Since Blakely is two weeks away from turning TWO (insert ugly cry), I figured it was perfect timing to write her birth story. Ha! I’m just a tad behind. But I wanted to write it all down while it’s still so fresh. Feels like yesterday we were driving to the hospital filled with so much excitement to meet our sweet little baby girl. We were so excited to have a daughter! I remember what I was wearing and all the nerves I felt as we were driving in the dark while the sun started to peek up over the mountains.
Because I had an emergency c section with Ryder (you can read his birth story here), we had a planned c section this time around. I was not thrilled about this at first, but my OB had a very strong feeling that Blake was going to be a bigger baby than Ryder was (Ryder’s head got stuck between my hip bones and couldn’t come out on his own!), so she convinced me it was the best decision. Thank goodness, because she was right! Blakely was a lot bigger than Ryder.
We woke up at 4:00am and got ready to head downtown to Rose to deliver our sweet baby. The car ride down to the hospital was surreal. I was so nervous! It was still pitch dark outside and Tim and I were pretty silent on the ride down. We were so excited but also nervous and praying that everything would go smoothly. I also had a rough go with postpartum anxiety/depression (you can read my blog about that here) after Ryder was born and so we were very aware of how difficult the coming months would be with a newborn, toddler (Ryder), preteen (TJ) and intense postpartum hormones!
This hospital arrival was much different than with Ryder. Because I wasn’t in active labor and my water hadn’t broken, we sat in the waiting room waiting to be checked in. I remember that feeling so strange! Like, hey! We’re here for our appointment to have our baby! LOL It was bizarre. We filled out all the extra paperwork and were finally escorted to our room. I was greeted by a few different nurses who were wonderful and calmed my nerves.
My doctor came in to chat with me before the c section and she is the sweetest! She was so good at reassuring me we were making the right decision to go ahead with the c section and was very good at helping me focus on meeting my new little baby (and not on the fact that I was about to get major surgery and a spinal block – I always get SO NERVOUS). I remember the anesthesiologist coming in to chat with me about what was going to happen. He was so sweet but his eyes keep going cross eyed and kinda rolling back in his head. I remember thinking omg, WTF, this guy is going to be sticking me with a needle in my SPINE and he’s going cross eyed?!?! Ha. Me being the blunt chick that I am totally called him out. “Uhhh, are your eyes ok???” He rubbed his eyes while Tim and the nurses laughed at him. 😉 He explained that he was just getting off a 12 hour shift and that he wasn’t going to be the one in the c section with me. LOL He was so sweet and told me the guy who was going to be giving me my spinal block (I think his name was Michael) had just gotten in for the day and was totally fresh and well rested. Ready to go and plenty awake for my c section/spinal block. Ha! It was really funny and the laid back environment really helped calm my nerves.
What felt like forever later, the nurse said we could leave the room and head towards the operating room. I was already hooked up to fluids but was able to walk down to the room with the nurses and Tim, I just had to push the IV hook on wheels with me. Well, I guess one of the wheels was stuck because as we were walking down to the room the thing I was pushing kept veering off in one direction and I would slam into the walls!! Oops! And then I would redirect it and then it would happen again! Slamming into the wall. LOL I think the nurse thought I was drunk or something and then offered to push it for me. But then she realized that she was having the same issue and we were all laughing so hard when we finally arrived to the room!
I remember being introduced to all the nurses and doctors in the room before we started. Again, this was a much different experience than when we had Ryder. Which was me bring rushed down the hall and it all happened so fast I can barely remember it! I finally got my spinal block – which I was so nervous for. Then it all started and it was very calm and chill. It happened so quickly and then, there she was! Tim got this beautiful shot of her right after she came out. I looooove this picture.
She was born with all this black hair and was so chubby!! OMG Talking about this is giving me baby fever! Uh oh… Anywho, I heard Tim over with her watching her get cleaned up, weighed, he cut her cord, they wrapped her up and then came over to meet me. Holy smokes. All the feels in this moment. The absolute best when you finally get to meet the sweet baby you’ve been feeling wiggle around in you for months!
The rest felt like a blur. We were taken to the recovery room where she nursed right away. She was so squishy and delicious. So much is going on, it was probably about two hours later when things calmed down and Tim asked if he could hold her. Then he told me he hadn’t held her yet!!!! I was like, say whaaaat? I had no idea and assumed he held her in the room when I was getting put back together (ew). So then he held his sweet baby girl for the first time. I will never ever forget this sweet moment. He walked around holding her so close to his face. Talking to her in the softest voice and saying hi baby. I’m your daddy. I love you so much! You’re so beautiful. Mommy and I love you so much. Hi little baby. You’re my sweet baby girl. I mean, come on! My heart can’t even handle the adorableness of this sweet man of mine. I think I melted into a puddle on the floor right there. That was it. I was done.
The next few days were spent recovering from surgery and trying to rest while we could. Those days go by so quickly and it’s so nice to have sweet nurses to make sure you’re taking your rX on time and helping you with the baby when needed. My heart was so full! TJ and Ryder (along with several other wonderful friends) were able to come to the hospital the next day or two to meet baby Blakes. Nursing was always very easy and natural with her (unlike Ryder) which was such a blessing.
We tried to distract Ryder by giving him a gift from his new baby sister, a new toolbox and tools! He loved the gift but was not happy about Blakely being here! Shortly after we gave him this gift, he took it and went and sat in the corner alone to play with his new toy. He knew right away that things were different and he was very quiet. The first time he saw her he said, “NO!” Which was actually really funny! TJ, on the other hand, fell in love right away! He kept saying how cute she was and was all smiles while holding her. Pretty much the cutest thing ever.
Before we knew it, we were headed home to adjust to life as a family of five. This truly feels like it was yesterday. I can’t believe how fast this past two years have gone!! We love our sweet little baby girl so much. She brings our family so much joy and words can not express how much we all love her!
We had a great experience with the doctors and nurses at Rose hospital in Denver and we’re so very grateful for a smooth c section and recovery. I thank God every day for this little angel he’s given us to care for. I want nothing more than for all our kids to know how much they are loved by their parents. Being a mom is my greatest adventure!
We love you forever and ever, Blakely Gray!
