I prayed for this child, and the Lord has granted me what I asked of him.
 1 Samuel 1:27

 I love reading birth stories, and I’m so glad I wrote out my story with my first child, Nola. I definitely wanted to do it with baby #2 but, as the plight of the second born goes, it’s taken me awhile. (She just turned 5 months this week.) Truth be told, I’m writing this out mostly for me. If you like birth stories, you might be interested. If not, just keep scrolling for pretty weddings. 🙂
The birth of my first daughter was difficult, traumatic, and I have a lot of sadness that goes along with it. I’m thankful to say Eliza’s birth was so very different from Nola’s.
Immediately after Nola was born I was told by my midwife and doctor that a v-bac wasn’t in my future. Being the hippy I am, that was something I grieved, but I became aware of family centered/natural c-sections and my hope was to achieve one.
My doctor had retired from OB and so I went in search for the perfect doctor for the birth of my second child. From the get-go I was told (and knew in my gut) that Dr. Corey Babb was the doctor I wanted.  I met with a few doctors – one delightful doctor made me cry buckets of tears. Discouraged and overwhelmed I called my dear friend, Elisabeth, and she was able to pull some strings and get me an appointment with Dr. Babb. I’m very thankful he took me on because I was already over halfway through my pregnancy.

That morning in September finally arrived and it was so surreal walking into the hospital knowing that I would be holding my baby shortly. When we arrived, April was already there with her camera. (I should mention that she lives almost an hour from St. Francis, I literally live across the street, and she still beat us.) The hospital was a bit chaotic that morning so Nola kept us entertained until we were called back. (In the top photo above she’s showing us how big she thought Eliza would be.) I wasn’t nervous at all and we were laughing and having a good time.

They called me back to prep for surgery and the nerves hit, and they hit hard. My previous experience giving birth I wasn’t able to get anything I wished for because of how things transpired. I lowered my expectations waaay down this time and had only 3 wishes: I wanted my photographer in the room, I wanted my placenta for encapsulation (I know I know, ew,) and if Eliza checked out fine I wanted to be able to hold her while the surgery was finished. I had already okayed all three things with Dr. Babb. Unfortunately, the nurse prepping me was not comfortable with the placenta encapsulation, doubted I’d be able to have my photographer present, and gave me a definite ‘no’ on getting to hold Eliza because they were understaffed. Being the pregnant, hormonal, and suddenly very nervous person I was, the tears started coming. I could handle the rest, but the thought of once again not being able to hold my baby right away just broke me. All the sadness of not holding or seeing Nola for almost a day after she was born came flooding back.

Pretty soon, here comes Dr. Babb who sits down on the edge of my bed and says he’s taken care of everything and I’ll be able to hold my baby as long as she’s doing fine. (Okay guys, if you haven’t figured it out yet this blog is kind of a “rah-rah Dr. Babb” story.)
My intention was for my dad to pray over us before I was taken back, but by the time my parents got to the room I was weepy and nervous and I knew if my dad was praying the weeping would continue and it would scare Nola. I knew he had already been, and would continue, to pray so we skipped that part. He took Nola with him so he and she could have a fun day together.

   As I was being rolled into the O.R. I could hear someone say my name and then a nurse (I believe she’s a nurse. Lisa, please forgive me if I’m wrong) say “Andrea Murphy? As in Andrea Murphy the photographer??” (Suddenly not weepy and feeling like a celebrity!) I replied that yes I was indeed Andrea Murphy the photographer and she said “Oh I have your pictures all over my house, you photographed my daughter’s wedding a few years back”. Nothing like “getting recognized” moments before you have your guts sliced open. One of my favorite moments of this story, for sure!

When you have a c-section you go to the O.R. without your spouse or “person.” This was the aspect that worried me the most. In my first c-section I was mostly crazed and was knocked out shortly thereafter. In the cesareans I’ve photographed, I wasn’t permitted in at this point so I had no idea what to expect. The surgical staff were all sooo kind and wonderful and Dr. Babb actually lets you hang on to him during the spinal.  I’ve been in cold operating rooms before, and this one seemed exceptionally freezing, but as soon as those drugs kicked in I was warm all over. It was really lovely. Mmm…. drugs.
Patrick and April were brought in after surgery started. Patrick wasn’t able to be present for Nola’s birth because I was all the way under so it was just as exciting for him as it was for me to fully experience the birth of our child for the first time. I was surprised at what a happy place an operating room could be. We were smiling and chatting and Patrick and I just kept looking at each other with that “Is this real life?” expression on our faces. In just a few quick moments Dr. Babb said, “Are you ready to meet your baby?” and I felt a tug and he pulled her out of me.

I was literally speechless. It’s something I’ve never experienced before in my life. I opened my mouth to say something and nothing came out (except for a few happy sobs). I was finally able to form words and the first thing I spoke over her was “I love her so much”. (I’m so thankful I wasn’t able to form the words a moment before because what I would have first said was “She has no hair!” hahaha!) I just stared at her for a couple seconds until Dr. Babb told me I could hold her. It was honestly the greatest moment of my life. Being able to touch my baby right away, to be the first one (other than the doctor of course) to touch her meant the world to me. She was tiny and perfect and beautiful. April has said she wished she had taken video at the moment just to hear the things Patrick and I were saying. We were just overwhelmed.

They took her away for just a few minutes and I could hear her screaming her head off the whole time. It was wonderful. P.S. How hot is my husband in scrubs?

As soon as she was done with a few quick tests she was back in my arms for the remainder of most the surgery.

Although I’d photographed a number of c-sections, I always had in my mind that it wasn’t as great as natural birth or that it couldn’t compare or compete. But I’m hear to tell you I was wrong. It was absolutely beautiful and memorable and wonderful and all the good things. Even the experience of being able to have her with me the whole hospital stay was just surreal. So for those c-section mamas that aren’t given an alternative, know that it can be a healing and redemptive experience. Also, for those wondering: recovering from a planned c-section after an emergency c-section under general anesthesia is a cakewalk!! So much easier. I’m so thankful for the whole experience, I truly wasn’t aware of all that I had missed before.

Eliza Tess
Born September 20, 2016 at 10:51am
Weighing 6 pounds 13 ounces
20 inches long

Thank you again to my fantastic second shooter and dear friend April for these photos. I treasure them so very much.

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