Everly’s Birth Story

FLORAL ROBE: c/o Blush Pink Maternity  //  BOW SWADDLE: Pink Elephant Organics  //  NEWBORN HAT: Pink and Blue Bonnets //  COLE’S POLO: c/o Rhoback

It’s been a month since our sweet baby girl was born and our lives were forever changed, and the days have flown by faster than I could have ever imagined. Before mom brain takes over and I start to forget the details, I wanted to share Everly’s birth story here on the blog. As a first time mama-to-be, the weeks leading up to Everly’s due date were filled with both anxiety and excitement s I wondered what my birth experience would be like…how it would feel, how long it would take, and all the little details one thinks about when delivering a human into this world. What helped me most was hearing personal stories from my friends and from other real women online of how their births went (and what did not help was Googling it because all that shows up is horror stories, y’all…don’t do it!!) So this post is in part to help do that for other mama’s-to-be and also in part to record the details of Everly’s birthday so I can remember the most incredible (and scary and crazy and blissful) day of my life so far and one day be able to share it with Everly. So here it goes…I’m sharing alllll the details of how Miss Everly made her way into this world, from the most beautiful moments to the more painful ones. Click through to read Everly Austin’s birth story.

D-Day

If you’ve been following along our pregnancy journey, you might remember that our due date was August 13th, 2018. While I was hopefully she might arrive on time, I had my mind set that Everly would be a late baby, for a few reasons. For one, both Cole and I were born late, with me being a week late and Cole nearly two weeks. The second was because our due date (like most all due dates) was given based on the first day of my last period, but since my cycles are around 32-34 days and that date is calculated based on an average 28-day cycle (and also the fact that I’d been tracking my ovulation when we were trying to conceive, as you might remember from this post), I was pretty certain her actual due date was 4-6 days later anyway. So you can imagine my surprise when… Night Owl

Monday, July 30th was an ordinary night for Cole and I. We’d ordered poke bowls from one of our fave spots (yes, towards the end of my pregnancy I allowed myself to indulge in dishes w/raw fish from places I trusted every so often…salmon is brain food for baby, okay?!) and he cringed while watching The Bachelorette with me (a perk of pregnancy…getting to watch what I want, some of the time!!) I’ve always been a night owl, and during the last few weeks of my pregnancy I found it especially hard to fall asleep at night. Cole had to be up early in the morning, so he went to bed around 11pm, and I decided to stay up in the living room, continuing my binge-watching session of Jane The Virgin. Before I knew it, I looked at the clock and realized it was almost 2am, so I turned off the TV and headed off to bed.

The second I sat down in bed, however, I was shocked to feel a sudden gush of liquid. Naturally, my first thought was that I’d accidentally peed my pants, which was also a shock since I hadn’t had any incidents since my second trimester while in Colorado (which I talked about in this post). After a quick bathroom investigation which found the liquid both clear and odorless, I felt another sudden gush, and my heart dropped to my stomach. Had my water broken? But why wasn’t I feeling any pain or contractions? I rushed back into our bedroom, and with panic in my eyes, I told Cole “I think my water just broke!” Groggy and confused, Cole’s first reaction was, “no way!“, but as he got out of bed and witnessed the liquid (yep, it was still gushing) for himself, he suddenly snapped out of his sleepy state. It was go-time.

Naturally, my first instinct was to call my mom. I still didn’t understand how I could be in labor without feeling any pain at all. No cramps, no contractions…I literally didn’t feel a thing except for the trickle of liquid down my leg. It just wasn’t at all what I expected and didn’t seem real. My mom advised me to get off the phone with her and immediately call the hospital, which I did. After explaining what had happened, they told me to definitely come to the hospital, but to take my time to get my things together, take a shower, etc. And thank goodness for that…I didn’t have a thing packed! I really was quite convinced that there was no way she could arrive early, much less two weeks before her due date. I don’t know if it was the hormones or the adrenaline, but I started shaking, telling Cole over and over again how scared and nervous I was as I scrambled around the house to gather our things and went over lists of what we needed in my head. We didn’t have a single bag packed, our carseat wasn’t installed, we had no plan for our dogs…but, baby girl was coming, and I’d soon be very glad she decided to be our little early bird.
Early Bird

After we got our stuff (and our minds) together, we left for the hospital at about 3:30 am. On the way, I remember telling Cole we should stop and grab some fast food because I didn’t think I’d be able to eat once we were admitted. He assured me that we’d be able to get food at the hospital, and just wanted to get there and not waste any more time. As I felt another gush of water (I was wearing a pad by this time), I agreed and we kept trekking.

By 4:00am, we were checked into a room where we were told they’d have to do a test to see if my water had, in fact, broken, along with a cervix check to see how far dilated I was. I still hadn’t felt a thing besides the gushes, so I crossed my fingers that we wouldn’t be sent home after all that drama. As even more liquid gushed on my way from the bathroom to the bed, the nurse was pretty convinced my water had broken and sure enough, the test confirmed it. She then explained that no matter how far dilated I was, I would have the baby within 24 hours since my water had broken and not proceeding could cause infection. Everly Austin was officially coming!  We decided to go ahead and alert the fam. Side note – this is also when I asked the nurse if I could have Cole get us something to eat…just as I thought…she explained I wouldn’t be able to eat now until after I delivered the baby. I glared at Cole as my stomach growled.

So THAT’S a Contraction

Next up, it was time for a cervical check. Ironically, I had an OBGYN appointment scheduled for that day where I knew I’d be getting my first cervical check, and I’d been dreading it after hearing/reading about how painful those could be. I cringed (and also crawled all the way up the table…I’m a baby y’all!) as the nurse went in for the check (not gonna lie y’all…it was painful!) The nurse was surprised as she told me I wasn’t at all dilated yet…not even to a 1. No wonder I wasn’t feeling anything! I hadn’t actually had a contraction yet. So I don’t even know if you could say I was technically in labor. Apparently the medical term for what had happened was called PROM (pre-mature rupture of the membranes). They explained since I hadn’t started dilating on my own, they’d have to induce, first with a pill they’d insert and they with Pictocin via an IV.

Just a couple of hours later, probably around 8:00am, my mother and sister arrived and I started having first contractions. Umm, ouch!!! Apparently inducing makes the contractions come on strong from the start, but boy was I glad I didn’t have to feel those at home, and I suddenly realized why in movies and TV shows women were moaning in pain. This HURT. Not helping was the fact that Cole informed me of every contraction’s intensity while he looked at the screen. And I was feeling ALL the contractions in my lower back, which was extremely intense and painful. The nurse explained that I could go ahead and get my epidural anytime I wanted (which I did want, eventually), but I decided to hold off since the contractions had just started. The perk about your water breaking?! You can get admitted to the hospital and get an epidural as soon as you want since the hospital knows you’ll have the baby within the next 24 hours (apparently they’ll wait until you’re dilated to a 4 in other circumstances).

Hallelujah!

As they increased the amount of Pictocin they were giving me and my contractions got WAY worse, my nurse convinced me to get the epidural before the pain was too intense that I couldn’t sit still. So I caved. I was nervous about the epidural since I’d never even been admitted to a hospital and I knew how big the needle was, and the fact that it would be going into my spine. Unfortunately, no one, not even Cole, was allowed in the room when the anesthesiologist put in the epidural in, but my sweet nurse let me hold onto her waist and squeeze her while it went in (my nurses were AMAZING!!). I have to say, it really wasn’t painful at all, just a little uncomfortable and weird as I felt the medicine going down my spine. Just as the anesthesiologist said, the epidural worked instantly and I was so relieved!!

By early afternoon, probably around 1:00pm, I had another cervix check and I was dilated to a 4. The Pictocin was working and so was my epidural, thank goodness! I didn’t even crawl up on the table this time when they did the check!! One thing that was a bit concerning was that although Everly was in a head first position, she was sunny side up, which is what had been causing my back labor pain. In an effort to turn her, the nurse placed a large balloon thing between my legs and had me switch from side to side every 30 minutes or so. Luckily, the effects of the epidural lasted for the next several hours, so I relaxed, watched Beauty and the Beast and Mary Poppins (both of which they had to watch for free on the hospital television) and even got a little sleep in (remember, I had’t gotten any the night before). This relaxing part of the day seemed to just fly by.

Push It

Around 4:00pm, the doctor came in to do another cervix check and I was at an 8! She explained that we’d start pushing in two hours and that the anesthesiologist would come in to turn down my epidural in the meantime. The nerves and excitement hit me all at once as the reality set in…I had dreamed of this moment since I was a little girl. I was about to experience the beauty, magic (and pain) of childbirth and meet my daughter for the first time. I said a prayer that everything would go smoothly and, most of all, she’d be healthy.

Around 5:00pm, the anesthesiologist turned down my epidural. Apparently it was at an 8 and he turned it down to a 2. Not long after, I started being able to feel my contractions again. This wasn’t so fun. But before I knew it, it was 6:00pm and right on the dot, the nurse walked over to my side and said “Okay, it’s time to start pushing!” Beforehand, Cole and I decided he’d obviously be in the room once I started pushing as well as my mom and my sister. I would be so glad to have their help and encouragement for the long hours ahead!

The nurse explained how it would go down. For every contraction (which I was definitely feeling now!) I would take a deep breath pull both my legs toward me, let out a deep breath and push with everything I had for 10 seconds, repeated three times for every contraction. Cole was behind my back, supporting me and pushing me forward with every contraction and my mother and sister were down below, cheering me on.  The first several pushes weren’t so bad, but about an hour into it, I started to feel the epidural wearing off and felt weaker. Running on no sleep the night before and no food or water (just ice chips!) for nearly 24 hours, the exhaustion and pain was hitting me like a train. But I was determined to meet our baby girl…
The Final Push

Once she began crowning, the doctor came in and really amped up the pushing process. Our doctor was amazing – she was perfect parts drill sergeant and cheerleader, coaching me through every second and encouraging me to keep pushing, harder, which is exactly what I needed. I’m not going to lie, the last hour of pushing was the most painful thing I’ve ever experienced. I was crying in pain and felt as though I was going to black out, despite them giving me oxygen in between every push. The epidural felt as if it had completely worn off, and I could feel EVERYTHING. All of my girlfriends have asked what it felt like so I’ll go ahead and be honest about it here and tell you the truth (just keep scrolling if you’d rather not know). It felt like I was pushing a bowling ball out of my booty. SO.PAINFUL. and SO.MUCH.PRESSURE. With every push, it was like I could feel her head moving out and then back in again. On the last few pushes, I really didn’t think I was going to be able to do it. I had been pushing with all of my strength and I simply felt I didn’t have any energy left. I closed my eyes and began praying over and over again for God to give me the strength to push through the pain and exhaustion so I could meet my baby girl. In the middle of that prayer, I could hear the doctor ask for one more push (we’d already done the standard three), and I pushed with every fiber of my being, when I heard the doctor yell “relax, relax!” followed quickly by the sweet, sweet sound of Everly’s cry.

Instantly, the pain dissipated and I was overwhelmed with tears of joy, happiness and this warmth that surrounded me as I felt a love unlike any other I’d ever felt in the world. Everly was born on July 31st, 7:57pm at 6 pounds, 8ounces and 19.75 inches. They instantly placed Everly right on my chest and my whole world changed in an instant. Her tears stopped and she just looked up at me, bright-eyed. I couldn’t believe this perfect little being was here and that she was ours. The most painful moments of my life were followed by the happiest moments of my life, and I would do it over and over again.

Time seemed to stand still for the next couple of hours as Cole and I got to enjoy some time alone with our new family of three (okay, family of five, but Lucky and Lady weren’t allowed in the hospital, unfortunately). Cole even got to have some skin-on-skin time with her (that’s where they have dad take off his shirt and place the baby on his chest…which I totally recommend!) Seeing his tears and joy as he looked into his baby girl’s eyes gave me all the feels all over again. Slowly, all of our family and extended family filed into the room and met the new little light in our lives. 

FLORAL ROBE: c/o Blush Pink Maternity  //  BOW SWADDLE: Pink Elephant Organics  //  NEWBORN HAT: Pink and Blue Bonnets //  COLE’S POLO: c/o Rhoback

The Takeaways

In the aftermath, I learned that the amount of pain I experienced is not normal for a vaginal birth with an epidural (so don’t fret y’all!). Apparently the anesthesiologist was only suppose to turn the epidural down to a 5, not a 2, and most of it had totally worn off in the end (I even felt the pain and all the pressure of my placenta being delivered to the point where they had to take Everly for a little while during the process). The nurse also informed me that we were lucky Everly came early because we most likely wouldn’t have been able to deliver vaginally had she waited until her due date (thanks Everly!!) I did end up having an episiotomy with a second degree tear (which kind of freaked Cole out when he watched her do it) and some stitches, but they healed up really quickly and easily.

Regardless of the pain, giving birth was truly one of the most magical experiences I’ve ever experienced. Yes, I chose to use pain medication via an epidural to help the process, but regardless, it felt so incredibly empowering that my body was able to create and deliver a tiny human. July 31, 2018 was the happiest day of my life so far. It was the day I became a mother and my life forever changed for the better. I’ve never been so excited about the future as I am today and while we’re not ready just yet, I already get so excited thinking about continuing to grow our family and give Everly brothers and sisters. Only next time, we’ll DEFINITELY be stopping to get food on the way to the hospital and DEFINITELY have our bags packed at least 1 month before our due date.

Fairwell xx,

-photography by Angie Garcia Photo.