Knox Clayton Brazzell

August 27, 2018 / 4:51pm

7lbs 10oz / 20 1/2 inches

I want to laugh every time I tell Knox’s birth story. It is definitely quite unique. . .

About 6 weeks before Knox’s due date (September 10, 2018) my doctor told me that I had started dilating. I was at 2 cm then, and I continued to progress at least a centimeter at every weekly appointment after. She told me to be ready to have him any day! We were caught off guard. Eden came 4 days late, so I wasn’t expecting to have Knox 6 weeks ahead of schedule! We made a mad dash to prepare for his arrival. All was in place, and the waiting began. Though I continued to show dilation progression, there were no other signs of labor.

Monday, August 27, 2018, I went in for my 38 week check-up. By that appointment, I had been expecting him to come any moment for at least 4 weeks. All of Sim’s family had made plans to come in town that weekend to see Knox and celebrate Labor Day. My doctor asked how I was doing, and I was honest- I was so ready to have this baby! Her exam revealed that I was 8 cm dilated!! I still was not having any contractions or other signs of labor, but my OB was afraid that if she sent me away, Knox would come so quickly that I wouldn’t make it back to the hospital. We left the appointment and were admitted to the maternity ward. Ready or not, it was time to meet our son!

We had dropped Eden off with Roxanne, my mother-in-law, while we went to the appointment. The plan was for us to come back and take her to the zoo after we were done. Of course that all quickly changed. We wanted Roxanne at the birth, but we had Eden’s car seat with us. Thankfully, my sister-in-law was able to come get Eden’s car seat and stay with her so Roxanne could join us in the hospital.

I was admitted to the hospital around noon. Dr. Cottam came and broke my water around 1pm. I received the epidural at 1:30pm. Things were progressing quickly! Too quickly they thought. The nurses wanted me to get the whole bag of IV fluids in before Knox was born, so they stalled my labor a bit.

We did have a scare that I barely remember, but Sim is scarred for life! Though I was almost completely dilated when we were admitted, I had zero pain. I still regret even getting the epidural, but I did. The nurse gave the lowest dosage, and told me to push a button to increase it if the pain began to worsen. I don’t remember the exact time, but of course, the pain did start to get more intense. I pushed the button, and after that becomes a blur for me. Apparently, it sent my blood pressure into a tailspin. All I remember is calling Sim over and telling him that I felt dizzy and tired. From there, he said nurses rushed in, hooked me up to oxygen, and were rushing around trying to regulate my blood pressure. Everything finally stabilized,  and I barely knew what happened.

My OB came in at 4pm and said it was time to start pushing. Once we started, she bet that I’d have Knox out in 10 minutes. I joked, “I bet I can do it in 9!” Nine minutes later, our sweet Knox Clayton was born. He was born at 4:51pm weighing 7 lbs 10 oz and was 20 1/2 inches long.

He’s been the best little boy from day one! He loves to sleep and snuggle. We are so thankful that the Lord blessed us with this baby boy. It was so precious to watch Eden meet him. They were buddies from the start!