The Birth of Eva Noelle de Hoyos

As you probably all know by now, she's here! Eva was born at home on Monday, December 24th, 2012 at 7:31 a.m. weighing 8 lbs 8 oz and measuring 21 1/4 inches long. She was born 12 days late according to my schedule, but right on time according to hers. :)

I thought some of you may like to hear the birth story, so I will do my best to recall how it all went down (it's already turning into one big blurry memory in my mind!) Luckily, I have texts and chats to help me remember some of the timeline. If birth stories are TMI for you, feel free to stop reading now. :)

The day before her birth, I had been having noticeable, semi-uncomfortable (but nothing I would call painful) contractions all day that were around 30 minutes apart. I had experienced a few false alarms in the previous week or two, so I wasn't allowing myself to get too excited. I tried to go about my day as usual, and we even went over to Jared's parent's house for dinner that evening. I texted my midwife at 7:30 p.m. to let her know that I had been having mild contractions all day, and to set up an appointment with her for the next day if I hadn't gone into labor before then.

We got to bed pretty late that night, and I still hadn't really gone to sleep when, at around 1:45 a.m., Isaac woke up crying. Jared went in to get him back to sleep, and I remember realizing around then that I probably wasn't going to be going to sleep since the contractions had started to get just painful enough to keep me awake. They were also around 15 minutes apart. I started to time my contractions at this point and just laid in bed, trying to relax. I figured that if I really was going into labor, I probably still had at least 12 hours or more ahead of me so I might as well rest.

At 3:00 a.m., I texted Sherri my midwife: "Quick update, for the last hour or so they've been about 10 minutes apart. Can't sleep." About 30 minutes later, I lost my mucus plug and texted Sherri again to let her know. I hadn't gotten any response from her, but I was still thinking that it would be a while before she even really needed to come, so I wasn't going to call her and wake her up quite yet. Around this time, I woke Jared up to let him know that I was pretty sure I was in labor and we should probably call his parents and have them come pick up Isaac. We got in contact with Jared's dad at 3:56 a.m. and he headed over right away. We woke Isaac up and I tried to enjoy those last few moments I had with him as our only child. It was really bittersweet to say goodbye to him, knowing that things were about to change - big time - for all of us!

I spent the next hour or so moving around in between contractions - from laying in bed, to the bathroom, to kneeling by the bed, etc. I was trying to use what I'd learned with Hypnobabies to focus on total relaxation and to help me breathe through the contractions. I remember at one point that the contractions were getting so intense that I had to start moaning through them. For whatever reason, it felt better to make some noise instead of trying to silently breathe through them. Jared was trying to get some more sleep at this time (we both thought it was going to be a longer labor since my last one was 27 hours).

My mom started chatting with me on Google Talk, through my phone, at around 5:30 a.m. For those of you who don't know, she and Karl are currently serving a mission in Slovenia, so that would be around 1:30 p.m. their time. I had emailed her a couple of hours earlier telling her that I thought I might be in the early stages of labor, so she wanted to know how things were going. I told her I was definitely in labor. About 20 minutes later she asked when the midwife was coming. It was about 6:00 a.m. and I replied that I hadn't called the midwife yet but I probably should. I remember around this point, I was feeling shaky and almost cold/shivery. I was definitely struggling to stay totally centered and focused through the contractions and my moaning was getting a little less calm-sounding. :) I told Jared he should probably call the midwife and let her know my contractions were around 7 minutes apart. He did, and she said she would head over. She hadn't woken up from my texts and was very glad we called when we did.

Around then, my mom asked me how I was feeling - excited, scared, nervous? I replied that I was mostly feeling very overwhelmed and nauseous, and that I probably couldn't chat with her anymore. I knew that feeling shaky and nauseous is usually a sign that you are in transition, but I had a hard time believing that I could already be at that point in labor, so I told myself that I was probably only 4 or 5 cm dilated if I was lucky, and to try to stay patient as it could still be many long hours before it would be over.

I think Sherri arrived around 6:30 a.m., and I had thrown up sometime between the point that we called her and she showed up. When she arrived, I was in the middle of a contraction, kneeling at the bed. The minute she arrived she was such a huge help - immediately giving me tips to get through the contractions, to open up, how to vocalize (lower, controlled moaning rather than the sort of panicked high moaning I was doing), and applying pressure to my pelvis during the contractions. It was so nice to have her there, guiding me through each contraction and giving me the reassurance that I needed.

Almost as soon as she arrived, my contractions went from 5-7 minutes apart to being practically right on top of each other. Sherri wanted to check my cervix and listen to the baby's heartbeat, but whenever there seemed to be a chance to check me, another contraction would come and we would focus on getting through it. Probably 15 or 20 minutes after she arrived, she suggested that I get in the tub to help with the pain of the contractions and to see if she could check me that way. Her apprentices and the birthing tub were still on the way, so our bathtub would have to do for now.

It felt great to get in the tub! I don't know whether it decreased the pain or not, but I definitely think it helped me relax more. I also think it helped decrease any straining, aching feeling I felt in my back. I had a contraction almost immediately upon stepping in the tub. Soon after that contraction, Sherri was able to check me. She didn't immediately say how much I was dilated - she said she was going to continue to check me through the next contraction. It really worried me when she said that, because I thought that must mean that I'm hardly dilated, and she wanted to see if I would dilate more during a contraction or something. But lo and behold, when the contraction was ending, she said, "You're going to love hearing this -- you're complete!" Ahhh, I was sooo relieved to know that all I really had left was pushing the baby out and it would be over! I couldn't believe that not even an hour after my midwife arrived, and the first time she checked me, I was fully dilated!

She had me wait just a little bit before pushing to get everything set up as her apprentices arrived. At this point, I was so overtaken by the contractions and the pressure of the baby pushing down that I was having a really hard time staying calm and collected... the best way to explain it is that I was operating out of my brain stem. I wanted so badly to just be calmly moaning through contractions (like all of those crazy women on YouTube that are practically silent as they push their baby out!), but I was making all sorts of noises and I couldn't look at anyone - I just faced the wall and closed my eyes and my instincts took over. At that point, there was no way I could stay quiet and breathe calmly through my contractions. I admire women who can somehow pull that off, but apparently that is not something I am capable of. I didn't scream or yell out profanities, mind you -- it was just far from a silent birth!

I felt myself start to push the baby out naturally - it didn't take any concentration or thinking on my part, my body just knew exactly what to do and took over. It was like night and day compared to how I pushed with the epidural. My water broke around the time that I started pushing. Sherri gave me some tips as I was pushing as well, and before I knew it... I felt the infamous ring of fire! Oh boy, that is some intense feeling indeed. It's one of those things that you can't really explain -- you just have to experience it and then you'll get it. It's crazy, yo. It seemed like forever, but it also all happened so quickly at the same time. It was maybe 20 minutes of pushing when - whoosh - she came out and all the pain disappeared, just like that. (Of course, the contractions continue for days afterwards but they aren't nearly as intense once the baby is outside of you.) And there she was - the baby I had been carrying around for 9 months. She was perfect!

Sherri helped Eva to start breathing right away, but apparently there was a little more fluid left in her lungs/throat/nose than usual so Sherri patiently worked with her for a few minutes, making sure that Eva could breathe perfectly. She shortly started to pink up beautifully and I held her skin to skin with a warm towel over the both of us. It was all over in 5 hours, and I had a healthy little girl in my arms. I was able to breastfeed her right there and she latched on beautifully. It was a very happy Christmas Eve morning!

We waited until the placenta was delivered before getting out of the tub. I think we were actually in there for about an hour before I finally decided to get out! It was just so nice to lay in the warm water and bond with my new little girl!

Sherri later told me that Eva came out with both of her hands up by her face, and that she sort of pushed her way out with her arms. :) Because of that, according to Sherri, I did tear (2nd degree) -- my midwife felt that I probably wouldn't have tore much, if at all, if her hands hadn't been up by her face. The good news is that Sherri had lidocaine and numbed me really well to stitch me up. I actually felt less pain being stitched up this time than I did last time. My epidural had started to wear off last time and I felt every single stitch. Ouch! (Funny to say that after having a baby without any pain medication, right? Haha.) And I think she did a much better job than the doctor did last time as well. (I didn't heal as well last time as I did this time.)

For those of you who are wondering about the name, she is named after my Grandma. It is pronounced Eve-uh, not Ay-vuh. However, if you want to pronounce it Eh-vuh (the spanish pronunciation), that's fine too. :)

4 hours old

I am so happy that I was able to have such a quick, smooth and safe home birth. This was a decision we made after lots of research and prayer. We were lucky to find a very experienced (20 years of experience), amazing midwife, Sherri Price, that I would highly recommend to anyone considering a home birth in the area. I just love her... I could basically cry just thinking about how great she was and how much I appreciate everything she did for us. Obviously, home birth isn't for everyone. I have experienced both ways, and I am pretty sure I will continue to have home births as long as it continues to feel like the right decision, but I also know the magic of the epidural and being able to SLEEP through labor. :)

Also, for those of you who are pregnant or planning on having babies in the future... I am now a big believer in Red Raspberry Leaf tea. This was given to me by my midwife, and it is supposed to help tone the uterus, which may contribute to a faster labor and less bleeding after you have the baby. If anyone wants more info, let me know. I really feel like this tea is why my labor went so quickly this time compared to my last one. I know that labor is usually shorter the second time around anyway, but going from 27 hours with the first labor to 5 hours with the second is pretty dramatic in my opinion. More info is available here, too.

Would anyone be interested in hearing my thoughts on the difference between the hospital birth and the home birth? I think I may post about that next, if anyone is interested... let me know in the comments if you are.