Averi's Birth Story

The shower was on a Sunday and that evening I began having what I thought was just Braxton Hicks contractions. They became closer and closer together and by 1am they were very uncomfortable/painful and happening every 2 minutes or so. But I was trying very hard to convince myself they were not contractions. I was definitely NOT ready for her to come.... plus my sister Nikki was determined to be there for Averi's birth having been devastated over missing Bronson's birth by 11 minutes. So I did my best to relax and believe that they would stop...which they did! Whew. So we played that game all week long and I did not let myself believe they were real contractions until after talking with Nikki on the phone she helped to open my eyes and face the facts... I was in labor and she was coming out ASAP.

Last belly pic before the big day

Nikki was at our house by Friday night (February 24th) I went to the hospital Saturday, was admitted by 6:45 in the evening at 5 cm and miss Averi Rose was born Sunday February 26th at 12:36 am. There were a few hiccups along the way. First of all she was head down but facing the wrong way...hence the seriously problematic sciatic nerve pain. My doctor did his best to physically turn her  (ouch) but to no avail. It took much longer for me to dilate because of this issue which didn't bother me but as the night wore on we all became tired and anxious. It was then decided that I would be put on pitocin which I was not too thrilled about, however it seemed to help things move along, so I asked about that blessed epidural and within minutes the anesthesiologist was wheeling his little contraption into the room. I had only  been on an IV for maybe an hour and hadn't had fluids all day long, needless to say I was pretty dehydrated and when the epidural began to kick in my blood pressure dropped drastically. I remember telling the nurse I had a sudden terrible headache and I was incredibly dizzy. Within seconds the Dr & anesthesiologist were back in the room and gave me some sort of blood pressure medicine. The nurse was laughing at me that all I complained about was a headache and that I should've been passed out. She told the staff not to trust my "poker face", haha.  Between 6 & 7 cm Averi decided to turn on her own and all of a sudden I was at 10. When the nurse told me, the nerves escalated. Knowing what was about to happen and trying to mentally accept it was a lot harder for me than the first time around and not having a clue. The nurse and the Dr told me they were ready when I was so I braced myself and let the pushing begin. 6 minutes later my little miss was here....and the whole hospital heard her! This little girl had lungs right from the get-go. She weighed in at 6 lbs 11 oz, 19 inches long and we were all ready to rest....however difficult that might be in a hospital. Its fun looking back and re-living those memories. Having a baby is such an amazing, incredible thing. I don't know how you can deny God's existence after experiencing the miracle of childbirth.

mentally preparing for what was to come.  so much worse when you know what you're up against :/

they laid her on my chest and it was instant waterworks yet again. i just can't control myself when i  have babies i guess.

                                   

getting stitched up... jeremy you just need to take her now...can't focus

                                   

big stretch, big cry from our "big" girl

drowning in that diaper :)

mama and her girl

Averi Rose Scroggins

The next hiccup/miracle occurred almost 6 hours later. I had just used the bathroom and gotten back into bed and was feeding Averi when the hemorrhaging began. My sister Nikki had left about 30 minutes earlier to head to my house and catch a few zzz's. She always manages to miss out on the action! Within a few minutes the entire L&D's nursing staff was in our room trying to stop the bleeding but nothing was working. I will spare you all the details but the methods they used were far from pleasant. I think the scariest moment was looking over at Jeremy and seeing the absolute fear in his sheet white face. That's when I began to panic and become hysterical. I remember thinking how on earth is Jeremy going to take care of 2 kids by himself!? Those thoughts weren't helpful. I just didn't have a clue what was going on, the severity of it and if I honestly could die. Fortunately they were able to eventually stop the bleeding and had ordered blood to have on hand if necessary after my blood work was done. Crazy crazy. Wasn't exactly prepared for that or the overwhelming emotions that took over when Bronson came to see us for the first time. Man, I was a wreck. I felt so grateful and blessed to be holding both of my babies and be there for them. Helps me not to take them for granted when I feel like I'm at the end of my rope (as I often do).

Bronson meeting Averi. There wasn't a dry eye in the room. I am so blessed.