A Birth Story: Elea Mackenzie Zurbrugg

So before I get to the good stuff, there is some business to be discussed. Not too long ago my brother and I went into a creative discussion of a new business venture, spiritually led , bringing joy through creativity, while giving to the community. While it is nowhere near done, it was one of the reasons why my blog needed (very badly) a re-creation, especially since the last time I changed anything on it (visually) was 4 years ago! I have also listened to all your feedback, especially how most of you stopped receiving post alerts (make sure you enter your e-mail on this new site so you don’t miss a post) and other fun stuff. So please bear with me as we continue to work on my blog ( new host- same writing :)) and our shop (more details to come soon!). I would have liked to have taken a hiatus to finish this project, however, it has been my tradition to share my babes birth story on their first birthday. So without further ado, here is Elea’s birth story:

Nathan announces he is going to be a big brother, again!

Unlike Nathan and Emme’s birth story, Elea’s was very different. Her birth was perfect. She fulfilled (to a T) the type of birth you see on television, where no one screams, no one experiences pain ( including the mother) and all the tears, are tears of joy.

When you prepare to give birth, months in advance your doctor has you write your birth plan ( personally, now I think the whole thing is a joke, mostly, anyway. But that’s for another post). I had one ready for Nathan and Emme and neither one of their births went as planned. So for Elea I refused to write one and I simply told my doctor, along with all the nurses, that my plan was simple: I wanted to give birth (however that may be- vaginal or c-section) to a healthy baby. I didn’t care what they needed to do as long as she was out and healthy. That’s it. I didn’t want a bigger room, I didn’t need my husband to cut the cord, I wasn’t against a c-section of they saw it fit, I wasn’t going to wait for my baby to stress before they would take her out. So with that said, we waited for Elea to make her arrival. She was due April 26th, 2015. She was to share her sister’s birth month. But the end of April came and Elea was showing no signs of making her debut. Because Emme arrived via c-section only 12 months prior, my VBAC ( vaginal birth after cesarean) was considered high risk and everyone was on high alert. The main concern was a uterus rupture. The longer Elea cooked, the higher the risk ( good thing they couldn’t even fathom that this Wild Birdie was almost 10 pounds, otherwise they would have nicked the VBAC).

So we were told to wait until May 1st to ensure that we gave her time to make her arrival as inducing me would increase the chance of a uterus rupture. If she did not show up on her own, we would probably have to have a repeat c-section. However, my doctor felt strongly that this baby would be arriving on her own with no need for intervention. But Elea didn’t come on her own and there we were standing in Labor and Delivery, Friday morning, hoping that our doctors would still agree to a mild induction.

I sat on the bed, scared at the thought of a rupture and excited that I would soon meet Elea. The doctor checked my progress and asked on a scale from 1-10, how bad was my pain. I responded with none- 0. I felt nada. She responded with “well this baby is coming today, you are already 5 cm dilated. Are you sure you don’t feel anything?!”

I was sure. I couldn’t believe it. I was dying at 1 cm with Nathan, as my contractions came fast and hours and hours of labor dragged on with little progress. And now, here I was 5 cm dilated with no pain. Nothing. Not even pressure!

I listened to Bethel worship music in our room. My sister hung out ready with her camera and my mother in law chatted on the phone letting everyone know Elea was to arrive soon. Eric held my hand in excitement, squeezing every now and then. Each time the nurses checked in, I got closer and closer to 10cm (the goal) without feeling much of anything.

The doctor came in and advised the epidural as the time to push neared and in the case anything went wrong, I would be ready for the backup plan. So we went ahead and got the epidural. And within hours, before I could even get a second dose of it, I said “this baby is coming!” The nurses were still talking, the doctor wasn’t even in the room yet and I started to cry and say, ” I can’t hold it anymore, I’m going to push now”. And in perfection, just the way she was made, the doctor appeared and Elea was out in 3 pushes. The room went silent and everyone was crying. She was massive. Everyone was shocked. How ? Where was this baby hiding in my belly? She came in at a whopping 9 pounds, 4.7 ounces. She was perfect.

The first embrace: Mommy and Elea

Today I celebrate her perfect birth. I celebrate that I was able to bring a third baby into this world. I celebrate her life and the gift of caring for her while I am on this Earth. She is my rainbow baby. She brought joy back to our hearts. She reminded us of her beautiful sister and how without her, we would have never met this little gem.