Birth Story - Brooklyn Marie Andrews

Brooklyn's birth story is one I never honestly imagined would happen the entire 9 months of my pregnancy. I never once thought that we would be evacuated from our house just 4 days before her arriving. 

Hurricane Matthew swept through Eastern North Carolina (where we live) the evening of Saturday, October 8th, and morning of Sunday, October 9th. 

Being that we live on the coast, we're used to Hurricane's coming through every now and then, and this was just another one; we didn't give it any thought. We woke up Sunday morning, the 9th, and went to church like any other Sunday. We came home, ate lunch, and went for a walk on the golf course. It was just a normal day for us. 

It wasn't until we had gotten back to our house from our walk that things started to escalate. 

We had just gotten back inside, and decided to watch some Tv. Within 10 minutes, we had heard a Police Siren, and then heard someone talking over a loud speaker. 

(This is not normal in our area of town. We live on the outskirts of Greenville in a quiet neighborhood) 

Steven got up to go outside to see what was going on, and I followed him. Sure enough, there was a cop car that was stopped in front of our house, slowly making his way down our street. I honestly couldn't believe what I heard next. 

"This neighborhood is under mandatory evacuation. You have 2 hours to gather together any belongings that you can and leave. Plan to be out of your homes for at least 5-7 days." 

I remember thinking, "um, what? Does he know that my baby is due in 4 days? Where on Earth does he expect us to go?" 

I immediately started panicking and -hysterically- crying. The rain had stopped. It was sunny outside. Why were we being evacuated? Come to find out, they expected major flash-flooding in our area that would begin within 24 hours. Great. 

Luckily my parents live an hour and a half from us, so I got my Dad on the phone and asked if he could bring his trailer over so that we could load up as much as possible and get everything off of the floors. My brother called a few friends, and an hour later they all showed up. 

We had as much possible loaded into the trailer within 30 minutes (mainly furniture we didn't want to risk getting ruined). Everyone was moving so fast and rushing to grab whatever they could before the Cops came back to forcefully remove us. 

And on we went to Raleigh.... Not knowing what we were going to do if Brooklyn decided to come before we could get back into our home. 

The next few days were slow and boring. We had no idea if our house was flooded, and couldn't find anyone to talk to get any updates about anything. Steven remembered he had our neighbors cell phone number, so he decided to text him to find out if they had any information on when we could get back in. 

He sent Steven these pictures and said, "Probably not anytime soon." 

↓↓ Our house is the first one at the top of the street ↓↓

↑↑ Our house is the first one at the top of the street ↑↑

My heart sank. I thought for sure that water would be getting into our house within a few days. 

Brooklyn's due date was Thursday, October 13th. I had a doctors appointment scheduled for that same day, so Steven and I woke up early to make the drive back to Greenville to meet with my OBGYN. 

I was scheduled for a few blood tests, and an ultrasound to make sure that Brooklyn was in position and was ready to come. 

We loved getting to see our little girl one more time on the ultrasound! Before we left, the nurse came in and said that my Doctor wanted to speak with us before we left. I thought it was odd, but figured it was just going to be about my birth plan and what we wanted to do in the event that I went into labor before getting back into our house. 

Boy, was I wrong. 

She sat us down, and then started talking about how big Brooklyn appeared to be on my ultrasound. She appeared to measure between 10.5-11 lbs. and that worried them. I personally didn't think it was a big deal because Steven was a little bigger than 10 lbs. when he was born. 

She started explaining the risks that would be involved if I let Brooklyn stay inside longer. She was also worried that Brooklyn was so big that I wouldn't be able to push her out without her getting stuck. We went back and forth with the options for about 45 minutes, and finally decided to schedule me to have a c-section the next day. My heart was broken because I absolutely did not want to have a c-section, but I knew that the health of my baby was more important that my owns wants.  

I tried to relax once we were back at my parents house, but that entire night I just tossed and turned. I was SO nervous! 

The next morning we woke up around 6:00am and headed back to Greenville. We got to the hospital, filled out a bunch of paper work, and then we were finally checked into a room. They came in to start an IV line, and get me hooked up to a bunch of machines. 

^^ When my doctor was getting ready to pull her out she said, "oh Hannah! She's a big girl. You definitely made the right decision by doing this c-section." ^^ 

^^ When they weighted her, I felt a little annoyed. She was only 8.11 lbs. I totally could've pushed her out! ^^ 

 ^^ Giving Mommy kisses ^^ 

When the nurse put her face next to mine, I couldn't believe how warm she was. I don't know why, but that really stood out to me and was surprising. 

The entire c-section process went pretty quickly. I remember feeling very calm and at ease. I was so thankful for that. Steven asked me about a million times if I was okay because I wasn't talking a ton. I  just remember trying to keep my cool and really soak in everything that was happening. I wanted to remember every little detail for as long as I could. 

Brooklyn was so perfect. She was born at 2:22pm and weighed 8 pounds, 11 ounces. 

After the procedure they wheeled my down to a recovery room, where we were able to stay together, just us 3, for several hours. We were able to really hold her and get to spend that special time together. I'm so grateful for that time. It was such a special feeling that I will never forget. 

My Heart 💗 

After 2 hours (I think) in the recovery room, we were taken back to our actual room, and my family was finally allowed to come in and meet our newest addition. 

It was super special being able to have my family so close so that they could be there to celebrate with us. 

The next day my Dad, brother and Steven went to go see if the roads had cleared enough for us to be able to go home. Nope 😥

They got about a mile from our home, and the road blockades were still there. Steven had borrowed a pair of hunting wadders from someone and decided to walk across the flooded golf course by our home to see how far he could get. These are the pictures he sent me.... 

^^ He said the water came all the way up to his chest at one point ^^ 

He was able to get inside our house, and everything was okay. The water had came within a few feet of our house, but luckily had not gotten inside. He grabbed a few more things we needed and came back to the hospital. 

Although the entire experience was super stressful, and wasn't at all what I thought it was going to be, it was SO worth it! We had created this perfect little girl; she was a part of me and a part of Steven. It still seems so surreal when I think about it. I can't even remember what our lives were like before her. She has such a sweet spirit and brings so much joy and happiness into our family.

 (Even though now she's a total diva 😂 More on that another time)