Before I really dive into Kimbrees birth story I have a few things I want to share. The first is that her story really began over 5 years ago when we first started trying to grow our family. We had no idea what the years to come would entail and the timing of her little life can only be Gods perfect timing and plan. The second is that walking through pregnancy after a miscarriage is bizarre. Especially with the timing, I got pregnant with her a month after the miscarriage. I technically had one cycle between the loss and finding out I was pregnant, it was freaking insane. I was very anxious most of my pregnancy and honestly until she was in my arms it and she didn’t feel real. I had these moments of “oh crap we have a baby coming and we aren’t prepared AT ALL”. And after speaking to my friends who have also suffered a loss and then gone on to have a successful pregnancy, they too felt the same way. So with all that I just want to stay that if you’re reading this and you’ve suffered a loss just know you’re not alone and that I see you.
I’ve said this ton since having our sweet girl that nothing about the pregnancy or delivery were really how we planned it or in our timing. She was such a surprise, we didn’t think we could get pregnant again. I know how weird that sounds but after everything we walked through to have the twins it just felt like a fluke when we got pregnant and then so quickly miscarried so we truly didn’t think it could or would happen again. Plus we weren’t trying, I honestly thought we missed when I ovulated ( which is crazy because I KNOW my body and when we got pregnant before Kimbree I knew it, but again after walking through infertility didn’t think it would actually happen) so it really was such a shock to find ourselves buying a pregnancy test in Mexico.
My pregnancy was HARD. I very sick well into my third trimester and when I finally stopped throwing up I was diagnosed with gestational diabetes (every time I said or wrote that I literally say in my head I caught the diabetes in that old man voice-hopefully you know what I’m talking about haha) but was able to manage it with diet and not need insulin. So between throwing up and then a very strict diet I gained very little weight which was nice but also I was dying for some chocolate and carbs. Gestational diabetes means a lot of things, scary things like higher risk of a large baby, NICU time for baby, excessive weight gain for the mom, still birth and higher risk of needing an emergency csection. Obviously I was disappointed and very anxious about all this but what really got to me was that I would have to be induced before 40 weeks, but again since I was managing with diet that allowed me to go much longer and closer to my due date then normal. Plus she wasn’t measuring very big and neither of us were having complications.
So three days before my due date I was scheduled to be induced. At this point I was hardly effaced and barely dilated but had tried just about everything to get things going. I wanted to have an unmedicated delivery and I sooooo badly wanted to go into labor on my own but was also so ready to meet our girl and not be pregnant anymore. We checked into the hospital the morning of October 2nd, got settled in and started pitocin. Within an hour or so I was having some light contractions but nothing major. I had been induced with the twins as well so I knew it could be awhile. Stefan did some work to prepare for not being in the office for a while and i tried to rest as much as I could. A few hours go by and nothing has changed. Then shift change happens and I’m starting to get anxious as I’m still not progressing, like at all. The doctors and nurses were incredible and kept reminding me that it takes time and baby will be here before we know it. Then around midnight I’m getting frustrated and ask my nurse if we can try anything else to jump start labor. She talked to the doc and they decided to stop the pitocin and give me a medication to help dilation. Three doses later and nothing so back to the pitocin. Another few hours and yet another shift change and finally I’ve got some progress so they decide to break my water around 830am. This makes my contractions pretty intense and consistent. About four hours of VERY intense contractions that are about two minutes apart and I’m still not dilated much. In this time I’ve tried the nitrous oxide gas for pain relief and honestly it didn’t do a thing. At this point I’m beyond exhausted, I slept for maybe two hours overnight and the pain was becoming unbearable. I look at Stefan with tears running down my face and tell him that I’m going to call the nurse to have her check me and if I’m not dilated more then I’ll die. Dramatic I know. So she comes in and checks me... I’m dilated five centimeters-in the four hours since last being checked I’ve progressed one tiny centimeter. *insert eye roll here* I start crying immediately. I tell her through tears and contractions I’m struggling. I’m exhausted, haven’t eaten much outside of a salad, some cheese and beef jerky all of which I’ve snuck because you can’t eat while being induced, which is just a cruel joke because ummm HELLO YOURE GOING TO NEED ENGERY?! But whatever. And I’m just not sure I can push through these contractions every two minutes for another 12 hours and maybe by then we will have a baby. So I end up getting an epidural, immediately I feel relaxed-duh and within minutes things start to change. An hour goes by and my nurse comes in to check on me, kimbrees heart rate was dipping with every contraction and she just wanted to check my progress, at this point it’s like 1:30pm and I’m at 6 centimeters, she has me roll to left side while she updates my chart. Immediately i feel Kimbree getting lower, almost like I need
to push there is so much pressure. I tell the nurse and right then the doctor walks in. They decide to check me again, keep in mind it had been literally three minutes since she had checked me. Turns out the epidural had relaxed me so much I was finally progressing and was now THREE minutes later at
8 centimeters and they decide they should change monitors for the baby and get the one that attaches to their head. The doctor gets it all set up and I tell her I feel like I need to push and in fact im trying not to push at this point. She checks me again and i am fully dilated. She go and grabs another doctor and like 5 other nurses and next thing I know I am pushing. Three big pushes and here is my 9 pound
one ounce baby on my chest. 19 minutes from 6 centimeters to baby!! 30 hours of sitting and waiting for it all to come down to 19 minutes haha it was nuts. Stefan and I had planned on having a friend come take pictures while I delivered but because she came so fast she didn’t make it so Stefan grabbed my phone and snagged a few good ones thankfully. While kimbrees delivery was nothing like I had planned, I mean I had a playlist and everything folks, her delivery was just like her; total surprise and yet perfect. She came into this world on her timing and while I was caught off guard
I couldn’t be more thankful or happy.
Before we even got pregnant we knew if we had another girl her middle name would be Sarah. Sarah was my moms godmother, one of my grandmas best friends and the most incredible prayer warrior. But to me she was my huggy Sarah, my third grandma and by far one of the most faithful, loving and thoughtful godly women I have ever met. When she passed I was so very heartbroken but knowing she’s in heaven no longer suffering, rejoicing and holding all the babies we lost until we can brings me peace. I can’t wait for her to meet her namesake one day. But until that day I’ll hold my little piece of heaven here on earth.
