An Unexpected Surprise

We welcomed Evelyn Joy into our arms on October 2, at 9:31am. She was 8 pounds, 12 ounces and 20.75 inches long.

Even though I haven't done this before, I feel like I should record her birth story. It was amazing and strange all at the same time. 

Tuesday was a busy day as usual. We ran errands in the morning, going to the bank, the BMV, the post office. I was on a mission to get all the loose ends tied up from the move before my planned induction on October 14. The Hubby was slowly making his way from Pennsylvania to North Dakota for work. It was a typical day.

Around 2pm, I started feeling really strange, sick, weird. I don't know how to describe it. My right leg was killing me. I could hardly walk. It was similar to sciatic pain except it never went away. I started getting hot flashes. And my stomach and mid back felt like they were on fire. I tried laying down, snacking a little, nothing worked. I picked up tacos and nachos for dinner because I thought that maybe I was just starving. 

By 7:30pm, I was totally miserable. I wasn't having any noticeable contractions, but I called my doctor's office anyway. The on-call doctor told me I should go to the hospital to be checked out. 

After a quick shower, my dad took me up to labor and delivery. They got me all hooked up. Evie's heartbeat was stable, and they weren't picking up any contractions either. Then, they checked me. I was 4cm dilated, 75% effaced and her head was at a 0 station. Obviously something was happening! The nurses were totally shocked. I think I overheard one of them saying, "Well, that changes things!" Ha.

So, I called Michael and told him he needed to get home ASAP. Fortunately, I caught him while he was still in Minnesota. But, unfortunately, there weren't any flights back to Chicago until 6am on Wednesday. He wanted to just drive back, but I couldn't let him do that. So, we kind of resigned ourselves to the possibility that he wouldn't make it in time. :(

Eventually, the nurses got the bands positioned properly and I was having contractions. They were about 9 minutes apart. Because I was just barely over 37 weeks, the on-call doctor basically said, "we'll just wait and see what happens." Over the next couple of hours, my contractions continued to be pretty far apart. Slowly but surely, I made some progress. My sister showed up around 2am and my dad left to go stay at my house with my other two sisters and the kids.

Around 4am, I got to 5/6 cm, 90% effaced. She had slipped back up so she was at a -2 station. I had gotten an epidural and was laying down trying to sleep til that point. Obviously this was not helping. So, I sat up to try to get something going. I could still move my legs pretty well so I scooted around and sat Indian style, hit some pressure points on my toes. I tried everything I could think of doing.

I was at 6.5cm by 5:30am. Transition is always weird for me. I won't make any more progress until my water breaks. So, around 6:30am, my doctor showed up, broke my water and started pitocin before he was off to do a c-section. 

Michael made his flight and landed in Chicago just after 7am. His taxi was very late picking him up. I was still at 6.5cm when he finally got on the road at 7:45am. 

By this point, I wasn't sure what was going on. I was anxious, and tired, and just wanted the whole labor process to be over. I had been at the hospital for 12 hours and it didn't feel like I had come very far. I was discouraged. But all I could do was sit and wait.

A little over an hour later, I started feeling strange again.  Michael was getting close to the hospital. So, I asked the nurses to check again. I was at 9.5cm dilated! I texted Michael and he had just gotten off the toll road. He was minutes away. The nurse called for my doctor and started prepping the room. 

At 9:15am, Michael walked in the room. He gave me the biggest hug and I started crying. I couldn't believe it. He made it! My sister left to go feed her baby at this point. My contractions were really strong now. I had to fight the urge to push. After my doctor got there (which felt like an eternity, but probably was only a few minutes in real time), we were ready to go. My next contraction hit, and out she came! I pulled her up right into my arms. 

Everything after this moment is kind of a blur. (I was sort of distracted because the placenta wasn't detaching. Not fun.) I do very clearly remember the moment they weighed her though. When the nurse called it out, I was dumbfounded. I'm not sure what I said exactly, but I'll bet it had some profanity. She was half a pound bigger than Logan, and she was two and a half weeks early!

Her birth was an awesome, amazing experience. It was like she was waiting for Michael to arrive. Once all the pieces were in place, BOOM! She was here! It really felt like a little miracle to me. 

She will be a week old tomorrow and it's already hard to imagine our family without her. The kids love her so much.

Today, I feel so very blessed. Thank you Lord for these precious gifts you have entrusted to Michael and I. They fill my heart with pure joy every single day.