Meet Eva

The other day, I had a baby.

I was scheduled to be induced on Tuesday, April 14th. On Monday night, the hospital called and said, "You're second on the list so be ready to go by 6:00 a.m. just in case!" I spent all of Monday night rejoicing that I was hours away from becoming not-pregnant. I tried to feel sad about it, and I kept trying to force myself to feel some sort of sorrow at the thought of possibly never being pregnant again, but I was so miserable, that there wasn't an ounce of sincere sorrow to be had.

I didn't think the hospital would call that early, but I was feeling optimistic, so I was up and ready to go at 6:00, just like they requested. The protocol, which I'm quite familiar with after being induced three other times, is to call the hospital at 9:00 if you haven't heard from them yet. I called at 9:00, and they told me that things weren't looking so good. A storm was blowing in, and as a result, a lot of women were coming in with their waters broken, and the hospital was full. I was told to call back at noon, then 3:00, then 6:00. At 6:00, they didn't even tell me to call back, but I called at 8:30 anyway. At that point, they they told me they had had a spot for me, but four more women had just come in. 

The storm. This picture hardly does it justice. It was a really awful storm, beginning with fierce winds that blew salt and dirt all over the valley and caused several car accidents. Trees were uprooted, shingles were flying off roofs, and trampolines were soaring over fences. In the afternoon, the winds calmed and the snow started. Note my freshly painted garage trim.

I tried to be patient and keep my cool throughout the whole ordeal. After all, I was choosing to force my baby out out of impatience and selfishness. I hardly had any excuse to complain. Also, I had felt unsure about whether I should be induced or wait it out, and when I prayed about it, I never really got a strong answer, so I pretty much said, "Heavenly Father, I'm going to schedule an induction, and if there's any reason I shouldn't go forward with it, I'll trust you to intervene." So I suspect Heavenly Father was doing just that. Deep, down, though, I was devastated. I bawled all day, and by the time the sun went down, the excitement of having a baby was long gone, and I was exhausted.

Scotty and I tried to keep ourselves busy all day. We went to Sam's Club, where my flip-flop broke and that's when I had my first good cry of the day. We went to the farm store to get fertilizer, We went to a sandwich shop and had lunch and then came home and tested out one of our new board games. We walked around the mall and went to Cold Stone where I had a delicious sorbet with strawberries that I am going to need again really soon (thanks to my sis-in-law for the gift card which I combined with Entertainment coupons and, therefore, will be able to go again soon for FREE!)

Feeling defeated, we returned home at the end of the day to go to bed. Our kids were at their grandma's house, and I was torn over whether we should leave them there or bring them home. My doctor said he would be at the hospital for other deliveries that night, so he was fine if I wanted to wait it out and see if a room and nurse would become available throughout the night. We decided to leave the kids at Grandma's just in case. Since it had snowed, Scotty ran over to his mom's house to take the kids' coats (I thought I was a great mom because I had the good sense to pack sweatshirts). While he was gone, I was trying to cry myself to sleep when the phone rang. It was 9:40 p.m. and they had a spot for me in the hospital! I told the charge nurse, "I will be there in twenty minutes! Don't give my bed away!" Then I texted Scotty and said, "Get home now! We're going!"

I was positive I would get to the hospital and find out I'd lost my spot, but when I walked in, they took me to a room! A real labor and delivery room with a hospital gown and the whole shebang!

I threw on that gown and hopped into the bed as fast as I could, knowing that, until I had an I.V. in me, I could be sent away at any moment.

Dibs.

I met my nurse, which is always a little nerve wracking for me (I had a grumpy nurse once, and she scarred me a bit). My nurse was really nice, but dude! She was rough. She couldn't find my cervix (not sure why. It's always been there before). And I've never flinched at having an I.V, but I'm pretty sure she was trying to carve her initials into me. I couldn't complain, though, because this woman was prompt! If I pushed the nurse button, she was there in less than 30 seconds. She was very attentive, and she treated me like I was the only woman in the world giving birth.

Since I was Group B Strep positive, the nurse started my penicillin. I wasn't very dilated (saying I was at a three would be generous), so she went ahead and started a slow pitocin drip as well. Since Scotty and I were pretty exhausted, we both went to sleep. I had mild contractions that would occasionally wake me, but nothing major happened. Three hours later, my doctor came in and broke my water. I was surprised at how little fluid there was. I remembered there being quite a bit more in past deliveries. My contractions got painful right away. I was dilated to a four, and my labor always stalls for a while at a four, so I went ahead and got an epidural and went to sleep.

A couple hours later, I woke up in pain. I'd had the anesthesiologist do a mobile epidural, and I was starting to feel my contractions pretty heavily. I had the nurse check me so I could guesstimate how much longer I'd be in pain. I was at a six, so I assumed I still had a few more hours, but half an hour later, it was go time!

My doctor had gone home to shower, so we waited about fifteen minutes for him to get back to the hospital. I pushed three times, and BAM! There she was!

Okay, maybe BAM! Isn't the best way to describe her arrival. She didn't come shooting out, but they're not kidding when they say that after having so many kids, they pretty much just fall out. I pushed with hardly any effort. It was so simple and peaceful... until my fluids came gushing out at the doctor like a fire hose. Everyone in the room had to jump out of the way to save their shoes. It was so grossly awesome!

I was a little surprised when they laid the baby on me, and she was laying perfectly still without a sound. I figured if something was wrong, someone would have said something, but after a second, I asked, "Is it okay that she's not making noise?" They assured me she was fine and that some babies are quiet when they're born (a first for me). Right after that, she started crying. She was purple and squishy and had a smear of vernix on her head that looked like she'd been coated in cream cheese. 

The snuggles. They are the best!

She weighed 7 lbs 13 oz and was 22 inches long. She was our first "bald" baby, though she's not really bald (she has some hair around the back of her head and some peach fuzz on top). She clocked in at 6:34 a.m. on April 15 (a tax day baby)! My labor was 7.5 hours.

We named her Evalene, which is a combination of my grandparents' names, Evans and Marlene. On the blog, she'll be called Eva (with a short 'e' sound, but really, you can say it however you want. I'll probably never know). 

My recovery in the hospital went well. I had very little pain, just some cramping, as can be expected. The pediatrician gave us the okay to leave a day early since I had been given two doses of penicillin during labor, and Eva was healthy. I was grateful for that. The day Eva was born, I was perfectly happy sitting in the hospital doing nothing, but the next day I went stir crazy and couldn't wait to get out of there and eat non-hospital food. 

Since coming home, things haven't been easy. I'm muddling through the initial "Crazy." I started my new semester at school, but my mind isn't handling it well. I've already missed an assignment, and I spend a lot of time staring at the computer reading the same passages over and over without anything sinking in. I'm an emotional basket case, and even though my body feels really great for just having given birth, I get wiped out quickly.

But with all that, it is so overwhelmingly beautiful to have a newborn. I could stare at her all day and marvel at everything she does. 

I'm so glad she's finally here!