Garrett Jaco Kirkland's Birth Story

*Warning: This is not for the faint of heart. This may be a little too much information for some!*


The day Izzie was born, I quickly typed out what the day was like. I did this so I would never forget it. This is a once in a lifetime event, because no two births are alike. I'm typing Garrett's out obviously a little bit later (a week and a half), but for the same reason. When I'm in my fifties and being pregnant or giving birth really is a distant memory, I want to be able to pull these stories out. So, here goes Garrett's birth story. It is at least my recollection of what happened that day.

We had an appointment Thursday before Garrett was born with my wonderful OB, Dr. Jones. Garrett's due date was July 18th. We had a growth scan done around 36 weeks, because I told Dr. Jones that I felt he was "BIG." The growth scan indeed basically said that. Of course, they aren't exactly that accurate. He was weighing in at 6lbs. 14oz. (give or take half a pound). Dr. Jones agreed, but said that I just grow them big! So, by my 38.5 week appointment I was pretty miserable feeling so huge. I was already progressing. I believe I was 2-3cm and 80% with Garrett lying pretty low. When Dr. Jones entered the room, I pretty much begged and pleaded for her to help me out. She checked me out and got me to 4cm easily. Dr. Jones asked me about induction, letting me know it was her day at the hospital Monday, July 11th. From the very beginning of this pregnancy, I told myself I was going to let him come when he wanted to come. However, around my 36th week I was pretty miserable. I had horrible back pain and what I thought were contractions. I had almost went to the hospital a few days before this appointment, because I thought it was time. The pain was serious, but eventually died off. Dr. Jones gave Todd and I a few minutes to talk about it in the office. Todd was all for it. He has always hated the idea of having to rush off in the middle of the night to the hospital or even worse delivering his own baby on our bathroom floor! I was a little hesitant. I also had that fear of not knowing when labor was really going to begin, not getting my epidural, and being in extreme pain. We eventually agreed we would induce on Monday if we lasted over the weekend. Dr. Jones appeared happy with our decision. I was also excited that she would be delivering Garrett, too.

We left the office and went to eat dinner with my parents, who had just returned from Tennessee. Everyone was excited that Garrett would be making an appearance in just a few days. Todd and I also went to buy Izzie's present from Garrett. We bought a little play diaper bag, baby doll, and a few books about being a big sister. She is obsessed with all things baby.

We continued on with our weekend. I had a few signs and symptoms that made me feel like I was close to going into labor, but nothing was ever consistent. I even worked Saturday night at the hospital. It was a big joke that I was going to end up delivering on my floor. One of my coworkers even snapped a final photo of my pregnant belly. Oh my gosh! My pregnant belly was so big. No wonder people asked if I was having twins. I really do think it is true that when you are carrying a boy, you are less round and more all belly. It's crazy.

Sunday, I slept a little bit. Then, I went with my mom to go get my nails done. The lady doing my toes looked at me and asked if I was in pain. I now look back and laugh, because I understand after my last belly picture what she was talking about. Getting your nails done is a must when going to give birth. There's not much "pretty" about birth, so I try to control what I can haha. After that, Todd and I went to go see Transformers. Obviously, that movie was his pick. He wanted to go on one last date with me. We came home and went to bed as a family of three. I actually did not go to bed until after midnight. I was still preparing all of our bags which included Izzie's for the hospital as well.

I woke up at 6am on Monday morning. Took my shower and got dressed quietly in order to keep Izzie asleep. Todd, of course, did not get up till close to 7! We had to be at the hospital at 7:30am. He almost made us late. Mimi, my mom, came to our house and watched Izzie until it was a little closer to get things going at the hospital. I told everyone not to come right away and wait a couple hours.

Todd and I got to labor and delivery on time. We met our nurse for the day, Linda, when we got to our labor and delivery room. She told me to go do all the things that I remembered from Izzie's birth. I had to go get undressed, put on the hospital gown, give them a specimen. By the way, giving a specimen is so hard for a 39week pregnant woman!!! I came out, sat on the bed, and got hooked up to the monitors. Linda asked us a whole bunch of questions, told us some of the rules, and started my IV. She started my pitocin, antibiotic, and IV fluids. I started having little contractions that really didn't bother me too much. Dr. Jones came in and we all knew the excitement was about to start. She checked me. I was still 4cm and 80%. She was surprised I made it through the weekend and so was I. We decided together that she would go ahead and break my water. The water was clear which is always a good sign. I forget how funny it feels. It doesn't hurt, but the warm gush is definitely interesting! We were all talking about my first delivery with Izzie. Dr. Jones said I would not make it till 3:24pm this time. She expected I would have Garrett before that. I was scared that I would miss my chance for the epidural, so she thought it would be a great idea to go ahead and get it. I agreed! It probably only took about ten minutes and I was really starting to feel my contractions. I remember the first one I couldn't talk through, was when my in-laws were in the room. I felt so bad. I just stopped talking mid sentence. They promptly left the room when they realized what was going on. I think I scared them as I was gripping the side of the bed. I was happy that they had went ahead and called the anesthesiologist. If I had waited, I might have died from that pain. Ok, I really would not have died, but I certainly felt like it at that moment. The anesthesiologist came in, Todd left the room due to hospital policy, and I got my epidural. It took a little longer to kick in than I remembered. I was worried it was not working. Finally, after about 30 minutes my pain was gone. That was the longest 30 minutes ever. The nurse checked me before my epidural. I was already a 5. I knew I was going to go quick once the epidural was in, because that is how it was with Izzie. It's like my body completely relaxes and does what it needs to do. By 12:30, I started having some pretty decent pressure. They called Dr. Jones. I was completely dilated. We had talked at the beginning of the morning about laboring down. I wanted a lot of time to labor down. I had pushed an hour with Izzie and did NOT want to do that again. Dr. Jones agreed that she would come back at 1:30 and it would probably be time to start pushing by then. Well, around 1pm or a little after I started having serious pains again. The nurse took a look and said it was time. My mom, Tori, and Todd took positions. This was Tori's first time experiencing a birth. The nurse told me to push once and immediately told me to stop. Dr. Jones came in and got ready. I pushed probably 3 times and Garrett was here at 1:36pm! He actually came out head and hand first. I was a little worried about that, but his arm is fine. Dr. Jones put him on my chest. Everyone immediately started commenting on how big he was. I was just enjoying my slimy, warm little baby. I know that's weird, right? But, I love that slimy, warm, fresh out of the oven baby. It's so wonderful. There is nothing in the world like it. They wrapped a blanket around him. Todd got to cut the cord. They then took him and weighed him. He was a whopping 9lbs and 8oz!!! Can I please tell you all that I am so relieved we did not wait any longer for him! I might have had a 10lb baby! He was perfect, definitely looked like a little man. He was a little, what I call, gurgly. I tried to feed him and it just didn't seem right. They took him to the nursery after everyone came in to see him. I was happy they did just to make sure everything was alright. Dr. Jones said he just didn't have enough time in the birth canal.

We spent 2 days in the hospital. We got to leave on Wednesday around noon. Izzie has been great with her little brother. She has been a little clingy with me. She doesn't like being away from us for too long. She even refused to sleep over at Mimi's house one night this week which is crazy for her. She is obsessed with her Mimi and Nina. She gives her brother lots of kisses and hugs. It scares me at times, but I try not to overreact when she touches him. I don't want to make her upset or make her think we don't want her to love on him. She has been a great big sister. I am so happy that she loves him.