Chloe's Birth Story

How it all began...
At around midnight on Thursday, December 27, 2007, Jen went into labor. John grabbed the stopwatch and we started timing the contractions. Once we successfully reached the infamous "5-1-1" marker (contractions coming five minutes apart, each one lasting one minute over the course of one hour), we grabbed our bags and headed to CPMC. We arrived in the labor and delivery reception area and our cheerful nurses started monitoring us. While Jen was hooked up to the machines, the nurses realized that the baby's heart rate was dropping each time Jen had a major contraction. They determined that the baby was compressing the umbilical cord and so even though Jen was only one centimeter dilated, we were admitted to the hospital that night. We settled into our labor and delivery room around 3:30 a.m. The contractions continued throughout the night, so neither of us got much sleep. We kept staring at each other and saying "this is it!"... it was hard to believe our big day had finally arrived.

Speeding up the process...
Dr. Laurie Green, our OB/GYN, visited us first thing in the morning and broke Jen's water -- needless to say, she was determined to get the ball rolling! After evaluating Jen's contractions and the baby's heart rate, Dr. Green then ordered a dose of Pitosin to speed up the labor process. Knowing that Pitosin - or "pit" as it is lovingly referred to by the docs and nurses - makes contractions more frequent and MUCH more powerful, we decided now was the time for the epidural!! Jen got the epidural around 8:30 a.m. and it was bliss. She went from having a white-knuckle grip on the side of the bed to having to be told she was reaching the climax of a contraction - amazing. We both managed to take a nap (again, we herald the wonders of the epidural) and spent most of the day visiting with friends and family who stopped by to check on Jen's progress. As each hour passed, we were getting more and more anxious to meet our little miracle!

Game time!
Finally, at around 4:30 p.m., our star nurse, Melinda, announced that Jen was 10 cm dilated and the baby was ready to come out. The room erupted in cheers and Jen and her sisters all started crying - emotions were running high! Auntie Julie whipped out her make-up kit and gave Jen a quick touch up (the Briggs girls are always ready for photo ops) and the preparations began. It was thrilling and nerve-wracking all at the same time.

We made a major change in our birth plan at the last minute and Jen decided to invite her mom (KGB) and her three sisters, Liz, Eileen & Julie to stay in the room during the delivery. This announcement brought on more tears and cheers and we knew right away it was the best decision for us. We got some last-minute hugs and well wishes from Jen's dad (Jim) and John's mom (Jan) and we were on our way. There was just one thing - Dr. Green was rushing into a scheduled C-section for another patient. But by this point, the baby was more than ready, so Jen had to muster all her strength NOT to push! The anticipation in the labor and delivery room reached an all-time high, but we all just had to sit tight and wait. We used the waiting time to say prayers and think about how blessed we were to be in that moment.

Then Dr. Green arrived and it was game time. When she saw the large crowd gathered around Jen's bed, she joked that she was surprised we hadn't just delivered the baby ourselves already!! But then she got serious we were on our way. With John on one side, KGB on the other, and her sisters all around, Jen got ready to push. After her first big push, we could already see the baby's head - the most incredible sight. About ten pushes later, the baby's head and shoulders were out and Dr. Green turned to Jen and said, "Okay, now pull the baby out." Jen, in disbelief, replied, "WHAT?" But Dr. Green was serious, so Jen reached down and put her hands under the baby's shoulders and pulled her the rest of the way out into the world. We saw right away that our baby was a precious little GIRL and we all started cheering and crying. Jen was overwhelmed and the tears were flowing as the baby was laid on her stomach.

After a brief moment, Melinda and John took the baby to the warming table to help her recover from the stress of delivery and the cord compression. KGB, ever anxious to get the full scoop, wanted to know the baby's name right away. John, however, was too overwhelmed by the sight of our baby girl - who at this point had wrapped her little hand all the way around his finger and was holding on tight. After gaining some composure, John announced that we were naming our baby girl Chloe Elizabeth Fisher. The announcement was met by more cheers - it was a hit from the very start. John then picked Chloe up and brought her to Jen, who was still blown away by how amazing (and EASY!) the experience of childbirth had been.

The Gleeful Aftermath
With Chloe safely in her mommy's arms, John headed to the waiting room to share the news with the crowd gathered there. He was greeted by Jan, Jim, Aunt Bethy, Michael (Jan's husband), the three brothers-in-law: Mark, Aaron and Ryan, John's dear friends: Ricardo, Brian and Kristin, and Jen's dear friends: Alicia and Dan. We had quite the cheering section! After they recovered from the shock of hearing that we had a GIRL (contrary to conventional wisdom and the majority of bets placed in the Baby Fish Pool), our friends and family came down to meet Chloe. We loved being surrounded by our close family and dear friends in those first moments of Chloe's life - we would not have wanted it any other way.

Chloe's birth was the most awe-inspiring and moving experience of our lives. We were so grateful to have been blessed with an easy and safe labor and delivery and were overcome by the rush of emotions that will forever mark that amazing day.

Here is how Chloe's birthday and her first week of life were captured in pictures...