8.14.2016

since when did a month prep happen just within days? well that is how our birth story unfolded. as most of you know we matched with mama L on a tuesday, that following thursday we were invited and excited to meet her and attend the future prenatal appointments.

on saturday, august 13th, i had some mama time as we had a rough friday attempting to potty train a non-ready toddler. i headed to get a much needed pedicure and manicure. i had been contemplating on whether i should go get a few preemie outfits since we were told that there was slight UGR (uterine growth restriction) so it was unlikely she go to term. michael had told me to hold off a little bit but if you know me, i won’t rest until i feel ready (wait, is it even possible to feel ready for something like this?!) so, off i went to carters to grab a few preemie onesies for baby girl JUST IN CASE and i promised to keep the tags on them. i was shocked on how little section there was for preemies. i guess i never realized that when we had beckett early bc most of his small days were spent in the nicu and had leads coming out from every hole possible. then we got discharged and our tiny miracle had turn into an almost 8 lb newborn! i wish parents had more options for smaller babies so they, we, can be just as excited to shop all the options and picture them in cute outfits. anyways, after i let my emotions take over for a little bit i headed to grab michael and i starbucks drinks before heading home to my boys. while i was waiting for my iced 3 pump vanilla latte macchiato and his same with coconut milk, i was stopped by a girl to congratulate me on being “paper pregnant!” i quickly remembered that i was wearing a shirt that was gifted to me anonymously when we started the adoption journey. she was embarrassed to jump out at me but it isn’t everyday you can connect with a stranger on this level so it was great for her to say hi. she was also paper pregnant and waiting to her baby girl from China! these are the small instances in the adoption community that i love to connect with. it was so great to hear “congratulations” but it was still so very surreal to me. i had a very guarded heart.

5:00 pm: i am pulling into my garage after stopping off a target for groceries for dinner and i see our case worker’s name pop up. my heart SINKS into the ground and then jumps back up into my throat. i quickly answer and first thing i say is “will there ever be a time that my heart doesn’t stop when i see your name?” she quickly tells me in an exciting voice, to start packing our hospital bags bc mama L water broke!

wait.

what?

yup! mama L was on her way to the hospital to check into triage and we were to prepare for baby girl to come potentially any minute!

SEE! i told you it was a good idea for me to grab a few preemie onesies! ha!

i run into the house and quickly try to reiterate everything that was told to me but i couldn’t even remember a thing.

except, to pack.

my fellow adoption friend cari had prepared me for this bc of her personal experience but i didn’t take her warning seriously as i STILL didn’t believe this was actually happening. she had already sent me a list for the hospital bag, the baby bag. um, but where did i put that list? what type of bag do i pack? what do i bring? will i just be there a couple hours? a few days? do i leave my bag in the car? how awkward and weird is it to walk into your expectant moms hospital room with a bag in tow saying, HEY! I’M HERE! i had never met her before! how was it going to go? do i hug her or shake her hand? do i introduce myself? no, she knows who i am. remember kira, she PICKED US! what are the do’s and dont’s? how involve does she want me? or us? we haven’t had the time to chat and figure out any details at all. i immediate text, casey, our consultant at CAC, asking her to brief me! do i bring flowers? i legitimately go into pure panic mode! can michael come with me? i can’t do this alone. what do we do with beckett? do we explain what is going on? where is my phone charger? don’t forget your camera. wait, can i even use my camera? oh gosh, i stink. i need to shower. oh and dinner, we all need to eat dinner. i walk into the kitchen after pacing our bed room 50000000 times and my amazing husband is making dinner for all three of us as i tend to my “go mode tornado” mindset.

THANKS BABE!

i spent the rest of the evening trying to organize myself and my thoughts and trying not to pace around like a nervous crazy person. i am on and off the phone with local friends trying to figure out a plan for beckett for that night and the days ahead. i am texting a million people trying to update and ask for advice. so many people were willing to step up and help us out. it was truly incredible!

ok, my medium-not-too-big-not-too-small-bag was packed, belly full, clean hair & body… I’m “ready!”

michael and i had decided it was best for beckett if he came in the morning so our loving friend kaily was set up to show up early the next day to play with b so michael could come meet me.

i keep checking my phone wondering if i was going to get the call to come tonight… or would do i just go to bed bc who knows, maybe they’ll just monitor her.

hurry up to wait.

10:04 pm a different case worker calls me. of course our assigned case worker was sick so she couldn’t make it to the hospital to be with us. which i was PANICKED about but gosh, i wouldn’t have had it any other way when all said and done. she tells me to get in the car, its time. a few minutes later, i get another call, her voice very low whisper saying “get here quick, this is happening fast!”

i flew off the couch, kissed michael, hopped into the car… i. was. out!

the hospital was about 20 minutes away but i made it there in about 14 (oops!).

I decide to call my bffe on the way there so i could attempt to distract myself or freak out with someone bc this was REALLY happening. so much still to happen, so much still can go wrong, so much still can go so right.

I’m at the hospital, time to hang up. i text the case worker that i am at the hospital. i run into an unknown place trying to navigate my way through with a huge lump in my throat. i find the elevator. head up to the second floor, labor and delivery. no one in sight.

a small hidden voice appears from the nurses station. the nurse at the desk looks at me and asks if i am lost. yes. yes i am lost. she asks if she can help me find someone but i stutter all my words into one and am literally making no sense. who am i looking for? i don’t know mama’s last name. i don’t even know the case workers last name. so i just stand there frozen and text the case worker. she tells me she is will me in lobby shortly.

hurry up to wait.

shortly turned into what seemed like 4 hours. i still am not sure how long i waited. would she know who i am if she saw me? was she going to wait with me? was she going to take me back to meet mama L? was i supposed to be apart of this? or do i just get comfy in this large waiting room with the other families waiting for their babes to arrive?

i felt so alone. i mean i was alone. husband was at home. family is all in another state. case worker was with mama L. i just sat there alone. i was cold yet sweating profusely. i keep checking my fitbit to see if it was actually tracking my insane pulse rate. it wasn’t of course. my bffe then text me asking for a selfie. so i sent her one. well played distraction, friend.

waiting to be a mama again.

“mama L is getting her epidural, i will come meet you while that happens, then we can go back to be with her until baby comes.”still waiting. still alone. now i have to pee. of course. i run into the restroom bc I’m so scared i will miss the case worker who was on her way to meet me in the lobby. thankfully, i did not miss her, or should i say them. i haven’t been that happy to see someone in a long time. someone to talk me through this. someone who knows what they are doing bc i have no idea whats happening, what could happen, or what i am about to walk into. i finally got to meet two ladies who i will never forget. two ladies who were about to enter a whole new world with me. they were going to hold my hand, laugh with me, cry with me, encourage me, guide me. they both share with me how eventful and intense the night had already been with mama L. they weren’t sure if she was even going to make it out of triage before delivering the baby.

aside from the adoption part being totally foreign to me let me remind you that i didn’t not get this labor and delivery experience with beckett. this was ALL new to me. real contractions. real pain. i had no idea what to expect. will mama L like me? what will we talk about while we wait? how long will we wait? what can i do for her? what does she need from me?

nurse comes to the lobby to get us.

it was time to go meet mama L.

i sent a quick text to michael, grabbed my bag, took a huge deep breathe… here we go.

on the way down the winding, quiet, cold, hallways, our case workers are quickly informing me of my roles, per say. mama L wants me to be involved with the entire labor & delivery. she wants me to hold her leg. cut the cord. be with baby girl in the nursery. all of this can change at a moments notice. i know that, i am prepared for that.

12:10 am. we knock on the door and enter quietly. i make both case workers go before me. before we cross over, around the closed curtain, i can hear baby girls heart beating loud and rapid on the monitor. that was our baby’s heart beat.

(insert full body chills as i relive this right now.)

there she was. there was mama L sleeping. they attempt to wake her up but bc of her eventful evening leading up to this point she was out cold. i walk up to her bed side, holding my arms tight around my body, i lean over and introduce myself to her. she opens her eyes and tells me how nice it is to meet me before going back to sleep.

hurry up to wait.

although the room was filled with silence aside from baby girls heartbeat, there was a lot of personality to pass the time.  the nerves were broken bc we were all freezing. mama L had 4 blankets piled on her. each case worker and myself were bundled up with our own. people always say prepare for a cold room… no. this was freezing. the gauge was broken and it was an arctic tundra in there. while we sit and wait, one of the case workers is explaining the contraction monitor to me- “see, it looks like Sedona right now and we need it to look like Flagstaff.” mama L’s contractions had majorly tapered off bc she had received the epidural and she wasn’t moving around to keep the body in active labor.

hurry up to wait.

1:55 am. mama L starts feeling really uncomfortable. she keeps trying to move around, starts to complain and then begins to beg the nurse to remove the monitor as she is experiencing really bad pain. she tries to move her bed up in a recline position and screams! the nurse lowers and the bed and looks at all of us…. “its time to have this baby!”

mama L’s eyes open wide and she looks over at us and says “lets get this family their baby girl.”

(more full body goosebumps as i type this out).

immediately, loads up people are starting to shuffle into the room, into place. NICU team shows up bc baby girl is at 36 weeks. nurses wheeling in equipment. prep time was fast and intense.

doctor arrives with a big smile on his face! asks if she’s ready, and she excitingly says YES! he then asks her a list of questions:

“who do you want involved with delivery?”

“her mother,” she replied.

“who do you want to cut the cord?”

“her mother,” she replied.

“who do you want to hold her first?”

“her mother,” she replied.

“where do you want the baby to go afterward?”

“the nursery with her mother,” she replied.

everyone looks at me. i look at her. i tell her i have never done anything like this before. i thank her for including me in all of this. she tells me that i am courageous and brave for doing this and i had to stop her and reassure her that she was the brave one. she was the courageous one. she was the selfless one.

doctor interrupted us, told me to grab her leg (i literally left nail indents in her leg by the way). it was time. baby girl was already forcing her way out. within the next 20ish seconds, baby girl was born. 2:07 am.

 

it’s go time.

congratulating ME on the birth of our baby girl.

cutting the cord.

seeing our baby girl born was breathtaking. cutting the cord was incredible. being apart of this moment was unimaginedble. I’m quickly lead to go meet baby girl for the very first time. i got to weigh her, 6 pounds 7.4 ounces. i got to see her get measured, 17.5 inches long. i was able to witness her first footprints getting stamped.

it was because of mama L,i got to experience EVERYTHING.

it was because of this brave women, my entire life had completed changed forever.

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its a balancing act between equal time with mama L and baby. too much time with baby may come across as baby driven leaving mama feeling neglected. too much time with mama can come across as not interested in baby. each move made came with a thought process. it moved naturally but also strategically. i needed both of them to know and feel my love and appreciation.

I made my way back to mama L’s bedside. she looks up at me and immediately asks, “so, what are you going to name your daughter?” i look back at her and tell her we want to honor her and involved her so if she had a name picked out to let me know so we can incorporate both families. she then tells me her brother mentioned “Jocelyn” in the past but it never stuck to her. She then tells me that we should name her since we will be giving her the life to live up to her name. i then move forward with how we came up with brooklyn kay and the story behind her name choice. with tears filled in her eyes, she replies with “thats dope.” we both giggled. later i find out that she knew god had sent us to her but what solidified it was that we had chosen a name ending in -lyn which was the only part of Jocelyn she liked when her brother brought up that name. she told them, we were meant to be her parents.

i thanked her again for blessing our family. i reassured her that if she wanted to see the baby or myself while at the hospital to let the nurses know and they’ll come get us. she then asked, “have you held your daughter yet?” and i had said no, she then touched my lower back and gently pushed me away while saying “well then go hold her!” i gave her a tight hug and followed the delivery team to the nursery.

be brave.