Ava's Birth Story

Ava Claire Preston

I have been so looking forward to sharing my birth story with sweet baby Ava. I am amazed that she is here, and even more amazed that we have TWO girls!! It has been a pretty busy month since her birth as we navigate our days, but both of the girls are napping (miracle), and so I thought I would steal this time to write the story.

My due date had come and passed. I knew what this was like because Emily was five days late. I didn't think I would be late with my second baby, but...little Ava wasn't quite ready to come until 4 days after her due date. It worked out great because I had just decided the Friday before that I was going to start my maternity leave on Monday. And early Monday morning is when I woke up...

I woke up at 2:00am with my first "contraction." With both of my labors, I "knew" when the first contraction happened that it was the real thing. I waited until 3:00am to wake Matt up, and I told him that I was in sure I was in labor and that the contractions were coming about 7 minutes apart.

About an hour or so later, I felt like we should text my family and wake up my mother-in-law to let her know. It was interesting because I wasn't sure what to do but I was pretty sure we needed to probably head to the hospital soon. I felt crazy for wanting to head there so quickly, but I was getting to the point where I was unable to really know what to do next, other than go. I kept thinking about laying back down or getting in the bath, but the contractions were coming much quicker and they were getting really intense. It was also this sense that it was time. Matt started packing the car and he would come and check on me in between trips outside.

Matt was wanting to know how to help but I wasn't able to talk much. We laugh about it now, but I think he was getting a little frustrated with me. I just had to breathe through each contraction...as they were coming surprisingly quickly. Matt packed the car as quickly as possible and he helped me get dressed. It took awhile to get out the door because I had to stop for a contraction every couple minutes. I was having a hard time finding the "in-between" each of the contractions. I kept thinking to myself, "I am just not handling this very well..." We would soon know why...

We got in the car, and I knew I couldn't sit in the front seat the whole way so I jumped to the back to have more room. I was literally on my hands and knees in the back seat with my head buried in the car seat, ha! Our 20-minute drive actually went relatively quickly. Matt kept saying from the front, "Just keep letting me know you're still OK!" I just stared at the red button of the carseat buckle...and focused on breathing.

My mom met us at the hospital and she swung the back door open to see the funny sight of me in the back! They got a wheelchair and it took awhile for me to muster up the strength to get in the chair, but finally I forced myself to sit down. They wheeled me into the waiting room of the birth center and I felt another strong contractions coming on so I hopped out of the wheelchair and into a waiting room chair...on all fours. Haha! The nurse came out to get me and was surprised how quickly my contractions were coming.

In triage, they ask lots of questions, have you change into a gown, and get a monitor on the baby. This was all so challenging for me because my contractions were right on top of each other. Matt was so great as he just encouraged me through each one, helped me get dressed and answered all the nurse's questions. Within minutes, the nurse checked me and I was dilated to a 10! What!!? I couldn't believe it! I was ready to have our baby!! I was amazed that I had labored to this point completely naturally! Wow. Here we go!

They quickly got me into the delivery room and I really still wanted an epidural. I really just wanted some relief for the pushing stage. They were going to see what they could do, but couldn't promise anything because I was already fully dilated. Our doctor came into the room at this point...in his cycling clothes! He had rode his bike to the hospital and made it in time! The nurses told him he had very little time to change, and told me that the anesthesiologist would be in soon. Within a short time, I was getting a dose of medicine in my back. It wasn't an epidural, just a single dose for some relief.

By this time, Val had made it to the hospital. My mother-in-law was dropping Emily off at our sitters and wasn't going to be able to make it in time! It was all happening so fast!

Within a few minutes after the medicine started working a little, I pushed around three to four times, and our baby Ava was here!! We saw her (and her amazing head of dark brown hair) and loved her more than we could imagine! I couldn't believe we had another daughter, and it was such a sweet gift for her to be here; healthy and beautiful!

We were snapping pictures, they were weighing her, and measuring her...and I was just trying to take it all in. I was just so shocked it went so fast! From start to finish, it was five hours! Amazing! Praise our Father for His provision and blessing of my delivery. We are so, so thankful!

Ava Claire Preston  |  Born on February 9, 2015  |  6:59am  |  8lbs 1oz  |  20 inches long

Later on that day, we brought Emily to meet her sister Ava. She did great, but was definitely a little unsure. All she knew was that there was a new baby and mommy and daddy were holding her. It's been so special watching her learn more about Ava and love on her!

We are so happy and thankful. The first few weeks have gone great (except a flu-bug that entered our house). Matt was able to stay home with us for a week, and my mother-in-law stayed with us for awhile as well. We've had so much help from friends and family, and we are just so grateful.

A special thank you to my amazing husband, Matt (who is such a solid rock for me and our girls), my mom (who is always, always there) and sister, Val (who has so much knowledge) for being in the delivery room and encouraging me along the way...and of course, the rest of our family as well for their help in the past few weeks!