MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!
Our little family is feeling so incredibly blessed this Christmas! Daughter #3, Evelyn Jane, was born yesterday morning and I will never, ever forget the experience. Here’s the play-by-play, for those of you who are interested (and not squeamish about terms like “dilation” and “afterbirth”):
{Keep in mind that, as of Christmas Eve, I was a whole week overdue and extremely frustrated with my OB doctors. I had been in and out of early labor contraction patterns for almost two weeks and was dilated to a 3.5 as of Sunday the 20th. I was so DONE with being pregnant and I was feeling guilty about my mom, dad, and sister, who had come to Delaware to meet the baby a week earlier. We all wanted this baby to come out!!}
7:15 a.m. – I wake up. My husband, Michael, is getting dressed for work. We had been up talking and praying (and me crying) until the wee hours of the morning. He looks at me, surprised, when I whisper that I think today’s going to be the day.
7:20 a.m. – Still laying in bed, I have my first contraction, but I’ve grown skeptical over the past two weeks. I have a doctor’s appointment at 8:30 and I’m worried they’ll make me wait longer if I’m not yet in active labor. The hospital does not schedule inductions on holidays or weekends, and my family was leaving on Sunday. I’m feeling anxious, but decide to get up and get ready for my appointment, hoping that I have another good contraction soon.
7:27 a.m. – The second contraction comes seven minutes after the first. My hopes for real labor without an induction are increasing.
7:50 a.m. – I get out of the shower and the contractions are coming pretty strong. They are increasingly painful but I figure that I’ve got some time because my water hasn’t broken yet. (This was my first experience with back labor – not fun.) Michael and I decide that this is the real deal and we should probably just go straight to the hospital. He calls my doctor to advise them that I won’t be making my appointment. The plan is to get ready for the day, drop off some stuff at Michael’s work, and head down to the hospital.
8:00 a.m. – I put on some make up and start to blow dry my hair, chatting with my family in between contractions. My mom wants my 20 year-old sister to see my labor pains and we all joke about how this is the ultimate birth control! Everyone gets excited that the baby is finally coming! We all hope together that she will arrive sometime before that evening so that I have a chance of spending at least some of Christmas Day with my other girls at home.
8:15 a.m. – Contractions are really starting to hurt and they are coming faster. It takes all my focus to manage the pain. I try as hard as I can to relax and breathe low. There is less chatting and joking with my family – it was game time. New plan: Michael calls a co-worker and asks him to swing by our house to pick up some paperwork because we need to head to the hospital right away. I’m still convinced there is time though because my water had not yet broken. I brush my teeth and pack my toiletries bag for the hospital.
8:35 a.m. – It feels like there is no break between my contractions. They come one after another. Somehow, using all my willpower, and with Michael and my dad on each arm, we make it down the stairs and out the front door. My water breaks during a particularly hard contraction on the front porch and all I can manage to yell is “Water!!” Michael runs inside to grab my water bottle and suddenly realizes that I am talking about a different water.
8:36 a.m. – I’m absolutely frozen in pain on the porch. Even though our hospital is about two blocks away, it felt like it might as well have been in another state. My legs start to shake and give and I blurt out “I need to push – NOW!” My dad (a family doctor in Arizona who also does OB) says, “Looks like we’re having this baby right here.” Thank goodness he was with us!
8:40 a.m. – We get back in the house and head for the living room. Michael and my dad lay me down on my ottoman (you remember my ottoman…). The baby is crowning. I start pushing, with my sister holding my back up and Michael and my mom holding my legs.
8:54 a.m. – Baby Evie is born in my living room, two feet from our Christmas tree. There is not a dry eye in the place. We tie the cord with dental floss (no clean shoelaces available) and Michael cuts it with my trusty pair of sewing scissors (sanitized with Purell, of course). All of the clean towels have been used already, so we wrap her in a beach towel. Evelyn is absolute perfection and I am so in love.
8:56 a.m. – The doorbell rings! Its Michael’s co-worker, coming to pick up the paperwork. My mom and sister quickly hold up a sheet to block the view before the front door is opened. The conversation is very brief and sort of awkward, I’m sure, for Michael’s co-worker. He becomes the first person to find out the baby has just been born.
8:58 a.m. – A rustle at the top of the stairs. Thankfully, both of my girls had stayed up late the night before and had slept through all the commotion of the morning. Claire (my two-year old) is awake now and shouts from the landing “Hey guys! What’s goin’ on?!” We direct Claire’s attention to the baby as she rounds the corner, so that she doesn’t notice the afterbirth just then being caught in my (formerly) favorite casserole dish. Grace (my four-year old) comes downstairs shortly thereafter. The girls begin presenting Evie with pacifiers, blankets, toys, and presents from under the tree. We decide that we should probably still go to hospital to have everyone checked out.
9:45 a.m. – We arrive at the hospital and there are no wheelchairs so we walk up to the labor and delivery wing and announce, “I just had a baby. Where should I go?”
10:00 a.m – We are checked out by the doctors and nurses and the results all come back great. Evie weighed in at a whopping 9 lbs even!! We recount our story about 20 times. A guy comes in and takes my picture with Evie in a giant Christmas stocking ((awesome)) for the Dover newspaper. After a few short hours at the hospital, we are cleared to head back home happily to spend Christmas as a family. Hooray!
The rest of Christmas Eve is full of BBC chick flicks, my mom’s famous Swedish meatballs and collective head-shaking. I am SO not a home birth kind of gal, but the experience was nothing short of life-changing and completely spiritual for me and my family.
The birth of any baby is amazing and miraculous, but we’re all feeling a special connection to sweet Evelyn Jane, our little Christmas Evie.
Thank you for all your love and support. I have the best readers and I truly appreciate each and every one of you!!
Lots of love and Merry Christmas,
jenny
I have no words…beautiful…
Congratulations! Thanks for sharing this oh so perfect and personal story.
I cannot see through the tears in my eyes. What an amazing story, Bless you all. x
This is an awesome family Christmas Memory…Special for everyone there! Thank you for sharing.
Have a terffific Tuesday ~Natalie
Amazing! I am glad it worked out so well. She is beautiful!
What a perfect Christmas gift…she is beautiful!
What an amazing story!! Congratulations!!
Congratulations — what an amazing birth story. I just had a baby 7 months ago, and Evelyn was on our short list — what a perfect name. Your daughter is gorgeous, and you had me tearing up, as I was reading. God bless!
Jenny! Truly a miracle! So glad Evie finally made it here! And she came in style on that fancy ottoman:)What a touching experience. So happy for you and your family.
I'm Crying!
Congratulations how beautiful she is!
Amazing!!! Congrats!! You are so beautiful and so is your little miracle!
This is absolutely amazing! Congrats and enjoy your new addition to the family, who definitely made sure her entrance into this world was GRAND! :)
you are my hero.
XO – Katie Bower
You are one brave woman! I'm so impressed. Thanks for sharing. Enjoy your Little Evie. Before you know it, she'll be walking.
speechless! what a true testament to what Christmas is all about. Happy Birthday sweet Evelyn. She is perfect and you are superwoman. You have got to write a book, start a talk show, something. Your inspiration is infectious! Many blessings to you and your family!
This is insane!! Wow. WOW!! And…best line ever, ever, EVER may be, "…so that she doesn’t notice the afterbirth just then being caught in my (formerly) favorite casserole dish."
Congratulations on Christmas Evie!! What a story.
What a story! So glad everyone's ok. And what a major blessing that your dad is a doc with OB experience. Love to all of you!
what a wonderful christmas gift…not a dry eye here, either! :)
so precious! congrats!
Oh my goodness! A beautiful mother, a wonderful father, certainly a little angel, the ottoman was a good stand in for the manger- all you were missing were some shepherds and livestock! Truly a birth story only rivaled by the Blessed Virgin herself! Seriously, what an incredible blessing to experience the anticipation and birth of a child this way. God bless your little angel and your whole beautiful family!!
That is just the most incredible birth story I've ever heard! I love that she is your third and you have others to compare it to, to know how even more special it is. WHAT A MIRACLE! I can't imagine giving birth on a beautiful ottoman. ;) So excited for you all!
That was an amazing story and birth and on Christmas Eve. Congratulations! I wish you and your husband the best for the New Year and of course your three beautiful girls!
Wow…what a Christmas miracle. GOod thing your dad was there with you. What an amazing thing for all of your family to be a part of. Be glad your dad is a doctor. My dad owns an advertising company so all he could have done is make up some great koozies, shirts, etc with "IT"S A GIRL" on it and he is a mess and fixes everything with a hammer and duct tape…not the kind of tools your dad needed. Haha. Congratulations!!
Wow!! Merry Christmas! A beautiful blessing from the Lord. Thank you so much for sharing this somewhat scary, but heart touching story.
beautiful gorgeous and healthy baby!. Congratulations, you did had the best EVER Christmas present!
And I love her name.
Amazing Congrats!!! What a beautiful girl!
As the mother of five little girls – I am in tears!!! So many thanks for sharing and god bless!!!
That was lovely to read. Thank you for sharring such a miraculous moment. Congratulations.
OMG that is my exact timeline for labor with my little one! Thankfully, we made it to the hospital before the part where the contractions never stopped, but otherwise, I would have had him at the house, too!
Congratulations!
What a wonderful [Christmas] blessing… Congratulations to you & your family! I came across your blog from 'The Newlyweds Diaries' & 'Pink Wallpaper', looking at Nursery ideas too, and love what you're up to through your work. We're based in Sydney Australia – I'm due to have our 1st baby in May 2010, work full time as a fashion product developer, and the rest of the time (nights & weekends) am building up my colour & styling/decorating business 'Verandah Home & Garden Living Solutions', with Palatial Living as my visual design diary vent!!
I'll add your blog to my Palatial blog list – and look forward to hearing more about your work & how you're going with your lovely family…
Take Care, Sarah x
http://www.palatialliving.blogspot.com
What an amazing and beautiful story! I clicked over from Rhoda's Southern Hospitality blog and just had to comment.
Your baby girl is gorgeous! (and I love her name)
Oh my gosh. That is the best story ever. How awesome.
omg you are so brave! congrats on your miracle! I was def in tears
Congratulations from Polarn O. Pyret. That is the most perfect Christmas present! I also love that your mom served Swedish meatballs.
Oh my goodness… that's one of the craziest birth stories I've ever heard! Congratulations! She's beyond beautiful!
What a beautiful and amazing story. Congrats and many blessings to you, Evelyn and your entire family!
what a beautiful and dramatic story! congrats :)
love the name and what a great story! congratulations!
What a fantastic birth story! Congratulations, she's precious!
What a story !!!!!
Kathy :)
HOLY MOLY! I am sooooo not a baby person, but this story had me in tears. TEARS!
I love your blog Jenny and I had even told my husband how I would miss LGN while you were going to be in the hospital for your third birth. Who knew that baby #3 would end up being a part of the blog so much; I mean, birthed right there on the famous ottoman?! Come on!
You're a tremendous storyteller and a tremndous MOTHER! Congrats to you and Michael and your parents who got to be there for this truly unique experience! Tell us — is your little sister interested in babies now?!?!?!
Thanks for sharing this with your blog world. I am a softer woman after reading this today. Congrats! …sniffle sniffle.
a-maz-ing story…excellent recounting of the events, thank you for sharing!!!! congrats, she's beautiful =)
What a beautiful story !!
Congratulations and Merry Christmas!
xx
Congratulations on your beautiful new addition. :) I found your blog through Rhoda, and I scrolled down to read this awesome story!
It sounds like you took everything in stride…I'm not a home birth type of girl either (I actually have to have C-sections, thanks to my first child's large head, lol), but it sounds like you made it work.
You have a really pretty blog, and I look forward to reading more.
Happy New Year!
Such a wonderful story for you to share each birthday! COngratulations!
Beautiful – thank you so much for sharing your story and many many congratulations to you and your family! What a wonderful story!
Congratulations, what an amazing entrance to the world for a beautiful little girl.
Bless you, Doll! Congratulations on such an amazing little miracle!!! I absolutely loved reading your account…
Cyndee Wanyonyi ><>
OMG!! This is my first time reading your blog and ran across the baby!!! I burst out laughing it was so funny! What a absolute blessing for you and your whole family!!!! Congrats and blessing to you all! Thanks for that post, God is real everyday! That's best story I've read in a long time.
THAT is the most amazing birthing story!! So glad your dad was there and that you and babe are doing well. Congratulations!!
Wow – I had not read this – only read your announcement in your post about 'the Homies' – what an incredible experience! Congratulations to you and your family.