The Parkers: Happy New Year! Reese's Birth Story


Reese Elizabeth Parker

She is here and today, 10 days old! Reese was born on December 22 @ 1:03pm. Her entrance to the world was definitely grand to say the least!
Let's back track to my 38 week Dr. appointment...

Tuesday, December 13 (which also happened to be my birthday :)) My doctor asked me if I wanted her to put me on the list to be induced the next week. I immediately said "No" and that she [Reese] can come whenever she decided to. I went home and talked to my mom about it, and then really started thinking about the idea of inducing. I did some research on the computer, talked to Matthew about it, and was still leaning towards no induction. However, I did not rule it out completely. I have several friends who were induced and had no problems at all, and the only negative things from my research were women who were not planning on epidurals or any other drugs. I, on the other hand, was definitely getting an epidural, so the concerns these other women had did not pertain to me!

After much thought and discussion, the idea began to be appealing. Reasons being: 1) With Madden, although he started to come on his own, the only way he actually came was because the Dr. induced me (broke my water and started pitocin)
2) I would for sure get the epidural when I wanted it because I would already be admitted to the hospital!--unlike 16 hours into labor with Madden
3) MY Dr. would actually be there!
The main reason for us deciding to induce is #1--my labor, once induced, was very quick and painless (thank you epidural!) and necessary when all was said and done!
So I called my Dr. and let her know we did in fact want to be induced and on the list we went! :)
With the date set, I had my next appointment the following Monday, Matthew came with me so that we could talk to the Dr. more about the induction and decide if we were really sure. As it turned out I was already 4cm dilated! I wasn't 4 cm with Madden until about 20 hours into it! This made me feel even better about our decision--I had read that if you induce and are not dilated, you could run the risk of having to have a c- section.
Thursday, December 22, 5:30 am- Matthew, Mom, and I head to the hospital. The Doctor came in, checked me, started the pitocin, broke my water, and said Reese should be here by lunchtime!
Noon came around and I had not made any progress. I was laying there listening to her heartbeat on the monitor and all the sudden it was not beeping as fast. I asked Matthew to look at the screen and tell me what her heart rate was, he said it had dropped and was around 85 bpm. All at once, about 8 nurses came into the room, and immediately started moving me around and gave me all sorts of shots and stopped the pitocin, trying to get her heart rate back up. It eventually came back up. At this point I was starting to cry and worrying about Reese. The nurses began talking, saying the Dr. is on her way and to prep me for a c-section. I started crying. "This is not how it was supposed to all happen!" was all I could think! My Dr. came in and assured me it would be ok, but that because the baby's heart rate dropped so low and I wasn't progressing like I should have been, that there was something wrong and she needed to get her out.
They quickly prepped me for surgery and gave Matthew some scrubs. The anesthesiologist talked me through what was about to happen, and it actually helped a lot, knowing what to expect.
It turns out the cord was wrapped around her neck and shoulder. Which is why her heart rate dropped and also why I wasn't progressing anymore--every time I had a contraction and her head should have been moving down, the cord wouldn't let her--the Doctor described it like she was on a bungee cord!
It wasn't the ideal situation, but necessary. As I think about it more and more, I am thankful that we had decided to induce. What if we hadn't and the cord was still around her neck? There are so many What ifs? But by God's grace Reese is here, perfectly healthy, beautiful and wonderful!
After a couple days in the hospital, we were all able to go home late Christmas Eve.


Great Grandmother holding Reese- 3 days old!

My grandparents, Aunt Becky and Uncle Gene, Cousin Geoff, Emilie, Graham and Lucy, along with Jenn, Kat, and Matt were all at the house for Christmas Day celebrations! I spent most of the day laying down :( Recovery from a c-section is long and painful. I am just now starting to feel a little better and able to move around more.

Best Christmas Present Ever!

New Year's Eve 2011: My parent's celebrated 39 years of marriage! They truly are an amazing example of love and commitment. We were able to celebrate with them at dinner, and then being the crazy party animals that we are--went home! Where we put Madden to sleep, watched a movie, and fell asleep before midnight :)
Madden is slowly but surely warming up to Reese. He gave her a kiss this morning on the forehead! He is such a great big brother! I can't wait till I can pick him up again!! Only about 5 more weeks :( That is probably the hardest part of recovery--I can't pick up my sweet boy.