I have no good reason at all to not have already written Henry’s birth story. He’s nearly 2 ½ by now,
so that’s a fun guilt trip every time I remember that I’ve procrastinated this. To Henry when he reads
this some day: I’m so so so so so sorry.
That being said, he’s been my easiest baby to add to the family. Now that I have some perspective on
how quickly these little humans grow and change, I’ve been far more deliberate about savoring him. I
have focused on him, his antics, his snuggles, his cuteness, his learning, his way of seeing the
world….all the things. All the things that escape your mind before you even realize it was sneaking
out because all of the sudden the kid is going to Kindergarten, and nothing makes sense anymore.
Henry’s birth was highly anticipated. His pregnancy had been preceded by three unfortunate
miscarriages, so I was eager to get him all the way to the finish line. About 6 weeks before he was
born, I found out that I had Covid. Dr. Sanders was concerned about this because of the health risks
to the fetus, so he started me on a month long protocol of daily injections of a blood thinner at home.
He also had me start doing weekly non-stress tests to monitor the baby’s movements and vitals.
, my vitals. My blood pressure was misbehaving before Covid ever found me, so we were already
on alert. At my 39 week appointment, we all agreed that induction was a good option since my high
blood pressure was only getting higher at every appointment. I was scheduled to go to the hospital
the very next morning.
Since our lined-up babysitters all had Covid, the hospital was only two blocks away, and we were
homeschooling, we left the kids at home. I alerted certain neighbors that they were there alone so
that they could help keep an eye out. Sister Roselyn Stevens came over for a few hours during the
day to be with them, and when school ended for the regular school kids, our kids were able to go to
a neighbor’s house to spend the remainder of the day and night. Emma and Darren texted each other
all day. Emma was using the house cell phone. Their exchanges were highly amusing! Having kids old
enough to text is weird, just for the record.
Dr. Sanders came in about an hour after I was admitted to break my water, which was part of the
plan. My body is usually pretty good at labor with a little bit of encouragement. I thought that
breaking my water would be enough, and I really really REALLY wanted to avoid Pitocin. Several
hours and lots of yoga ball jumping later, however, I hadn’t made any progress. The goal was getting
the baby out, so I opted to receive Pitocin. Following the same line of thinking, we started with a tiny
dose. It certainly caused contractions, but I still was barely progressing. After some tough
conversations with myself, I told the nurses that I was ready for the full blast, but I was going to
need an epidural. I was exhausted and hurting and really over the whole thing altogether. Birth is
a lot of work, especially when it feels like you’re just spinning your wheels.
Throughout all of this, my nurses were fantastic. They focused on what I wanted and made every
decision mine. From the very beginning, they wanted to know exactly how I wanted to be treated,
and then they did that. I told them I wanted to feel empowered, and I certainly did. They never
pressured me to take any medication or intervention. They were so respectful of my wishes from
beginning to end. Before getting my epidural, Darren left the hospital to acquire some lunch for us.
He brought me a chicken sandwich from Zaxby’s. It was closest thing to Chick-fil-A that Cedar City
had to offer, and it hit the spot! So delicious.
After getting my epidural, we cranked the Pitocin up. I began making real progress over the next
few hours. In about the 4 or 5 PM hour, things got real. I felt my contractions getting closer and
closer together. I felt my stomach going nuts. But I also felt off. My blood pressure started dropping,
and the baby monitors on my belly weren’t keeping consistent readings. They hooked him up to
internal fetal monitors, and it became clear that he was struggling. Pitocin is so hard on babies.
They explained a couple of options to me: We could stay the course and possibly end up with an
emergency C-Section, or we could turn the Pitocin off and see how baby responded. I chose to turn
the Pitocin off. Henry responded favorably, and we left it off for an hour or so. When he had a good
break, we turned the Pitocin back on, really low. My contractions had calmed down, but never fully
stopped. This time around, my progress was significant. Some time in the 7 o’clock hour, I got that
world famous urge to poop. Every Labor and Delivery nurse knows that means the baby is getting
ready to come. Everyone sprang into action, and Dr. Sanders returned. He had checked on me
several times throughout the day. They sat the bed up as far as they could, since I had wanted to
give birth sitting up. The epidural changed that a bit, but we compromised. Darren had his phone,
and a nurse held my phone. We have so many photos and videos of Henry’s birth! At precisely 8 PM
on November 17, 2021, Henry Levi Brown entered the world.
Things he was really good at right away: talking, nursing, snuggling, and sleeping. The nursing
though… he was a born nurser. All of my other kids required teaching. He came out hungry and
ready to roll.
We were discharged from the hospital less than 24 hours later and sent home. The morning after
his birth, Darren went home to take the kids to breakfast. They went to Denny’s and had yummy
breakfast food and hot chocolate. The kids still talk about that as a highlight of Henry’s birth.
We went home and met the kids with their new baby brother. Everyone was smitten. He was so
sweet and calm and happy to be held by just about anybody at just about any time. We DoorDashed
McDonald’s for dinner, which was also met favorably by everybody. No kitchen work or driving
required! French fries! Win-win all around.
It’s been over two years since that day, and he’s still everyone’s favorite.
