Hoofprints: Evelyn Belle's Birth Story

Evelyn Belle

It's difficult to believe that just a little over one week ago, I was sitting here with a giant pregnant belly with one little baby growing inside of me. Today I sit here with a tiny bundle of joy sleeping soundly next to me. How awesome is that, I ask you? I have spent the last week counting my blessings and am so happy to be the proud mama of now three beautiful children. My sweet new baby's introduction into this world began last Sunday morning...

Around 36 weeks pregnant, my doc informed me that she'd be shocked if I made it to my due date so I began rushing around like a mad crazy fool in hopes of at least getting one more shopping trip in for food. 37 weeks came...then 38...39...and my wee one still, much to my docs surprise, did not grace us with her presence. By November 17th, I had but one last thing that I'd hoped to do before I became a mama again. I wanted to go see the last Twilight movie with Mandy. I believe now that I willed my body to not go into labor until I was ready because the morning after we went to the movie is when the craziness began.

I woke up Sunday November 18th around 5:00. I don't know why, but something just made me wake up and think, "This day is going to be different." I fed the cats, had my 10th pee break, and went back to bed. At 6:20 I woke up to what I thought was something trickling out of me. I laid there on my side for a couple of minutes and then I felt something else. My first real contraction. Ouch. Nothing like the hundreds of Braxton Hicks I'd been getting forever. I thought, "Wow...that kinda hurt...I wonder what will happen if I stand up." So I did and gush! It was official. My water broke. I woke Josh up and called a few people to let them know it was time. My awesome mom came to be with the kids and off to the hospital we went with a towel between my legs.

The contractions started off pretty painful. Nothing I couldn't handle, but still...ouch. When we got to the birthing center they checked me and I was 3 cm dilated. I had decided that I wanted to go epidural free this time around as the last two times, it just didn't work out for me. Quite frankly, I was afraid of something else going wrong with the third epidural. After a couple of hours of contractions they checked me again and there was no progression. They decided that I needed pitocin to help my contractions along. Boy howdy, did that suck. The contractions had been 3 minutes apart from the beginning and very painful for some reason and the blasted drugs didn't make it better. Seven hours went by with still no progression on the cervix but something else was wrong. I looked at the monitor and the baby's heart rate dropped into the low 50's during a contraction and fought to get back up to normal. Not good. I called the nurse in and they started watching things closely and called the doctor. The baby wasn't tolerating the contractions well. Something was definitely wrong. They stopped the pitocin and put me on oxygen in hopes of getting the heart rate back up and steady. Eight hours in to labor and I still had no progression. The baby's head was facing the wrong way and made it so that my cervix wasn't being pushed on correctly and causing the horrendous back labor. At times I was having five minute long contractions and the baby was going without oxygen for far too long. The pain never stopped even between contractions and they had to put in internal monitors in hopes of getting the best read possible for heart rate and contractions. As badly as I was trying, the pain beat me and I said I'd try the epidural. This is when things went downhill fast.

I was scared of getting another wet tap with my epidural so my awesome husband and our amazing nurse held me down tight so I wouldn't jump and mess it up again. (this happened with Abby's birth.) It worked and I was dissappointed in myself for not making it. But this was the least of my worries now. It was purely by God's grace that I got that epidural when I did. They were watching the monitors like hawks and the baby's heart was still not responding well to the contractions. Within 45 minutes, just as the epidural was taking full effect, I called my Mom and Aunt Rita. I was still on the phone when the room began to buzz. The heart rate plummeted into the low 40's. The phone was ripped out of my hands and suddenly I was aware that things were about to get serious. I heard the word "c-section". I was terrified. The room was spinning and I was being wheeled out leaving Josh behind me. People were scurrying in every direction and I couldn't focus. Lucky for me, I also had some great family there who said just the right things at the right time to ease my panic...even if it was only slightly and for a short time. (If you read this, thanks again Ben and Heather.)

They took me to the operating room and started to prep me for an emergency c-section. As they wheeled me down the hall, I couldn't stop being more terrified than I'd ever been before. The doctor was explaining the risks of major abdominal surgery as they wheeled me away without Josh by my side. When he said, "I have to tell you that with major emergency surgery, there is a risk of death." Talk about something you don't expect to hear. From here, I don't remember many specifics. They had me on that table so incredibly fast. It was amazing how fast they can assemble 12 people in a room for something like this. I kept asking where Josh was and finally I heard him beside me. He was scrubbed in and finally by my side holding my hand. Like I said before, I don't remember too many specifics, but there are a few things I do remember clearly. The look of fear on Josh's face as they put the curtain up. He was scared and I've never seen him like that before. Scared for me...scared for the baby. I remember sickly pressure and pulling and asking over and over again what was happening and if we were okay. I remember them saying that they found the problem and that the cord was wrapped around the baby's neck which was why she wasn't tolerating labor. And then I remember hearing her crying through the drug and adrenaline haze. I remember looking over to see my baby and Josh holding her for the first time. And I remember hearing the time old announcement of what my baby was. "It's a girl!" Evelyn Belle was welcomed into this world at 3:14 p.m. on November 18th, 2012. She was 8 lbs 5 oz and 19 3/4 inches long. And she was so beautiful and precious. Even through the drugs, I was in love.

I must admit I was a little surprised that she was a girl. Everyone said I was having a boy, but regardless of that fact, I didn't mind one bit what the baby was. I just wanted it to be healthy. From the moment they wheeled me into the OR till the time she was born all happened in mere minutes. It was the most frightening experiences I've had. The nurse told me later that asking for the epidural when I did could not have been more perfect on the timing. Had I asked for one much later and Josh wouldn't have been able to be with me because I would have been put to sleep. And she also told me that the situation was pretty serious. Had I been a home birth or not in the hospital for care, we would have lost our baby and I would have likely died as well. Scary things to hear, but a relief and a blessing that we have hospitals with the ability to assemble an emergency crew in mere minutes.

Evie (pronounced ee-vee...long E...not short E) did wonderfully. She scored high on her Apgar and is a super healthy (and hungry) little girl. She had a few problems with spitting up for 24 hours due to not getting the "big squeeze" from a normal birth, but other than that, it's been wonderful. She is named after both of my grandmas. Evelyn from my Granny and Belle from my Grandma. As for me, I was healing and getting along so well much to the surprise of the nurses and my doc, that they even released me after 48 hours instead of 96 which is the norm for a c-section birth. I won't lie though. The whole healing from major abdominal surgery thing kind of sucks as I have zero feeling in my stomach skin and zero muscles to sit up with. Oh...and the pain thing stinks too. Each one of my kid's birth stories is unique and somewhat abnormal for as far as births go. But it's been worth each and every nanosecond of pain and healing. Evie is our third beautiful blessing from God and I'm thankful for more today than I was the day before. Welcome to the world and welcome home sweet Evelyn Belle. We love you with all our hearts!