The Birth of Greta Brooke- by Kelly Lashua

This is the story of a little girl named Greta. She will be 1 year old this month- I can't believe it. Her mama Kelly wrote out her birth story to share with you all! Enjoy :)

 March 22 came and went. It seemed this baby girl still wanted to bake a while longer. I

wasnʼt too discouraged though, I had fully anticipated going past my due date since I

myself was born two weeks late. So I went about life as usual, went to church, visited

with friends, went to a spring training game, re-organized the pantry...anything to keep

my pregnant self busy and distracted. On the evening of Sunday, March 25, I was

feeling a little “off.” My husband Robby and I were watching some TV before bed and I

just felt crummy- I was achy and I had a little stomach pain. At this point, I did not even

consider that being in labor was the source of my pain. I mean, I was the size of a

house and 40+ weeks pregnant- being uncomfortable was pretty much a given! We

eventually headed to bed. As I tried to get comfortable, I was getting discouraged.

“Ugh!” I thought, “I am so ready for this baby to be out!” Little did I know, that was

exactly what was about to happen.

At around midnight, I left the bed and went to lay on the couch. I thought watching a

movie would help put me to sleep. So, I found my all time favorite, The Sound of Music,

and popped it in. At about the time Maria was meeting the Von Trapp children, it hit me,

“holy smokes, could I be in labor?!” I was still not getting comfortable and my stomach

ache wasnʼt constant, it was coming every 15 minutes or so. I suddenly became a mix

of excitement and nervousness. I couldnʼt believe that this might actually be happening

now! Robby came to check on me once he realized I had left the bed. I still wasnʼt

convinced this was labor, so I didnʼt tell him I thought this was more that normal aches

and pains. I wanted a well-rested husband if this was the real deal! I began to time my

“pains” with my handy app. I was moving all around the couch and the floor trying my

best to get comfortable. By about 5 am, the pains were roughly 7 minutes apart. Robby

and I became googling maniacs trying to determine if we should go to the hospital. “Are

they always 7 minutes apart?” “Um...kinda?” “How long have they been this way?”

“Awhile?” “Do you think we should go to the hospital?” “What does that website say?”

“Do you feel it in your back?” “I feel it everywhere!!!!” I had a fear of going to the

hospital and having them send me home, so I wanted to be sure I was in labor before

making that trip. I decided that I would take a shower and get ready. If I felt the same

or worse when I was done, we would go to the hospital. I took a nice, long shower, blow

dried my hair, got dressed, put on some mascara, ate a granola bar...all the while still

experiencing those mysterious aches. “Yep, letʼs go.”

We arrived at the hospital at around 7:30 am on March 26. The triage nurse confirmed

our suspicion- I was indeed in labor! Yes! I wasnʼt the crazy lady to have 8 false

alarms! That was the good news... The bad news was that I was only at 1.5 cm.

“What? Iʼve been having contractions since midnight! Only 1.5?!” It was

recommended that I walk around for an hour, then the nurse would check my progress

again. Robby and I walked every hallway of Banner Estrella many times. We were so

excited to meet this baby! I was also super excited because it was the 26th, an even

numbered day. I am a numbers psycho and former math teacher. I much prefer even

numbers over odds, so I realllly wanted to have my baby on an even numbered day. I

know...weird. My happiness was interrupted when my contractions started picking up

and I was forced to find a trash can- my granola bar was not staying down. “Wow,

these contractions are no joke.” We continued to walk and talk, but I had to stop and

really focus to get through each contraction. But I did get to pause long enough to take

a picture with the Biebs outside the hospital gift shop.

  

After our hour of walking, I went back to get checked. I was at a 3. Not super

impressive, but I doubled my progress from last time! I was trying to keep positive, but I

was getting increasingly miserable. I was finally able to be admitted and given a room.

I labored on and on. My rock of a husband was amazing. He helped me so much by

doing all of the various things I requested. “Can you rub my back? Now just lay your

hand on my back but donʼt move it. Can you put lotion on my feet? Now stop touching

me and donʼt talk!” Oh man, I was something else. At 3 pm the nurse came in and

asked if I wanted an epidural. I had a goal of getting to 5 cm before receiving one, so I

asked her to check me first. When she said I was at a 6, I pretty much sung the

hallelujah chorus. “Sold! Give me the drugs!” The angelic anesthesiologist descended

from the heavens entered the room and put the epidural in place with minimal

discomfort. Onward to painless birthing bliss!

At this point I was finally able to fully enjoy the process. I had visitors come in, Robby

and I watched a couple movies (Tangled and Pirates of the Caribbean 4), and I just

rested. That evening when the nurse checked me, I had not made significant progress.

We decided she would break my water. That still didnʼt help move things along. At

around 10 pm, we decided to try a little pitocin to see if that would help. By 11 I was at

9 cm. “Oh wow, this is getting close!” Robby texted all our family (who had been in the

waiting room all day) to let them know Iʼd be pushing soon. As the nurse continued to

check me, I was at 9, 9, 9.5, 9.5, 9.75, 9.75, 9.9... At 1:30 am I was finally ready to

push! I was able to have a mirror set up so I could see the whole thing. Way gross, but

definitely my favorite part. After two long hours, at 3:28 am Greta Brooke was born! 8

pounds 4 ounces, 20.5 inches long.

My first words after she was born were, “How did that just happen?!” I was so elated and in awe of what had taken place. Talk about indescribable joy! Robby and I just looked at each other and this sweet baby with tears in our eyes- so thankful to God for this perfect gift. She had swallowed some meconium so as soon as she was out she had to be suctioned. But after that, she went straight to my chest for snuggling.

We were now a family of three.

PS: I was initially disappointed that Greta was born on an odd numbered day. But I

soon realized that it was ok because her birthday (3/27/12) was a math equation!

3+2+7=12!

#supernerdstatus