Evelyne Grace Part 1

Love.

You think you know what it means and then God finds a way to show you an even deeper meaning. The day that she was born was by far the best day of my life. I will never ever forget the ethereal feeling that filled me in the early morning hours as they placed her on my chest and we looked into each others eyes. My life was changed forever.

I am honored to be a mother. As I think back to the whole experience I am reminded of others who are not able to bear children and I never want to take anything for granted. No matter how difficult circumstances are, there is SO much more to be thankful for.

Evy was a pleasant surprise pregnancy that Alex and I were praying about, unsure if we should be "planning" or how to let God show us what He wanted. I was dealing with morning sickness for what seemed like forever and as soon as it began, it was over and I forgot all about it.

From the beginning I consecrated this baby to the Lord. I was challenged by the story of Todd and Angie Smith, the lead singer from Selah, who's baby was taken from them within her first few hours of life. Their faith in the Lord challenged me to trust Him, no matter what the circumstances were that He put in our lives, that he would use this baby to bring Him glory. That's what I knew He wanted!

He answered that prayer, without a doubt.

On Fathers Day, June 18th, we went to St. Johns hospital. I was almost 28 weeks along and had been having contractions all weekend. They didn't hurt at all, and I thought it just meant I needed to take it easy. When they began to happen more often, we decided to go in, but I wasn't that worried.

When we went in I ended up getting my contractions monitored and was having 4 or 5 every hour so they decided to check my cervix. I was slightly dilated and that's when things got a lot more serious. I was immediately hooked up to an IV and given fluids and a pill to stop the contractions. After an hour I was dilated a little more with contractions continuing. The doctor decided to send me to United Hospital in St.Paul which was connected to Childrens. If I did deliver the baby, she would be a lot safer there.

It still didn't really hit me that I might have the baby that night, we had an ultrasound and they said she was around three pounds, which was good news. They called an ambulance and I was put on a stretcher and taken on a very bumpy, uncomfortable ride to the hospital just 15 minutes away. I still was having a hard time wrapping my mind around the possibility. We called a few friends and family and asked them to pray. Alex had gone home to get some things because we knew we were at least spending the night.

Since the pill didn't work for my contractions I was hooked up to an IV medication called magnesium sulfate (? I think) to stop them, it was a lot stronger and made me really hot and woozy. I remember still trying to wrap my mind around the possibility of giving birth that night. I was very mentally unprepared. I remember praying, knowing that God was in control, but begging Him to let her stay in longer.

We made it through the night and my contractions were regulating. They were not getting worse, but they weren't going away. We ended up staying from Sunday to Wednesday at the hospital. When I was released I was dilated to 2 cm and 70% (give or take) effaced. (To those of you who know what that means) I was on strict bed rest with permission to only get up to get some food and take a shower but even that was discouraged to do every day. I took pills every four hours and had a timer to wake me up, even at night for the next two and a half months.

This was not what I had planned for my last few months before parenthood. I can't say that I handled it well, but it was a lot to adjust to with no warning. Looking back I feel like Alex and I just wrapped up in a cocoon and survived for those weeks and months.

But I know that the reason Evy stayed in as long as she did was because of the prayers from so many. I don't think a single day went by without a phone call, email, meal or card from someone, many from our church, saying they were thinking of us and praying. Our friends and family helped carry us when we couldn't walk without them.

Every week I would go in for my appointment and get checked, and more often than not there would be a slight change and she would be closer and closer to coming out. By 36 weeks I think my doctor was stunned that I hadn't had her yet.

38 weeks

Alex and I decided to live it up while we could and went to the state fair, swam, did what ever we wanted because at this point, she could come whenever.

But still no baby! I think... wait I KNOW that God has a sense of humor. And a plan that is much bigger than me. There is so much that I was learning about full reliance on Him.

I was SO uncomfortable. Waddling around like a penguin, couldn't sleep at night because I always felt like going to the bathroom, I was not the happy camper- pregzilla or something? I don't know, ask Alex :) (He deserves a medal!)

Finally Sunday September 5th came (38.4 weeks) and I knew she was coming soon- maybe even that day. I was having contractions that were starting to get more intense (btw- I never stopped having contractions- I think the pills just stalled them from progressing) but instead of sitting at home, going crazy, we decided to go to the fair...

Now looking back, I realize how stupid this is! What if my water had broken? She would have flown right out!!! Walking around for a few hours really did the trick... and maybe the yummy deep fried food helped a little too... but by nine o'clock that night, I knew it was time to head to the hospital. The problem was, we had parked a couple miles away and had taken a bus to the fair, to save a little money! Alex was a mess while we walked all the way through the fairgrounds- for all the Minnesotans- from the Grandstand to the front gate across the street to the buses where we waited for 20 minutes while our bus came and got loaded up. During this time my contractions were about 3 minutes apart. At this point, I was still pretty excited. Alex: panicky :)

Since we suspected this would be happening all of our bags for the hospital were in the car and we were ready to go straight there. I was walking rather slowly leaning on Alex for support, as I was getting more and more uncomfortable and just focusing on getting through each contraction. We called his sister, Lianna, to meet us there because she was going to help coach me and be more support for us through the labor. By the time we got to the hospital I was groaning a little loudly ;) as I worked through the contractions. I was still calm and not too worried about what lay ahead. I remember waiting for someone from Labor and Delivery to meet us at the door and I didn't want to sit down, I just leaned on Alex as I worked through the contractions. From this point on I wasn't aware of how often they came I just focused on getting through each one.

Part 2 will come tomorrow!!