cord and all that!  Meanwhile, I delivered the placenta and my midwife showed everyone how it resembled the tree of life...and the doctor came in to stitch up my 3rd degree tear... thank goodness for the epidural.  I can't really express the feeling of meeting our baby for the first time, but it was the most beautiful moment I have ever experienced.  It was 2:04am on April 27, 2013.  My family quickly took their turns holding her and then they wen't home to get some rest.  Shortly after, we were moved into a postpartum room where we stayed the next two nights.

Clearly not my most flattering moments... but James is sweet to love me anyway.

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Edited for indecency... 

She opened her eyes right away... maybe that's normal?  I thought it was cool.  

She did not like the bright light...

Proud daddy.

Everyone says having a baby will change your life, and you know it will, but you don't really understand how until it happens.  It's like suddenly nothing else matters. What a miracle.  We are so blessed that everything went as smooth as it did and we are so incredibly grateful that we now have a beautiful, healthy baby girl.  Love you Skye baby!