Realizing it has been over a year since I have done any kind of update on the blog and theres been a lot happening.
Last year, we found out we were expecting our second child. With the excitement of adding another baby, I had a lot of apprehension surrounding the pregnancy. The last time I was pregnant, I went to the doctors appointments alone. I went to the ultrasounds, alone. I rotated through physicians and felt so disconnected because of the restrictions during Covid that I really had a tough time enjoying being pregnant. Not to mention the hemorrhage after Brooklyn was born, and her cancer diagnosis. I felt like there was no way that my baby had a softball sized tumor at 9 weeks old and I wanted to find another physician who would monitor this pregnancy differently.
With the help of our chiropractor and his wife I was blessed to be taken on as a patient of an incredible OBGYN who listened to me, heard my concerns and came up with a plan for this pregnancy in order to watch the baby, making sure that any health complications were caught early. Thankfully, there were none.
When I was pregnant in 2020, there wasn’t really an opportunity for us to take an in person childbirth education class, which looking back at it, I wish I would have the chance to take one. Our friends hired a doula for their pregnancy and recommended her class because of how valuable the information she presented was. Ben and I didn’t hesitate, and we signed up! At the time we started looking for doulas, the one we wanted wasn’t available because our baby was due around the holidays, and at that point, I had accepted that I wasn’t going to have a doula again.
During our class, we talked about interventions, inductions, and risks of the interventions. After having such a traumatic delivery with Brooklyn, I decided that I was not going to be induced, that I wanted to try to deliver naturally but I was hell bent on delivering at Summa. After our class, I had told our teacher that I wish I would have had the information she presented about interventions before Brooklyn because of the trauma. She had asked me if I would be willing to talk to her about my trauma and of course I said yes. When she called me, we had a lengthy conversation about the birth, the trauma, my fears about the second pregnancy and delivery and she said “I don’t want you to not have a doula.”She took us as clients. I could not have asked for a better blessing for this birth than hiring her, or rather her hiring us.
Enough about me, I know you’re here to hear about Brooklyn, am I right?
Little miss was excited to hear she was getting a sibling and of course said she wanted a sister. In my gut, I was convinced we were having a boy. I mean, I have a little brother and he’s alright I guess J . Ben and I decided to do the Sneak Peek Home test again and I was SHOCKED when the results came back telling us we were having another GIRL!! I was so excited but also sad because my sister wasn’t around to tell and I was missing my built-in bestie.
There were obviously a lot of fears and anxieties about having a second baby. Although we had been told that Brooklyn’s tumor was not congenital, I made sure to find an OBGYN to listen to my concerns, and someone who would monitor this pregnancy more closely to ensure this baby’s safety. I noticed that during this pregnancy I was able to feel more of the baby’s movements, and they seemed a lot stronger than when I was pregnant with Brooklyn. In my heart, I honestly believe Brooklyn’s tumor was there the whole time, and didn’t just show up after she was born. With movements being stronger, I loved being able to encourage Brooklyn to feel her sister move and spent many days enjoying seeing Brooklyn snuggle the bump during nap time. By the time my belly button was no longer an innie, it was Brooklyn’s newest fascination with “I need a see you belly button!” several times a day.
Although we were elated to be having another baby, the question always came up: how am I going to carry two children? At the time when we found out I was pregnant; Brooklyn still was not walking independently. We had a lot of issues with her braces and she was falling a lot. Come to find out, because of the position of her foot and the tightness the muscles in her lower leg, her foot was not staying in her braces. This led to more instability and less progress to get her foot to stay flat so she could walk.
During the brain tumor clinic last September, her physiatrist suggested we do a round of serial casting to improve the tightness in Brooklyn’s lower leg. We opted to do this process without Botox to see what Brooklyn’s body could do without pharmaceutical intervention. At this time, we were on a break from pool therapy, so it was the perfect opportunity to give the serial casting a shot. For six weeks, Brooklyn got a cast once a week and each week her foot would be stretched further in the hopes of allowing her lower leg muscles to relax. By the time her serial casting was finished, Brooklyn got a new set of braces, as well as a night splint to keep her progress from the serial casting. In November, she was running, and her pointed wobbly ankle was now Consistently flat! Now that her foot was coming along, so was helpie hand. We were sitting at the table one day and for some reason unbeknownst to me, Brooklyn was upset with me and all of a sudden, I caught a helpie hand to the face. I probably should have been more mad but found myself proud and laughing that she intentionally did something with her right hand .
December finally rolled around, and Brooklyn had lost interest and seeing her baby sister on the ultrasound at our appointments. After Brooklyn’s stable MRI, we relaxed a bit and started the guessing game of when we thought baby girl was going to show up, because at this point I had been pregnant for 8 years.I did not want a Christmas baby and would do whatever it took not to deliver on Christmas. Ben’s birthday is December 21st and his mom’s birthday is December 27th. Both have said how challenging it is to have a birthday around the holidays, because the birthday can get lost. Christmas came and went and still no baby. By the time December 29th came around, I was beyond ready to meet this baby. At my last OBGYN appointment on December 30th, I was surprised to find out I was 3cm dilated and the baby was getting ready to make her appearance any day. I opted for a membrane sweep, which was less than fun, but that’s what I needed because the next morning I went into labor.
Remington Lee Russell was born on December 31st 2024 at 11:43 P.M. , 17 minutes before midnight! In my 33 years of life, that was my favorite New Year’s Eve. I spent it welcoming our 8 lb 4.4oz baby girl, surrounded by our doula and OBGYN. Not to mention, I got to watch my husband help deliver our daughter! There was no trauma for me, and it was the birth I deserved after such a traumatic experience with Brooklyn’s delivery. I labored for 7 1/2 hours before I got an epidural and I absolutely have no regrets about the delivery. We changed hospital systems, hired better providers, and had the support staff I never knew I needed. Not only was this a completely different experience for me, there was no trauma for Ben, no fear of losing his wife after the delivery, and the newest blessing for our family was here and she was healthy. I also know when doctor seuss talked about the grinches heart growing 3 sizes, because that is exactly what happens when you see your first born meet your second born. I cried all the way home from picking Brooklyn up at my mom’s house because my heart was so full! What a blessing it is to have two healthy children, to wonder in awe at both of their milestones, their personalities (although challenging at times), and constantly ask “how can two kids from the same parents be so different?!” They are beautiful and they are fearfully and wonderfully brave.
Fearfully and Wonderfully Brave 