Brooks Rollin Hawk: A Birth Story

On December 28, 2013, we found out we would be adding a second child to our family.  On April 21, 2014, we found out Landry would be getting a little brother.  And on August 15, 2014, BROOKS ROLLIN HAWK made his way into the world, three weeks before his scheduled due date.  Brooks' birth story begins a few weeks before his early arrival though.  The pregnancy with Brooks was like Landry's and had been smooth sailing for the first 30 weeks.  Then we hit the 3rd trimester.  Strep throat, severe heart burn, food poisoning, chasing a toddler in 100+ degree temperatures.  No wonder Brooks wanted out.  Enough was enough!  On August 4, we made our first trip to St. Joseph's Women's Hospital due to contractions and cramping.  Once there they did some monitoring and an ultrasound, then sent us home.  I was 2 cm dilated and my fluid was a little low but nothing to be concerned about.  We checked in with our doctor the next day and everything seemed to be fine.  On August 8 (Josh's bday), we made our second trip to the hospital.  This time being sent by our doctor after a routine visit.  At our visit, the ultrasound had shown a low fluid level and our doctor said that, in her opinion, the baby needed to come out and that there was an 80% chance we would be having the baby that day.  False alarm #2!  Once again they did some monitoring and an ultrasound and the fluid levels were higher on that ultrasound, so they sent us home.  So, when we went for our doctor's visit on August 15 (Landry's bday), we weren't even thinking about the possibility of going to the hospital again.  We went to the doctor that day as a family after having eaten birthday pancakes at home.  We had plans to go to the mall to get Landry a Curious George stuffed animal and then back home to open gifts.  I had yet another ultrasound to monitor my fluid levels, and as we were making small talk with the ultrasound tech, she sighed and told us that she could barely find any fluid!  She didn't even finish the ultrasound.  The doctor wasn't in yet but we saw the nurse practitioner who told us that she had called the hospital and scheduled a C-section (he was still breech). She told us to go home and get our stuff together and then make our way to the hospital.  We headed home to pack our stuff, called our babysitter, and opened the rest of Landry's birthday presents before heading to the hospital.  It happened so quickly that we didn't have a lot of time to process the fact that both of our boys would share the same birthday! What are the odds?!?

When we got to the hospital, they were waiting for us.  We checked in and then made our way to the labor and delivery floor.  It was so different from Landry's birth.   As soon as we got there, I was being prepped for surgery.  We arrived right before noon and I was being rolled back to the operating room at 1:30.  I have had surgery before, in fact three of them, but I have never been awake to see the operating room for more than a minute.  Being awake during a surgery is a very weird and not at all natural thing.  I didn't hate having a C-section.  In fact my recovery from the c-section was far better than my recovery after Landry.  But I didn't love the delivery part.  If I could have my pick, I would have a vaginal delivery with a c-section recovery!  I didn't like the surgery part.  It was strange lying there awake with a sheet in front of my face, feeling weird pressure on your stomach, and getting light headed because you haven't eaten in 8 hours.  I had gotten to hold Landry right after he was born, but I had to watch Brooks from afar.  It was different seeing Josh be able to hold and love on him and I just had to look on.  Oh, back to Brooks being born.  So, at 1:59PM, Brooks Rollin Hawk was pulled from my womb, I mean born.  He weighed 5 lbs. 9 oz. and was 19 1/2 in. long.  He was doing very well for having to come into the world so early.


                               

                                                         



                                                         

After they stitched me up, we headed back to the labor and delivery room.  The nurse practitioner informed us that Brooks' breathing was a little faster than normal and due to that he couldn't eat anything because he might not be able to swallow correctly.  She said that it was normal with premature babies and that he was just transitioning from the womb.  We didn't think much of it as we were transferred to our new room.  We thought he had made transition to breathing normally because when I was holding him, his breathing was normal.  But anytime someone else held him or they took him away to check his vitals, his breathing would become rapid again.  The nurse told us that it wasn't a huge concern now, but he could only go so long without eating and if his breathing didn't slow, he would need to get a feeding tube.  The only problem was that the hospital where I delivered didn't have a NICU or the capabilities of placing a feeding tube.  So around 10PM that night, we made the decision to transfer him to the NICU at the main hospital.  I knew he was going to be okay, but I wanted to be sure that he was getting all the proper care he needed.  So I said goodbye to my hours-old baby and husband as they headed to the other hospital.  I wasn't able to go because they didn't have a bed for me at the other hospital and I wasn't in a place where I could be discharged yet.

                                                     

                           
                                                     

Brooks spent the night in the critical care unit of the NICU where he remained in an incubator.  The poor thing didn't have great veins and had to be stuck in both hands and feet before finally getting an IV in his little head.  He had a feeding tube and his breathing was being monitored.  I spent the night at St. Joe North and thought I would get transferred the next morning.  When I was still there at lunch time, I began to get a little anxious.  I was ready to see my new baby.  I FINALLY got transferred over around 5 that afternoon.  As soon as I got to my room, I headed downstairs to the NICU to see Brooks. After Landry's birth, I could barely will myself to get out of the bed to go to the bathroom. The day after Brooks was born, I took a shower and was up walking around.  When I walked into Brooks' room in the NICU, the nurse told me that there was no way I had just given birth.  After the week we had just been through, I knew that God had given me an extra gift of a quick recovery.  I forgot to mention that my grandmother passed away the night before Brooks was born.  It was a lot to handle in one week and I was thankful to have been spared a rough recovery.  Brooks stayed in the NICU for two more days and then on Monday afternoon, we were promised we would get to go home, we just had to wait for him to pee.  Simple, right?  Well…6 hours later we were on our way home.  And that is the story of the birth of BROOKS ROLLIN HAWK.