a birth story: Rylee Ann Kussee

It was the morning of May 15th.  The previous day, Tyler and I had gone in for our routine 39 week doctor's appointment.  We got to Dr. Harrison's office, signed in, got weighed, and then waited in the exam room while the nurse took my blood pressure with the BP machine.  She said something must be wrong with the machine because my blood pressure was high and that was unusual for me, so she took my blood pressure manually.  My blood pressure didn't change.  It was still higher than normal and what they liked to see in a pregnant woman.

Shortly after, Dr. Harrison came in and went through the nurse's notes, took my blood pressure herself, and told us there was a high possibility of having a baby that day.  Tyler and I just looked at each other and couldn't believe it.  We were so sure Baby Girl would wait until her due date or be a little late-not early!  After talking about the negative effects of high blood pressure (preeclampsia, risk of seizures for me, etc.), I asked Dr. Harrison if there was any way we could wait just one day and see what everything looked like tomorrow so I could wrap everything up at school.  She gave us firm instructions to go home, get my feet up all night, and for Tyler to finish packing the hospital bags and other necessities.  We made an appointment for the following day with hopes that my blood pressure would go down and I could finish out the week teaching my students.

At our appointment at 11:30 the next day, my blood pressure hadn't budged from 152/100.  Dr. Harrison entered the room with a "we're having a baby today!"  Tyler and I just looked at each other while I asked Dr. Harrison if she was positive it had to be today.  She was firm in the affirmative.  I love how direct she was and how she wasn't taking any chances with Baby Girl's safety.  We were on board with having a baby that day if that's what was best for Baby Girl.  Dr. Harrison started telling us the hospital procedures, asking us if our hospital bags were in the car, and then left the room to call the hospital to tell them we were on our way over.  She walked back in the door with a smile, said to go grab a bite to eat for lunch, and be at the hospital to check in by 2.  With a wave goodbye and an assurance that she'd see us within the next 24 hours to deliver our baby, she left two very nervous and excited soon-to-be parents behind.

After a quick stop at Firehouse Subs and talking, laughing, and nervous giggles while we were eating, we headed to UVRMC hospital.

After taking the elevator to Labor and Delivery, we checked in and signed paper after paper after paper... then we were shown to Room 17 where we'd deliver our Baby Girl.

We were pretty happy with the view.  The nurses assured us that we had the best room with the best view- we couldn't have agreed more! 
 
After changing into the attractive blue hospital gown and getting inserted with an IV (ouch!), we sat tight and waited for the hospital staff to get the show on the road.

4:00pm:  They started me on a Cytotec pill to soften my cervix a little bit more and help my body start dilating slowly.  We met our amazing nurse, Alyson who would end up being with us all night and into the morning.  T and I ordered a dinner of Alfredo Chicken Pasta with numerous sides and talked about Baby Girl.  What would she finally look like?  Would she have hair?  How big would she be?

We both talked about how nervous and excited we were while we held hands and just kept smiling.  I couldn't believe we'd meet Baby Girl in less than 24 hours!  We talked about what we'd like to name her and still came away from that conversation undecided, but convinced we'd narrowed it down to two names to choose from when she was born.

As our conversation died down, we started up a game of "I Spy" using the gorgeous view from our window to spy things from.

8:00pm: They start our Pitocin and said to hang tight and wait until I dilated from a 3 to a 4.  Nurse Alyson was fantastic in staying optimistic for us and keeping us excited to meet our baby.  She also kept a close watch on my blood pressure as it kept fluctuating up and down.  In spite of that fact, Baby Girl never showed any stress or duress from my blood pressure.  Thank goodness!

12:00am:  Still dilated to a 3 and can't sleep.  Tyler attempted to sleep on the futon/couch furniture for a few hours.  I read a book and surprisingly kept calm for the majority of the night- until I got all jealous that Tyler was able to sleep for a while and it completely evaded me.

6:30am: Dilated to a 4 and ready for my water to be broken!  Nurse Alyson suggested getting an epidural before they broke my water because once they broke my water, things would start progressing pretty rapidly.  Tyler and I went into this pregnancy knowing that I would want a nice epidural and not feel a whole lot of pain, so we listened to Alyson and called in the nice anesthesiologist.  He numbed my back, but oh my goodness gracious was it still a little painful!  I attempted to man up, but ended up crying and holding Tyler's hand the entire time.  Bless that darling husband of mine.  Husbands don't get enough credit for this whole labor/delivery time.  They undergo a lot of stress and the emotional, mental, and physical help that Tyler provided me was enormous.  The epidural was just the beginning of the support he gave me during our entire labor.

Dr. White came in to break my water (which went nice and fast) and from then on things got pretty exciting.

In less than a half an hour, we progressed from 4 cm to 10 cm, we were fully effaced and ready to push.  That half hour was a little painful while the epidural was still kicking in.  I was convinced that they'd put my catheter in wrong and made Tyler go grab the nurse to check.  She was surprised to see us fully effaced and dilated and immediately called Dr. Harrison.  The anesthesiologist came and gave me a nice little "shot" of his drugs into my epidural IV line to get the epidural working a little faster, while I may have said a few choice words.

We started pushing, which, is a little difficult with an epidural.  We pushed for 2 1/2 hours and Baby Girl finally crowned.  The nurse called Dr. Harrison, who had gone to see a few patients across the street at her clinic.  Dr. Harrison raced over while I was told to wait and not push.  Once Dr. Harrison showed up, it only took a few more pushes until Baby Girl took her first breath of air.

Rylee Ann Kussee
5/16/14
born at 9:55am
5 lbs. 13 oz.
18 1/2 inches long

Tyler had a proud daddy moment and cut the umbilical cord.  Then I finally get to hold our Baby Girl.  Tyler and I just looked at each other in awe with tears in our eyes at this tiny, beautiful, brown-haired girl that we made together.  She came out completely perfect.  Not one bit of her was swollen and she was absolutely perfect in every way.  She looked like a perfect little doll.

Baby Girl wasn't breathing quite as well as Dr. Harrison wanted, so they whisked her away to the side of the room to check her out a little more closely.  Tyler stayed at her side the entire time while I delivered the placenta and got a couple of stitches for a first degree tear.  Another doctor from the NICU came in to perform a couple rounds of CPAP on Baby Girl and make sure her breathing was adequate.  Baby Girl passed all of her tests and went with Tyler and a nurse to go get cleaned up and dressed.  Tyler got to see her get her first bath and he picked out the cutest blue and peach bows for her to wear.

My mom, Misty, and Codi all came in to check on us and got a glimpse of Baby Girl before they took her away to be completely cleaned.  The nurses moved me down to the Mother/Baby floor and Tyler and Baby Girl met us there shortly after.  I finally got to snuggle our little bundle and then we passed her around to meet her new grandma and aunts.

After they left, Tyler and I finally got our snuggle time with our Baby Girl and tried to determine which name we wanted her to have.  In the midst of our conversation, the Kussee side of the family showed up and Baby Girl got to meet her other set of grandparents and aunts and uncles!

It took us the rest of the day and the next morning to finally decide on Baby Girl's name.

Rylee Ann Kussee

Rylee means "courageous, valiant" and Ann (both of Rylee's grandma's middle names) means "favor, grace."

The rest of our hospital stay ended up being perfection.  Rylee ate like a champ, slept like a champ, and snuggled with her parents like a champ.  Our nurses were phenomenal and so helpful and the food was actually pretty dang good!  Tyler ended up sleeping on the hospital bed with me, rather than the chair they provided for him to sleep on!  Tyler changed every single diaper at the hospital (what a guy, what a guy!) and we cuddled with Rylee during our entire stay.  Our phones, computers, and books all got pushed to the side while we were completely entertained with our new daughter.  It was a time that we wanted to enjoy together as a family and get used to each other before introducing Rylee to cyberworld.

The nurses all fell in love with our little cutie- she was a favorite of them all.

We left the hospital Sunday morning after partaking of the sacrament for the first time as a family of three.  The nicest couple came in to bless it and Tyler got to bless the water.  It was incredibly spiritual.  Both of us cried while Tyler used his priesthood for the first time as a father.  The couple left us with a quote that also left us both with even more tears in our eyes.

It said, "LOVING PARENT.  What a  noble title.  There are no greater roles in life for a man than those of husband and father.  Likewise, there are no greater roles for woman than those of wife and mother."
[Russell M. Nelson  Ensign, Nov. 1989]

A perfect beginning to the start of our little family going home.

 

Home Sweet Home.