Brett's Arrival - Part I

   This is Part I of the account of my pregnancy with Brett, his birth and all the things that happened in the weeks that followed. I have told the story many times, but I want to write it all down before too many years pass and the details are forgotten.

   Wow! It's been a long time since I have sat and remembered the days and months after Brett's birth. My stomach is queasy just remembering all the emotions that we went through. It was a tough time in our lives as some of you will remember. We have come a long way since then. Brett is doing amazingly well. It's easy to forget how hard everything was. I'm so grateful that we made it and that we are where we are today.

   Brett, I'm sure there will come a day when you read this. I want you to know that you are such an amazing person. You are worth everything that we went through! I would go through it all again and I know your dad would too! You are such a special boy, a priceless treasure! I wouldn't trade you for the world. I love you and I'm so thankful for everyday that I have had to spend with you. I love you, Brett!

  I found out that I was pregnant in May of 2006. Steven and I were ecstatic! We were on staff with Youth With A Mission (YWAM) in Denver at the time. We were committed to drive around the country promoting YWAM Denver at various christian music festivals over the summer. We were leading a team of 5 and saw no need to step down from that position.
   Since I was a little girl, I have had the tendency to get car sick on occasion. The nausea has gotten better over the years, but always threatens to make an appearance if I'm not careful. Add that to the normal nausea of a pregnant woman in her first trimester and you have a very sick woman and lots of vomit! : ( We would start off on our next leg of the journey and drive for maybe 30 minutes before having to pull over so I could throw up. It was rough going to say the least, but I made it through the summer!
   We had an ultrasound at 18 weeks and found out what the sex of our baby was. Obviously, it was a boy! We were super excited! I have always wished that I had an older brother, so I really wanted to have a boy first. Along the way, we attended two 4 hour birthing classes where we came up with a birth plan. I wanted to have an all-natural birth, without any drugs for pain, etc. As you will soon see, I had anything but my birth plan. Sometimes God knows best, actually, He always knows best! Even if it doesn't seem like he does.

So excited to welcome our little boy to the world!

   Around 32 weeks, I had one of my regular checkups with the doctor. He seemed a bit concerned and decided to do an ultrasound. His concerns were confirmed and we found out that the baby was breech. I was a bit concerned and scared of having a c-section - major surgery. So we prayed and told everyone else to pray that the baby would turn. The weeks went by and the baby didn't turn. My doctor, Dr McArthur Hill, informed us that we could do an inversion. It's a process that involves some medication to help relax the uterus and then the doctor uses his hands to try and turn the baby. The success rate is not very high as the baby often flips back around anyway. We decided against that because we felt there may have been a reason that our little boy was breech.
(A brief side note - I just found out recently that Dr Hill is a former abortionist. I think it adds to the story of Brett's birth and know that each child that Dr Hill delivered was a redemption of sorts. How cool that Brett was one of those kids!)
   On January 22nd around evening time, I started having contractions. They were about 5 minutes apart for an hour. We called Dr Hill and he said to go ahead to the hospital. The nurse checked my cervix. I was not really progressing and by that time my contractions had stopped. Dr Hill came in and did another ultrasound to check the position of the baby. He was still breech so we decided to do a c-section in the morning. Dr Hill said to get some sleep and he would be back by 5 AM. So we went to sleep. Dr Hill came back around 4:30 AM and said it was time to go. I started freaking out. I couldn't believe I was about to have major surgery! AHHH!

What a sweetie!

The nurse put me in a wheel chair and covered me with a blanket. I was freezing and terrified. I couldn't stop shaking. They wheeled me into the operating room and set me up on the table so the anesthesiologist could give me a Spinal. The nurse told me I would be fine and then the medication started to kick in. Mmm... things started looking better after that. I was numb from about chest down. They laid me down on the table and brought Steven into the operating room. They put up a sheet between my head and my belly cause I was still awake. Steven was close to me, not interested in watching the surgery. I felt lots of pulling and tugging and then at 5:24 AM on January 23rd, Brett Robert Menna was born! He weighed 6 pounds, 8 ounces and was 18 inches long. He didn't cry immediately and once he did, Steven thought he sounded a little funny. I think Dr Hill even made a comment about it. Steven cut the umbilical cord. The nurse wiped Brett off, wrapped him up and brought him over so I could see him. He was adorable and making smacking sounds with his lips and licking with his tongue. : ) SO CUTE! I was delighted and thrilled to see him and couldn't wait to be able to hold him! How amazing to have our little boy with us!
   Steven and Brett left the room soon after so the doctors and nurses could finish the surgery. I remember they were counting to make sure they had all of their equipment. What an odd feeling! After they were done with the surgery I was taken to the recovery room where I had to stay for at least an hour. Steven came to see me while I was there, but he was with Brett most of the time.
   Soon the time came for me to be taken to my room. The nurses pushed me on my bed into the nursery so that I could see Brett. I got to hold him and nurse him for the first time! Finally! 9 long months and now I finally get to hold my baby boy! He was just perfect! He had been on oxygen for a little bit, but by that time was doing fine. We continued on into my room and the nurses brought Brett in a little while later. We weren't ready for visitors yet, so it was just Steven and I and little baby Brett. Spending our first few hours together as a family! And trying to catch up on some sleep. Life was progressing just as it should, for a few hours at least...

Click to read Part II.