Welcome
to the world
Miss Eva Rose
03.12.14
8 pounds 3 ounces
19 inches
03.12.14
8 pounds 3 ounces
19 inches
Our little lady decided to make her appearance a little earlier than expected and we couldn't be more thrilled that she is here! She is such a joy and it's pure heaven having her in our little family. The spirit that she brings warms our hearts, knowing that she just came from a very special place, surrounded by very special people we love and miss. She even came with "angel kisses" from her grandpas and grandmas on the other side.
The Monday before she was born I had another appointment with my OB. I hadn't felt any contractions (not even any Braxton-Hicks) and baby was still hanging out high in my ribs. My OB confirmed that I was not dilated at all and told us if he was a betting man, he would bet that he would be seeing us the following Monday and had us make another appointment. At 38 weeks, I was a little disheartened because I wanted to see some sort of progression, even if it was just a tiny hint. I wanted desperately to know that my body knew what it was supposed to do with this baby, but with this news I was sure our little one would decide to come later rather than sooner. Those wild pregnancy hormones kicked in and when we got home from the appointment, my sweet husband held me as I cried. I was at the "I just want her to be here" stage and the "this mama is getting really uncomfortable" stage.
I worked that day and all of the next, Tuesday, until 7:30 in the evening. Tuesday was a completely normal day and I stayed busy until Steve got home from work that night. Wednesdays are my day off which means my day to clean, shop for groceries, do laundry, etc. I decided to get started on the house cleaning after work on Tuesday so I'd have more time the next day to do other things. I also decided to pack the baby's hospital bag for "when she decided to come." When Steve got home, we exercised before getting ready for bed. As we were about to climb into bed (Steve standing next to his side of the bed and me next to mine, around 12:50 am) there was a sudden G U S H and my eyes shot to the floor where there was a big puddle of water accumulating. My wide eyes shot to Steve and I could only think to say, "My water just broke!" (I later found out upon him retelling his version of the story that he thought I was playing a trick on him, since I always keep a water bottle at my bedside.) After a few exclamations back and forth of, "We're going to have a baby!" we grabbed our bags (throwing last minute things in), and Steve took the car seat out to the car. I don't know how, but I felt so incredibly calm and felt very strongly the Lord's hand in this merciful answer to my prayers. Steve's Spring Break from school was also this week and we were really praying that we would have Eva this week so he could be completely free from work and school. As Steve ran around grabbing last minute things, I smiled and thanked Heavenly Father for answered prayers. In the car my body began shaking and Steve held my hand. I still hadn't felt any sort of pain! When we got to the hospital Steve helped me waddle in and the sweet security guard ran to hit the elevator button for us and wished us his best. When we got up to the 5th floor, Steve told the nurse, "I think we're here to have a baby..."
Finally dressed in the hospital gown, and feeling surprisingly lighter after losing so much fluid, our first nurse Nicki attached monitors for me and the baby. As she watched the computer screen, she looked down at me and asked, "Do you feel that?" I told her no, and she said, "Girl, you're having a contraction right now!" She placed my hand on my stomach and told me to feel the muscles tighten and relax as I watched the screen with her. Turns out I had been contracting all along, I just didn't know it (or feel it!) As she did her initial check, we discovered that I was only dilated to about 0.5 cm. She left to call my OB, and when she came back told us that he had just gone out of town! I started to feel the pain of my contractions within 15 minutes, and a couple of hours later after no progression I was put on Pitocin to help speed things up. 6 HOURS after my water broke, I was checked again and I had reached one whole centimeter. ONE??! My contractions had been very strong throughout the night, coming about every one to one-and-a-half minutes. I was hoping that I would be able to go through labor and delivery without an epidural, but realizing I had to go nine more centimeters and I'd only gotten one in seven hours, I knew I wouldn't have the strength to push at the end if I didn't. And I am so grateful I did because labor ended up being 16 hours for us, but I was able to enjoy the remainder of it with my sweet husband. Until it wore of right before pushing. I spent the last two hours hours of labor at 9.5 cm, and was grateful I only had to push for 45 minutes. Little Evie arrived at 5:17pm on Wednesday, 03.12.14.
Nothing was more miraculous than hearing our sweet baby's first cry, holding her for the first time, whispering in her ear for the first time, seeing her look up at me for the first time. Watching Steve hold her tenderly for the first time made my heart grow three sizes.
We are so in love.
The Monday before she was born I had another appointment with my OB. I hadn't felt any contractions (not even any Braxton-Hicks) and baby was still hanging out high in my ribs. My OB confirmed that I was not dilated at all and told us if he was a betting man, he would bet that he would be seeing us the following Monday and had us make another appointment. At 38 weeks, I was a little disheartened because I wanted to see some sort of progression, even if it was just a tiny hint. I wanted desperately to know that my body knew what it was supposed to do with this baby, but with this news I was sure our little one would decide to come later rather than sooner. Those wild pregnancy hormones kicked in and when we got home from the appointment, my sweet husband held me as I cried. I was at the "I just want her to be here" stage and the "this mama is getting really uncomfortable" stage.
I worked that day and all of the next, Tuesday, until 7:30 in the evening. Tuesday was a completely normal day and I stayed busy until Steve got home from work that night. Wednesdays are my day off which means my day to clean, shop for groceries, do laundry, etc. I decided to get started on the house cleaning after work on Tuesday so I'd have more time the next day to do other things. I also decided to pack the baby's hospital bag for "when she decided to come." When Steve got home, we exercised before getting ready for bed. As we were about to climb into bed (Steve standing next to his side of the bed and me next to mine, around 12:50 am) there was a sudden G U S H and my eyes shot to the floor where there was a big puddle of water accumulating. My wide eyes shot to Steve and I could only think to say, "My water just broke!" (I later found out upon him retelling his version of the story that he thought I was playing a trick on him, since I always keep a water bottle at my bedside.) After a few exclamations back and forth of, "We're going to have a baby!" we grabbed our bags (throwing last minute things in), and Steve took the car seat out to the car. I don't know how, but I felt so incredibly calm and felt very strongly the Lord's hand in this merciful answer to my prayers. Steve's Spring Break from school was also this week and we were really praying that we would have Eva this week so he could be completely free from work and school. As Steve ran around grabbing last minute things, I smiled and thanked Heavenly Father for answered prayers. In the car my body began shaking and Steve held my hand. I still hadn't felt any sort of pain! When we got to the hospital Steve helped me waddle in and the sweet security guard ran to hit the elevator button for us and wished us his best. When we got up to the 5th floor, Steve told the nurse, "I think we're here to have a baby..."
Finally dressed in the hospital gown, and feeling surprisingly lighter after losing so much fluid, our first nurse Nicki attached monitors for me and the baby. As she watched the computer screen, she looked down at me and asked, "Do you feel that?" I told her no, and she said, "Girl, you're having a contraction right now!" She placed my hand on my stomach and told me to feel the muscles tighten and relax as I watched the screen with her. Turns out I had been contracting all along, I just didn't know it (or feel it!) As she did her initial check, we discovered that I was only dilated to about 0.5 cm. She left to call my OB, and when she came back told us that he had just gone out of town! I started to feel the pain of my contractions within 15 minutes, and a couple of hours later after no progression I was put on Pitocin to help speed things up. 6 HOURS after my water broke, I was checked again and I had reached one whole centimeter. ONE??! My contractions had been very strong throughout the night, coming about every one to one-and-a-half minutes. I was hoping that I would be able to go through labor and delivery without an epidural, but realizing I had to go nine more centimeters and I'd only gotten one in seven hours, I knew I wouldn't have the strength to push at the end if I didn't. And I am so grateful I did because labor ended up being 16 hours for us, but I was able to enjoy the remainder of it with my sweet husband. Until it wore of right before pushing. I spent the last two hours hours of labor at 9.5 cm, and was grateful I only had to push for 45 minutes. Little Evie arrived at 5:17pm on Wednesday, 03.12.14.
Nothing was more miraculous than hearing our sweet baby's first cry, holding her for the first time, whispering in her ear for the first time, seeing her look up at me for the first time. Watching Steve hold her tenderly for the first time made my heart grow three sizes.
We are so in love.
