I had my 39 week appointment scheduled for May 2nd. I'm kind of a big scaredy cat when it comes to the doctors, so since Mike had to work this appointment, I had my mom come along!
While we were there, I learned that I was 90% effaced and dilated to a 2!
My doctor, Dr. Willis, also gave me some bad news. He was leaving to Italy one day before my due date (May 11th)! Uh oh! What if i went into labor while he was gone! There are 3 reasons why this was such a huge problem!
#1. Dr Willis was the one who delivered me! He also delivered each of my siblings and has been my family doctor my whole life. I have been so excited to have him deliver my children, since he delivered me!
#2. Dr Willis has won several awards for being one of the best delivery doctors in Utah! This man is fantastic and definitely knows what he is doing!
#3. Remember how I'm afraid of the doctors? Well, Dr Willis is wonderful at making things a little more light hearted an relaxing. He makes me feel comfortable and has helped me gain the courage I needed in order to deliver my baby without suffering from a serious anxiety attack!
My conclusion? There is no way I can ever give birth to this baby without him as my doctor! (Dramatic, I know!) But that is how I felt! So, we looked at our options. I could be induced before he leaves, or pray that I went into labor before he left on vacation. If I didn't, I would be stuck with another doctor!
I chose to be induced. (Natural moms, please don't judge!) I talked it over with Mike, and we felt this would be the best option. Plus, it made things easier preparing for the baby. We scheduled it for Monday, May 6th. The night before, we were able to clean up any last minute messes, get a good night's sleep, and showered and ready in the morning!
We were not given a time to be there because the hospital was supposed to call us in the morning to let us know when to come in based on how busy it was. Around 8:15 am, they called, and told us we needed to be there at 9:30! I was so anxious and that hour went by so incredibly slow!
We left a little early so we would for sure make it. There was no crazy hospital speed chase, just a casual drive that seemed to take forever!
When we got to the hospital, they took us to the Labor & Delivery room. They let me change and get comfortable. The room was pretty nice. It came with a couch for Mike to lay on and a great view of the beautiful Utah mountains (along with the construction of the new parts of the hospital).
Once I was all settled, the nurses came in to explain to me what would happen and to insert my IV. They tried 2 times and couldn't get it, so they switched arms and third times a charm! Once that was in place, Dr Willis came in and broke my water! Literally the most crazy sensation right there! With a broken water, I was ready for the pitocin drip!
Contractions began right away, but they were slight and left me thinking, "was that really a contraction?" I progressed quickly, and the contractions got worse! By noon, I went from a 2 to a 5! Mike and I were watching one of the Bourne movies, and it got to the point where I could not pay attention at all. The contractions take all of your focus, and while you do get a break in between, i was always anticipatong the next one and I couldn't get myself to relax! Finally, I broke down and requested an epidural around 12:30.
The epidural was, for me, probably the scariest thing I ever imagined. I began shaking as soon as the anesthesiologist came into the room. He had me hunch over the edge if the bed. Mike jumped up to come hold me from the front to help me get through it. And easy as 1,2,3, the epidural was in! It was just a little poke, and a little pressure, then it was done! The IV actually hurt more to put in than the epidural. Seriously, I don't understand why people freak out! (And yet, as I say this, I KNOW that I will freak out again the next time I need one).
Even though it was in easy as that, I still kept shaking for a good ten minutes afterwards! I just couldn't stop!
Being on the epidural slowed my progression down quite a bit. Based on how I was doing previously, the nurses guessed me to have a baby by 4 in the afternoon! However, by 4, I was only dilated to a 6! The good news is, it was the best afternoon ever. I didn't feel a single contraction! Mike and I watched Ever After and enjoyed each others company! (Not a great picture, but hopefully gives a good idea of how relaxing the afternoon was!)
At one point, the nurses upped my pitocin levels to help speed the process, and my body reacted with 4 contractions in a row (none of which I felt). Mike went to lunch while this happened, and came back to a room full of nurses, and a breathing mask on his wife! He was pretty concerned, but thankfully it was all okay. Evelynn's heart rate dropped, so the nurses were rushing in trying to get it back up. Her heart rate actually did this twice, and they decided they would just have to keep my pitocin levels low.
Around 6, the nurses came in and checked me. They said I was at an 8, and that it would be a couple hours before I could start pushing. 20 minutes later, Dr Willis came in, checked me and said it was time to push! I was so caught off guard! I may have freaked out a little, but I pushed through one contraction! Dr Willis noticed a little edge still on my cervix, so even though I was dilated to a 10, we had to wait for that small part to go away. I threw up after that push! An hour later, they had me push through one contraction again, but I still wasn't ready and threw up again! Finally, at 8 pm, my body was ready to push! I pushed for 2 hours. It was pain free, thankfully, but incredibly exhausting. I can't even describe much hard work it was!
Mike was there holding my leg up through each contraction. He would count to 10 so I knew exactly how long I needed to push for. When Evelynn was getting close to coming, they asked if I wanted a mirror to see her head. I decided I wanted to see! It was so motivating to be able to see that small sliver of her head! I could even see that she had a little hair! (Very very little hair) I didn't watch the whole thing, the doctor came in and needed to be where the mirror was. So they wheeled it away!
Probably close to 9:45, I went to what I call "labor land". I was so focused in pushing, and that was it. I was not aware of a single thing that was going on around me, and the only thing that existed in the whole world was me, and this little baby that needed to come out.
My experience was VERY different from my husband's.
For me, each push was bringing me closer to meeting my girl. I was so exhausted. My neck hurt like none other from lifting up and pushing. I could hear Mike counting while I pushed. I felt what I assumed was the doctor performing the episiotomy. I remember saying once or twice that I just could not do it anymore! After a few more pushes, I could feel my perineum tear all the way and I knew I had a fourth degree tear! I tried not to focus on that at all while I finished pushing. I remember feeling a big relief once she came out, but I don't remember them actually pulling her out. I don't remember being shown Evelynn at first. The first thing remember is seeing her over on the table where they take her measurements.
It got a little blurry between seeing her at the table and when I finally got to hold her. I'm assuming this is because they were stitching me up and I was trying so hard not to pay attention to what they were doing. The epidural was wearing off, and I could feel just a little bit of pain.
I remember Mike handing her to me, and holding her. It's amazing how I went my whole pregnancy not really feeling any sort of connection with Evelynn, but instantly when holding her, I fell in love!
Mike told me what he remembers while I was in Labor land. Here is his version:
The doctor had me holding up one of Karianna's legs while she was pushing. I remember how excited I felt, but at the same time, I was really worried about Karianna. I knew how worried she was about delivering the baby, and I felt like I couldn't do anything to comfort her. She was not that coherent at this point, but I could tell that she was so focused on getting the baby out, and being able to see Evelynn.
I remember when Evelynn's head popped out, it was all blue-ish. Her head was out, but her shoulders got stuck with her umbilical cord. The doctor hit some button and a bunch of nurses showed up in seconds. There was so much going on, but I couldn't focus on anything but Karianna. I didn't even notice a nurse telling me, "Dad! I need you need to move" repeatedly. It finally registered, but the nurse was already pushing me out of the way! They pushed me up towards Karianna's head. Two nurses on each side of the bed, got up on chairs and started pushing hard on her stomach. They had to push a few times before Evelynn popped out. Evelynn was so blue, and Doctor Willis was saying "come on, breath!" He shook her a little and did the sucky thing in her nostrils and mouth. I remember when she started crying, I noticed how Karianna looked so full of joy and relieved. I wanted her to look at me, so that I could share that moment with her, but she was so focused on our new baby. I wasn't planning on cutting the cord, but I was in so much shock that when Dr. Willis handed me scissors and told me to cut, I just did it. No thought, just was doing what I was told. Then they took Evelynn, weighed her and cleaned her off. They wrapped her up and handed her to me. I held her for a bit. I remember feeling overjoyed, scared, & nervous. I was responsible for this new life! After I had her for a bit, I asked if Karianna wanted her, and she said yes!
I felt comforted knowing that everything went well and that everything was going to be okay. I was so happy that Karianna was okay and Evelynn was healthy! I could see how happy Karianna was to finally have her baby! All that was so overwhelming that I just cried! Karianna must have felt similar because we both just sat and cried a minute while we hugged eachother in our new little family.
Afterwards, I texted Karianna's parents to tell them to come on over to the hospital. They came, but did not stay long since it was so late. When they were about to leave, I felt impressed to say a prayer of gratitude with them. How could we not give thanks in such a perfect moment.
And that's how Evelynn Rae got here! Once she was here, and we had some time with her, Mike took her down to the nursery, while the nurses helped me clean up. When i was ready, they wheeled me down to my recovery room. On the way there, we passed the nursery, and I saw Mike in there, just staring star struck at Evelynn. I asked the nurse pushing me if she could take me in there instead of continuing on to the recovery room. We went in there and neither one of us could take our eyes off of her. After her first bath, and a few other measurements, we got to take her to our room. The 3 of us, a new family, got to spend some more time alone.
The rest of the hospital stay went by fast. We had so many loving family members and friends stop by to congratulate us! We are so blessed by all the support we had both in the hospital, and when we came home. Especially grateful for both my parents, and Mike's parents, for being such good examples to us. I know if I can be even half as good of a parent as they are, then I will be doing great as a mom.
I am so grateful for Evelynn, for her health. For the abilitly she has to make me want to be better, and for her bringing Mike and I closer to each other, and to our Heavenly Father.
I am also grateful for Mike, and all that he did for me while I went through pregnancy, labor, delivery, & recovery. He was such a champ! He was always there, and never once left my side while I was throwing up, struggling through the emotions and physical pains of pregnancy, delivering a BABY, or the embarrassment of postpartum bladder control loss. I literally could not do it without him. I love watching him in his new role as a Father, and it only makes me love him more than before!
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