Evangeline's Birth Story

I love reading birth stories, but always feel like mine will be lame. Lame or not, I am going to share Evie's birth story. Read ahead at your own risk - not necessarily for the weak of heart, er, stomach. 

I can't remember exactly how things started - I think I woke up with a really awful, different kind of contraction. Then I had to go to the bathroom. That was at 8 on Monday morning. Once I got back in bed I had another contraction. Something told me I needed to get Zach up, so I whispered, "I need your help...I think I'm in labor." When he asked me why I told him I had had two contractions from hell, and wanted to shower so that I could get in the birth pool. (That is a major indication of where I was at - before I was really uncomfortable, but didn't NEED to get in the pool. It was not optional this time.)

I woke my Mom up when I got out of the shower and promptly went to the porch and got in the pool. The water definitely helped, but there were a couple of times when I thought, "Boy, I could go for an epidural right about now!" Internally I was laughing at myself for that and thought of the one mom in What To Expect When You're Expecting who after planning on a natural birth, starts yelling at her husband to "get the juice!" I knew I had to be near the end to be having such crazy thoughts.

Around 8:50 Zach called Deb to give her a heads up that I had gotten in the pool, but my contractions were between 5-10 minutes apart, so not a huge rush.

In the next hour Zach and Mom were in and out, setting things up, praying with me through contractions. The Hail Mary's and music on my birth playlist were so helpful for keeping me motivated. The Piano Guys instrumental version of "A Thousand Years" and Josh Groban's "Falling Slowly" were two that really resonated with me.

Deb got here a couple of minutes before 10, and my first contraction after that, I felt the urge to push. I told her and she said we would see what the next one was like. The next contraction was really mild, so Zach ran inside to set the couch up for me to use when we were done outside, and my Mom went to put the fan in the kitchen window because the sausage had made it smoky. No sooner were they gone than another contraction started and I knew it was time for the baby to come out. I am a really quiet birther - quiet as in silent, but I couldn't help letting out low pushing sounds. Mom heard through the open window and dashed out. I don't know if she made it before Evie crowned, but her head was already out when Zach got back onto the porch. It felt like one long push and she was out. Mom said it was probably 3 pushing contractions, but I never stopped pushing. It seemed like an eternity, but in reality maybe a minute? The cord was around her neck, and her chest was wider than her head so Deb helped wiggle it out, but she made it out smoothly.

I knew she was a girl without being told. Deb was suctioning her behind me and without thinking I asked if she was okay. A second later she was in my arms. My sweet, vernix covered little girl. Tony came out and met his little sister. His face was so precious.

At one point he reached out and put his hand on my shoulder. 

We stayed in the pool until the cord stopped pulsing and we clamped it. Then we took up residence on the sofa for the rest of the afternoon. 

A few of the blessings I am counting: Minimal blood loss. Deb said I lost less blood than anyone she's ever seen. No tearing. I was praying to get away without a tear this time, and it has been awesome. That my Mom was here. We kept joking that I would end up having the baby one of the times she wasn't here, but God had other plans, and I'm really glad. My milk has come in already. It came in quickly with Tony, but you never know. Evie has nursing figured out, too, which is fantastic.

Evie has been such a good baby so far. She is a great snuggler. Tony is still in love with her. He runs into my room when he hears her crying, "Baby EBIE!" It makes me so happy!

The birthday buddies. We wondered if she would end up sharing a birthday with someone in the family, and she decided to join Cora on her first birthday. Sweet girls.

Love,

Jess

Pregnancy & Post-partum related sewing

Birth Ball Cover

 

I finally got myself together and made a cover for my birth ball. I love it! It makes it seem like a piece of furniture, and less like a work out accessory. It was super easy, but I don't think I would have been able to figure it out on my own - go here for a great, simple tutorial.

This knit was one of many tie dye-ish prints I got for a buck a yard at our Wal-Mart last summer. Can't beat that!

{Click below to read more!}

{pretty, happy, funny, real}

{pretty}

A small treat for St. Valentine's Day. My first time making chocolate covered strawberries. I forgot to put them on parchment paper, so I think the bottoms are going to stick to the plate, unfortunately. Better luck next time!

{happy}

I was about a month further along with Tony on St. Valentine's Day in 2011. Zach and I enjoyed dinner with my parents at the Knights of Columbus Valentine's Day dinner-dance that year.

{funny}

I don't go outside when it's cold. Except to the car. I didn't realize how much snow we got from that winter storm of historic proportions, until I opened the back door. The little slide looked so silly buried under all of that snow.

{real}

This little man is a trooper. After a lot of thought, I decided to wean him. It was a hard decision, but he is 19 months, and I don't think he was getting much of anything from nursing (aside from comfort). He wasn't nursing much, mostly at night, which coupled with teething, was not making for a restful night for any of us. This pregnancy has me tired enough without the added strain of nursing him. I'm also trying to plan ahead and avoid the issues I had with pre-term labor last time. I don't remember how early it started (26 weeks, maybe?), but I couldn't do any kind of physical activity for long at all without having contractions that would go for a couple of hours. (In the end, he came early at about 37 1/2 weeks.) I'm praying that isn't a problem this time!

So last Thursday he nursed for the very last time. He asked to nurse a few times a day for the first couple of days, and cried in the evenings when I wouldn't nurse him to sleep, but after that he only asked once a day. Now he doesn't ask at all. It makes me kind of sad, but I try to remember that it's another stage of life. In six months I'll have a new baby to nurse. Right now I can enjoy snuggling him, and napping with him, without just being a milk machine. Last night he slept through the night without waking up asking for milk or water, which was really, really nice. I never thought I would wean him, and I am so grateful that it was such a smooth transition. God was good, and it definitely made it easier on both of us. 

"So, how long are you going to...?"

I always find it interesting when people ask questions about our parenting choices. I say interesting, instead of annoying, because it doesn't really bother me (so far no one has been obnoxious, haha).

The way we (as a society) handle having and raising children is intriguing to me.

I know that every parent is different, and so is every child, but I think that there is a right way to do things. By that I don't just mean the right way for me. I believe that God intended for us to do things a certain way. Due to our fallen nature we are incapable of carrying out our responsibilities perfectly, but I hate the touchiness surrounding raising children - you can't just sit there and criticize people, but saying, "Well, whatever works for you is best" is like saying it doesn't matter. Everything matters. God didn't leave anything open-ended. He knows how many grains of sand there are on the beach, and even the hairs of our head are numbered! Those seem like such insignificant things compared to how we raise our children.

In general, we've lost all sight of the way we're supposed to live - in many ways we actually are bold enough to reject it. Sometimes I wish I was a tribal woman in Africa so I could be surrounded by the ages-old way of child rearing.

I've had single guys ask me about breastfeeding. A little awkward, but I try to look past that and see the importance of their thinking about these things. It will help them be better support for their wife (if they have one). Men need to understand the importance of things like breastfeeding and co-sleeping to truly support their wives, and we definitely need that support. We also need encouragement from the people around us - mothers, sisters, aunts, and even total strangers.

That's one of the reasons I breastfeed in public. It's my silent "kudos" to other breastfeeding moms, and a way to let shy moms know that it IS okay to feed your child in public. We have no problem eating in front of people - why should our baby have to be put off, or, ushered away like there's something wrong with what we're doing? Breastfeeding in public is even protected by law. How awesome is that?

God designed our bodies perfectly: so that through breastfeeding and co-sleeping, pregnancies are naturally spaced. In this modern age, full of synthetic hormones and chemicals, some women's hormones get thrown off. Then things don't work the way they are supposed to. But that isn't how it's supposed to be.

It is incredible to me that in a country where you can legally murder your unborn child, they are trying to make it illegal for you to have your baby sleep with you. Why? Because it's not safe - I could have killed my baby just months before, but now you're going to tell me how to keep it safe? Babies are supposed to sleep with their mothers. Some babies need their mother's breathing to help regulate their own. There is also the feeling of security. The baby has been a part of you for 9 months, and all of the sudden they are being left alone in a crib. Even if the baby could handle it, I don't think I could. Tony is such a part of me still - I want to get things done, but I hate to put him down. Another upside to co-sleeping is that you can nurse through the night, without losing precious sleep getting out of bed each time.

A TV station recently investigated infant deaths from co-sleeping in their area and they found that what they all had in common was bottle feeding. Crazy, huh? You'll never see that on the billboards. Just a baby pictured next to a knife telling you how unsafe it is to sleep with your baby.

Stay tuned for the other half...

Love,
Jess