Barhorst Brewed: Bonus Post: Introducing Kaitlyn

Kaitlyn Elaine Barhorst

Friday, March 27, 2015

5:15 am

7 pounds, 9.5 ounces

20 inches long

Thursday, March 26, we went to church for St. Andrew's Canon. For those of you unfamiliar with the service, St. Andrew's Canon has about fifty prostrations (think Siamese children in The King and I). This particular day, we were doing a double canon, so there were closer to 100 prostrations. At the beginning of the service, I leaned over to Bryan and said, "Do you think if I do all of these prostrations then we'll have a baby tonight?" Well, I didn't do all of the prostrations, but I apparently did enough. :)

Just before two in the morning, I was woken by what I assume was a contraction. I don't actually remember having a contraction, just waking up suddenly and wondering. Ten minutes later, I had another contraction. Wimpy, but definitely real. Since I had to wait ten minutes for that one, I didn't wake Bryan immediately the way he wanted me to. Instead, I waited for another contraction -- that one came four minutes later. Wimpy though they were, four minute contractions were reason enough to wake Bryan in case Hippo decided to make as speedy an entrance as Gretchen. I got up and went to turn on my phone and gather the last few things I needed. Then I woke Bryan up and he insisted that I call our babysitter. He also congratulated our decision making skills from earlier in the night -- we had discussed starting a movie at 10:30 and decided against it -- and made a few disparaging comments about my tendency to need to go to the hospital in the middle of the night. During the drive, I convinced him that middle of the night is probably better anyway.

Elesha answered her phone, a wonder in and of itself since she is generally worse at phones than I am, and headed over to our house. Bryan and I hopped in the car and began the drive to St. Mary's. He was still a little worried that we wouldn't make it in time, but agreed to go to the proper hospital when he saw how mild my contractions were. The drive was much more pleasant than with Gretchen (one of the perks of leaving immediately, I suppose), and I suggested that if we had a boy then maybe we should name him Andrew, in honor of the canon. Bryan argued that it didn't matter because all we have is girls.

We arrived at the hospital at 3:15 and walked up to the maternity ward. Since my contractions weren't bothering me yet, they decided to check me before admitting me officially. I was only six centimeters, but they knew I needed an IV (for penicillin since I tested strep B positive earlier in the pregnancy), so they started getting that ready. My water broke about five minutes later, which meant we were definitely staying, and Bryan called his mom to tell her that she could meander down to our house whenever she wanted.

The nurses finished all the admittance paperwork by the time the penicillin was all the way in my system. Then the midwife came in and told me I could unhook from the monitors and walk around if I wanted to. Bryan offered to help and I waved him off. After three kids, I know three things about the way I labor: I like moving around, I don't like being flat on my back, and I don't want anyone touching me. Bryan says next time maybe he should just turn on ESPN. :-P

Around 5:00, Bryan decided I seemed close to having a baby, so he went to fetch the nurses. When he offhandedly mentioned that the penicillin had made me sick, they jumped into action. Apparently being sick is a sign of complete dilation. The midwife told me I could give birth however I wanted, telling me I just had to decide. I remember being surprised that she gave me a choice since my previous experiences had been dictated by doctors and nurses. I am not a game-time decision maker, so the midwife gave me suggestions. Having passed that obstacle, we were just waiting for pushing contractions. When they came, there was a baby in three pushes (the shoulder got stuck and took some extra work).

The midwife immediately handed me the baby and the nurses set to cleaning things up. Because of how I was holding the baby, no one was able to see the gender. Finally, someone asked me if it was a boy or a girl and I managed to check. Kaitlyn Elaine, our third little girl. :) Birth time was noted as 5:15 am on March 27. Measurements weren't actually taken for an hour and a half since Kaitlyn nursed and then Bryan held her for a while. When they were taken, though, she was 7 pounds, 9.5 ounces, and 20 inches long.

It was only after Kaitlyn was born that we learned how blessed we were to have her. When the midwife was examining the (two vessel) cord and placenta, she noticed that Kaitlyn had placenta velamentosa. This means that her cord, rather than inserting directly into the placenta, was actually attached to the membranes surrounding the placenta and the blood vessels traveled unprotected the few inches to the placenta. Depending where the membrane ruptures when the water breaks, this can be fatal. My water broke an inch from Kaitlyn's blood vessels. Had it ruptured the vessels when breaking, she most likely would have been stillborn. A near miss, which is what happened with Kaitlyn, is medically immaterial and ceases to matter. It does cause the parents to thank God a little more fervently for a healthy baby, though.

Murry brought the older girls by for a visit on Friday morning. Olivia was excited to see "her baby," and Gretchen was just excited to see any baby. They both got to hold Kaitlyn and gave her lots of kisses. Gretchen probably would have been content to stay all day, but Olivia knew that they were on their way to exciting things at Grandma's house, so she convinced Gretchen that maybe they should leave. :) On Friday evening, some people from church dropped by and Father said some prayers. It's kind of nice having people who come to visit you in the hospital.

Because of the strep B, we are required to stay in the hospital for a full 48 hours. "An abundance of over-precaution," I think is how the pediatrician phrased it.

Kaitlyn is doing well. Bryan and I think she looks like Olivia, but everyone else has said they see Gretchen. We've decided that perhaps her coloring resembles Olivia's but her features are more similar to Gretchen's. I'm sure that as she grows she will perfect her own unique look. :)

Pictures:

Mommy holds Kaitlyn: