And then there were two...

Penny's Story

Many people have said they can't wait to hear "the bathroom story." If you are one of them, read on my friend. If not, stop knowing 2 things. 1) This whole story is still a little surreal to me. 2) We have a beautiful, healthy daughter named Penelope Grace. She came into this world with a bang!

Penny Grace all cleaned up and pretty in pink at the hospital.

Friday, August 31 (the day after our due date)

I had a "normal" day. Carson and I had our morning routine. I wasn't feeling up to a Stroller Strides workout, since I did one the day before. So we met our friends at the park for some good playtime. We headed home where Carson ate lunch while I got ready for work. I started working 1/2 days on Wed. Each night I left the station I answered each goodbye with,"hope I don't see you tomorrow." After a pretty uneventful 5pm newscast I shut down my computer, tidied up my desk and said my goodbyes again. Hoping this time I really wouldn't see anyone on Monday.

I got home to my Bloom Boys waiting for me on the porch. We were going to meet my MSU Alumni Club to watch the Spartans take on Boise St. at Buffalo Wild Wings. I ordered some medium wings and an O'douls. I figured something spicy and some watered down N/A beer might scare the baby out. I might of started feeling a little bit uncomfortable in the second quarter of the game, but not enough to make me stop eating, or stop bending down to pick up Lightning McQueen off the floor for the 1000th time. We stayed for the first half as planned. It was already about 10 pm and 3 hours past Carson's bedtime. I drove home and we tucked in our little Bloom Boy. We were back down in front of the TV for the second half of the ballgame.

At Buffalo Wild Wings at about 9:30. GO STATE!

With about two minutes left in the game I started to feel contractions. They weren't really anything stronger than I've been feeling all week. The kind of contractions that go away when you get up and walk around. Only this time they weren't really going away. After the Spartan Victory (11:06 to be exact...thank you contraction app.) we started timing these contractions. We made the call to Kyle's parents (at 11:30) to come pick up Carson...just in case. I told Kyle (who had been up since 3am) that we better lay down and try to rest. I wanted to take a little relaxing bath, so I did. That did not last too long. It seemed to make those contractions come faster and stronger. All of a sudden I was out of the tub and feeling IN LABOR! Kyle called the midwife.

Fancy contraction App...First contraction at 11:06.

At this point I remember the contractions kickin' my ass, but still had no reference to how much or how strong they really were. You see, with Carson my labor lasted 34 hours from the time my water broke till the time he was born. I had to have Pitocin and and epidural 24 hours into labor. So by the time the contractions got this bad, I really didn't feel them.

The last thing the Midwife asked was if my water broke. Kyle told her not yet and she said, "good we still have time, you need to get to the hospital now." He hung up the phone and bam! MY WATER BROKE at about midnight! His parents were still about 15 minutes out. He called my brother, but no answer. Kyle ran upstairs to wake up Carson, he was gonna have to go with us.

This is the crazy surreal part. The scene plays out in my head like I am watching a TLC show. Cue Announcer: "NEXT ON I DELIVERED A BABY IN MY BATHROOM." I remember standing in the bathroom on a bunch of towels. I remember feeling the urge to push. I was alone...in my bathroom...in labor. I was telling myself there is no way I can start pushing. I kept saying to myself, "it's not time to push...damn it!" Then I felt the head!!!! I yelled for Kyle. He came down and poor Carson followed. I'm not sure how much he saw, or what he heard. Kyle made it to the bathroom doorway just in time to see our precious baby girl being born...right there...on our bathroom floor. I still don't think I even pushed. The time was 12:06...exactly one hour since we started timing contractions! Instinct kicked in for me. I stuck my fingers in her mouth to clear her airway like the red cross teaches you. I waited for what seemed like forever, but was possibly only a few seconds to hear that first cry. That cry came and I felt a huge relief. The next thing I did was find out if baby was a boy or girl. I'm pretty sure I let myself cry when I yelled to Kyle we had a girl. All covered in goo, sitting on the floor of my bathroom she was the most beautiful thing I had ever seen. Kyle called 911 and within a few minutes we had an ambulance and fire truck at our front door.

All this commotion and my neighbors didn't wake up.

Norfolk's finest. Not sure how they got the gurney into that little hallway.

Penny's first ambulance ride.

The EMTs were awesome. They clamped and cut the cord. They got Penny all cleaned up, bundled up and warm. They wrapped her in one of those shiny silver blankets you see after some races and whisked her into the ambulance. They got me up and onto the gurney and away we went. That ride seemed like it took forever, even though we only live about a mile and a half from DePaul hospital.

Penny and I checked out fine at the hospital. She weighed in at 9 lbs 3 oz and 21 inches long. She was only slightly lighter and shorter than her 9 lb. 15 oz brother. She nursed very well that first night and continues to be a chow hound.

Penny about an hour old, still wearing the silver blanket from the EMTs....and one of our bath towels.

I am so grateful for the care we received from the Norfolk EMTs, our midwives and the nurses at DePaul Hospital. We're 0 for 2 in our attempt to deliver at the Midwifery Center at DePaul and I think we'll keep it that way.

People listen to this story in amazement. They ask if it was planned this way. They ask about the pain. I think I learned I'm a lot stronger than I thought I would ever be, but it's not that amazing. We ABSOLUTELY DID NOT plan it this way. As for the pain, it hurt at that moment! However, just looking at her makes the memories of the pain go away. Penny has definitely completed our family. Her brother adores her. Our dog Bruno watches over her. Her Daddy is just smitten with her. She's got me wrapped around her little finger already.

Oh...and we no longer have a bathroom. We're renaming it the birthing center.