Eve Victoria Herbert was born on Saturday, June 27th at 4:29 pm. She weighed 7 lbs 13 oz and was 20 1/2 inches long. Below is her birth story.
Well... before her birth story I want to talk about my preparation for her birth. I love to birth naturally and that is always my goal. I always look forward to birthing my babies and have always said I would love to give birth dozens of times. After Dane's birth though I felt less excited for this birth then I ever have. I don't know if it is my age, or I have done it 5 times, or what but I had just been feeling like "I don't know if I want to do this again". That is NOT a good attitude to bring into natural child birth. After having 18 months perspective on Dane's birthing experience I was able to realize what went "wrong" with Dane's birth. I had unmet expectations and instead of adjusting I got frustrated. I was overly concerned about the numbers and my progress and trying to make that match how I felt - when the numbers didn't match how I felt that got me frustrated. I decided to go into this birth with NO expectations and especially not knowing my numbers or my progress. I didn't want to be "checked" at my appointments and I wasn't going to ask to be "checked" during my labor. I was just going to labor until I felt like pushing - and then I would push - and then the baby would be born... and it didn't matter how long it took, how I felt, or even where I was when those things happened - I was just going to let it all happen. It worked perfectly.
Saturday morning...
8:00 - 10:30 am: I went to go look at garage sales (my favorite thing to do on Saturday mornings). I found that driving often gives me contractions, so when I started feeling contractions around 9:45 I didn't think much of it. I was driving around and getting in and out of the car. However I noticed the contractions seemed different then previous ones.
11:00 am: I am back home but the contractions aren't going away. I told Jason "hey just so you know I am having contractions and I could be in labor - but I don't know because I have never had contractions like this before." Usually contractions (what I call "surges") are a tightening sensation around my whole abdomen and it feels like the muscles are pulling up (cuz they are) and I imagine that my abdomen is a giant balloon that I am filling up with air. But these sensation weren't in my abdomen and they weren't "up". They were all in my pelvic area and they were all "down". Each surge was pulling down, not up. I had never had surges like that before. So I wasn't sure what it meant. This was my first time this pregnancy having constant surges - I usually have 2 or 3 "false" labors a week before the "real thing" so we both brushed it off assuming it meant I still had one more week. (I was 38 weeks).
11:30 - 12:30 pm: Just kept doing my thing. I fed Dane lunch, cleaned up the house, put Dane down for a nap. The girls and Zoe wanted me to take them swimming (you can go 30 minutes after a reservation time slot to see if there were "no shows" and use their tickets). I told them I would take them. The surges were getting tighter and more constant, but I wasn't timing them (becasue I got obsessed with timing Danes). While I was sitting in the car waiting for the girls I texted my babysitter "just a heads up I might be in labor - probably not - but just in case I wanted you to know. I will keep you update". I dropped the girls off at the pool. They forgot their inner tube they wanted - so after dropping them off I went back home, got the inner tube and drove it back to them.
12:30 - 1:45 pm: When I got home from taking the girls I decided to lay down and "labor" to see what happens. I had to go get the girls at 1:45 from swimming. I wasn't quite ready, emotionally, to have the baby. There were about 3 things left on my "to-do"list. I told Heavenly Father that I didn't really want to have the baby that day and if he gave me one more day I promised I would finish all the things on my checklist that night. My surges got more intense. I remember at 1:30 thinking of asking Jason or another mom to go get the girls because I was in labor. But ultimately I decided to go and thought "maybe if I pretend I am not in labor then it will go away". I went to pick up the girls and get gas in the van on the way home. Each time I had a surge I had to stop what I was doing until it passed - that was new - and a strong "tell" that this was real labor.
2:00 pm: When we got home I told Jason I was actually in labor and that I was going upstairs and he needed to start preparing the house and the kids. The girls had just got home from swimming, Noah was mowing the lawn and Brock had a few friends over.
2:00 - 3:30 pm: I labored up in my room. Jason ran around doing the last few "to-do" things and prepping the kids. I took a bath - which helped a lot and just did my thing. At 3:30 I text our babysitter that we were going to go to the hospital and that she should head over, but at that time I felt like she might be here for a little while before we left for the hospital becasue I didn't think I was that close. At 3:45 I text her again saying "are you almost here?" because I knew we needed to leave right away. I felt like things were accelerating.
3:50 pm: We left for the hospital that is 20 minutes away. The labor and delivery nurse said that I "checked in" at 4:16. Jason dropped me off up front and the nurses came with a wheel chair. They said as soon as they saw me they thought I was about ready to deliver. I felt that way. In my head I thought "I am minutes away from pushing her out" - but I didn't want to get a head of myself, so I said nothing. When they got me upstairs the FIRST thing they did was check me. I was only at a 7. I was disheartened. It took me 4 hours to get from a 7 to a 10 with Dane. I went from "I am having this baby any minute" to "I could labor like this for hours". I felt my self getting overwhelmed and I did't want that. I told myself that it was ok, and that I could do this for hours. They did all the check in procedures and left the room at 4:25 to let me labor.
4:25 pm: Right as the nurses were leaving my surges changed and my breathing changed. Both Jason and I noticed this. Jason told the nursed that the change in my breathing meant it was close - but I think both of us didn't want to get ahead of ourselves because even when my breathing changed with Dane I was still an hour or so away. (However, when I breathing changed with Noah, Megan and Madison is meant I was about to crown). Then on my next surge I felt the urge to push and I did, and my water broke. I said, "Jason go tell them my water broke" Jason looked and said, "your crowning", I thought "I thought so". He ran into the hall to tell them I was crowning. The nurses and doctor come rushing in. I remember the doctor telling me not to push - he didn't have all his "covid protection on". I remember Jason telling them to just let me do what I wanted to do and I just kept "pushing" (I didn't really push - she was just coming out). The nurses came over while the doctor was getting dressed and delivered her.
4:29 pm: Eve was born (although we didn't know her name at that point). When she came out she was quite bluish/purple for a while, nothing was wrong the nurses just said it is because of our elevation some babies have a hard time getting enough oxygen at first. She was very awake and very alert. As she lay on my chest Jason fell in love with her. She opened one eye and looked right at him - and from that moment on she has been his little pirate.
