Broady’s Birth.
The night before… Bradford and I both did bedtime with Bray and I could sense that this was probably the last time we would be together, for bedtime as a family of 3. Bray finally dozed off after “Goodnight, Goodnight Construction Site” and a sweet Super Bray story. I stayed in his room just to watch him sleep a little while longer. That night, I nearly cried myself to sleep. The following morning, Bray and Bradford woke up with some sort of stomach bug, so they were home all day, For the most part, I stayed away from them, with no interest in becoming ill just days away from my due date. I spent the day scrolling through Nextflix and reading messages from friends predicting the day and time Broady would arrive, because who doesn’t do that?
The contractions started around 6:30 in the evening….(keep in mind: Broady was literally born at 8:45pm by way of c-section, so what I am about to share happened all within 2 hours) I called my parents to tell them to be on their way to Cincinnati (from Lexington) to get Bray from us. We were all chill... except for my mom...just being very honest, for those of you that know Mrs. Seneca...well you know. My dad was at work, in Georgetown, and called me to CLARIFY that I was “actually in labor” .. yeah that’s a thing. He wanted to make sure it was real because a few days prior, well, we uh…. had a bit of a …. false alarm. So he’s on the phone all like “alright, let me uhhh… ok… I gotta do a few more things and then….” Whatever. I was SUPER calm…weirdly calm. I just figured that Lexington isn’t terribly far away and there was no possible way that I would deliver before they arrived and besides, my contractions had just started...
Note: I did phone a few friends on the way to the hospital for the “just in case my parents don’t get here in time backup”
We arrived at the hospital and I was placed in a triage room around 7:30... Bray had on a cute little kid sized mask (it was flu season) and this was before mask wearing was the norm, so yes it was cute. (see photo) Bray, 2 years old then, was just hanging out in the corner in a chair on his ipad...without a care in the world, he kept saying how excited he was for the baby (gender unknown at this point) to come out of my belly. The triage nurses hooked me up to the heart monitor to get things going.
One of the nurses seemed alarmed by the patterns on the monitor… So she had one of the labor and delivery physicians on call come in to do a quick check, but this doctor wasn’t worried, like at all. Which at first made me feel better, but then when the same nurses kept whispering, and taking a long time to answer my “is everything ok” questions, I knew something was up. They mentioned arrhythmia a few times. The nurses told me they went ahead and paged one of the doctors from my actual OB office because I would probably be headed back for delivery sooner than expected, I was only dilated 2cms. The nurses continued to whisper and truthfully it became more of a panic. I could feel that things weren’t right, but still managed to stay calm. A teary eyed calm. Also, my contractions were on fire and much more intense than an hour prior.
My OB rushes in minutes later from her house right down the street (coincidence, that the one on call lives that close… on the night that I go into labor? With unknown complications...or??? God. Yeah... Him.) The OB says a bunch of things, asks questions about previous delivery experience, when contractions started, etc. She gently rubs my shoulder and looks me directly in the eyes...and very gently she says,
“Sweetie, I don't know what’s wrong, but I don’t think I have much time to figure it out -we’re gonna get this baby out, do you trust me?”
I don’t remember responding.
She proceeds with a quick prayer… an OB that prays with her patient, coincidence? Nope. All God.
Next stop: the operating room, one of my biggest delivery related fears. Things were moving QUICKLY. Instructed to do so by my OB, the nurses practically SPRINTED down the hall while pushing me on the triage gurney; with Bradford and Bray trailing behind ...hands full of overnight bags…trying to keep up.
*The image of the two of them chasing behind me on that gurney is something that often replays in my head and brings me to tears..
As we were moving, people gave instructions as to where Bradford and Bray would hang out while I delivered. I said over and over and over again “I need my husband, I need my husband….” However, he was not permitted in OR for multiple reasons..1. how quickly things were moving 2. unsure of the outcome 3. Bray was with us (my parents had not made it to Cincinnati yet)
When I arrived on the gurney in OR, there were AT LEAST 15 nurses and hospital staff suited up and ready for a surgery. It was silent. My time while conscious in OR was short. I had a few more contractions before my water was broken. After just a few minutes, the Anesthesiologist was given the green light by my OB to “go ahead!” … his eyebrows went up in confirmation, “Now?”
Returning to consciousness, I find Bradford snuggling a BIG swaddled up baby, with wet googley eyes.
I whispered… “is it a boy or a girl?!”
Before Broady was handed to me for the first time, Bray was admiring his chunkiness and he greeted him with a sneeze...to the face. :)
Although I wasn’t “there” when Broady was pulled out of my body; I wasn’t there to hear his first cries...when he was handed to me, he knew exactly who I was. Unspeakable bond, unbreakable connection. Broady latched on to nurse as if he had done it before.
….before I was put under for a crash c section - I did not know what to think or what to feel, there wasn’t any time for that. But what I did know was that my OB was put on assignment by God; He instructed her to do what she needed to do for me and for Broady. Of course, who wants or chooses to be put under for an emergency c-section..
but the outcome...the outcome I am forever grateful for.
P.S: The next morning we were told Braody would be spending some time in NICU because he wasn’t regulating his blood sugar. “Some time” turned into 2 full days. But we got through that delivery, so in essence, we were set up to be strong enough to get through the NICU experience too.
To say that Broady flipped our worlds upside down is an understatement.
Happy 2nd birthday to the one and only Broady French Rollins. #youbelonghere
