For those who are interested, here are some of the details of Jolie’s birthday…
We arrived at the Labour and Delivery ward at 8 o’clock in the morning and they administered the gel around 9:30.  Contractions began almost immediately and for about seven hours I paced the halls of the hospital and the surrounding streets of the nearby neighbourhood, trying to let gravity have its way with me and make the contractions more intense. At the end of the seventh hour my doctor checked my cervix and it was STILL posterior and only at a tight one centimeter. I was ready to scream. All that cramping and waiting and walking and tightening for nothing?! Then she proceeded to do a disturbingly thorough exam in which I am quite certain I felt her fingernails scrape the backs of my eyeballs, so high did she reach inside me. She really stirred things up down there and within a half hour of that painfully violating exam, the real contractions started. (That was around 4:30 in the afternoon.) By 6:30 I was at 3 cm and the contractions were intensifying. I told the nurse that I was fairly certain I would be opting for an epidural, so she called my doctor who contacted the anesthetist. We were told he would be there within the hour. He was a tad late but we went ahead with inserting the spinal needle. My doctor said, “You should feel the epidural kick in within 10 to 15 minutes.” Then she checked my cervix and I discovered I was already at 8 cm and I was starting to feel the pressure to push. The contractions were so intense that the bottom half of my body was convulsing uncontrollably, I barfed up everything I had eaten that day, and it was all I could do to make it through. It was a race against time to see what would happen first: the numbing effect of the epidural or the ferociously fast birth of our daughter. Jolie won out. She was born about five minutes after the epidural was given, so I am fairly certain I felt 9/10ths of the pain of natural childbirth. Wow, it was intense. As soon as she was out, I was flooded with a supernatural sense of relief and peace and she let out a hearty cry seconds after being pulled from my body. She was nearly two pounds bigger than Avelyn was at birth, so I actually tore worse this time around and had a rip that hit an artery that caused a lot of bleeding. (You’re welcome for the details.)
Jolie was placed on my chest and she took to nursing with ease, which was a delightful surprise. She is not even three days old, as I type this, and it feels like she’s been with us forever. Her hair is dark, her feet are wrinkly, and her spirit is sweet.
We love you, baby.
*Alternate titles:Â “There Will Be Barf”, “Is That My Blood On the Wall Across the Room?” or “Why I Am Suing the Tardy Anesthetist”.
55 Comments
wow, that is some story! Congratulations on your beautiful baby!!
Wow- she must’ve been feeling evicted- at first she put up a fight “I will NOT MOVE OUT”, and then she was all “FINE. I’ll leaver RIGHT NOW.” =)
So were you numb after she was born?
She is so beautiful… I love her full cheeks and her cute little nose.
Get some rest. And if you sort of despise Avelyn for a little while, I won’t tell anyone. I felt that way too, and I hear it’s normal. =)
YAY! That is so awesome Amanda. Congratulations on making it through without the epidural kicking in! I cannot wait to meet this sweet baby. She is sooo lovely.
congrats, girl.
and your alternate titles are hilarious.
Her squishy nose is just too adorable!!
She is beautiful. Congrats and I can’t wait to hear more on the life of Jolie.
I guess every pregnancy and birth really is different. So glad to hear everything is going well.
Awesome. She is gorgeous. Congratulations!
Congratulations! You did a great job!
I hope that the nursing continues to go just swell!
Yowza! So sorry you had to go through all that when you didn’t want it. I opted to go without pain medication with M and during those last 5-10 minutes I was begging for “drugs, any drugs at all, PLEASE!” Those were the most intense and painful moments of the whole experience.
Glad to hear you and her are well…She is darling – can’t wait to see more and more pics of the precious addition to your family!
Awesome! So glad everyone is doing well!
Oh wow. Pretty crazy! I’m glad it’s all over now, and that a new journey is beginning!
I have a question. How do you pronounce her name? Is it like JOEL-ee or jo-LEE?
Awww!!! What an eventful day – well, the last part of it, anyway! What a blessing Jolie is though, she’s a real beauty! Welcome to the world baby girl!
She’s just so completely lovely I can’t stand it.
I’m so happy to have heard the birth story! Lame about the tearing and the artery. I’m SO THRILLED!! that she is breastfeeding. Great great news.
She is such a little darling. I love the yawning pics.
Congratulations! She is beautiful and it is wonderful to hear how happy you are that she is here and a part of your family.
That’s intense!! I feel a little nauseated just thinking about it. Tearing was my worst fear…. Glad to hear you’re ok though!!
SHE CAME SO FAST! She must have been out in like one push! Congrats on feeling natural childbirth!
She is soooooo precious!
She just looks like a sweetie pie in that picture.
I have a feeling she is going to be so full of JOY! Maybe you could call her Jolie Joy as a nickname….my parents wished they called my middle name Joy. Then ended up always calling me Julie Joy instead of Julie Lynn.
Enjoy her!
She is beautiful! Sorry to hear the epidural didn’t kick in…that’s my fear with my upcoming baby #3–I’ve had super painless births becuase of the epidurals and don’t think I’d want to do it without one. Glad to hear that everything is good now. I hope Avelyn is adjusting well to her new little sister.
I LOVE birth stories! Way to go Mama and Jolie!
Beautiful name, beautiful girl. We’re so happy for you! xoxo
Good job Momma! I too love birth stories, and it sounds like you were an amazing trooper. Jolie is absolutely beautiful. Rest easy, those tears are the devil’s handiwork. (So happy to hear the nursing is going well thus far!)
She is stunning! Congratulations!!!
Amazing what the human body is capable of. Having never had a vaginal birth myself (and likely never will) I am amazed at how women cope with the birth experience. Bravo Amanda. You have a beautiful baby, and she is lucky to have you.
I love reading birth stories, and yours is no different. Apparently Jolie is an impatient one, and once she makes up her mind to do something, she makes it happen! Good luck with her, and I can’t wait to see what’s next.
I have said it before and I will say it again. I love her.
And you, of course.
Love the picture. She is such a sweet beautiful baby.
What is it about those nurses who think a lady who is pregnant suddenly has room for a full sized hand to just go ahead and reach up there and mess around? Your story sounds similar to mine…and though the “exam” was nasty, it definitely irritated the child enough to jump on out!! and quick!!
Thanks for the story, and much congratulations again!
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How unfair about the epidural! I was screaming for one too but Fraser arrived too quickly for them to even get the needle in.
And Fraser was over two pounds bigger than Duncan (what’s up with these 2nd babies?) and I tore badly too. So much for second births being tear-free.
Oh well, childbirth and the recovery from it sucks but when we’re lucky enough to have gorgeous healthy babies it doesn’t really matter…
You are one strong woman! whew! But I guess we’ll do what we have to do, even if there is no epi. Poor thing.
The pictures you have of Jolie are beautiful! By the way, I LOVE her name! I may consider stealing it if I have another girl some day, but considering I live in Virginia you won’t have to worry. :-)
Congratulations, she is beautiful.
Good job, girl!
So dramatic! Thank you for sharing the tale. And the alternate titles!
Jolie is sweet… congratulations again.
Thank you so much for all the gory details! I’m a birth junkie, I admit it. I’ve had 7 babies myself to show for it. I’m so glad she’s nursing, too. God bless you and your family!
sorry to hear no epidural, but you are superwoman for going through that. congrats and enjoy your little girl
ew.
but Jolie is the sweetest thing ever.
xxx women super celtic xxx serta women super
Congratulations, she is beautiful.
WOW! Good for you! Beautiful name! So happy to hear you are all right, although that sounds pretty intense. You made it anyways and things are good now yay! And breastfeeding too! I am so happy for you.
I also had epidural issues – two epidurals (one labour)that did nothing. Was not expecting or prepared for that but what can you do…the baby is coming. I am sure you know what I mean.
omg you are superwoman to me. that was incredible! congratulations!
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oh and I woke up at 3am to feed F last night and was thinking of you and realized I hadn’t said how happy I was to hear that nursing was working out this time! Hip hip hurrah!
Ouch. I think I feel the sting way down here in TX!
She is a cutie! Oh those wee little cheeks…
OMG!!! I LOVE the picture! SOOO precious!
And girl, if you felt 9/10 of the delivery, you felt it all…all 10/10. It’s extremely painful and yet once baby is out, it’s sweet relief!! I tore too, but no artery that I’m aware of. :) Glad you are stitched and healthy and happy. And so glad Jolie was able to nurse so quickly. She’s absolutely precious. :)
My God Amanda, she is so beautiful!
Wow, congrats. That is amazing how quickly it happened.
Wow Amanda – you can write about the most serious/painful things and totally crack me up! Love the alternate titles! Jolie is beyond precious – so happy for you all!
Congratulations Brown family! What a beautiful little girl! God is so good isn’t He?
BTW…LOVE the name Jolie!
She’s lovely!
Look at you Miss Natural Childbirth! I am sorry the breast feeding thing is becoming more reminiscent of Avelyn’s story…but you have a great attitude about pumping…I hate pumping, so you are my hero!
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