hello, miss Evelyn Claire
welcome to the world, sweet girl!
here's the story of our labor and delivery-- to share with you and so that I never forget the details surrounding her arrival. if you are not interested in the details, I understand. feel free to scroll down and just look at the pictures.
I was 39 weeks pregnant on Monday and was getting myself used to the fact that this pregnancy might go overdue, just like my second. we had a really sweet weekend as a family and I tried to mentally and emotionally prepare myself for more time as we awaited Evelyn's arrival.
I had my 39-week checkup at the OB Monday afternoon and, after checking me, my midwife says I have progressed and asks if I want her to strip my membranes (separate the amniotic sac from the uterus manually). sure! not a comfortable experience, but, hey, not a lot about having a baby is!
I go home and have contractions on and off through the night. trying my best not to get my hopes up that we are closer to D-day, but also savoring the time with my boys, knowing that our family is about to change in a big way, regardless.
Tuesday morning wakes me up early as I realize these contractions are becoming more consistent and more intense. (yippee!). my husband and I are up at 6, showering, emptying the trash, tidying up the house, and getting those last minute preparations in. by 10, my contractions are 5 minutes apart and, let's just say....unpleasant to endure. with our boys in good hands, we head to the hospital.
we arrive, register (this process took a good half hour, so i'm glad I wasn't too progressed), then head up to OB. my midwife tells me i'm 5cm dilated and I am moved to our labor and delivery room. right before 1pm (an hour and a half later), the anesthesiologist arrives with some lovely bupivacaine and fentanyl-- yes, an epidural. he and my midwife head to a C-section. when she returns, I am 7cm and she breaks my bag of waters. the time in between allowed me to rest, even though I didn't sleep, and mentally prepare for our delivery. around 4, I am feeling my contractions close together and decide I would push just a little to see what happens. I don't recommend this unless you are ready to have your baby, like, that second. apparently, I was fully dilated and this was all it took to give my body the full urge to push. I yell out to my husband, "go get her!"-- he reaches for the nurse call button and I say, "no! go get her!". the midwife, L&D nurse, and peds nurse come in and we prepare for delivery. the entire experience, even at this moment, never felt rushed or crazy. even though my body was ready, there was time to get everything situated for baby girl's arrival. the pushing didn't last long and my husband delivered our daughter, Evelyn Claire. before I knew it, she was laid on my chest and stayed there for a while during the remainder of the delivery. my midwife had a student with her who graciously took pictures of the entire delivery-- most of which no one else will ever see, but they will be priceless to me.
Evelyn Claire was born at 4:34pm on July 30, 2013. she weighed 7lbs 11oz, and was 20.5in at birth. she is precious. beautiful and perfect in every way, she is a delightful addition to our family!
here's the story of our labor and delivery-- to share with you and so that I never forget the details surrounding her arrival. if you are not interested in the details, I understand. feel free to scroll down and just look at the pictures.
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I was 39 weeks pregnant on Monday and was getting myself used to the fact that this pregnancy might go overdue, just like my second. we had a really sweet weekend as a family and I tried to mentally and emotionally prepare myself for more time as we awaited Evelyn's arrival.
I had my 39-week checkup at the OB Monday afternoon and, after checking me, my midwife says I have progressed and asks if I want her to strip my membranes (separate the amniotic sac from the uterus manually). sure! not a comfortable experience, but, hey, not a lot about having a baby is!
I go home and have contractions on and off through the night. trying my best not to get my hopes up that we are closer to D-day, but also savoring the time with my boys, knowing that our family is about to change in a big way, regardless.
Tuesday morning wakes me up early as I realize these contractions are becoming more consistent and more intense. (yippee!). my husband and I are up at 6, showering, emptying the trash, tidying up the house, and getting those last minute preparations in. by 10, my contractions are 5 minutes apart and, let's just say....unpleasant to endure. with our boys in good hands, we head to the hospital.
we arrive, register (this process took a good half hour, so i'm glad I wasn't too progressed), then head up to OB. my midwife tells me i'm 5cm dilated and I am moved to our labor and delivery room. right before 1pm (an hour and a half later), the anesthesiologist arrives with some lovely bupivacaine and fentanyl-- yes, an epidural. he and my midwife head to a C-section. when she returns, I am 7cm and she breaks my bag of waters. the time in between allowed me to rest, even though I didn't sleep, and mentally prepare for our delivery. around 4, I am feeling my contractions close together and decide I would push just a little to see what happens. I don't recommend this unless you are ready to have your baby, like, that second. apparently, I was fully dilated and this was all it took to give my body the full urge to push. I yell out to my husband, "go get her!"-- he reaches for the nurse call button and I say, "no! go get her!". the midwife, L&D nurse, and peds nurse come in and we prepare for delivery. the entire experience, even at this moment, never felt rushed or crazy. even though my body was ready, there was time to get everything situated for baby girl's arrival. the pushing didn't last long and my husband delivered our daughter, Evelyn Claire. before I knew it, she was laid on my chest and stayed there for a while during the remainder of the delivery. my midwife had a student with her who graciously took pictures of the entire delivery-- most of which no one else will ever see, but they will be priceless to me.
Evelyn Claire was born at 4:34pm on July 30, 2013. she weighed 7lbs 11oz, and was 20.5in at birth. she is precious. beautiful and perfect in every way, she is a delightful addition to our family!
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| all checked in at the hospital...picture taken in between contractions! 39 weeks and 1 day. |
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| epidural-- check. just a few hours away from our sweet girl's arrival! |
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| the view from our delivery room. |
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| meeting daddy |
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| our little girl |
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| sub-8lb baby-- I was pleasantly surprised! |
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| enjoying our sweet girl |
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| daddy is smitten. took about 0.3seconds! |
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| our little princess! |
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| i'm thinking she might be a runner? |
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| too sweet. one of the nurses added a bow to her hat. |
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| meeting her big brothers! they LOVE her! |
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| family of five. still feels surreal. |
Oh, so glad that is behind you and little Evelyn Claire is here. What a precious family. Take care of yourself and Gods richest blessings on you.
ReplyDeleteSuch a sweet baby!!! There is just nothing like it :)
ReplyDeleteCongratulations Amanda! Oh man I am so out of the blog world--can't believe I am just now seeing this. What a beautiful girl and a beautiful addition to your family. So happy for you!!
ReplyDelete