Birth Story

This is Kimberly Beck, Evan's mama, and I will be making an occasional appearance on this website which wouldn't be complete without Evan's birth story:

Monday, December 13th
2:00 am
Mark took me to the emergency room because I was having Braxton Hicks contractions every couple of minutes. The nurses confirmed that I was in pre-term labor and ordered me to go home on bed rest and follow-up with my doctor ASAP.

I had such an easy pregnancy with no complications and minimal discomfort, so I was completely unprepared for this curve ball.

4:30 am
Got back home and went to bed.

8:30 am
Mark took me back to the emergency room because I had started bleeding. While they were examining me, my blood pressure took a dive and put the baby in distress. The doctor thought that my placenta might be separating and advised that we deliver Evan right away.

That was a shocker! From bed rest to the birth of our son all in a matter of a few hours. Our heads were spinning.

12:18 pm
Emergency C-section. The neonatologist brought Evan next to my face so that I could see him and nuzzle him for a couple of precious minutes. Then they whisked him away. While I was in recovery, the doctor informed us that Evan would have to be transferred to another hospital to be cared for in the NICU - most likely for 4-6 weeks.

Those 2 nights in the hospital were awful as I pumped breastmilk, listening to the sounds of the other newborn babies crying in their mothers' arms down the hall. All I had was a Polaroid picture of this beautiful stranger who I had only caught a glimpse of.

Wednesday, December 15th
10:00 am
The doctor came in to check on me and said that we could talk about discharging me on Thursday or Friday. NO WAY! I insisted on being released that morning so that I can see my son.

2:30 pm
Visited Evan in the hospital. Mark had to push me around in a wheelchair because I was too weak to walk all the way to the NICU. I was thrilled to see my boy - even if he was hooked up to all kinds of tubes and wires and separated from me by the plastic wall of the incubator. At least I could reach in and put my hand on his head.

Over the next 4 weeks, we were so thankful that no major complications arose while Evan was in the hospital. He just got stronger every single day. He took his first bottle on Christmas Day and we introduced him to breastfeeding on New Year's Day - both events were major milestones on his way to coming home.

Saturday, January 8th
5:00 pm
The glorious day finally arrived when they wheeled me out of the hospital with our baby boy wrapped up in my arms. I was thrilled - and a little nervous.

Now, we're adjusting to our new life together and loving every minute of kissing soft cheeks, nibbling popcorn toes and, yes, even the occasional sprinkling by Mr. Winky.

It was well worth the wait.