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
WONDERFUL! Welcome to the world, little Evelyn, and congratulations to all of you! My 3rd son was born at home, a beautiful experience for us, and I'm glad it turned out to be for you, too. :o) Merry Christmas!
Congratulations! What an amazing story.
I'm late to the party, but this is truly the sweetest story I have read this Christmas. I can't wait to send this post to my daughters. I suppose I had better be fully equipped in the event a little one comes quickly at our house. Best of luck to Mom and new baby. She is truly beautiful.
This is quite a story and a most beautiful one!!Blessings to you all and Happy New Year!! I am new to this blog and now I am definately a follower!!
Your story is so inspiring! You are one tough cookie! Evie is a little doll, so cute. Congratulations!
WOWSERS! that is a CRAZY and fantastic story! congrats!
I'm incredibly late to the 'party' (found you through Jenny @ My Fav. & My Best)but wanted to say "congratulations" to you and your whole family. What a magnificent birth and truly remarkable. We had quite the opposite Christmas Eve with our family, so to read your blessed news was exactly what I needed. Hard to read without crying. So happy to have found your magnificent blog. Wishing you a spectacular 2010. You have much to celebrate tonight and to look toward the future for. Cheers! ~ deb
Congrats!! And YES – I guess you didn't plan a homebirth – but that's how I've had our 3 youngest and would have it NO other way. =-D
She is a sweet 'n gorgeous little girl and I am praying many blessings over her life!
WOW! What an awesome, lovely birth story! Congratulations to all of you!
xox,
Susan
p.s. my daughter was a planned homebirth, and was born before the midwife arrived.
HI, JUST FOUND YOUR BLOG FROM SOUTHERN HOSPITALITY AND YOU HAVE A BEAUTIFUL BABY GIRL-AND HER WONDERFUL STORY OF HER BIRTH. WOW..AND HAVING YOUR DR. FATHER THERE TO HELP WAS AWSOME….I DON'T HAVE A BLOG MYSELF, BUT I DO ENJOY READING ABOUT ALL THE WONDERFUL LADIES AND THEIR STORIES.
HAPPY NEW YEAR TO YOU AND YOUR WONDERFUL FAMILY..
JEANNE Z. FROM TEXAS
Congradulations and thank you for sharing your beautiful story!
congrats! I'm speechless so that's all I've got, CONGRATS!
This is the first time that I have seen your blog (thanks to Cote de Texas) and after reading your post, I cried and then sent the story to my entire address book. What a beautiful Christmas story. Thank you for sharing it.
Congratulations!!! What an amazing birth story. Your baby is beautiful and so are you.
I also see you are a talented interior designer. Adding you to my blogroll.
Joyous 2010,
cristin @ simplified bee
PS- my sister-in-law is in labor as I write.
Oh my! What an incredible story! Congratulations!
That has to be the most beautiful birthstory I've ever heard (and I've given birth twice myself)! Congratulations!! She is beautiful!
I am crying at my mother's computer!!! She is beautiful and you are one strong girl to have her in your living room. What a Christmas blessing she is. Best wishes Jenny to you and your family and sweet new baby is 2010.
What an amazing story! I am a new mom to a 5 month old, and I know your joy! Congrats to you and your gorgeous family!
Lindsay
I just read this post out loud to some friends and there's not a dry eye in our house either. Mazel tov! xx
Completely speechless! I just stumbled onto your blog and was blown away by your Christmas miracle. Got a little teary eyed. Enjoy that sweet baby girl.
Congratulations to a beautiful little girl!!!
I wish you and your family all the love and happiness in 2010!
Best regards,
Kristina from http://www.kandco.se
Sweden
Thank you for sharing this beautiful and crazy birth story!
Congrats! You are so brave and best wishes for your family and baby! I keep up with your blog and I can only hope to have some of your creativity and now even more your courage. Planning on going down that road for the first time, this year…. Happy New Year baby Evelyn!
-Natana
West Hollywood, CA.
What an experience! Congratulations!
Wow! What a story! Congratulations. She is beautiful!
xo
Coco
Holy cow, what a courageously beautiful birth. Props to you and your family. Congrats!
– Janna
I am teary eyed! What a lovely & beautiful experience for you all, & what a gorgeous girl you have! I've always loved the name Evelyn, & it suits your little one perfectly! Christmas Evie; I love it. Congratulations! I wish you all every happiness!
What an amazing story!
I've been out of town for the holidays, but as soon as we got home I had to check in on you and your baby status. It brought tears to my eyes. How wonderful! She'll love to hear you tell the story as she gets a little older – and what a story to tell! Congrats!
Wow – that's truly amazing. Just goes to show that as women, we are strong, our bodies are strong, and we can handle whatever comes our way :-)
i was laughing out loud through the whole story. thank you for sharing!
what an amazing birth story after all that waiting: and thank heavens your dad is a doctor! hehe
she's beautiful :) congratulations!
Congratulations to you and you family. What an incredible birth story. Simply amazing. Many blessings to you all.
I am a committed reader from Utah. I am absolutely in awe of your experience. Great job! I still can't believe it…thanks for all the furniture advice and knowledge! My sister and I love you. And great name too for your new baby girl, perfect!
Your post made me cry – I seriously really just hugged my laptop. Best wishes!
Congratulations. What an amazing story!
Oh my goodness. I've got tears in my eyes. I had surgery so I missed your wonderful news but I had lunch with Patrica yesterday (PVE) and she told me I had to come here and read this. I'm so happy for you. Congratulations and thank you or sharing this with us. What an amazing story.
Oh my word, I just read this post! I got goosebumps, I laughed-out-loud! Super great! Congrats to you all :)
This is absolutely amazing! A far different experience than mine, having our son 12 weeks early and being in disbelief the entire time!
You handled it with an ease that most women would not be able to muster. Congratulations to you and your family!
I have chills! I had a birth much like yours–no time to make it to the hospital, though my son was born on the stairs instead of the living room. She is beautiful and perfect, and you look absolutely amazing. Congratulations!
Congratulations! my wife is a week overdue today ( 01/07/2010!) and I cannot wait to meet the little one!
Shane
What a wonderful story! We went through nearly the same experience 8 months ago and it truly is a life changing experience that will have you shaking your head at what you accomplished for a very long time.
And what a perfect nickname!
Amazing, amazing, amazing! I found your blog via Erin at Charpenette.blogspot.com who also had an "accidental" homebirth.
I had two planned homebirths and what a story! :)
Congrats on your Christmas miracle! :D
I often think this only happens in the movies or on t.v. But apparently not, right?? HA!
Congratulations on your gorgeous new sweetie!
came via twitter @erincharp who had a birth similar to yours…
Wow!!! I just found your blog today. What an unbelievable day! Congratulations to you! She is adorable!
Oh, my goodness, what a great birth story!!! :)
i don't know if my comment will be lost in this sea of congratulations of not, but i've been following your blog for several months–since just shortly after my 2nd DD arrived in July with a labor story that is VERBATIM like yours–except I ended up delivering her in the bathroom, and I was alone, all the way up until the MINUTE she was crowning & a friend arrived! It was so funny reading your story, since I just went through the same experience, and I've been following your blog lately, wondering how your L&D would go with Evie. I am also NOT a homebirth kinda gal, but it was also life-changing and spiritual for me! funny, huh? congratulations.
What a stunning story and darling baby. Congratulations to all of you.
jbhat
WOW! I can't believe I missed the story!! What a cool way for things to go down. The Lord totally knows what we need. I am so glad this was so special for you and your family!
What a wonderful story! You will forever look around that living room, sit on that ottamon and have this incredible memory for you and your daughter both. I think I got a little misty there just reading it! Congratulations and yay!!!!
BEST post of 2009, hands down.