Evelyn Brenda Banner
Contractions started the morning of my due date (11-25) at 3am and were 10 minutes apart. At 9am they were 6 minutes apart so I called my doctors office, they told me to come in and get checked. I was almost a 4 and 75% effaced so my doctor told me baby probably wasn't coming today and had me schedule an appointment for the next morning. Contractions continued ranging from 6-15 minutes all day. I was able to nap with Liam for a couple hours which was wonderful. Martin, Liam and I went for a long walk to keep things going/speed things up. Then Martin wanted to go to Sizzler since that is where we went to eat the day before Liam's due date and where my water broke. My mom watched Liam while we went to eat. Contractions were about every 5-6 minutes. After dinner we walked around the mall, before going back to mom's house.
7:00pm-Jason and Seth met us at moms house to give me a blessing. It was beautiful, and exactly what I needed to hear. After that we talked for a bit then went home. We decided that even though the doc said she wasn't coming that night, that Martin would go get Makayla so we could have her spend the night so that she could stay with Liam 'just in case'.
9:30pm- I got in the bath to see if it would help ease some pain. It made the pain worse for me, I just wanted to move. Being in the water slowed contractions a little. Makayla was going to put Liam to sleep, but I felt I needed to spend that time with him, so I cuddled him until he fell asleep. It was really hard to lay still with the contractions coming every 5 minutes but I'm glad I did it. He finally fell asleep at just before midnight. When I came out of the bedroom contractions picked up fast and were right on top of each other. I woke Martin up and told him we needed to get to the hospital fast! I couldn't find a coat so the walk down to the car I had about 5 contractions and my teeth were chattering uncontrollably. I called mom and Gayla and told them I would go get checked out, just in case this wasn't it, and I would call them back. I called my doula and she said she would meet us there.
12:10am We got to the hospital and had to check in at the ER since it was after hours. Contractions were two minutes apart. The admitting lady was really good. She got us in fast and wheeled me up to labor and delivery. She was making jokes and giving Martin a hard time. My doula showed up just before they took us up. I was so glad she was there! They got me right into a room and I got changed. They hooked me up to the monitors as they needed 20 minutes of checking on the baby and then they would take me off. They checked me and I told them if I was still at a 4 they had to lie to me. No need, I was at a 7 with a bulging bag of waters. They said once my water broke I would go fast! I was so happy! I called mom and Gayla and said to get there quick! They wanted to put a hep-lock in so they could have quick access in case I needed an iv. They tried in my right arm but couldn't get it. So they tried in my left hand. This was so frustrating to me. My contractions were painful and 2 minutes apart. Martin and Jenni were really great. Since I had to be sitting in the bed, they would push down on my shoulders with every contraction. I started to hum/moan and Jenni would hum with me and remind me to keep it low. It helped so much. As they were getting my hep lock in my hand, we heard a loud pop, and my water broke. Things from this point on got a little hazy for me and I can't remember details. I remember wanting to push and asking where Gayla and mom were, and they walked in the door right then, followed by my doctor a minute or so later. The urge to push was insane! For the past 22 hours I had handled the contractions quite well just breathing through them, but lost it during pushing. I was yelling and screaming. Saying I didn't want to do it anymore. I remember saying that to my doctor and he motioned to Martin and said it's ok he'll take over.
1:20- 
She was out in 2 contractions and 3 pushes. All 8lbs 13oz of her. And no tearing at all. They placed her on my belly. I can't remember what I said first, but I said hello and thanked her for coming fast. I couldn't have kept up pushing for very long. And I said "I did it!" It was amazing, and empowering. I scared everyone with my screaming, and they all can't believe that IF we have another one, I would go natural again. My mom didn't know we were giving Evelyn her middle name so it was a special moment when I turned to her and told her.
