When Kevin and I found out we were pregnant, we would talk about and daydream about the day that our baby would arrive. We talked about what we would pack in our bag to the hospital, how we would have an infant car seat ready, what we would do to prepare the nursery...None of that happened because nothing happened the way we expected! In fact, the day before she arrived, we had finally decided a day to have the baby shower and maternity photo shoot! Some things you just can't be prepared for...
Kevin and I have been blessed with our daughter, Evangeline, for 10 whole days (outside of the womb!) She was born at 26 weeks gestation. Ideally, a baby stays inside the womb for about 40 weeks, so she was born premature and in the last week of our second trimester. Her birthday was July 23, 2014 at 7:11 pm at Long Beach Memorial. She is the biggest blessing of our lives and we praise God for her being alive and stablizing in the NICU!
So here's the story of the day she was born...
At 6:30 am my husband left the house because it was a Wednesday, and on Wednesdays he has to go to work and school. From 6:30-3:30 he works, and then travels to Santa Clarita, and attends class from 6:00-10:00 pm, and arrives home around midnight. As he gets ready to leave I usually get up to use the bathroom, and as I got up I felt like my lower abdomen hurt. I was wondering why I had a tummy ache. I thought about what we ate the day before and it didn't make sense that I would have any reactions to those foods because I ate them frequently. I quickly checked for bleeding in the bathroom and thankfully had none (I had been bleeding/spotting before in the pregnancy so I wanted to make sure again). I went back to sleep.
At 10:00 am I woke up again and winced because I had a lot of pain in the abdomen, more than before. As I used the bathroom there was a LOT of blood. I remember muttering, "Oh no..no..no.." and quickly called my doctor. I told them, "Hi, it's Leigh Ann Gausselin. I'm 26 weeks pregnant, my stomach is hurting, and I'm bleeding a lot." The receptionist asked if it was bright red, I said yes, and the receptionist said, "Go to Long Beach Memorial Labor and Delivery right now." I said, "Ok." and hung up. I called a few people who lived a few minutes near my house if they could drive me because Kevin worked about 20 minutes away, but no one could, so I called Kevin and he said, "Be there in 10 minutes!" I just remember lying in bed crying but crying made me cough and when I coughed my stomach hurt more, so I stopped crying and laid there waiting for him.
Between 11:00am-12:00pm, Kevin dropped me off at the front as he went to find parking. I remember sitting there waiting for him and assuming we would just be put on bedrest...at one point I thought to myself, "You know, this COULD be the day that we deliver..." And then I remembered it was July and it was far too early to even consider that, so I brushed the idea out of my mind. Finally we checked in, but they didn't have a room for me until 12:00pm. We were waiting for a while. Finally they got us in a room and they put all these monitors on me and I winced as Nurse Debby assessed me, asking about my medical history. As I winced, she looked up at one of the screens and said, "Did you hurt right there?" I said, "Yeah, I've been having lower stomach pain since 6:30 am..." She asked how often an hour, and I said, "Umm...maybe 2 or 3 times an hour it really hurts." She informed me, "Honey, you are having contractions every 5 minutes!" I was in disbelief! I thought contractions would hurt a LOT more. I just thought I was having stomach cramps! As I blogged earlier, I had been having issues with my placenta being low-lying, which may have eventually progressed into placenta previa. The nurse said, "It's probably placenta previa. Your baby was probably just kicking the placenta, a part of it may have come loose, and now here we are! You'll probably stay here overnight just to be monitored for 24 hours!"
Around 1:00 pm, a doctor came in to do a transvaginal ultrasound to see where my placenta was. She looked concerned as she looked at the screen. Then she said, "Your placenta isn't blocking the cervix...it's actually moved upwards, and is now left lying lateral..." I was like, "Oh yay! That's good news! We've been praying for it to move upward so I don't have placenta previa!" Kevin and I were happy for about 2 seconds, and then we were like, "WAIT. SO WHY IS THERE BLEEDING??????" She then informed us that we were 3 cm dilated and that the amniotic sac balloon was in my cervix! She then called my doctor who was at another emergency procedure, and later she came in to digitally check my cervix. She said she could feel the balloon! In order for my water not to break, I'd have to be on bedrest completely flat and not leave the hospital for 10 weeks, until I was at least 35 weeks pregnant! Kevin and I were in shock, I was lying completely flat, and did I mention that they started a central line and that I was being given fluids in order to slow down the contractions? I was needing to pee every 5 minutes and I could only pee in a bed-pan while lying down flat! Talk about uncomfortable! Kevin and I were trying to figure out how to coordinate me living there for the next 3 months. I also was uncomfortable because I hadn't eaten anything since 7 pm the night before and they didn't want me to eat anything until they figured out the next steps.
Between 2:00-5:00 pm: I was given a lot of fluids and drugs. And when I say a lot, i mean A LOT. They put me on magnesium sulfate, and that made me sweat like I was in a desert with a sweater on! I was also given a shot of steroids. The purpose of these were to help with lung development and my baby's brain development. The plan was to give a second shot of steroids for me the next morning. Then the High-Risk OB doctor gave me a visit and wanted to do an ultrasound to check up on me because I said the pain was getting worse with my contractions. She did another ultrasound and showed me the screen. "Do you see that?" I said, "Yeah, those are my baby's legs, and they are kicking!" She replied, "Yes, those are your baby's legs, and she IS kicking...the balloon! Her leg is in your cervix! You are now 4 cm dilated. She can pop that balloon any second. She is in the breech position and she's only 26 weeks, so if she succeeds in kicking that balloon then her cord will prolapse and she will suffocate. This is a very risky situation. It will be best and safest for us to deliver your baby within the hour." I remember nodding and saying I trusted them, and tears started to flow as she explained more of the procedure to me. I was terrified. Kevin was out of the room at the time but he walked back in and saw me, and I asked the doctor to inform him of everything. He was as terrified as I was. How could this happen? Just a few hours ago they told us that would only be staying 24 hours, then for 10 weeks, then we'd be delivering in an hour?!?!??! Those are very different things to prepare for, and we were definitely not prepared to deliver the baby that day! I remember at one point we were alone and I just kept reciting, "Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and petition with thanksgiving, present your requests to God, and the peace of God which transcends all understanding will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus." (Philippians 4:6-7) The high-risk OB doctor called my doctor and wanted to wait for her. My doctor said she would be back by 6pm so the emergency c-section would be around that time. Kevin had my best friend Jamie send out text messages throughout the day to multiple friends about how the day was progressing...I'm sure she had a lot of shocked responses since her texts ranged from "Leigh Ann is bleeding and is heading to the hospital" to "Leigh Ann is delivering the baby in an hour!"
6:30-7:11 pm: My doctor was still not around so the high-risk doctor said we couldn't wait any longer. They put a Foley Catheter inside of my bladder...I was like, "Wait! I want it put in me when you put the anesthesia!" And they said, "Sorry, but we don't have time for that." UGHH....so uncomfortable. They wheeled me into the OR room and Kevin had to wait outside. The doctor, nurses, and anesthesiologists were discussing about whether or not to sit me up and bend me over for the spinal epidural. They finally decided not to, and laid me on my side on a very narrow table, and started to inject my spine. I remember feeling a little tingly and they asked me to wiggle my toes. I said "Ok, I'm wiggling them now.", and they said, "Okay good." I said, "So it's not ready yet?" And they said, "No, you think you're wiggling your toes but you actually aren't." I was very impressed by how fast the anesthesia worked! And kinda weirded out. Then he took a sharp object and started to push it against my leg, and my tummy, and my chest, "Do you feel that?" I said, "Nope." And then he pressed it against my neck, and I said "I feel that." Then he said, "Okay, she's good." Immediately after, I told them to get me a bucket because my mouth started to salivate like crazy. That happened a lot to me during pregnancy, always before I would have to throw up. They put one by my mouth and sure enough I threw up. My body was very overwhelmed by the medicine. Finally, Kevin came in, sat next to me, and then they put the sheet up to block us from what was happening below my neck. I started to feel pressure around my lower abdomen, and knew that they were probably just cutting me open down there. They had explained to me earlier that depending on the size of my uterus, since I wasn't full term, they may need to do an up-and-down incision on my uterus, along with the horizontal incision below my abdomen. That matters because then I wouldn't ever be able to do a vaginal birth after c-section (VBAC). I said I was fine with it as long as the baby was safe. Then I felt pressure and saw the doctor move more upwards towards my chest area so I knew they were going inside already.
7:11pm Kevin and I started to chat a little bit. I remember talking to him about the placenta and how I wanted to save it and put it in the freezer to show Evangeline later, and he was just talking about how absurd that was. We were joking around about it when we heard a little soft high-pitched cry. We both stopped talking and were like, "What? Already?" I had witnessed two or three c-sections while in nursing school and those lasted 40 minutes to an hour! The c-section itself took about 5 minutes! Evangeline kept crying and crying, and we were so happy! It was like music to our ears. So beautiful and innocent! The doctor explained to us earlier not to expect too much crying if at all, because her lungs would be so premature that they'd probably have to intubate her right away. But, Evangeline didn't need to do that until she reached the NICU! I remember hearing her cry and they eventually brought her over to me and Kevin. She was wrapped in a little blanket.
I remember Kevin had a very different reaction from me. He looked very teary-eyed and his eyebrows were scrunched together as he stared at Evangeline. When I saw her, I was surprised because she looked so different from what Kevin and I expected. Her ethnicity is mostly Filipina and then a little under a quarter Caucasian and 1/8 Chinese. Kevin's genes are stronger than mine so I was assuming she would look like him. But when I looked at her, I saw Chinese eyes and a little flat nose like mine! I laughed and said, "Oh my goodness, you look Chinese! You look like me when I was born!" I was smiling and giggling. The seconds passed and they took her to the NICU, and Kevin followed after them.
Left alone as they tried to stitch my incision, I started to shake and shiver uncontrollably. It hurt as I shook, I started to feel my arm and shoulder bones hurt. They explained to me that my pregnancy hormones were leaving me and my body was trying to transition. It feels weird to say that it hurt, but it did. I was on that cold table, shaking, and wishing Kevin hadn't left but I was happy the baby had him near her. Afterwards, I don't really remember much other than them transporting me to my post-partum room and Kevin coming in telling me the baby was fine and she wrapped her little hand around his finger. He looked so in love! I always knew Kevin would be a great dad but watching how he handled being around her just for those few minutes after she was born solidified what I already knew!
Evangeline is a little miracle, from the beginning to end. It still feels like yesterday when I was told that I couldn't conceive naturally without fertility meds by two separate doctors because of my PCOS. I remember praying and praying that God bless us with a child and God graciously granted us our petition. I remember being so shocked and amazed on Valentine's Day when we found out we were pregnant...I always joked around that God usually answered my prayers in ways that were very different and more difficult manner than I wanted, but usually there was some sort of beautiful ending that I couldn't have ever come up with in my wildest dreams. I would apply that to the way that I found out Kevin was meant to be my husband. I prayed for years for my husband, for a love story that we would be proud of sharing with our future children, and I still am so thankful to God for the way He brought us together. And now, here's to another beautiful story...
We love you, Evangeline. You are God's biggest blessing to Mommy and Daddy. Be strong in the NICU, and don't worry if you have to rest since we know there will be days you "take 2 steps forward, and one step back." Mommy and Daddy are SO proud of you already. You are our miracle. God is so good to give us you. We love you to the moon and back!
Kevin and I have been blessed with our daughter, Evangeline, for 10 whole days (outside of the womb!) She was born at 26 weeks gestation. Ideally, a baby stays inside the womb for about 40 weeks, so she was born premature and in the last week of our second trimester. Her birthday was July 23, 2014 at 7:11 pm at Long Beach Memorial. She is the biggest blessing of our lives and we praise God for her being alive and stablizing in the NICU!
So here's the story of the day she was born...
At 6:30 am my husband left the house because it was a Wednesday, and on Wednesdays he has to go to work and school. From 6:30-3:30 he works, and then travels to Santa Clarita, and attends class from 6:00-10:00 pm, and arrives home around midnight. As he gets ready to leave I usually get up to use the bathroom, and as I got up I felt like my lower abdomen hurt. I was wondering why I had a tummy ache. I thought about what we ate the day before and it didn't make sense that I would have any reactions to those foods because I ate them frequently. I quickly checked for bleeding in the bathroom and thankfully had none (I had been bleeding/spotting before in the pregnancy so I wanted to make sure again). I went back to sleep.
At 10:00 am I woke up again and winced because I had a lot of pain in the abdomen, more than before. As I used the bathroom there was a LOT of blood. I remember muttering, "Oh no..no..no.." and quickly called my doctor. I told them, "Hi, it's Leigh Ann Gausselin. I'm 26 weeks pregnant, my stomach is hurting, and I'm bleeding a lot." The receptionist asked if it was bright red, I said yes, and the receptionist said, "Go to Long Beach Memorial Labor and Delivery right now." I said, "Ok." and hung up. I called a few people who lived a few minutes near my house if they could drive me because Kevin worked about 20 minutes away, but no one could, so I called Kevin and he said, "Be there in 10 minutes!" I just remember lying in bed crying but crying made me cough and when I coughed my stomach hurt more, so I stopped crying and laid there waiting for him.
Between 11:00am-12:00pm, Kevin dropped me off at the front as he went to find parking. I remember sitting there waiting for him and assuming we would just be put on bedrest...at one point I thought to myself, "You know, this COULD be the day that we deliver..." And then I remembered it was July and it was far too early to even consider that, so I brushed the idea out of my mind. Finally we checked in, but they didn't have a room for me until 12:00pm. We were waiting for a while. Finally they got us in a room and they put all these monitors on me and I winced as Nurse Debby assessed me, asking about my medical history. As I winced, she looked up at one of the screens and said, "Did you hurt right there?" I said, "Yeah, I've been having lower stomach pain since 6:30 am..." She asked how often an hour, and I said, "Umm...maybe 2 or 3 times an hour it really hurts." She informed me, "Honey, you are having contractions every 5 minutes!" I was in disbelief! I thought contractions would hurt a LOT more. I just thought I was having stomach cramps! As I blogged earlier, I had been having issues with my placenta being low-lying, which may have eventually progressed into placenta previa. The nurse said, "It's probably placenta previa. Your baby was probably just kicking the placenta, a part of it may have come loose, and now here we are! You'll probably stay here overnight just to be monitored for 24 hours!"
Around 1:00 pm, a doctor came in to do a transvaginal ultrasound to see where my placenta was. She looked concerned as she looked at the screen. Then she said, "Your placenta isn't blocking the cervix...it's actually moved upwards, and is now left lying lateral..." I was like, "Oh yay! That's good news! We've been praying for it to move upward so I don't have placenta previa!" Kevin and I were happy for about 2 seconds, and then we were like, "WAIT. SO WHY IS THERE BLEEDING??????" She then informed us that we were 3 cm dilated and that the amniotic sac balloon was in my cervix! She then called my doctor who was at another emergency procedure, and later she came in to digitally check my cervix. She said she could feel the balloon! In order for my water not to break, I'd have to be on bedrest completely flat and not leave the hospital for 10 weeks, until I was at least 35 weeks pregnant! Kevin and I were in shock, I was lying completely flat, and did I mention that they started a central line and that I was being given fluids in order to slow down the contractions? I was needing to pee every 5 minutes and I could only pee in a bed-pan while lying down flat! Talk about uncomfortable! Kevin and I were trying to figure out how to coordinate me living there for the next 3 months. I also was uncomfortable because I hadn't eaten anything since 7 pm the night before and they didn't want me to eat anything until they figured out the next steps.
Between 2:00-5:00 pm: I was given a lot of fluids and drugs. And when I say a lot, i mean A LOT. They put me on magnesium sulfate, and that made me sweat like I was in a desert with a sweater on! I was also given a shot of steroids. The purpose of these were to help with lung development and my baby's brain development. The plan was to give a second shot of steroids for me the next morning. Then the High-Risk OB doctor gave me a visit and wanted to do an ultrasound to check up on me because I said the pain was getting worse with my contractions. She did another ultrasound and showed me the screen. "Do you see that?" I said, "Yeah, those are my baby's legs, and they are kicking!" She replied, "Yes, those are your baby's legs, and she IS kicking...the balloon! Her leg is in your cervix! You are now 4 cm dilated. She can pop that balloon any second. She is in the breech position and she's only 26 weeks, so if she succeeds in kicking that balloon then her cord will prolapse and she will suffocate. This is a very risky situation. It will be best and safest for us to deliver your baby within the hour." I remember nodding and saying I trusted them, and tears started to flow as she explained more of the procedure to me. I was terrified. Kevin was out of the room at the time but he walked back in and saw me, and I asked the doctor to inform him of everything. He was as terrified as I was. How could this happen? Just a few hours ago they told us that would only be staying 24 hours, then for 10 weeks, then we'd be delivering in an hour?!?!??! Those are very different things to prepare for, and we were definitely not prepared to deliver the baby that day! I remember at one point we were alone and I just kept reciting, "Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and petition with thanksgiving, present your requests to God, and the peace of God which transcends all understanding will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus." (Philippians 4:6-7) The high-risk OB doctor called my doctor and wanted to wait for her. My doctor said she would be back by 6pm so the emergency c-section would be around that time. Kevin had my best friend Jamie send out text messages throughout the day to multiple friends about how the day was progressing...I'm sure she had a lot of shocked responses since her texts ranged from "Leigh Ann is bleeding and is heading to the hospital" to "Leigh Ann is delivering the baby in an hour!"
6:30-7:11 pm: My doctor was still not around so the high-risk doctor said we couldn't wait any longer. They put a Foley Catheter inside of my bladder...I was like, "Wait! I want it put in me when you put the anesthesia!" And they said, "Sorry, but we don't have time for that." UGHH....so uncomfortable. They wheeled me into the OR room and Kevin had to wait outside. The doctor, nurses, and anesthesiologists were discussing about whether or not to sit me up and bend me over for the spinal epidural. They finally decided not to, and laid me on my side on a very narrow table, and started to inject my spine. I remember feeling a little tingly and they asked me to wiggle my toes. I said "Ok, I'm wiggling them now.", and they said, "Okay good." I said, "So it's not ready yet?" And they said, "No, you think you're wiggling your toes but you actually aren't." I was very impressed by how fast the anesthesia worked! And kinda weirded out. Then he took a sharp object and started to push it against my leg, and my tummy, and my chest, "Do you feel that?" I said, "Nope." And then he pressed it against my neck, and I said "I feel that." Then he said, "Okay, she's good." Immediately after, I told them to get me a bucket because my mouth started to salivate like crazy. That happened a lot to me during pregnancy, always before I would have to throw up. They put one by my mouth and sure enough I threw up. My body was very overwhelmed by the medicine. Finally, Kevin came in, sat next to me, and then they put the sheet up to block us from what was happening below my neck. I started to feel pressure around my lower abdomen, and knew that they were probably just cutting me open down there. They had explained to me earlier that depending on the size of my uterus, since I wasn't full term, they may need to do an up-and-down incision on my uterus, along with the horizontal incision below my abdomen. That matters because then I wouldn't ever be able to do a vaginal birth after c-section (VBAC). I said I was fine with it as long as the baby was safe. Then I felt pressure and saw the doctor move more upwards towards my chest area so I knew they were going inside already.
7:11pm Kevin and I started to chat a little bit. I remember talking to him about the placenta and how I wanted to save it and put it in the freezer to show Evangeline later, and he was just talking about how absurd that was. We were joking around about it when we heard a little soft high-pitched cry. We both stopped talking and were like, "What? Already?" I had witnessed two or three c-sections while in nursing school and those lasted 40 minutes to an hour! The c-section itself took about 5 minutes! Evangeline kept crying and crying, and we were so happy! It was like music to our ears. So beautiful and innocent! The doctor explained to us earlier not to expect too much crying if at all, because her lungs would be so premature that they'd probably have to intubate her right away. But, Evangeline didn't need to do that until she reached the NICU! I remember hearing her cry and they eventually brought her over to me and Kevin. She was wrapped in a little blanket.
I remember Kevin had a very different reaction from me. He looked very teary-eyed and his eyebrows were scrunched together as he stared at Evangeline. When I saw her, I was surprised because she looked so different from what Kevin and I expected. Her ethnicity is mostly Filipina and then a little under a quarter Caucasian and 1/8 Chinese. Kevin's genes are stronger than mine so I was assuming she would look like him. But when I looked at her, I saw Chinese eyes and a little flat nose like mine! I laughed and said, "Oh my goodness, you look Chinese! You look like me when I was born!" I was smiling and giggling. The seconds passed and they took her to the NICU, and Kevin followed after them.
Left alone as they tried to stitch my incision, I started to shake and shiver uncontrollably. It hurt as I shook, I started to feel my arm and shoulder bones hurt. They explained to me that my pregnancy hormones were leaving me and my body was trying to transition. It feels weird to say that it hurt, but it did. I was on that cold table, shaking, and wishing Kevin hadn't left but I was happy the baby had him near her. Afterwards, I don't really remember much other than them transporting me to my post-partum room and Kevin coming in telling me the baby was fine and she wrapped her little hand around his finger. He looked so in love! I always knew Kevin would be a great dad but watching how he handled being around her just for those few minutes after she was born solidified what I already knew!
Evangeline is a little miracle, from the beginning to end. It still feels like yesterday when I was told that I couldn't conceive naturally without fertility meds by two separate doctors because of my PCOS. I remember praying and praying that God bless us with a child and God graciously granted us our petition. I remember being so shocked and amazed on Valentine's Day when we found out we were pregnant...I always joked around that God usually answered my prayers in ways that were very different and more difficult manner than I wanted, but usually there was some sort of beautiful ending that I couldn't have ever come up with in my wildest dreams. I would apply that to the way that I found out Kevin was meant to be my husband. I prayed for years for my husband, for a love story that we would be proud of sharing with our future children, and I still am so thankful to God for the way He brought us together. And now, here's to another beautiful story...
We love you, Evangeline. You are God's biggest blessing to Mommy and Daddy. Be strong in the NICU, and don't worry if you have to rest since we know there will be days you "take 2 steps forward, and one step back." Mommy and Daddy are SO proud of you already. You are our miracle. God is so good to give us you. We love you to the moon and back!
Our precious baby girl...this is the first pic I ever took of her!
Uncle Mike took this beautiful pic.
Evangeline's bilirubin levels used to be high so she would have to be put under a special light for jaundice.
Kevin has to put Evangeline's doll inside of his shirt every time he visits so she can get used to his scent!
I always laugh at the way she sleeps whenever she isn't "wrapped" up tightly..Such a silly girl!
At Day 9, we got to hold her and do skin-to-skin. I immediately cried the moment she was placed in my arms. Sometimes, you feel in your heart, "This is what I was meant to do." And when I held her, I knew that I was meant to be her mom.
Kevin got to do a whole hour of skin-to-skin with Evangeline!
My view of Evangeline as I held her.
We put her back down and course she poses like this lol.
We love you, baby girl!
Praise God for Evangeline!
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