Haven Everly’s Birth Story

You know those moments where time just seems to stand still? Those moments where you just know that you experienced a part of your life that is unforgettable, life-changing, beautiful and breathtaking? A moment that is forever captured, and will always be remembered? Well, I keep replaying December 16, 2014, at 1:37 pm, over and over again in my mind. Because for me, that was the moment my life shined so much brighter, and the instant I loved greater than I had ever thought possible. It was the moment Haven Everly Krabill was born.

It all started Sunday, December 14, 2014. It was the first time I started showing signs that little Haven was going to be arriving soon. I was overjoyed because up until that day, I had no labor signs at all. I happily drove to church that morning with my husband Tanner. I thanked God the whole drive, because I knew I was getting closer to meeting my daughter. I had told my mom and husband that I wanted to have Kristene Mueller’s CD playing whenever the time came to be at the hospital. It had so many beautiful songs that I believed would help relax me once I was in active labor. And you know what’s interesting? That morning at church one of the worship songs was, “Praise the Lord,” by Kristene Mueller. I remember smiling to myself during church that day. God was beginning to write my daughter’s birth story, and I just knew it was going to be beautiful. That evening, a woman who attends my church stopped by my parents to encourage me about labor. It was so sweet because I hardly knew her, and yet she saw value in pouring into me as a soon-to-be momma. She left me with a book of uplifting verses and quotes to take with me to the hospital. I was so blessed and couldn’t help but thank God for surrounding me with such a loving church family.

Monday morning came and it had begun. Contractions were ten minutes apart. I spent the day with my mom preparing our home for Haven’s arrival. We went grocery shopping and cleaned. The afternoon came and I still wasn’t having contractions close enough to justify driving to the hospital, so my mom and I decided to walk. That helped a little. We later enjoyed lunch together as we talked about how happy we were to be so close to meeting Haven. Dinner time came and my contractions were around seven minutes apart. I was relaxing on the couch when I realized I had an email. It was from a friend of mine who helped record a song I had written for my daughter. I got to hear it for the first time that evening. I showed it to my family and they were all so excited and blessed by it. I was overjoyed knowing that I would be able to play this song for Haven the day she was born. By seven pm my my husband and I headed home. And that’s when things really changed. My contractions were stronger and more painful. I was able to manage them, but it was the first time I was confident I would be going to the hospital soon. I tried to get some sleep later that evening, but within ten minutes of laying down I knew labor was now in full speed. I began timing my contractions in my phone. I realized they were now consistently five minutes apart. After an hour of this, I told my husband we needed to head to the hospital. After letting him know, I decided to take a shower. I was thinking by the time I was out of the bathroom, Tanner would be up with his bag packed, ready to go. I was wrong. He was still asleep! I tried waking him up again as I gathered my things and finally he got up. At this point he was in full panic mode. He was grabbing his clothes for the night and packing quickly. I was completely relaxed just trying to calmly breathe through each contraction. He then asked me how far apart my contractions were. I told him three minutes. He immediately was concerned as he rushed me out the door. He was asking why we didn’t leave when they were five minutes apart. I then told him that he had slept when I tried to let him know. (Oh the joys!) I assured him I was fine, but he was worried since I was supposed to already be at Kaiser. It was 1:15 am…on December 16, when we headed to Kaiser hospital in Ontario.

Everything started to feel surreal to me. The day I had anticipated for so long had come. We checked into the hospital and I immediately changed into my gown. The nurse then checked to see how dilated I was. I was four centimeters dilated at that point. She then started my iv and took me to the room where I would be delivering our baby. I then was introduced to the nurse that would be taking care of me until six in the morning. She went over my birth plan and was extremely supportive of what I was wanting. I was actually surprised because I had heard so many other moms say that their doctors/nurses didn’t respect what they were wanting to do. I considered it God’s favor…because I was thoroughly supported by every person I was coming in contact with. Because walking helped eased my pain, Tanner and I walked the halls of the hospital together. I was getting excited with every second that passed because I knew I was getting closer to meeting my daughter face to face. After an hour, the nurse checked my blood pressure and because it was high, I now had to stay in bed. I was a little disappointed because the exercise really helped distract me from the pain, but I was instantly cheered up when my little brother Brett came walking into our room. He was the first person in my family to arrive. We all were talking and laughing. I thought it was so sweet that he came in the middle of the night to be there for Tanner, myself, and little Haven. By four AM, my parents and little sister Faith were all there with me, anxiously waiting for the baby to arrive. I had never seen my parents so excited before. Joy filled the entire room.

As time passed, my contractions grew increasingly stronger. My nurse came into the room, along with an additional nurse, and decided it would help speed things up if she broke my water. So of course, my family cleared the room. (It definitely wasn’t a sight they were wanting to see!) With everyone gone, (except my husband), the nurse grabbed the tool to break my water. Well, just as she was about to break my water…music from my moms phone plays through speakers on full blast singing, “Hallelujah….hallelujah…” And let me just say this: when the nurse breaks your water, you are fully exposed and it feels uncomfortable.  So to have the words, “Hallelujah,” being sung when you have two nurses staring at you…well that’s just comedy. They instantly started laughing and I immediately apologized saying, “I’m soooo sorry! That is definitely NOT a hallelujah moment!” Needless to say, it became the funniest story of my whole labor experience.

Labor was so fast now. My contractions grew increasingly painful. I was dilated at a 7. I was doing so well at that point as far as pain management. I wasn’t screaming. I wasn’t crying. I was just breathing steadily through each contraction as they would come. But by 6:30 AM, the pain reached a whole new level. I couldn’t get my body to stop shaking. I couldn’t get my breathing to be slow and relaxed. I was losing it. I wanted so badly to have a natural birth, but I was desperately wanting the pain to end. So by 7:30 AM, I asked the nurse that had taken over the morning shift for an epidural. Once I received it, and the pain subsided, I was relieved. I was laughing again. Talking again. Energized again. This was it. The final stretch. Since I no longer felt any of the contractions, my whole family came back into the room to spend time with me. I had my immediate family along with both sets of grandparents. I was enjoying every moment and conversation with them. Every two hours a nurse would check me to see how close I was to being fully dilated. Well, when 12 PM came around, I was there. Ten centimeters dilated. I couldn’t believe it! I was so close to meeting my daughter. My nurse told me to try and wait until one pm to push, but to page her if I couldn’t wait until then. I got to 12:50 PM and then I told my mom I wasn’t able to control my body or stop it from pushing. She paged my nurse and then it was showtime. My family hugged me and kissed me as they headed to the waiting room. My mom and husband stayed behind to help me and encourage me as I began to deliver Haven. My nurse told me that first-time moms can take up to two hours when pushing. When I heard that, I decided I was going to get my baby out as fast as possible. I was completely driven by the thought of holding her in my arms and finally kissing her little face. She asked me if I took childbirth classes and a said no. I told her to tell me what I need to do and I’ll do it. I was instructed to push three times with each contraction. The first one came and I did just that. After seeing me push the first time, she told me I would be delivering Haven very quickly. She then paged for the doctor who would deliver my baby. She arrived just moments later with a huge smile on her face. I will never forget noticing the closeness of the staff. There was my nurse, the doctor, and two other nurses in the room. (I had additional nurses in the room because Haven had light meconium and was needing to be cleaned immediately after birth.) They all hugged each other as they entered the room. My nurse told me I had an incredible doctor delivering my baby and that she had also delivered hers. There was so much joy in that hospital room.

With each contraction, I pushed. I could hear my mom encouraging me and letting me know I was doing great. Tanner was doing the same. I listened to the music that was playing as I worked to deliver Haven. After a few songs, amazing grace began to play. And that is when time stood still. Fifteen minutes was all it took. I heard the cry of my daughter Haven. With tears streaming down my face I looked at her as she was carried to the cleaning station. She was perfect. My eyes were locked on her. In that moment nothing else mattered. In that moment I was changed. My whole world lit up in that instant. I felt within me a love so much deeper than I ever could have thought I was capable of possessing. I could hear my mom crying saying, “Oh Taylor, she’s so beautiful!” Tanner was crying as he looked at our daughter. My dad had called my mom for an update and my mom was crying tears of  joy as she said, “Haven is here. She’s finally here and she’s beautiful.” It was a surreal moment. And it’s so vividly embedded in my mind.

She was all cleaned up after five minutes, and then the moment I had anxiously waited for came. The nurse handed me my beautiful daughter. I held her close as tears rolled down my cheeks. I kissed her sweet face over and over again. I stroked her tiny back and gazed at her as she stared deep into my eyes. I won’t ever forget that moment. It was breathtakingly beautiful. I was overwhelmed by the vast love I carried for this little girl. There are no words that can do justice to the way I feel towards her. I had fallen in love with her the day I knew Tanner and I were having a child, but it deepened the second she entered this world. And it continues to grow with every passing day.

My life became something greater that day. I was given a great responsibility: to raise my child in the ways of the Lord. I thank God each and every day for blessing me with Haven. She is my joy. It’s crazy how I spent months wondering what she would look like and now I will forever know her face. My prayer is that I would raise her in a way that always points to the cross. And in order to do that, I have to constantly be striving to grow in godliness. My heart is willing to do that. I am motivated by this endless love. And I am thankful to God for moments that are timeless, captivating, and beautiful. I won’t forget December 16, 2014, at 1:37 PM. I’ll carry it’s memories with me for all of my days.