Brinley Kristen Buck: The Story

I'm going to start off with pictures and then if you want you can read the experience:)

 Her first outfit! We of course had to go with BYU gear.

 Tradition. Dustin did this with Tyson and will do it with each of our kids.

 I don't like to post pictures of myself- but had to show Rocky's dedication during the labor. Way to go Rocky!

 Proud Daddy!

 First family shot morning of the birth. We had to fight to get Tyson to sit still for just a moment.

 Did you notice the kitty on her outfit- yes that was planned:)

 We received lovely flowers from Grandma Buck, they go perfectly with her outfit!

 Another BYU outfit we had to try on.

 Since the baby is a pretty exciting event- we decided to transition to a toddler bed at the same time. I kind of figured we might as well all struggle getting sleep at the same time. He was so excited about the plane on his bedding though.

 We tried it out today and he actually did pretty well. Nap time may turn into play time but at least he is pretty good about staying in his room. Plus, he eventually did take a nap on his bed- yay!


Now on to the story:

 I would like to start the week prior to Brinley’s official appearance. My mom came to help me finish up my finals week July 10^th. She really did a great job playing with Tyson and keeping him busy so I could focus on finishing up most of my classes. I started contractions mid-week during my finals and was sort of half wanting Brinley to come since I was pretty uncomfortable and half wanting her to stay inside so I could better focus on school. She decided to stay put. Her due date came and left (July 17^th) and then I started to really feel ready to have her join us.

            I woke up during the night on Sunday and started having some more intense contractions. They were very uncomfortable but I didn’t really think anything of them. Then about one or two hours later I had the same type of contractions and I felt this time labor was probably starting. It was about 5 a.m. when I told Dustin I thought it could be time. We had decided to do a home birth and so this meant instead of rushing to the hospital we called our midwife, Stephanie Soderblom to come over. We got things set up in our room as needed for the birth and I started up my Pandora station- Piano Guys. I didn’t have music last time with Tyson because I just didn’t want to take the time to set it up in the hospital and didn’t have a device I could easily play. I didn’t realize what a nice distraction it made during and between contractions.

            Time seemed to go somewhat slowly even though I know I still had a fast birth. I think this is because I really was hoping to go faster with my second vs. the first. I actually ended up going about 15 minutes longer with Brinley, which isn’t a big deal but those minutes can seem long.

            My birth team arrived and set up their equipment. I ended up staying on my bed most of the time on my side. Dustin was there rubbing my back reminding me to “breathe through the belly” and getting me water and food. I was pretty shaky at first because I was hungry so it was nice to be able to eat a little fruit during labor.

            One of the best things about my home birth was that Rocky- one of our cats, was able to be involved. I really like cats and it relaxes me to pet a cat. It was so interesting during labor because Rocky came and curled up right next to me on the bed. It was kind of funny how attached he was. He didn’t stay the whole time but was there a good majority of the time (although not the actual birth). Dustin was so proud of our kitty.

            Tyson was sleeping for most of the time but when he woke up my mom took him to breakfast. They also went to the Pet’s Smart to check out all the exciting animals. This is one of Tyson’s favorite things to do.

            I was really looking forward to having my water break- since last time my water broke right off the bat and then I went into pretty intense labor. This time is seemed to build up slower but when my water finally did break (sometime after 7) things really sped up. I started feeling the need to push and pretty soon was pushing to get the baby out.

I don’t know exactly how long I pushed for but it was pretty short. Brinley’s hand and head came through at the same time, which to me didn’t really make a difference. It was painful either way. Dustin asked me later if I temporarily forgot my pain after her head came through and I realized I did for a brief moment. It was just such a relief to finally get to that point and then I had to re-focus and finish the job. He was referencing part of scriptures where it talks a little about labor. You would have to ask him exactly where it talks about this- I can’t remember.  After the birth I was just as exhausted as I was with Tyson. She was born around 8:15 so the whole labor/delivery lasted about 3 hours and 15 minutes. She weighed 8 lbs and 8.5 ounces and measured 20.5 inches long. She had a little bit of hair-blonde all over her head but mostly in the back.

            Again, one of the best things about this delivery was that I didn’t tear! I did get a bit of a scratch but nothing that required stitches or repair. I think it made a big difference because I was able to walk fairly soon after giving birth without fainting (I did that last time).

            Dustin was able to catch Brinley as she came out and I know he enjoyed being involved with the birth process. He also cut the cord and checked out the placenta in detail, I didn’t care to look at the placenta.

            Mom got me breakfast and then came home with Tyson. He was pretty interested in the baby and was very excited about the baby although part of it could have just been a sugar rush. He was running in circles all over the room and we had a hard time getting him to sit still for the first family picture. I think he will be a good helper for Brinley and he even is now trying to say her name. It was really sweet to watch him make the connection of pointing to my stomach-saying baby then pointing to Brinley saying baby. It was also really cute watching him first touch her head very softly. He is going through another screaming phase but it doesn’t seem to bother Brinley and she can sleep through a lot of noise. It has also been fun watching the cats check out Brinley. It reminds me of Lady and the Tramp where Lady is on her back paws rocking forward and back to get a glimpse of the baby. That is totally what both of our cats have done while Brinley has been in the crib and swing.

            Overall I would totally do a home birth again. (assuming I am having a normal, healthy pregnancy) The biggest difference for me was that our midwife was there the whole time and we got to make the decisions and follow our birth plan. It was really nice to have her there to give encouragement and instructions as well as help take care of things after the birth. I definitely felt like in the hospital the OB-GYN on call was there to deliver a baby and then move on to his next to do item. It was also nice because Stephanie’s assistants were on board for what we wanted as well. In the hospital we sort of had to fight to get certain things done with the nurses even though I know this isn’t always the case but you can’t really pick who the nurses will be. This experience has been more personal. It has also been wonderful to relax in my own home and bed.