The Birth Day of Jane Anne Sabey

Cameo woke up at 5:00 am on Sunday, July 13^th and was having contractions, small and infrequent but enough to keep her awake. She didn’t tell me until after we were on our way to church because she thought that I wouldn’t have let her go to church, which was probably true. At church, her contractions were consistently about every 20 to 30 minutes. They were uncomfortable but not excruciating. Cameo was in semi-denial—she didn’t know if the contractions were a sign of pending labor and so we stayed for a post-church meeting for myself and choir practice for her. Upon driving and arriving home, I started timing the time between contractions and the contractions became more frequent (about 10 minutes between). I became anxious and eager to eat lunch quickly, gather our stuff, and head to the hospital. Cameo was still in denial and was reluctant to leave in a hurry. She called her sister, Julee, to see if I was overanxious. Julee confirmed my suspicions and encouraged us to leave for the hospital as soon as possible. We had just finished eating a quick lunch and put Leo and Lucy down for their naps. Kathy Griggs came over and we gave her the instructions for the next few hours with the kids. I anxiously kept rushing Cameo but she remained calm and still unsure of whether the contractions indicated pending labor. She mentioned about possibly being turned away at the hospital at least 5 times. I felt more sure that the baby was on her way. Cameo really wanted to have the baby and so her reluctance with everything was her attempt to avoid possible disappointment in case labor did not proceed. In fact, Cameo told me after Jane was born that she had prayed mightily on the evening before that she would be born on Sunday.

After arriving at the hospital at 2:30 pm, they monitored her contractions for about an hour and a half in triage. She was dilated to 4 cm at her admittance and contractions became more frequent and painful but she was only dilated to 4.5 cm at 3:30 pm. Everything continued and they moved her to a labor and delivery room at 4:00 pm. They got her IV started and began preparing for the epidural, which they anticipated would happen around 5:00 pm. Epidurals are mandatory for women who have had a previous cesarean section as many women who attempt a vaginal birth end up having another C-section. This was not the case with Lucy so we were both hopeful that Cameo would be able to birth Jane vaginally but with the epidural.

Contractions were much more frequent at this point—about every 2 to 3 minutes—and were beginning to be extremely painful for Cameo. Dr. Alverson arrived at 4:15 pm but chose not to check Cameo’s dilation as he wanted to wait until she was more comfortable with the “happydural.” The nurse administered some medication to help Cameo until she was ready for her epidural and within minutes she was feeling better but the room was moving up and down for her. At each contraction, Cameo didn’t know if she would be able to make it until the epidural.

Meanwhile, Germany and Argentina were locked in a battle in the World Cup Final. The score was 0-0 and they were in the second overtime period. There was approximately 5 minutes until they would go to a penalty shootout to decide the winner of the World Cup. I was half watching the game while Cameo was squeezing my fingers in pain. Then, at 4:30 pm, Germany scored the goal that would propel them to win the World Cup, Cameo had a contraction, and her water broke. Thanks Germany.

I went out and told Natasha, our nurse, that Cameo’s water had broken and she came and checked Cameo. She was dilated to 9 cm. At her next contraction, Cameo said that she felt the need to push. The nurse asked her if she wanted to have the baby right now or try to wait for the epidural, which was over 20 minutes away since the anesthesiologist was just leaving his home per Natasha’s report. Cameo said that she wanted to wait. The next contraction was excruciating for Cameo and the nurse said that the baby was on her way and that Cameo wouldn’t be able to wait. Cameo was scared and didn’t think she could do it without the epidural but the nurse was very encouraging and reassured her and so Cameo agreed. I was worried for Cameo but really believed that she could do it. As usual, I didn’t know what exactly I should be doing or saying that would be most helpful so I just held Cameo’s hand and touched her shoulder and the back of her neck with my other hand. The nurse left for a minute and over the next 60 seconds, all of the nurses and Dr. Alverson were getting everything ready to deliver the baby. Everyone was set up and ready to go at 4:35 pm and Cameo was wondering if she would be able to do it this way. The nurses coached Cameo (and vicariously me) really well and after 4 contractions/pushing, Jane “just popped out” (how Leo described it) at 4:45 pm. She weighed 6 lbs. 14 oz. and was 20 in. long. I struggled to hold back sobbing as I saw Cameo in so much pain during the labor but was equally filled with joy and love when Jane arrived. Jane let out a little cry but was brought almost immediately to Cameo’s chest and within 5 minutes, she was calm and nursing.

Everything happened so fast and so afterwards, both of us were a bit in shock that she was already here in our arms. We are happy and feel blessed that she arrived safely and that our doctor was able to deliver her. Cameo has now given birth in all three possible ways: C-section with Leo, vaginally with an epidural with Lucy, and all natural with Jane. What a champ! Cameo and I also feel that our Heavenly Father was watching over all of us during the process.

Leo and Lucy came to the hospital to meet their new sister Jane the next morning. We bought donuts to eat together in celebration of Jane’s birthday and I’m not sure if Leo was most excited about seeing and meeting Jane or eating the donuts. Both of them were excited to see Cameo and Jane and wanted to hold her, especially Lucy. Their excitement lasted for about 10 minutes, which was as expected, and it was a unique and special feeling to be all together as a family.