Our family welcomed our third baby into the world on Feb 16th 2021 at 12:06pm. For the third time we did not know if we were meeting a girl or a boy. Not knowing the gender seems to be harder for everyone else who isn’t pregnant but I enjoyed not knowing again. It made labor and delivery that much more sweet. I’d like you to meet Layne Hope Yeagley. ‘Layne’ being one syllable, rhymes with ‘rain’. She weighed 8lbs 9oz and was 20in long. I had her at St Elizabeth’s in Boardman since Northside is closed. We had a wonderful experience there and all of my worries about a new to me place were extinguished as soon as we arrived. I’m writing this about a month later and I’m so glad I wrote down a few memories on a scrap piece of paper when we first got home from the hospital. Otherwise I would forget to mention things here. I went back and read through Gwen and Nolan’s birth stories which proves my point of writing things down for my own sake. I don’t remember half of the things that happened!

Layne’s arrival was different than my other two. I spent the last few weeks of pregnancy really worried about a fast labor, mentally preparing and researching about a home birth just in case, and worried about all of the logistics that surround a baby’s arrival. My other two kids being the biggest detail to worry about. I’m not generally anxious and every time I would cloud my mind with worries, I would pray the same prayer, tell myself that I planned all that I could, and that everything would be fine. I know the Lord has everything in his hands so I am able to yield my desires to want to control everything. My prayer every night and every time I was in the shower was Lord, I submit to you with whatever happens, I ask for a safe and easy delivery, that all things would fall into place with the arrival of a healthy baby.

My babies tend to favor snowy conditions and so while the entire US (yikes Texas) was dealing with a massive snowstorm, we were on our way to welcoming baby Layne. The day before (Monday) I was torn on sending our kids to Scott’s parents house early because it had already started to snow. I had been having random contractions for a few days, I was two days past my due date and I just had a gut feeling. So in the afternoon we sent the kid’s to Grandma’s for a sleepover. Gwen and Nolan were thrilled for a fun night and I was relieved no one would have to drive in the snow storm if I did end up having the baby Monday night. I could tell the plan of what to do with the big kids was bothering Scott too so why not opt for a peaceful evening even if nothing happened. So that night, we got wings for dinner and hung out like usual. My contractions were about 15 mins apart so I thought for sure we would be going in late that night. But the pattern to the contractions ended up being sporadic so we went to bed and I tried to focus on resting. The times that I did get up I remember Scott sitting up in bed like the fire alarm was going off. I’d snap at him every time, “I’m just going pee, calm down!” Haha! Surprisingly, I slept well and woke up early the next morning about 6am. My contractions were about 5-7mins apart so I was trying to decide when the best time to leave was and call the doctor. With my other two labors, it was very fast so I was so nervous to wait too long at home and create a less than ideal situation for Scott and myself.

I ended up waiting until 7:30 to call Dr. Patel. I wasn’t sure about the roads with the weather and I wanted her advice on what to do. I loved that I could hear her kids eating breakfast in the background when I talked with her. Somehow it was comforting. At this point contractions were uncomfortable so she advised going to the hospital, taking our time with the roads, and then sit in the parking lot until I was ready to go in. I didn’t want to be in the hospital too early and be hooked up to the monitors. It was more comfortable to manage things in the car. We got to the hospital at 8:20, listened to a podcast for a bit, breathed through the pains, then went inside at 8:40. Contractions are 3-4mins apart at this point. They let me pace in the room while I answered check-in questions and then I got checked (6cm woohoo!) and hooked up to monitor and IV at 9am. The L&D nurse that was with us was named Angelina. God bless her. She was so sweet and easy to talk to, totally encouraging and made me feel like superwoman. I remember saying I was frustrated that nothing was happening (as far as contractions and progress towards the finish line) and she looked at me, then looked at her watch, then back at me. She replies in the most sarcastic and hilarious way, “okay, yeah so you’ve been here for a total of 30 mins.” Then we all just laughed together. Big ol’ piece of humble pie for me, thank ya!

I wasn’t expecting my labor to be slower but I’m grateful for it now. The nurse told me to tell her when it felt like I needed to push so that’s what I focused on. I ended up dealing with contractions 2-3mins apart for 3 hours, ate a popsicle (Gwen thought that was fun), attempted the peanut ball, walking some more in the room, then finally my OB broke my water (was 8cm at this point) at 11:50. Layne’s head needed to come down some more so they suggested I sit on the birthing ball and lean my arms and head on the bed. Kinda like a squat. Those contractions really hurt, I remember grunting and crying quietly in pain through one of them and Scott goes “you okay?” from the couch he was sitting on behind me. I don’t think I actually answered him out loud…probably best. I breathed through one more contraction then the next one was the big one. I stood up, felt a rush of fluids and belted out a motherly roar in agony. Angelina needed me back in the bed but also needed to get my OB so she juggled with trying to help me until another nurse heard my howling and grabbed Dr Patel. Once on the bed I leaned back ready to push and a nurse goes “there’s the butt!” I look at my belly and realize she’s talking about the protruding bump of Layne’s bottom half ready to come out! I remember setting my head back down and giggling a bit. What a fun job L&D would be. I could tell the nurses really love what they do. Two pushes later and Layne was here. They set her on my chest and I was so excited it was a girl. She stayed on my chest for the longest time. She was beautiful. And lots of hair yay!! I looked at Scott and his soft eyes met mine. I said I can’t believe it’s a girl. He did his usual thing during my labors which is don’t be in the way and just quietly wait/watch. What a trooper. Much more calm this time around I would say 🙂

Layne arrive at 12:06pm so to say I was hungry afterward is an understatement. The nurse so thoughtfully got a menu so I could order lunch. I chose a cheeseburger and fries haha! “Coming right up,” she said. My well-deserved meal arrived in the L&D room and I finished it once we got moved to the overnight room. Once we got settled, Scott had to move the car and grab my stuff. He also decided to grab lunch with a friend at his fav taco place. Third child alert.

So my third baby’s arrival was not what I expected but everything I prayed for. God has been so gracious to our family and I’ll praise him the rest of my days for it. Children are a joy and such a gift. A lesson I’ve deeply learned and remembered each time I’ve delivered a baby.

If you’ve made it this far and your name isn’t Cyndi, Kelli or Dana…congratulations ha! You are deeply committed now.

A lot of people have asked why we chose Layne Hope as a name. I am not one to read into the meaning behind names but Layne we liked from the beginning. I’ve always admired the name and it went well with our other N sounding names (Gwen, Nolan).

As for Hope, initially we picked it because it went well with Layne. I don’t think I really put much thought to the “why” behind our choices until we actually met Layne. Since I didn’t know it was a girl I didn’t have 40 weeks to think about the meaning. We picked the name Hope quite simply because we have it! Praise God we have hope!!

As much as I’d like to deny the fact that Layne was born during a pandemic and it is something I had wanted to withhold from her story, I can’t. We have lived in a world where the last year has been so focused on death. Her name serves as a reminder that because of Jesus, I have hope in a better life to come. I  My sin’s punishment has been paid by Christ himself and I get to experience life with him NOW. He’s my living hope! Even during a terrible pandemic, his promises for his people never ended. Babies were born as a reminder of new life and people committed their lives to follow Jesus – even in the midst of society’s darkest days.

When our focus is on what God has promised to do and has done, it doesn’t matter what our current circumstances are. He is the God of hope. Eternal life for me has already been paid for. Praise God. I don’t have to live in fear that all I have on this earth is all I have. Friends, even when faced with death, I have hope.

God is unchanging and his love and grace never wavered in 2020. He is constant and sure. All that God promised through Jesus is still true. This is why we have hope in him. The world will always fall short of lasting hope. And man and vaccines and leaders and movements will always fall short and fail us.

So my little Layne Hope is a daily reminder of what Christ has done for me. And I look forward to the days when I can share with her how much God loves her and explain what her name means to us as Christians.

Let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, with our hearts sprinkled clean from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water.  Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for he who promised is faithful. –Hebrews 10:22-23

May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that by the power of the Holy Spirit you may abound in hope. –Romans 15:13

Below are pictures I’ve taken sporadically over the first month or so of Layne’s life. She has already changed so much and I’m so emotional about it all. Gwen and Nolan have been so great with her and they are eager helpers. It’s been easier going from 2 to 3 compared to 1 to 2. She has been an easy baby so far and reminds me so much of how chill Gwen was. I’m so grateful for everyone that helped, reached out, made or sent food, and prayed. We felt really loved and blessed to be surrounded by such great people. I’m sure most moms don’t like to admit it, but the meals people brought were a lifesaver. Big surprise not really but it is hard to admit sometimes that I don’t have it all together. The shopping, prepping, cooking and planning are my least favorite thing to do ever so having friends bless us with meals was amazing. Thank you so much.