Evelyn's Birth

I've been meaning to sit down and write this, but it turns out, two kids take up all of my time! Who knew?

Anyway, Evelyn's birth went much better than Nathaniel's birth. I had really hoped to go into labor on my own this time, but it didn't happen that way. My blood pressure was great through this whole pregnancy, but at my last doctor's appointment during week 38, it was 145/95. Dr. Dixon and I talked, and decided that considering my history, we'd rather be safe than sorry. He was on call two days later, October 22. I didn't really want to be induced, but the more I thought about it, the more I liked knowing when she would be here. I also liked knowing that Dr. Dixon would deliver her. I would be 38 weeks and 5 days, so pretty close to that magical 39-week mark.

We took Nathaniel to my mom's house Tuesday night, since we were planning on going in early. The hospital was supposed to call me between 4 and 7 am to come in for the induction. They didn't. At 8 I called for a status update. The charge nurse told me they were really busy and didn't have any open beds. A lady who was supposed to be induced the night before was still waiting and was in line before me. She said she would touch base with me around lunch time, but I figured I wouldn't be going in until really late. I cried, then napped. Jesse worked on baby sister's nursery. It worked out, though, because I needed that sleep. And Jesse was really glad to have that extra time to work on her room.

Around 1:30 or so I asked Jesse if he wanted to go grab some Firehouse soon. We decided we'd go eat and stop at Lowe's for some blinds for the nursery. We decided to throw our hospital bags in the car just in case. Right as we were walking out the door around 2, the nurse called and said to eat lunch and come in. So we ate and went straight there.

I was at about 3.5 cm and 70% effaced to start. Pitocin started at 4:00. They cranked it up every 30 minutes. By 6 I was having some mild contractions. I was still 3.5 cm and Dr. Dixon broke my water. Then it got real. Over the next few hours the contractions got really bad. I was hoping to go without an epidural, or at least labor for a while without one. By 9:20 I asked for some IV pain meds. They made me super drowsy, but didn't do a thing for my contractions. Shortly after that I asked for an epidural, knowing it would take some time for them to get it to me. The nurse checked me and I was at 7 cm. I started to think maybe I should have just kept going. I got the epidural and at 10:15 my nurse checked me again and I was at a 9.5. My nurse gave me the option to start pushing soon or to rest a bit. I decided to rest since I finally had some relief from those contractions. Plus, that IV medicine made me so drowsy I was in and out of consciousness. I dozed off and on until I couldn't fight the urge to push any longer. I let my nurse know around 11:30 that I needed to push. She got everything ready and had me push for about 5 minutes. Dr. Dixon came in and I pushed for another 5 minutes and she was here at 11:50 p.m. She just barely made it on the 22nd. Once I started pushing I was really glad I had gotten the epidural because it was still quite painful.

I'm really proud of myself for making it to 7 cm before asking for the epidural. And I'm glad I got the epidural. Those contractions were no joke!

While Dr. Dixon stitched me up, I got to hold Evelyn on my chest. They let me hold her for about an hour and a half before weighing and bathing her. She latched and nursed really well for about 15 or 20 minutes. Then they cleaned her up and weighed her. When they said 8 pounds 4 ounces I was shocked. She didn't look like an 8-pounder to me. I had expected her to be about 7.5 pounds. My doctor with Nathaniel told me that if I had babies over 8 or even 7 pounds she would recommend c-sections. I really liked her but now I'm kind of glad she moved. She may have talked me into a c-section and I really was capable of birthing a bigger baby. I'm pretty amazed by my body right now. I'm also glad we never did a weight ultrasound late in the pregnancy because I probably would've freaked out.

Anyway, all went well. I felt great. Never needed pain meds afterwards. The only pain I had was a little pain from my epidural and the ridiculous cramping for a couple days. Unfortunately, Evelyn had high bilirubin and had to be under the photo-therapy lights. We had to stay for an extra two nights. Apparently if one child has jaundice, it's pretty likely that the others will too. Now I know. Also, she stopped nursing and I had to pump. Nathaniel took about 6 weeks to start nursing. Evelyn only took a week and a half, luckily. I have more than 2 gallons of breast milk in my freezer and I still have to pump a little after each feeding until my milk regulates.

We are so excited to have our sweet Evelyn here. She loves to sleep (except at night when we want to sleep), she hates baths, diaper and clothing changes, sitting in her car seat and stroller, and waiting more than 2 seconds after waking up to eat. She's getting more alert and staying awake for longer periods of time. She is nursing well and growing a lot. Nathaniel loves "baby stister."