little miss brooklyn

our baby Brooklyn is here and we are so happy!! the best part  is that everything went according to plan....well, almost anyway :) here is the story of our latest adventure.

 

even though things were progressing much better with this pregnancy than the last two, I still didn't go into labor on my own. we had to be at the hospital at 7:30 am on the 12th to induce so we said goodbye to the kiddies and my mom (who had flown in a few days prior) and spent the 30 minute drive anxious to see what would take place the next few hours. starting off I was dilated to a 2 and once they started the Pitocin my contractions felt just like the Braxton hicks I had be experiencing but much more consistent. I was allowed to get my epidural whenever I was ready so once I started feeling pain I gave them the go ahead. I was so worried that if I progressed as quickly as I did with sophie and chose to wait to long for the epidural I would be too late. after the anesthesiologist left I sat and waited for the numbness to kick in. my legs were a little numb but nothing like I remember with the other 2 kids...they started me on a low dose so I figured I just needed to give it more time. at this point I was to a 4 and my water hadn't broken yet so the doctor came in to do that. I remember thinking to myself that it shouldn't still hurt this bad...I shouldn't be able to feel any of this. same thing every time I was checked. so after a while I was still feeling my contractions and they were getting strong. I told the nurse what was going on and she went to find the anesthesiologist to have him figure out what was wrong. he was in a C-section but would come check as soon as he was done. this is when things started to become really miserable. I was to a 6 and still feeling everything. every time I felt a contraction coming I would start sobbing....it hurt so bad (kudos to moms who go natural...I am a whimp) and I was super frustrated that I was having to worry about something like this. what was the point of going through the process of an epidural if it wasn't working and I never had issues with mason or sophie. after a while the guy finally came in. he adjusted the catheter in my spine and gave me a fast acting solution that they give to emergency C-section patients. he said if that didn't work within the next 5 minutes or so that they would have to re-thread my epidural. not what I wanted to hear. I was already in so much pain that I did not want to have to sit up and re-do the whole thing. luckily it did take effect and my pain gradually went away. hallelujah!! we were back in business. I was to an 8 now and the nurse said I should be ready in no time. sure enough she came back in shortly after saying there was a slight change in baby's heart rate which usually means its time to deliver. after confirming I was to a 10 she left to call the doctor and we were ready to end this crazy day. 1 contraction and 3 pushes later I was holding my third child!

 

look at that hair! at one point when my nurse was checking me she mentioned she could feel lots of hair on baby's head and then brooklyn came out looking like this! I LOVE it!! :)

so brooklyn was born on 11/12/13! she weighed 6 lbs 8 oz (exact same as sophie) and was 20 inches long. just perfect!

mason is going to be such a great helper! so glad to have him as the older brother. he loves baby Brooklyn :)

 

sisters!! so crazy how different they look...one dark and one blonde.



 

family of 5!

so grateful that my mom was able to come down. we don't get to see her often and the kids have loved having her around. even though we have plenty of people who could have helped out with mason and sophie, it was a huge relief knowing they could be with their grandma while we were gone.

 

 

 seriously so pretty!!

even though labor and delivery went a little differently than we were expecting, everything still went smoothly without any complications and we have a beautiful and healthy baby girl. I am so happy and blessed! I have an AMAZING husband. he is always so supportive and such a huge help...he has even been taking shifts with Brooklyn at night so I can get a little sleep (that is if she doesn't need to eat of course :). at the hospital I would watch him with Brooklyn and feel my chest swell with joy because I know my kids have such a great dad to take care of them. he gets a week of paid paternity leave so I know between him and our moms I will be well taken care of :) I am so grateful for all of my kids. they are each so different but all 3 mean so much to me! I am so glad I get to spend the rest of my life with my wonderful family! 

that's all for now! i'm sure you will be hearing from us soon (or at least seeing lots of pictures anyway :)