It’s taken me some time to be able to sit down and write Evelynn’s Birth Story. I usually try to sit down and write these stories quickly so I can remember the day and all of the little details. But this one, this one was hard. I wasn’t sure I wanted to remember all the little details, but even still I couldn’t get them all out of my head. When a Birth Story ends with a NICU stay it’s hard to separate the good from the bad. It’s hard to distinguish the two opposing emotions of the day and find the good in between. But even though this day was the beginning of the hardest two weeks of my life, I don’t want to forget every detail that saved my baby girl’s life.

 

Evelynn Grace: A Birth Story

I had a C-Section scheduled for April 14th at 8AM. Evelynn is my fourth baby, the previous three have all been C-Sections, so that was the plan with her as well. I was extremely nervous this go around. I was giving birth in the middle of a Pandemic and had no idea what to expect. My Doctor assured me much of our experience would feel the same once we passed the checks at the door. But it was still so hard not to be nervous. This C-Section was also going to be slightly different for me as I would have a spinal instead of an Epidural. They changed their policy somewhere between having Jude and Evelynn. My experience with Jude wasn’t the best because of some medicine I had been giving that made my head hurt significantly to the point I didn’t feel comfortable holding Jude for awhile. I was really praying for a better experience with Evelynn, so not knowing how my body would respond to the new medicine worried me.

When we arrived at the Hospital we went through the checks at the door and headed to the maternity center. It didn’t feel any different except for those checks and everyone wearing masks. I was very grateful for a little bit of normalcy. We registered at the desk, answered all the questions, and they took us back to Pre-Op. I was so nervous and shaking by this point, my anxiety was really on edge and I wasn’t sure why. Once we got in the room they had me change into the stylish hospital gown and began the IV. It was pretty much a waiting game from here and very uneventful. With the Spinal they told me nothing happened until I was in the OR, where before the epidural was done in the room. So it was pretty quiet until surgery. It’s always nice to have this time just Chad and I before having a baby. We always get to talk and just have time together before bringing another baby into the world.

C-Section Birth Story

Once it was time to wheel me into the OR they handed Chad his stylish outfit and they pushed me in. For the Spinal they had me sit at the edge of the table, stay really still and they administered it. It felt almost identical to getting an Epidural when it went in. The only difference was that you could feel it on one side of your body first, this was how she knew they were inserting it properly. Then once they were done, they quickly laid me down because it hits faster than an epidural. It takes less than ten minutes to have your entire body numb. This part I didn’t like. I quickly felt my body get very numb, but then it felt as if I couldn’t breathe. Because it effected me so quickly, I felt as if it was hard to take deep breaths so it made me panic that I couldn’t breathe. My anesthesiologist was AMAZING. She was right there with me the entire time, and when I told her how I felt she assured me my oxygen was at 100. She explained to me that because of how fast the Spinal hits, it can make you feel like you have an elephant sitting on your chest. She was 100% right. It felt exactly like that. I tried to keep focused on what she said and remind myself that it was a normal feeling.

Shortly after I began to have extreme head pain again. I couldn’t even open my eyes to look around my head was hurting so bad. We discovered that it was due to my blood pressure, which I knew I had problems with during surgery, but I didn’t realize it was this bad. I tend to have blood pressure on the lower end, in normal range, but low. So when the medicines are given to me for surgery, my blood pressure drops quickly. The anesthesiologist was giving me medicine to push it back up constantly. Unfortunately, it seemed like the Spinal just made it worse for me. I spent most of the time in the OR with my eyes closed.

Finally, they pulled Evelynn out and I hear the words, “She swallowed meconium.” and my heart dropped. I knew that wasn’t a good thing, but I couldn’t even muster up the energy to ask. The anesthesiologist then leaned over and told me the same thing, and assured me she was okay. There was a NICU nurse at her birth due to the fact that I take antidepressants for anxiety. Babies are known to be slow to cry and sleepy when mom is on antidepressants, so they have them there as a precaution. There was a nurse there for Jude too, but both of them didn’t need the NICU nurse for that. With Evelynn, it was so great that she was there because of the meconium, they were able to address it quickly.

They had her at the table and they immediately sucked out the contents of her stomach. This was so hard to hear, she was crying hysterically, and Chad had to be right there watching it. He said it was very hard to watch. I think this is why we have the least amount of pictures form her birth! Next thing I know, the NICU nurse is asking my Doctor if there were any problems on the Ultrasounds. I started to feel very panicky when she asked that question but was so sick I couldn’t speak up. My Doctor responded to her telling her he saw nothing and the pregnancy was smooth sailing. She told him that Evelynn’s abdomen looked swollen and they concluded that it may have just been a result of the meconium, so they were going to keep an eye on it. Finally she was wrapped up and brought over to me. I opened my eyes for a bit and admired her sweet little face, but was so sick I couldn’t do much.

 

It felt like an eternity for them to finish sewing me up, but then we finally were brought to recovery. I had to lay down for awhile still waiting for my blood pressure to go back up. They had me inching up very slowly as not to cause myself to pass out. Evelynn was resting quietly in her daddy’s arms. When I was finally able to sit up more, I took her and attempted to nurse her. She was passed out, sleeping so soundly, and wouldn’t wake up. So we let her rest. They transferred us to a mom and baby floor shortly after.

Off and on throughout the day I continued to try and nurse Evelynn, but she refused. She made a lot of whining noises and wouldn’t even fuss to eat. A few times I attempted to feed her, she wouldn’t even open her mouth. I was starting to feel pretty discouraged by lunch time because it didn’t feel right. The nurses just kept telling me that it was her “Birthday Nap” and most babies come out sleepy. None of my kids had ever done this so it felt so wrong. I also noticed that Evelynn seemed to be belly breathing a lot. I asked Chad at one point if the nurses at birth noticed it and said anything. He assured me not to worry and that she was fine. It was maybe just do to the Meconium.

As the day went on, I held our sweet baby girl close and did a lot of skin to skin. In the afternoon, I handed her to Chad so he could hold her for some time and I took a nap. We also were able to introduce her to her siblings over FaceTime and my sister. It was so special for them to meet, even if it didn’t feel the same. It was definitely heartbreaking that they weren’t able to come see her due to the pandemic. But we made the most of it. Chad and I just tried to view this time as a refreshing time for us to bond with Evelynn. After a few days in the hospital, we would be ready to conquer this four kid thing.

Later that night, Chad fell asleep and I still didn’t feel confident in what was going on with Evelynn. She still had not eaten and her breathing still seemed off. The night nurse came in do to do her rounds and I watched her as she listened to Evelynn’s breathing. She made an odd face, went to look at her computer, and went back to listen again. At this time I asked her if something seemed off because I felt like she was belly breathing. The nurse said she noticed that and agreed that her breaths per minute were a little fast. So she said she would take her to the nursery to check her O2 stats. At this time I woke Chad up a little panicked that something was wrong. He said everything was fine and not to worry, which his usual response. But this time it just didn’t feel right.

Birth Story: A NICU Story

She was gone with Evelynn for a very long time and I knew something wasn’t right. Finally, our nurse and the NICU nurse came into the room. The nurse told me that Evelynn’s oxygen stats were perfect, but when she got her under the nursery lights she noticed that she was extremely jaundice. A baby shouldn’t have jaundice even appear until day three, and her levels were at a 13. This indicates that something is not right, so she called the NICU nurse. The NICU nurse came to evaluate Evelynn. >>God Moment Right Here<< The NICU nurse that came to evaluate Evelynn was the same one that was at her birth, I believe this saved her life. Because this nurse remembered the swollen abdomen at birth, she put two and two together and knew she needed to get to the NICU. They brought her into us intending for me to be able to say see you later, but when they walked in our room Evelynn had an Apnea (breath holding episode) and before I knew it they were shouting for Chad to follow and they ran out the room.

It was literally the scariest, gut wrenching moment of my life. Watching them run out of the room with my baby, having no idea what was going on, when I would see her again, and not being able to follow. I was left alone. I picked up my phone and sent a text to a friend I knew would still be awake since it was midnight. She quickly finished her class she was teaching and called me immediately and I burst into tears. Nothing prepares you for the moment that your baby is rushed to the NICU, it’s an entirely new experience, one I don’t wish on any family.

As the days would follow, this would be one of the hardest weeks of my husband and my life. Stay tuned for part two of Evelynn’s Birth Story.