BECKHAM’S BIRTH STORY – 09/20/2019
Oh my goodness y’all, I can’t believe it’s been one month since sweet Beckham Thomas arrived! Our lives have completely changed and my heart has never been so full. I wanted to come share our hospital photos, Beckham’s birth story and a little bit about life since becoming a family of four.
I went into the doctors office on Friday afternoon thinking “I can’t wait to get Taco Bell after this and take a long nap before Braxton and Mario come home!” Y’all know I was just at that point in pregnancy where I was exhausted and ready to have this little babe. My doctor had been in and out of the office the past few weeks, so I was seeing the other doctor at her practice that afternoon. She was sweet as can be and said “okay, I know you had a membrane sweep earlier this week – would you like me to do another today?” I was silently screaming “WHATEVER GETS THIS BABY OUT OF ME SOONER” when she said “oh, we aren’t doing another sweep…. you’re having this baby!” I looked at her, absolutely flabbergasted and just mumbled “uhm, what does that mean?” The nurse laughed and they explained I had just enough time to go grab my hospital bag and get straight to the hospital. It took me a few minutes to really realize I was actually having my baby that day! I immediately called Mario and my mama to share in the excitement – we were so, so ready to meet baby Beckham!
My mind was racing as I flew home to grab my hospital bag and change clothes. Had I packed everything? Were all of our necessities put together for the baby? Had Mario put the car seat bases in our cars? Then the really big thoughts… Did I hug Braxton hard enough that morning? I would never see him again as an only child… my heart was overwhelmed with love and fear, not knowing how this would all impact my sweet boy. Would our labor process be smooth and easy this time? I couldn’t spend a long time recovering – I needed to be there for Braxton, to help Mario and for Beckham. Oh, I hope I’m not too late for the epidural! I can’t do a natural labor…
All of my fears eased once I walked in and realized I had my sweet delivery nurse, Hannah, from Braxton’s labor. Y’all, I cannot tell you how much a wonderful delivery team impacts your whole experience. My husband and mama both got just as excited when we realized she would be there again for the delivery! Apparently September is the busiest month for deliveries because there were no rooms available when we got there. I just kept saying “as long as y’all get me an epidural, I’m fine with delivering in the hallway.” You think I’m kidding, but that was truly my only concern, lol!
DELIVERY TIME
Within a few hours, it was delivery time. I was so shocked – my labor with Braxton lasted 16 hours. Keep in mind, I only pushed about 20 minutes of that time, but I was expecting this process to be so much longer. I couldn’t believe it was time to start pushing! I’m not sure why, but being numb made me so nauseous with both deliveries. Yes, I demanded an epidural, but there’s something about it that makes me feel miserable. I had just added another round to mine when we were about to push, so I felt extra out of it.
My doctor and nurses said “okay, hold your breath and give a biiiiiig push.” For some reason, I kept not holding my breath and blowing out all of the air while pushing. No matter how many times they told me, I repeatedly blew out the air over and over. Mario bravely leaned over and said “hey babe… I know you’re trying, but you’re not supposed to blow the air out….” I burst into tears and sobbed “I can’t do this anymore!” Keep in mind, I was only about 10 minutes into pushing. My sweet doctor could tell I was already exhausted and, with Beckham’s head half way out, there was no turning back. She said “Nicollette, can you cough for me?” After a few rounds of coughing through the sobbing, Beckham was out! Yes, I coughed out my baby.
MEETING BABY BECKHAM
My heart was so overwhelmed with love when Beckham was laid on my chest. Our hospital started suggesting 90 minutes of skin-to-skin after delivery and I’m so grateful for that bonding time with sweet boy. When Braxton bear came to visit, Mario and I were torn between crying and hugging him to pieces. He kept saying “my baby, my baby” and putting his little hands out to hold him. I was so proud to see his excitement and thankful beyond measure that he’s maintained this love and interest in his brother. I was almost equally as excited when my mama showed back up at the hospital with a giant bag full of Taco Bell.
This past month has honestly flown by. Life moves much quicker when your baby is finally here! One of the biggest blessings through this process is that Mario has 6 weeks of paternity leave with me, which is almost unheard of. My healing process has been so much easier knowing I have him on board to help with everything. Also, so thankful he’s here after I’ve been up all night with a nursing newborn so I can get some extra sleep in the mornings. Having this time for the four of us to get to grow and be together is beyond a blessing and I’m so, so grateful.
I promise I won’t be so long-winded in my next posts – I just wanted to share all that’s been going on since last time I got to come chat with y’all! I can’t thank you all enough for the love, support, sweet messages and kind words you’ve sent our way. Having my sweet little circle with you babes means more than you know and my family is forever grateful to you!
