The Shumways: Brooklyn Linda Shumway

September 28, 2013

The following is a recount of Ms. Brooklyn Linda Shumway’s birthday. Let’s see…I went to stay with my mom on September 16^th after my doctor appointment when I learned that I was 2cm dilated. While there, I spent time converting tape family home videos to DVD family home videos, crocheting a bear hat for some newborn pictures, finishing a quilt I made for Brooklyn (that I started over 2 years ago), writing thank you cards for baby shower gifts, etc. Well, by Friday I pretty much had all of that done (minus one video tape that I never finished…oops). By Saturday I was dying for my baby to get here. I was really really uncomfortable and could hardly sleep at night. Luckily, I was taking a nap every day whenever Marquette took a nap so I stayed pretty rested. On Monday, September 23^rd, 2013 I had a doctor appointment at 10:10am. While there the doctor checked me (I think he may have stripped my membranes a little) and said I was still at 2cm dilated (I asked how effaced but he forgot to tell me). I went home, felt no different, took a nap, and woke up around 3:30.

A little after 4pm, I had a few contractions that were a little different in nature from my normal Braxton Hicks. At first I just shrugged them off as I had resigned myself to be pregnant forever. After I had a few close together, I decided to time them and send Derek a warning “OK don’t freak out but I have had about 5 contractions in the past 25 minutes. Still not sure it’s labor. So don’t hop on your motorcycle yet.” So I began to time them… 8 minutes, 6 minutes, 4 minutes, 6 minutes, 7 minutes, 3 minutes, 4 minutes, OUCH!! I slammed my hand on the counter because it hurt. My mom looked at me (she had been watching me closely for the past little while, I think I was going into denial/realization I was in labor at the same time) and said “I think you need to call your husband.” So I called Derek, told him he needed to start heading to the hospital, grabbed my hospital bag, and we left right at about 5:55pm. Almost as soon as we got into the car my contractions got a lot worse. By the time we got to the hospital at about 6:30pm I was banging my hand against the hood of the car and starting to writhe in pain. My mom dropped me off right at the entrance of labor and delivery where I could not make it to the front desk due to a horrible contraction. They brought me a wheelchair. It took about 10 minutes to check in…the longest wait ever. I was really uncomfortable then, barely able to sit still. The receptionist could tell I was in a lot of pain and paged the nurse multiple times. Finally, the receptionist wheeled me into my room herself. I was in room B5.

Mom helped me go to the bathroom (I really needed to go. Labor always causes me to have diarrhea as my contractions seem to squeeze my entire insides and force everything out) and get into my hospital gown. After the next contraction was over, I got into my bed. By this point it was 6:53 and I had not seen my nurse. I told my mom I REALLY needed my nurse. My mom was really anxious (anyone would be, I was pretty intense) and went to find a nurse. Meanwhile, I paged the nurses’ station stating I was in excruciating pain and needed my nurse RIGHT NOW. Within a couple minutes a nurse came in (I’ll call her Nurse A). I tell her I’m in a lot of pain, I’m not opposed to an epidural, and I need one immediately. She tells me there are four things that needs to be done before that can happen. 1) I need an IV and 1 Liter of IV fluids 2) I need blood work done and resulted. 3) I needed an order from the midwife 4)I had to sign paperwork I then said “Well, then it sounds like I won’t be getting an IV.” Sadly, I was just throwing an attitude when I said that, but when I did…I had a feeling what I said was true. She checked me and told me I was at 4cm dilated. This was around 7pm. My water broke when she checked me…or maybe she broke it…I’m not sure. As soon as that happened, I thought I was going to die. My back labor was so bad I felt like someone was going to break me in two. Then I lost it, I started screaming. Every time a contraction would hit my body would contort in crazy ways. Meanwhile, the lady is putting an IV in, hanging fluids, and trying to get me to sign paperwork. I know at one point, I was signing a piece of paper (I was only able to do this because I told myself if I signed the paperwork I was that much closer to getting an epidural) and a contraction hit and I dropped the pen. Nurse A said “don’t throw the pen down! You aren’t even having a contraction!” I remember thinking both “I’m sorry!! Please forgive me, but it hurts!” and “If I could physically move enough to punch you in the face right now I would…” I started crying and moaning “Please! I need an epidural. It hurts! I can’t do this!” I looked down and my IV was almost out. I started crying that “My IV it’s almost out! Please fix it! Please help me!” They had to re-tape it multiple times because I was so diaphoretic nothing would stick to me. At 7:20pm I started feeling like my intestines were coming out of my rectum. I literally hurt so badly and the contractions were so strong I thought my rectum was coming out. I also remember thinking “OH NO! My intestines are going to come out and they are going to tell me I need an emergency C-section!” Suddenly, I started grunting. It was like an out of body experience. I had this overwhelming urge to push. Nurse B had entered the room a little before that and checked me. I watched her face change and she was on the phone in 2 seconds saying “I need baby blankets, and a midwife in here right now. I have a patient who is complete and complete and station +2.”

I start panicking. Derek’s not here! “Where’s my husband? Where’s Derek?” My mom said he was on his way. She’s on the phone with him and he’s like at the hospital but trying to find my room. Mom’s telling me not to push. I can’t help it. The staff is telling me not to push so that the midwife can get her gloves on. I remember looking around and there was suddenly like 6 different staff members in the room. They told me I could push and so I did. It’s the most ironic thing ever. First you’re in the worst pain of your life, yet you have this intense urge to push even though it is going to cause you more pain. It’s like it feels good and bad all at the same time. Anyway, her head came out on the first push. I was in shock. I had heard that your second time pushing goes faster, but I didn’t think it would be that fast. They had me wait and then push again at the next contraction. And she was out! They set her on my stomach and said “her you go mama! Here’s your baby!” I looked at her, felt a huge flood of relief, and then put my head back in exhaustion. I was happy to hold her, but so weak I felt like I couldn’t. She was born at 7:25pm. Just 37 minutes after I had been checked into the hospital. No one was gowned, they were barely gloved. My doctor/midwife never even made it. Somebody else’s midwife had to deliver my baby. I had no pain medicine, no epidural, my fluids never even finished. I went from 4cm to baby arrived in about 25 minutes.

Derek walked in the room RIGHT after they lifted her off my chest and put her in the warmer. He had been misdirected and told to go to the 5^th floor. He missed her delivery by maybe 2 minutes. Luckily, it didn’t affect his mood too badly. He was still there to hold her almost immediately, got to see her first bath, and sat by me and held my hand. I think I was more devastated he wasn’t there. I felt really badly. I wanted to wait, but I just couldn’t.

She weighed in at 6pounds 7 ounces, 19inches long, and a 13 inch head. I was 38 weeks 5 days along. She did not cry immediately, until they put her in the warmer. When they gave her to me and let me do skin to skin, she immediately stopped crying and went to sleep. I was in love. I didn’t cry…I cried with Marquette. I think I was too physically exhausted. I thought I had experienced pain with Marquette, that wasn’t half of what I went through this time. Anyway, as the midwives and nurses delivered the placenta and sutured me, they made lots of jokes, told me how beautiful my baby was, and were just a real delight. They all told me how impressed they were with me and that I did an amazing job. I apologized multiple times for my crying, screaming, writhing in pain, etc. They told me that any woman who would deliver a baby as fast as me would have done the same. I felt better after that.

The rest of the night was mostly a blur. I was hungry. It took forever to get food. I couldn’t sleep ALL night. I had too much endorphins and adrenaline coursing through my body. It was ridiculous. I was able to get Brooklyn to nurse a few times though. She did a really, REALLY good job. Her latch was perfect, suck strong. I am so grateful for that because Marquette had a very difficult time nursing. I really enjoyed holding her and spending time with her, but I did send her to the nursery a lot so that I could sleep. I was exhausted and I didn’t want to come home to Marquette exhausted. I’m so glad I made that choice. I feel so much better this time around than I did with Marquette. I’m grateful for that blessing.

Derek’s mom, my parents, and Marquette came the following morning to meet Brooklyn. Derek’s mom brought flowers, a stuffed cow for Marquette, and a bear for Brooklyn to the hospital. When Marquette saw me, he started crying. You could tell he really missed his mommy and daddy. It had probably been a long week for him being away from home for so long and then having me leave randomly without any warning for an entire day. I was so excited to see Marquette. It was so nice to finally have our little family together. I really enjoyed watching all of my family hold Brooklyn and get so excited to meet her and love on her. It just melted my heart. We went home Wednesday afternoon and made the drive back to Chattanooga. Mom drove the Toyota and Derek was on his motorcycle. We had to make one stop so I could nurse Brooklyn and mom got a few things at Costco. That night we had dinner and went to bed early. It was a horrible night, Brooklyn was up almost all night. Since then, she has slept like a champ and woken up only every 2.5-3 hours to feed. I’m so grateful for that. I value and need sleep like I think few other people need sleep. I had a lot of anxiety about whether or not I would be able to function with 2 kids on such little sleep, especially when I go to work. But I think I will manage. I know Heavenly Father will bless me. He always has.

We have had 2 major scares since Brooklyn came into our home. On Friday morning we went to the pediatrician and were told that Brooklyn was doing very well. She had already gained weight since leaving the hospital, and was doing great. I was so pleased. We came home after running a few errands and were just about to settle down for a nap when I got a call from the pediatric nurse practitioner at the hospital. She told me that Brooklyn had a critical lab value on her metabolic newborn screening exam and that she needed very specific genetic testing done immediately (as in that day) at either a hospital in Chattanooga or at Scottish Rite in Atlanta. She had a low MCAD level which means that she would lack the enzyme that breaks down fat to be used for energy by the cell. She would always have to have a steady, monitored diet as well as never fast or have her metabolism or immune system greatly stressed. I was immediately distraught and devastated. I called Derek, got my bags packed, and was waiting to hear back from the NP about where exactly to go.

The NP called back about 30 minutes after her first call and said that she had some good news. She said that she had gotten everything coordinated for us to go to Scottish Rite when she had this feeling that she needed to call the newborn screening clinic at Emory and confirm what tests she needed to have prior to sending us. Apparently when she called the newborn screening place, they told her that Brooklyn’s MCAD level was out of the normal range, but only slightly low and that she was put in the “Low Risk” category. They said she merely needed to have another newborn screening test done. This could be done at my pediatrician’s office. So, I left and went back to the place we had just been 2 hours ago. *Sigh* They said that no news is good news. I told the NP and my pediatrician that I was going to get this screening done and then pretend that this never happened and that my child is fine. They both said that is what I should do, because she almost certainly did not have MCAD deficiency disorder. I immediately fell to my knees after getting off the phone with the NP and thanked Heavenly Father for the health of my children.

That experienced helped me to truly realize how much I love my children, especially Brooklyn. I have a difficult time adjusting with no sleep and it can be very difficult for me. But even the idea of something small being wrong with my child devastated me. I realized that I love her with all my heart, that I would do anything for her and that I should and am grateful to be her mother. I will lose countless hours of sleep, change thousands of diapers, and work full-time/part-time for years to provide for a better life for them. I am so grateful for the opportunity that I have to be a mother.

The second scare, was when I woke up yesterday (Saturday the 28^th) and could not find my camera. Forget the fact that it’s a really expensive one, the idea of losing all my pictures of Brooklyn at the hospital devastated me. I literally ransacked my house looking for it. Derek went on a scout campout Friday night and so I called his cell phone…turned off. I called Doug’s cell phone…no answer. I started balling. I was not doing well. Luckily, Derek called back on Doug’s cell phone a few minutes later and he told me where to find it…in his closet under his clothes. You know…the logical spot. Haha. Anyway, since then we have not had any major freak out moments.

Brooklyn is the best baby. She has already started going 3 hours between feedings at night. Last night she actually made it just below 4 hours (don’t worry, my pediatrician gave me approval to let her go 4 hours since she is already gaining weight and just about back to birth weight which usually takes 2 weeks). She never fusses unless hungry. She loves to be held, but doesn’t have to be. She is just perfect in every way. We are really grateful to have her in her little family!

Oh, I should also post that Marquette has been a good boy as usual. He has been having a slightly hard time dealing with sharing the attention, but he has never shown any anger or resentment to the baby, just a little more fussy and clingy to me. I know he will adjust soon and be the best big brother. He always likes to sit by me when I am nursing her and likes to observe Brooklyn when she is in her bouncer etc. He is learning new words every day and amazes us with his intelligence, observations then mimicking, and sweetness. He always tells everyone goodnight when he goes to bed and will give anyone a kiss if asked for one. He is very attached to his two blankets, monkey, and teddy bear. He is my sweet angel boy and I love him dearly!