Evie's Birth Story ~part one

Evie’s Birth Story    

Part 1

    People walking by stopped and looked at me, I saw pity in their eyes. I didn’t care I was wrapped up in my own misery, pain, discomfort, and sheer joy! We were at the mall, and Nubun was encouraging me to walk. I was 40 weeks and a day pregnant, and as round as a butterball. I hardly walked it would be more appropriately described as ‘waddling’. I felt like the baby was going to fall out of me if I didn’t walk half crossing my legs. Every Braxton and hicks, was very painful. I’d stop and pretend to be concentrating on looking at something intently. Nubun, would stop with me, try to see what I was looking at then give up when it wasn’t interesting enough. He would pat my tummy and encouraged Evie to come out already.

   That was on a Saturday evening, and that night I woke up several times with labor pains. It was very frustrating, I would wake up with pain and when it would go away I would have to go to the restroom I would come back, lay back down on the sofa because I couldn’t get comfortable in bed, start to doze and have to go pee pee again. It was a vicious cycle!  The next day we went to church, I felt energetic and good, but every once in a while I would stop while walking down the hall and slightly double over with a contraction, straighten back up and go on into church. Every time I would have a contraction, even though they were irregular and far between Nubun would always say: “Soon Hun, soon!”  And I would smile and feel accomplished. That Sunday afternoon we went behind the church where there were some beautiful spring flowers and he took my final maternity photos.
  

   That night I was having regular contractions, and Nubun slept beside me on the floor and timed them till he was exhausted and fell asleep. They had started around 2:30 in the morning but I was disappointed when my contractions stopped around 6:30.

   That Monday morning we went to see my doctor. Tears came to my eyes when I found out my cervix had not thinned out at all and I wasn’t dilated any. I was SOOOOOOooo ready to have this baby! She said that they were going to induce me at the hospital, that they would call and tell me when. I didn’t want to get induced but I didn’t say anything at the moment. Nubun asked me where I would like to go eat lunch and I picked a little country café. While we were there my doctors office called and told me to be at Baylor’s All Saints at 8 that night to be induced. When I hung up with them, I was numb with fright, and out of my self with excitement! I ate all my chicken fried chicken and was finishing up with my chocolate cake when I looked up at Nubun and said: “You know, in just hours we are going to meet our little girl we are going to see her face for the first time!! We are going to be parents!” He was seeing stars with the thought of meeting his daughter so soon. So was I.

   And then we paid with my Discover card and with all the cloud nine bliss we were going through we didn’t even notice that they stole it till days later.  

   On the way home from the restaurant I started having second thoughts and doubts about getting induced. I called two friends of mine both were nurses in the labor and delivery department at the hospital. They both discouraged me to get induced giving me the pros and cons of doing so. I started crying, not knowing what to do and scared of my doctor. Finally when we got home I was in a mess, I mustered up the courage to call my doctor: “I don’t want to be induced.” I said sweetly. “Why not? I am the doctor, not you. The sonogram said your baby is big, at least 9 pounds, and you are over due!” She was mean and a bully, I cried on the phone and ended up giving in: “Ok, I will see you at the hospital” she didn’t say anything just hung up.

   I had made my decision and decided to be happy about it. I took a long warm shower and lied down to get a nap. Nubun kneeled down beside me and rubbed my tummy. He had tears in his eyes as he told me that in a way he was going to miss having Evie in my belly, that this was the end of our pregnancy. We were not going to be able to see her deform my midsection with her acrobatics, and watch her hiccup and make my belly button dance in harmony. A flash back of the last nine months went by I had been brutally sick, nauseated, uncomfortable, and miserable. I couldn’t eat properly, couldn’t sleep comfortably, and I waddled instead of walked. My teeth were in bad shape, a lot of my hair had turned grey, and I had enough stretch marks on me to build a road map, and yet even so, it was the most wonderful and glorious 9 months of my life! Sweet tears also came to my eyes. He was so tender and loving that it calmed my trembling heart and silenced my fear of labor. I never felt closer to my husband then at that very moment. I knew everything was going to be ok, God was on the throne, and He still cared for me.

    My Mom, Damara, Sarah, Tiffany and Jared came by and they gave me a hug and kissed me and the kids gave me some pictures they had colored. It was an encouragement to me. Then after they left it was time to go. We got in our SUV and headed on down the road to the hospital.

 I felt every bump, pot hole and turn in the road. I started labor, all the way to the hospital I was having regular contractions, and this time they never did stop.

   It took them a while to get my room, but they finally did and they sat me in a wheel chair and rolled me in there. The first thing I saw as the door to our room opened was the little plastic baby bed. I started jumping out of my skin with excitement, my heart was racing and I started breathing faster. One more wave of reality hit me when I realized that soon my baby was going to be in that bed! I felt like I was floating in the clouds looking down at someone else’s life, it was all too good and exciting to be mine!  

   I donned on the skimpy hospital robe, and signed some paperwork. I don’t remember much from this time because I was in so much pain, but I do remember the nurse coming in to give me an IV. She was on one side of the bed getting ready to stick me and Nubun was on the other side holding my hand.

  “Be gentle with her.” He begged “She is a little bit nervous” I was, but nothing like him! The nurse smiled as she put the stretchy rubber band thingy around my arm.

  “She will be fine.” I was, she was good and I didn’t even feel a thing, but Nubun on the other hand wasn’t doing that great. He never did quit squeezing the life out of my hand and his face turned white.

  Our nurse for the night came in she was a pretty blonde probably younger then me that had a cheerful, caring and sweet attitude. Unfortunately she didn’t have the ‘experience’ of a veteran nurse. She was going to check and see if I had dilated any on my own before she gave me the Cervadil.  I always hated, well, it was beyond hate, and I LOATHED getting checked for dilation. It hurt. 

  Boy oh boy oh boy did it hurt! She started out calmly with a sweet smile but when she couldn’t feel anything she started getting this concentrated look on her face and started digging deeper with her two fingers. I thought she was going to drill a hole right through me and was going to come out my nose. I was trembling from head to toe, my legs were shaking. She looked at me and smiled again as she told me to relax. Was she nuts? I did try but it was positively impossible to relax. I saw her frowning with concentration, then I closed my eyes wishing all along for a more experienced ‘dilation checker’.

   And I hadn’t dilated any.  So she inserted the Cervadil, and said that I would be cramping all night long and gave me an Ambien (sleeping pill) so that I would get some rest. Cramping? Yeah right! My foot! I wished it was just cramping.

   My labor pains were strong and constant, and I had to go to the bathroom very often. I would get up, Nubun would help me then I would stop and double over in pain I would wait for the contraction to end then I would head to the toilet when I would get there, which took me about 15 seconds I would have another contraction. 

After I used the bathroom I would wash my hands then by the time I reached the door another contraction would hit me and I would double over in pain again. This was basically what took place all night long, no let up, no rest and DEFINITELY no sleep, even with a sleeping pill.

From then on my memories get little foggy thanks to that stupid sleeping pill. All it did was add to my misery I was a drunk woman in an ocean of pain, labor pains were going over me like tsunami waves.