Today, I am sharing our birth story! I can honestly say it was the wildest, most intense night of my life. But, gosh, was it worth it! Birth is incredible, and I found it helpful to read birth stories leading up to labor. Every birth is so different it was encouraging to read about all the different ways it could go down. I’m also writing this for myself, as I don’t want all these details to fade as mom brain takes over.

*This post contains affiliate links. That means, I may receive a commission for some of the links in this post- at no cost to you. See our Disclaimer page for details*

Our baby girl was due February 22. The week leading up to our due date I was MISERABLE. As our due date approached, I was getting so impatient, and I tried pretty much every trick in the book to induce labor. I drank all the raspberry leaf tea, did all the squats and lunges, went on so many walks and bounced on an exercise ball every evening. I ate pineapples, dates and spicy foods (and I hate spicy foods). Oh, and I was still working on my feet at the hospital every day!

Nothing worked.

After my due date came and went, surprisingly I settled a little bit. Don’t get me wrong, I still did ALL the things to try and induce labor, and the days were still long but I was calmer. I definitely felt God had given me a bit of peace and patience about the whole thing.

Though, I had my moments.  On Tuesday after my due date, I was dilated to a whopping 0cm. ZERO. Nothing. I bawled in the car on the way home.

Friday morning, February 28, 2020

On Friday at about 4:30am, I woke up to very minor contractions, what kind of felt like period cramps but these were coming and going every 5-10 minutes. They didn’t hurt at all but I could feel them. I decided to get up and get moving to try and get the contractions stronger!

James was already awake (he doesn’t always sleep well), so we got up together and made coffee. I sat on my yoga ball and we played Mario Kart Wii together. Around 6:30am, the contractions were still coming at regular intervals (5-7 minutes) and were slowly, slowly intensifying so I decided to call into work. Finally!

At about 10:30am, the contractions were still coming 5-7 minutes apart, lasting 45-60 seconds and still contractions were slowly (very slowly) intensifying. At this point, they were tolerable. I could talk through them but they did not tickle, that’s for sure! So, we finished packing my hospital bag, got the car loaded up and called the dog sitter.  I told James it was probably time to go the hospital. We live about 30 minutes from the hospital and let me tell you, having contractions in the car was not pleasant.

We went to L&D triage and they told me I was just over 2cm! Yay! Progress! But I was still a long way from 10cm, and I knew that. But I was optimistic. They hooked me up to the monitors and told me I needed to progress another cm in an hour if they were to admit me.

Related: How the Girl told the Kiwi We are Having a Baby

After 30-minutes, I could feel my contractions starting to slow down. Baby’s vitals were fine and I begged them to let me walk around to get the contractions coming faster and stronger. So they unhooked me and off we went to roam the halls! I walked squatted, lunged, and sure enough, they intensified! After one particularly strong contraction, James said, “Oh man I wish we were hooked up to the monitor, that one would have been at least in the 60s!”.

I went back to get checked and I was 3cm. YES! SUCCESS!

Or so I thought.

But then the resident told me they don’t think I am in “active labor” yet.

Sure felt active to me! I thought.

She told me I could give it another hour or go home and come back “when I can’t talk through them anymore”. She said, “trust me, you’ll know. We will probably see you guys tomorrow.”

TOMORROW?! I thought. No way! It didn’t seem possible. We decided to go to my parent’s house (they live closer to the hospital) and wait it out. It was about 1:30pm.

I basically paced my parent’s house for the rest of the day. I climbed the stairs, did squats, and lunges. James and I even played mini golf in the basement.

Friday Night, February 28, 2020

By about 6:30pm the contractions were very painful, lasting 60 seconds and coming every 4-5 minutes. By this point, the pain had started to radiate around to my back.

Uh-oh. Back labor. I knew it. The baby’s back was pushing up against my back.

By 8:30pm, I was in real pain. I was on my hands and knees, James applying counter pressure on my lower back. I couldn’t talk through my contractions anymore. They were coming anywhere from 3-5 minutes apart. I figured if it continued like that for one more hour, I’d call my doctor.

At 9:30pm, I called my doctor, choking back tears and asked for directions. I told him about the back labor, that was REALLY intense by this point. He asked if I wanted an epidural, and I told him I wanted to try and go without.

He told me to take a hot shower to try and get the baby to turn, and in 30 minutes head to the hospital. I took a deep breath and hopped in the shower.

While I was in the shower, my contractions started coming 1-3 minutes apart. My mom had to help me get out of the shower and James helped me into the car. I felt SO nauseous at this point, I instructed my dad to get a bucket because I had a feeling I would need it in the car.

I climbed into the backseat of the car, I couldn’t sit down because the back labor was so intense, so I was on my hands and knees in the backseat of the car as we raced towards the hospital.

My sister Allie called me while we were driving to check in with me, and she prayed aloud for a safe delivery and healthy baby.

And I did end up needing that bucket.

Related: How the Girl Met the Kiwi

Once we got to the hospital at 10:30pm, I limped my way up to L&D. We checked in and they told me I was at 6 cm and they were going to admit me.

YES. Only 4 more to go. I was relieved for a brief moment until the next wave of contractions came.

They asked if I wanted an epidural, and they implied it was now or never. I groaned and said, “How much worse is it going to get?!”

My mom encouraged me that I was doing a great job, but it may get worse.

I gritted my teeth and said, “No, I can do it”.

My mom was right, it did get worse.

I can’t quite describe the pain. It was so intense it literally took my breath away. They brought out a beanbag so I could rest on it between contractions. I was so exhausted I literally think I slept for 30 seconds in between some of the contractions. I remember being so hot, my mom and James were placing ice packs all over my body. In my head I could think about what I wanted them to do, or how they could help me better, but I couldn’t talk. It was wild.

Related: How the Kiwi Proposed to the Girl

Somewhere in there they told me I was at 8cm, and they broke my water. The baby was still facing the wrong way with her back towards my back. One of the physicians tried to turn her but it didn’t work. I definitely remember moaning, “I don’t think I can do this!” several times. My mom and James encouraged me, “you ARE doing it!”

The nurse had to get right in my face during every contraction and tell me to slow down my breathing. She told me the baby’s heart rate was dropping and she wasn’t getting enough oxygen. It took everything in me to take slow, deep breaths. They put a mask on me to help me and baby get more oxygen.

Saturday 2/29/2020, Leap Day

I progressed from 8 cm to 10 cm in less than an hour (or so they say, I really had no concept of time at this point). My labor was progressing so fast they actually gave me a drug to slow it down.

All of a sudden there was a flurry of medical professionals in the room watching the monitors. Though in the moment, I hardly noticed and didn’t realize the tension in the room initially because I was so focused on getting through every contraction, that were pretty much coming one after the other at this point. I remember them saying that my doctor was on his way but he wasn’t there yet. There was a lot of talking and shuffling around me, but it was hard to comprehend what was going on because of the excruciating pain. I couldn’t see straight, I couldn’t focus on anything. I couldn’t tell you how many people were in the room or what was going on.

The attending physician told me to do a practice push. So I did, and he said “Nope, we have to prepare her for an emergency c-section”. I remember thinking, I only tried to push once!? For a few minutes I thought it was because I was a bad pusher!

But no, because of the baby’s position, she was not getting enough oxygen. And because my labor progressed so fast she quite literally “dropped” and she was not tolerating it well.

I heard the nurses say that my doctor was on the phone wanting to speak with the attending doctor. The room was so tense. I couldn’t see straight, I couldn’t think and I was in so much pain I couldn’t talk.

All of a sudden they were wheeling me out of my room to the operating room for a c-section, they told us that James couldn’t come with me. James said they took me out so fast he didn’t even get a chance to say anything to me.

So there I was in the operating room with bright lights and everyone in gowns. They dragged me onto the operating table. People were asking me questions and instructing me to do certain things and not do other things, it was so hard to know what was going on. My nurse kept saying that my doctor was on his way and that he would be here in 5 minutes. I prayed he would get there in time!

Finally! I looked up and there he was! He told me, “Brooke, we are going to try and turn the baby”. I did what he instructed and just a few minutes later he told me, “I turned her about 75% of the way. She is doing great, her heart rate is great. Everything is going to be ok”.

I felt the pain in my back diminish slightly, which was a relief. They kept me on the operating table and I started to push while they closely monitored the baby. Though the pain was diminished, it was not gone and I was still terrified! Several more minutes later, James came in and I remember locking eyes on him as he held my hand and re-assured me.

The tension in the room calmed as the doctor announced that I was going to be able to do this without a c-section, and that if the baby’s heart rate dropped again “I could have her out in 3 minutes with a vacuum”. I remember thinking, that sounds like a good idea – let’s do that!

But of course, not the best plan. I pushed on the operating table for a while longer. They then told me I could go back to my room and push there. That meant I had to get back on my bed and off the table. I was exhausted, they moved me between contractions and took me back to my room.

And I pushed. The doctor kept tricking me, “That’s it! That’s it! One more just like that!” I actually believed him as he said it over and over.

“Am I actually doing anything!?” I felt like I was pushing on a brick wall.

“Yes!” They all encouraged me.

James whispered to me, “There she is, Brookie, you’re doing it!” It gave me just the motivation I needed.

Finally! At 2:17am on February 29, 2020 (Leap Day!), Kinley Anna “leapt” into the world. They placed her on my chest and it was the best feeling in the world. I said, “Hi Kinley! My baby girl! My baby is here! Happy Birthday Kinley!”

It was the wildest night of my life, and I felt like a warrior! James and I both agreed it was much more intense and more emotional than we had anticipated. James said, “you went to war and back, you’re both warriors”.

After it was all said and done, the nurse reassured us that that “that was really intense, and you guys did amazing”. The next hour was so blissful and surreal just staring at and cuddling our baby girl!

Once the adrenaline from birth had worn off, I cried when they put her on my chest again. She was so perfect and small! When they wheeled us out of L&D to the mother and baby unit, James pushed the button that played a lullaby throughout the whole hospital! That was really special because I worked at the hospital and had been hearing that lullaby! It was finally being played for my baby! I cried happy tears again.

It was a crazy, amazing experience, and I really found out what I was made of. I’d do it all again for that sweet baby girl!

Anyways, that’s our wild story! Thanks for reading!

Adventure On,

*This post contains affiliate links. That means, I may receive a commission for some of the links in this post- at no cost to you. See our Disclaimer page for details*