A Mom's Story: Avarie's Birth

As our daughter, Avarie, turns 14 tomorrow I thought I would take a moment to talk about her pregnancy and birth story.

Avarie is the third in our chaotic bunch of seven kids.  There was a lot of thought that went into whether or not we wanted a third child.   My husband (Jesse) and I actually started trying and then we stopped after I wasn’t sure.   Our oldest daughter Skylar was a little over two at that point and was a complete handful! She could cry forever and made me wonder on many days whether we would have a third.   Eventually, we both ended up on the same page and we got pregnant in the winter of 2004.

I felt great the most of the time and didn’t have any morning sickness.  Often times, it felt like I wasn’t pregnant. I didn’t have any food cravings with her, but I did have one big aversion – CHICKEN!  I couldn’t stand the smell or sight of chicken – nuggets, strips, breasts, fried, seasoned, grilled – it didn’t matter. I could not be anywhere near chicken.  This was the one part of pregnancy around the halfway mark that got a little difficult as it ruled out so many meals for me. Fortunately for me, unlike other foods that I could never eat again, I was actually able to eat chicken again.

Ironically, in the end – do you know what her favorite food is – CHICKEN!  The girl could eat chicken every day of the week – especially if she has some ranch dressing. You can take her to the nicest restaurant out there and she will be happy ordering off the kids menu. I just wished she would have loved it this much when she was in my belly.

While the pregnancy was an easy one, Avarie was not.  She tried twice to depart the womb early. I went into premature labor - once in early in June and once in July.  Both visits ended up in hospital stays, the first for about three days and the second for two days. Both times the teams were successfully able to stop labor with magnesium sulfate.  They also gave me a shot in my hip to help mature her lungs (that HURT!!!)

Our doctors ultimately decided she would be induced about two weeks prior to her due date due to how fast our other daughter had been born (that’s another story).   We arrived at the hospital and everything progressed really well. When Avarie decided to make her arrival though, not all the equipment for the birth was set up and the doctor didn't get to put his gown and booties on because there had been so many births, they weren't prepared.  But when Avarie was ready, there was no stopping her. She was finally going to make the escape that she had tried to make so many times before. The one odd part was the doctor was holding up the umbilical cord to show how long it was (ewww). She was born around 3pm and weighed in at 8 pounds, 11 ounces (our smallest baby – ever).  That’s when things got a little crazy!

Things went from very normal to crazy in a matter of minutes.  The nurse asked me if I was okay and I let her know that I wasn’t and noticed that my lips were turning gray and I was losing all my color.  The doctor went to check on me and I was hemorrhaging nearly a dozen large softball sized blood clots. Things seemed to escalate so quickly and become almost a blur as those worked around me to fix what was going on.  

The doctor become concerned that I was going to have to have emergency surgery.   I still don’t completely remember everything that happened as things were moving so quickly around me and no one from the staff was talking to me or explaining what was going on.  But, I remember being scared and thinking I was going to die. With alarms going off all around me and people moving all over, I remember thinking Jesse would have to raise our children alone.     I wish I could remember more about that scary period, whether it was fifteen minutes or an hour.

But in end, I am just so happy that everything was okay, I didn’t have to have a hysterectomy and our beautiful daughter was happy and healthy.    Avarie is a beautiful girl inside and out. She sometimes lives in her own world, she a great artist, and has a heart for loving and serving others.  Happy Birthday Avarie!