Evelyn's Birth Story

      So much about Evelyn is a dream come true in my life! After such a hard first twenty weeks of pregnancy being so sick, I think that my labor and delivery was truly a gift of grace from God. Birth is a more controversial issue than I ever realized until I became pregnant and lived in another town/sought out breastfeeding support. One trip to La Leche League Lr will also bring up this touchy subject, so it isn't just from being in another town. I have heard many stories, convictions, and seen all the documentaries about natural birth vs hospital birth and been asked the question "who is your midwife" more times than I can count. I am excited to share my story and what God did for me in the way that he had his hand on my story and my decision. I could not be happier about how it went. I'll start off with, I do not have a midwife. I have an OBGYN and I love it! Dr. Breniman from Cornerstone Clinic For Women is my choice and he has a five star rating and one hundred percent approval ratings from his patients if you look him up online and I fully know why. 

      I never thought I would be a candidate for induction a week early, because of all the things I had heard people say about it, but when the idea for several reasons was brought up to me I wanted to pray about the option. I also have a doctor who has a great heart and is really good at what he does. I trust him. People said things like "it causes C-sections" or "baby will go into stress" or "it hurts so much worse than natural labor" or even things about how it wasn't God's way. Logan and I prayed about it and both had a huge peace about deciding to induce Wednesday May 15, 2013. 

      The night before I could barely sleep thinking about how the next day I was going to meet my daughter! I was nervous/excited and felt the peace of God that passes all understanding, along with butterflies. I woke up by 5:45am, but my alarm was set for 6:20. I got ready to go and was just sitting on the bed looking at the clock waiting for Logan to wake up too. It was a mixture of feeling like it was Christmas morning and also the panic of being strapped into a roller coaster you HAVE to go down the big drop on, because its already started. I was nervous about the dreaded pitocin contractions that are supposedly worse and birthing a baby is not exactly a piece of cake...so I thought. We ended up leaving for the hospital at 6:30 am and got checked in and into my room. One of my most prayed for things about birth day is for God to give me an amazing nurse that he hand picks for my special day. Nurses at the hospital are such a big part of your day and help you every step up until they even take care of your baby. The 7 am shift started and in walks a beautiful brunette with kind eyes and a sweet smile named Misty. I knew from saying hello that I was going to love her and it gave me a sense of calm knowing my nurse was so sweet and even funny! I felt an instant bond and her personality clicked with mine (or shes just really good with bedside manner;) By 8:30 am Dr. Breniman came to check on me and see that Pitocin was starting and to break my water. I asked if it would hurt and he said it would not hurt him a bit!:) That wasn't the last time he would make me laugh that day and it turns out that having your water broken doesn't really hurt, at least in my case. Well, the pitocin was started and for a couple hours I kept asking if I was having contractions and people would have to look on the screen to tell me. I was told I could get my epidural at anytime, but wanted to wait until i was in enough pain for the epidural itself to not be too painful going in. I felt a little bit of cramping and the same feelings I had been feeling for weeks, so was not bothered by it. It was just me, my mom, and Logan watching the 700 club for a while just taking the day easy and waiting. I started getting my pitocin pumped up every fifteen minutes and each time I noticed a small change and my contractions were about 3-5 minutes apart by mid morning. Evelyn was doing great, no stress or change at all and I was asking Misty if it was normal to be in so little pain at this point and she said Pitocin affects everyone differently. I must be a lucky one, because last time I went into labor on my own it hurt so much worse for me. Lunch time was rolling around and Abby, Nana, and Heather were planning to come up to the hospital to visit in a little while. I had been really energetic and chipper all morning filled with excitement and asking people to look at the screen to tell me what my contractions were doing. My mom noticed my face started getting red and I was starting to get more quiet, but my pain was maybe a 4 or 5 out of 10 still, although I no longer had to ask if I was having a contraction or not. I kept saying to my mom "I dont want to be too late with my epidural and not be able to have one, so I wonder when I should get it?" A little while later I all of a sudden got really weepy and had an emotional breakdown about missing Samuel. I had never not seen him before lunchtime a day in his life and I was realizing this was the longest I had gone without saying good morning. I looked at Logan and started crying asking if he made sure to tell his parents about which sound to turn on on his noise maker for his nap, since it was around his nap time. My mom called the nurse and said "I think we are ready for an epidural" and she came right in saying "I was watching your contractions on the screen and already called them to come to your room next! I figured you would want it now that your contractions are two minutes apart and lasting a long time. (i cant remember the exact timing). I did not feel like having visitors at that moment, so everyone who was planning to visit went to lunch instead and once I got over my emotional breakdown I was ready for some distraction! It was ironic, because the whole morning I was having a party and watching TV and then when the party of people came,I was having an emotional breakdown. By 1:30 or 2 I was excited to have my grandmother, twin sister, dad, mom and aunt Heather come join the waiting party. Nana did reflexology massage on my foot and Abby switched off and gave me a massage as well! They all kept my spirits up for a couple hours and then around 3 I said "oh no, I think my epidural is wearing off! I am one of THOSE people!!!! ahhhh My nightmare is to be someone who's epidural wears off just in time to push. I called my nurse and said my bones are hurting and I feel pain/cramping on my left side. She got the anesthesiologist in there to give me a little more juice and it helped a little, but I was still feeling the pressure sensation. Everyone in the room was wondering how many cm I was now and she said she would check me in an hour, but if the pressure changed to let her know. I was being lighthearted and said to the room "I wonder if this baby is just going to come out, is it possible to not push and a baby to just come out?!" After that, the nurse checked me and with a look of surprise said "Wow, everyone who isn't going to be in the room during the birth, head to the waiting room! This baby is coming!" Heather was like "oh my gosh we were in the room and the baby was about to come out and we had no idea!" We were all just chatting away, a cross puzzle was being done, Logan was experimenting with making new music and I was getting a foot massage. The people that stayed were Logan, my mom, and my sister. When the doctor came in I was getting prepped and had a personal fan laying on my stomach, a wash rag on my head, and two skinny nurses hoisting me to a better position. I was laughing and said "I feel like a hippo" and "wow, moms are really brought to the humblest point in order to have a child!" and Dr Breniman responded  "its like Vegas in here, what happens in this room STAYS in this room." I thought that was hilarious and laughed some more. I actually laughed a lot and the mood was really lighthearted, because nothing was going wrong and Evelyn was in no stress at all. Misty, the nurse had been hearing about my tough experience with Samuel's birth last time and said to Dr B that we are really praying this birth goes smoothly and is a great experience. He nodded his head in agreement. The whole experience before she was born only lasted eight minutes and I was not one of THOSE people who's epidural wears off. I was just feeling the pressure of Evelyn wanting to be a part of the party going on.:) I basically sneezed Evelyn out and was in shock to see I had had a baby so easily! It was 3:38 pm and she was 7 lbs 14 oz 20 and 3/4 inches. I immediately said "IM DOING THIS AGAIN!"with a huge smile and my sister who was in the room said "wow, how comforting you can say that right after you gave birth!" Dr B said "it doesn't go much smoother than that!" 

          The first thing I noticed about Evelyn was her eyelashes, chubby cheeks, and hair. She looked like what my heart thought she would look like. I have wished for Evelyn since I was a little girl. I wished so much for her that I named my baby dolls this name and in my childhood bible in the births section I wrote "Evelyn" with a question mark about the last name and the date. I feel like Samuel was a surprise (from the beginning;) from God and a gift he thought of for me and that Evelyn is the gift I had always hoped for and dreamed up for myself. Both are equally amazing and I just feel like life is Christmas morning! God gave me the best surprise and fulfilled one of my biggest dreams in the past two years. I could not be more thankful! I spent the first bit of time with Evelyn and then had visitors come see her in the delivery room including Samuel. It is so incredible to see all the people that care about us and especially that care about my children. We have the best family and friends and all around support system I have ever seen! They really made my day extra special. After a super easy labor and delivery I didnt even have to take an advil for pain the next day as I went home. All around it has been an amazing experience and I could feel God's presence and his hand on us all day. I just felt like he was saying "This is a gift to you, all of this! This birth, this child, this day...Because I love you." Evelyn is as easy of a baby as she was to deliver! When I was suffering with hyperemesis gravitum the first twenty weeks I felt so hopeless and in a very low place. I did not feel God and I did not understand God. He has shown me so much mercy and grace and my momentary suffering was so little compared to what he had for me at the end. It was all so worth it!!!! AND I am definitely doing it again!!!! 

HAPPY BIRTH EVELYN BLYTHE BLOOM!!!! It was truly one of the best days of my life! :)