The long anticipated day of Baby Bryner #6 joining our family finally arrived on Sunday, July 1st, 2018 (2 days early!) at 7:00 AM sharp! Sweet Violet Annette Bryner weighed 7 lbs 9 oz and was 20 in long.
Here is how our sweet angel came into the world...
Saturday (June 30th) was a BUSY day full of preparing for our little princess to hopefully soon arrive. My due date was July 3rd and the doctor had an induction set for July 5th at 6:30 am just in case she didn't come on her own. I was not anticipating her doing before my next OB appt, which was Monday, July 2nd, where my doctor was planning to strip my membranes, which has been the only way I have been able to go into labor naturally. So, I was planning that the game would be "on" after my appt on Monday. In the meantime, I had been procrastinating preparing for the little ones' arrival, which I am always guilty of each and every time expect with my 1st, I had everything ready for months! Ha! Gone are the days of being overly prepared and on top of things! Like usual, we are in full survival mode, and I gave myself the weekend (June 30-July 1st) to get everything done (my To-Do list was as long as my arm!) before my Monday appt. Luckily, the nesting hormones had finally kicked in and I was an energizer bunny ALL DAY LONG! I actually impressed myself with all that I had accomplished...organized all of the baby girl clothes by sizes in drawers and totes, washed all baby bedding, blankets, and swaddles, located all of the feeding and bathing supplies, washed and set up the carseat, and set everything up nicely in the bassinet, including diapers, wipes, creams, the whole works. Then I wildly worked to clean the house, prepare the guest room and bathroom for Annette and Brent, hang pictures, and a bunch of odds and ins that had not been completed since we moved to our new house (3rd house in Frisco). Oh and throughout the entire day, I was having extremely painful, but not consistent enough to go to the hospital, contractions. I was was still bleeding and had been since the morning of my last OB appt on June 28th, which was not normal for me and I only in past pregnancies would bleed ("bloody show") like that when it was "game time" and I was in full blown active labor! So this delivery scenario was already starting out totally different than what I had experienced before.
So back to my fun Saturday night, I had pretty much finished everything on my list (shocking, I know!) when all that was left was to cut all 4 of the boys' hair. So I began with Reid, then Beau, then Logan, and last was Dane. During the entire hair cutting session, my contraptions were getting more and more consistent and more and more painful! Multiple times while cutting their hair, I had to stop with each contraction and breath through them as the pain was getting so intense. I was finally on my last hair cut with Dane, was just about to cut the very last snip off of the front, when I had a DOOZY of a contraction that I stopped and cried all the way through it and just as I was about to feel relief with it being done, I felt a HUGE SPLASH spill from between my legs...MY WATER JUST BROKE like straight out of the movies!!! In disbelief (bc my water has NEVER broken on its' own outside of hospital care or from the doctor breaking it himself) and starting screaming for Benny! Dane's eyes were about to bug out of his head from this scene and started screaming "DAAAADDDD!!! Something's wrong with mom!!! HEEEELLLLPPPP!!!" Poor Daners was so traumatized and was convinced I was dying;) Benny came sprinting in, to quite a sight in the bathroom...the boys' hair allll over the floor mixed with so much amniotic fluid (like a broken pipe, which was yellowy like pee and kinda thickish...ick!) and blood with me standing in the middle of it still leaking like crazy, soaking wet, and in shock! Ha! Now that's a disgustingly detailed and graphic image singed in your brain forever! I'm sorry!
I tried to clean up, but the leaking would not stop! So I tried to clean up what I could and hopped in the shower. I thought for sure that the game was on BIG TIME now and we had, but only a few minutes to get to hospital or I was going to have a natural birth in the car (my biggest fear) if we didn't get there asap! But much to my surprise, the contradictions were still pretty inconsistent and about 20 minutes apart, but man they were painful and with each contraction, it was like Old Faithful down my legs....eek, sorry for the yucky details;) This water breaking business was a strange new world for me and I figured if the contractions weren't consistent then there was no reason to rush to hospital quite yet. But I knew I'd be delivering within the next 12 hours since my water broke and the risk of infection and all of that stuff. So I knew it was happening, but not right this second, so I took a moment to clean up, get ready and pack my hospital bag (something on my To-Do list that I didn't get to today). Benny on the other hand, was running around the house like a crazy person trying to finish up feeding the kids, ensuring them that me and the baby were ok, getting them off to bed, packing his bags (he even showered too), and calling Tom and Brittany to come over to be with our kids while we go to the hospital and have this baby.
It was about 9:45pm when my water broke and we kissed our kiddos goodbye and thanked Tom and Britt for holding down the fort, and were off to the hospital at about 11 pm. In the car, my contractions were starting to get more consistent and were about 12-15 minutes apart. We arrived to the hospital at about 11:15 pm where the put my in a wheel chair (I had a towel between my legs at this point, but was still leaking every where...eek!) and took me straight up into my room in Labor & Delivery. The nurse started asking me a bunch of questions especially about my water breaking. At the time, the leaking had slowed, but I was still saturated. So they had me change into a hospital gown and get into bed. My contractions were about 12 minutes apart at this time and pretty painful, but much to my dismay, I was dilated only a 1/2 cm!!! SAAAY WHAT?!? How did my water break if my contractions were not being strong and effective at dilating me and progressing towards delivery?!? I was in shock! I totally expected to be at least at a 4!!!! She said sometimes the water breaks before labor has really started...I had no idea! She then proceeded to get a sample of my leaking amniotic fluid and I asked her why? She said they have to make sure it is really amniotic fluid. I was like...WHAAATTT?!?! What else would it be?!? She said it could be urine...say WHAAATTT again?!? You think I have been peeing like a broken pipe for the past almost 2 hours?!? HA! What in the world?!? The nurse said that you'd be surprised at how often it happens that women hunk their water broke when they actually just peed their pants....mmmmkay...that's crazy! I think I would know the difference!!! Ha! But to make things worse, my test came back NEGATIVE for amniotic fluid!!! WHAT?!? Ok, now I was really confused...was I just peeing my pants this whole time?!? Nooo way! There is NO WAY that much urine would be in my body!!! So I told her that and she insisted on doing another test, which luckily came back POSITIVE...phew! Thank goodness I'm not the crazy pregnant lady insisting that my water broke when really I had just peed my pants and I'm not even dilated on top of it all! Haha! Well, I'm crazy, but at least I know when I'm peeing my pants of not! Haha! So then, they now believed me, fully admitted me, got my IV in, and paged the anesthesiologist to be on-call for once my contractions picked up. At this point they were about 10 minutes apart at 12 AM.
So they left me in my room to progress naturally on my own. I told them that once I start progressing, I deliver quickly...they seemed unconvinced, but I was feeling unconvinced at this point too. This labor was like nothing I had experienced before. So of course, I was starting to get worried that things wouldn't start happening and since my doctor was out of town, the doctor on-call would not be willing to intervene much with pitocin or anything since it was a VBAC and I'd end up having a c-section. I always jump to the worst case scenario. Haha, I panicked and then just tried to relax because it was all out of my hands at this point, which helped with my contractions REALLY picking up. The pain was becoming unbearable...like crying, moaning, and gripping the side rail. Benny tried to help soothe me, but he ended up soothing himself to sleep...ha! Typical narcoleptic Benny, but at least one of us was getting some good sleep! My contractions were now about 5-7 minutes apart and the nurses came in at 3 am after watching my contractions on the monitor for past 3 hours, they new I was starting to progress quickly. So they checked me again and I went from 1/2 cm at 12 am to a 6 at 3 am! OKAAAY, it's game time!!! They laughed and said I was right about progressing quickly! They seemed impressed and I was just thankful that my body knew what to do on its' own and didn't need any drugs to get there. I was just hoping things would continue down that path until my sweet girl was safely in my arms.
So, they paged the anesthesiologist to come in STAT to give me my epidural before it was too late. Thankfully, he came in a matter of minutes and I didn't have to feel the horrible contraction pain for much longer. I did start to feel nauseous and my jaw started to chatter and it always does as I start to progress rapidly. I'm sure I was at a 7 right as the doctor was putting the epidural needle in my back, because those contractions were the absolute WORST!!! I was crying, but just breathing through them without moaning much since I was trying to put on a brave face with all of the people in my room at the time. I kept squeezing Benny's hands hard with each contraction with tears in my eyes, staring at him with my face grimacing in the worst pain as I was trying to get into the correct rounded over stance for the perfect needle poke into my spine. This was a painful poke this time! Ouch! The epidural is never fun, but I am always so happy when it is over and I can lie back down, pain free, and feel like I'm suddenly at the spa! Haha! It took a minute to get to the pain free zone though and I kept telling my nurse that I could still feel pain. Then she said a snarky comment, "You need to be tougher than that when you labor!" HA! That was kinda rude! I didn't just get this crazy large needle injected into my spine to still feel pain! I guess I am a wussy, but if I wanted to feel pain, I would have gone natural! Then she said that with most epidurals, your pain may still be at a 2 and I was like, uh uh, I want my pain at a ZERO! I was nice about it, but this isn't my first rodeo and with only one of my deliveries could I feel pain, and that was with Reid, which was NO FUN! SO thankfully after another bolus dose and a position change, my pain was at a spa relaxing zero...yaaasss! It was a heavy epidural though, and my legs were like 100 ton elephant legs, but I was ok as long as I wasn't in pain.
I laid there relaxing/laboring pain free for a few hours. Benny was back to sleep having the best sleep of his life and snoring soooo loudly! Ha! When the nurse came in and said that I have to wear an oxygen mask to help wake up the baby bc the contractions slowed a bit and her heart had been decelerating a bit. So with the O2 mask on, lying there, with the sound of her heart beat on the monitor and oxygen blowing out of the mask in my ears, I kinda felt like I was having an out of body experience. Suddenly, I could feel my angel mother in the room SO strongly. I was so strong, I could almost see her standing by my bedside holding my sweet angel Violet in her arms. I know 100% she was in the room there with me, supporting and comforting me through the veil. She also was holding my hand and then was sitting and waiting with me to progress and rocking in a rocking chair with Violet in her arms. It was as though she was saying her goodbyes to Violet as she was about to officially come into this world. I know my mom was so sad to let go of Violet, as she will probably be the last grand baby in the Rasmussen side, but I also know she was so happy to see that Violet made it safely to my arms. It is SO hard to not have my angel mama here with my in the flesh during big life events. But I know she was with me in every way possible that she can be through the veil. It was such a beautiful, quiet, peaceful, and incredibly sacred experience to feel my angel mama SO strongly with me in my hospital room as Violet was just about to cross over to our side. She most definitely came straight from my angel mama's arms to mine. It was the next best thing to having my mom here in the flesh and a spiritual experience I will never forget.
As, I laid there closing my eyes, still awake, but the in peace and comfort of the spiritual blanket that my angel mama's presence in the room created, the nurses came in again to change my position to be sure that Violet's heart rate continued to stay in the optimal range with each contraction. They said my contractions are getting closer, about 4 minutes apart, and it should be any time now. She said she will check my dilation the next time she comes in. I woke up Benny to tell him, then the doctor on call who had been tracking my progression (since I am a VBAC he had to monitor me the entire time I was in the hospital) came in and introduced himself (Dr. Clay???) and said that my OB, Dr. Meggs who was on vacation, was due to be back at the hospital at 7 AM (it was 6:30 AM at the time) and may get here just in time to deliver me! I was ecstatic! Not that I minded being delivered by the on call doctor, but it would be nice to have my own doctor do it. He said to try and get some rest and we'll see who ends up delivering me. As soon as she left, my jaw started to quiver/chatter as it does every time I start to rapidly progress and approach delivery. I knew it was game time and luckily the nurse came right in after seeing on the monitor how close and powerful my contractions were coming. So she checked me and, YEP, Violet's head was crowning!!! They started wildly prepping the room for delivery and went to page the doctor. It was about 6:50 AM at this point and I was pretty sure that Dr. Meggs wasn't going to get here in time considering how fast my deliveries go at this point in my past deliveries. Then entered the on call doctor. He checked me and started to kind of panic and bark orders at the nurses...this baby is coming now, he said! He got everything quickly set up, had my legs up in the stirrups, which one side was broken and a nurse had to hold up my 100 ton epidural dead leg, and we all sat there for about 30 seconds (which seemed like eternity!) waiting for my next contraction so I could push. It finally came and I pushed once, HA! more like a half of a push because the doctor told me to stop pushing in the middle of it, and out our sweet Violet came!!! Here sweet and soft little cry was powerful, but faint and music to my ears....YAAAASSS!!! SHE"S FINALLY HERE SAFE AND SOUND...THE ABSOLUTE BEST FEELING IN THE WORLD TO FINALLY HAVE HER IN MY ARMS!!! I immediately started bawling as they quickly wiped her up and put her directly on my chest...YES!!! I did it!! WE did it!!! She's here and our family is now COMPLETE...I felt so much peace and comfort knowing that our final family member just made her big debut!!! She is so so SO sweet and beautiful and looks like a Fehlman...my heart exploded and the tears flowed with gratitude to my Heavenly Father and my angel mama for delivering her safely into my arms. Seriously, the best feeling in the world. My 6th and final baby made it home to my arms and I could feel so much love as the thinness of the veil made that hospital room literally feel like heaven on earth. What a miracle it is to bring an innocent tiny angel baby into this world safe and sound and to do it 6 times now...the gratitude felt was almost unbearable! I am ELATED, truly the luckiest, blessed beyond measure, and so incredibly thankful for this beautiful little soul Heavenly Father has entrusted me with. I am beyond in LOVE! She is BEAUTIFUL! She has dark dark brown hair (the most hair any of my babies have ever had), blue eyes, VERY long fingers and toes (like her mama), with the longest fingernails I've ever seen on a newborn, and the saddest most faint little cry! A cry that just breaks your heart it is THAT sad sounding! She was 7 lbs 9 oz, 20 inches and born exactly at 7:00 AM (by the on call doctor, haha) on July 1st, 2018 in Frisco, TX and the Baylor Scott and White Hospital. I HAVE TWO GIRLS!!! WHAAAAAT!?! I NEVER thought that would be possible! 4 boys and 2 little princesses...man, I am truly BLESSED!
Benny cut the cord and we both just soaked in our new little angel in as the doctor sewed me up and the nurses cleaned around us...there were like 5 or 6 nurses in there helping. As they were all hustling about, the world stood still as Benny and I welcomed our beautiful Violet into the world. They finished and didn't take her away for a bath or to get weighed (we found out her stats later that morning) or anything (this was a first of all of my babies) they just wanted her to get as much chest on chest time with me as possible and I wasn't complaining! I could hold this sweet baby girl FOR-EV-VER! She latched on right away (a first for my babies too) and seemed happy as a clam to in my arms and the feeling was definitely mutual. After holding her for quite some time, Benny patiently waited for his turn, and as I handed her to him, I discovered that little Miss Vi had pooped all over me! Ha! She is quite the pooper! She pooped inside the womb, one me, and then right after the nurses put a diaper on her...hahaha! Love this little poopy pants and I happy we don't have to stress about her bowels working...ha!
After laying there with her in my arms in a heavenly bliss for about an hour or two, they transferred us to a recovery room and took baby Vi off for her bath and measurements. It is such a relief to have the delivery behind us and our beautiful little angel here safe and sound. Giving birth is such an overwhelmingly emotional, spiritual, sacred, and magical experience and moment in time that just floods your body with warm tingly feelings of so much love, peace, and comfort knowing that all is well with your new little one and the world. To say we are thankful Violet ANNETTE (named after her AMAZING grandma Bryner) made is safely home to us would be a MAJOR understatement! We are SOOOOOO in love with this beautiful little soul fresh from my angel mama's arms! WELCOME HOME VIOLET...we've been waiting for you!!!
