What an
amazing month this has been!! On August 10, 2012 we welcomed Brinley Marie
Herzinger into our lives. She has been the biggest blessing in my life. It’s
amazing how much I already love this little girl.
Birth Story
Labor started
at 12am Friday, August 10, 2012. Contractions were immediately consistent. I
hadn’t gone to bed yet, so I decided to stay up and see if I truly was in
labor. After using the restroom and noticing blood, I texted my mom to make
sure it was real. Chris at this point was still in bed and had no idea what was
going on. I figured there wasn’t much he could do at this point, and decided to
let him get some rest before our long day ahead. I waited about and hour and a
half before waking Chris up, because I knew we would have to be heading to the
hospital soon. He was pretty nervous and wished labor would have started a
little later that morning haha. I decided to wait almost three hours to head to
the hospital, because I was NOT getting sent home. At my appointment the
Tuesday before, I wasn’t even dilated to a 1 yet, so I thought I would give
myself some time to dilate. Like I said before, I was NOT getting sent home! Chris
and I arrived at the hospital around 2:45 am. They got me in and checked me to
find I was only dilated to a 2. They decided to keep me for an hour to see if I
progressed at all and if not I would have to be sent home. Luckily within the
hour, I had gone from a 2 to a 4. At that point they asked me if I wanted an
epidural…and of course I said YES!! They told me it would take about a half
hour for him to arrive to give it to me. Almost four hours later he finally
showed up and I got my epidural around 6:45 am. It was heavenly once I finally
got it! After I got my epidural my mom and Grandma Luke had arrived at the
hospital. It was so nice to have them there!! At about 9:30, Chris’ parents
arrived. Once the epidural kicked in, it made the rest of the delivery much
more relaxing. At 11:30 the doctor said it was time to push. That is when I
really got nervous. I hadn’t been nervous at all until that point. I was so
scared, I began to cry. I wasn’t sure if I could do it. I had pushed for over
an hour and she still hadn’t arrived. The doctor decided that I needed to get
an episiotomy, because I was too tight. That was the last thing that I wanted,
and the thing I was most scared of. There was a residency doctor there and she
was started to cut, just after starting she says, “These scissors suck!” I
about had a heart attack after hearing that. Luckily the doctor stepped in with
new scissors and finished up. After the episiotomy, baby girl arrived not more
than ten minutes later. At 12:29 pm Brinley Marie Herzinger arrived at 8lbs 0oz
and was 21.5” long. She was the most beautiful baby I had ever seen. It amazes
me how much love I had for this little girl that I had just barely met!
Brinley Marie! 8lbs 0oz and 21.5" long
Daddy's first time holding Brinley. He was so cute with her and was so excited that she was finally here!
My first time holding my sweet little girl!
First family picture
After being up for over 32 hours and going through labor, I was completely exhausted.
Sleeping on daddy
After staying two days in the hospital, it was finally time to go home!