EVANGELINE ROSE {a birth story}

This little girl’s birth is one of the most anticipated births I know. When my friend Heather found out she was pregnant, she was preparing to add her fifth son to the family, as was the standard. As a mother of four boys, what would be the chance that number 5 was a girl? Well, the day of the ultrasound, there was much rejoicing, because lo and behold, Faught baby number 5 was a GIRL!! Heather is a fantastic mother to boys – she has shown me what grace and truth look like in parenting, and loving her boys unconditionally through all their God-given boyness – but she is about as girly as they get. And although I’ve only known her a couple years, I have seen her time and time again shower her friends (who have girls), with girly gifts, living vicariously through their daughters. When Ellie was born, she brought me some of the cutest, most girly outfits I’ve ever seen! She has an eye for bows and all things pink. So when we all heard that she was going to have her OWN daughter to shower the girliness on, of course we were excited. (FYI, would have loved another Faught BOY as well if that’s what the Lord wanted!)

So fast forward 20 more weeks and we’re at D-Day! Jesse & Heather so graciously invited me into the labor room to photograph Evie’s arrival. I always feel so honored when people allow me in on such an intimate moment. I mean, having been in many births, including 4 of my own, you’ll quickly find they aren’t as intimate as you would think with the team of nurses running around, everyone all up in your business, etc. But still, I always consider it an honor and a privilege. They broke Heather’s water around 8:30 am and labor began to progress fairly quickly. I arrived at the hospital at noon, thinking I just barely made it. Well I guess Evie decided to show mom and dad that she is going to have a mind of her own, because the sweet thing decided not to come until 4:23pm. I mean, 8hrs for a labor isn’t all that bad, but when it’s your fifth AND you’re going natural, I think you’d like it to happen a bit sooner. Oh yeah, and that whole natural thing – Heather is a CHAMP. I mean, seriously, watching her labor naturally was beautiful and peaceful. I have never heard someone labor so quietly – I even thought she was asleep during transition (the hardest part). Except for seeing her clench her fist when hard contractions would come, I would have definitely thought that was the case. Fortunately for her, when the end came, it came fast. It probably felt like an eternity, but the Lord gave her just enough strength to push Evie out in just a couple pushes. Praise God!! And the look of relief and joy on both her and Jesse’s faces was priceless. A beautiful baby girl with a head full (and I mean head FULL) of hair came out and forever changed their lives.

They opted to do Kangaroo care, which means after the baby is born, they give her to mama and give them some skin-to-skin time. I wasn’t able to stay long after that, and I didn’t want to disturb the bonding, so pics with Jesse and the bros will have to wait until their newborn session. Can’t wait to see the kind of bows that will go in that girl’s HAIR!!

Congrats, Jesse & Heather, on your BEAUTIFUL BABY GIRL. We are praising God along with you for the birth of this wonderful child. I love her so much already.