Birth Story

Our due date was April 16th.  Evan arrived 12 days before.  Here is our story!

I had my first cervical exam on a Wednesday.  Matt and I were thrilled to learn that I was 2 centimeters dilated!  We actually high-fived right there in the doctor's office during my exam.  I started having contractions Thursday or Friday.  They were all back contractions and were pretty dull.  They continued throughout  the weekend and all day on Monday.  Around 7pm on Monday night I took a shower and I thought my water broke.  We weren't totally sure, so we called the doctor and they sent us to the hospital. We arrived to learn that no, my water had not broken, but my blood pressure was through the roof!  The doctors decided to monitor me for 24 hours and that's when our first hospital visit began.  Thankfully, we had brought The Office and watched the entire first season.  Matt constantly complained about the chair beds.  If your husband has ever had to sleep on one, then you understand.

We received all of my tests early Wednesday morning at 1:00am.  My blood pressure was still high, but they were sending me home on strict bed rest.  We asked to either have them give me a baby or send us home at 1:00am so we would sleep in our own bed.  Thankfully, they sent us home.  We arrived home around 2:00am and I had a nice long shower and jumped in bed.  We got 5 glorious hours of sleep before I woke up to go to the bathroom around 7:30.  I walked into the bathroom and before I could even make it to the toilet, my water broke EVERYWHERE.  I yelled for Matt (who didn't believe me at first.  that's okay.  I cried wolf the night before).  He ran in to see water streaming everywhere.  There was a waterfall in our bathroom.  We both laughed at the fact that we had JUST LEFT the hospital.  Matt took a quick shower and we were out the door.

Matt super excited about Evan's birthday

At 8:00am we arrived at the hospital and checked in.  I started having contractions a little after we arrived and within an hour and a half I was begging for the epidural.  Best. decision. ever.  For one thing, it made me laugh so hard.  When the epidural fully kicked in, I would touch my leg and not know what I was touching.  I had to ask what my hand was on.  When I realized it was a part of my body, I couldn't stop laughing because of the idea that I couldn't feel my lower half.  It might not make much sense why I was laughing, but it was hilarious to me at that moment in time.

Unfortunately, my laughter soon ended when my blood pressure dropped dramatically.  You see, when someone is given an epidural, their blood pressure naturally drops.  Most people can handle this drop, but since my blood pressure was so high, the drop was very significant.  I became very nauseous and dizzy.  I immediately asked for a container to vomit in (which I didn't by the way) and the nurse gave me some medication to make me feel better.

The rest of the story I am pretty hazy on because I was out of it due to the blood pressure issues.  Basically, I ended up having a contraction that lasted over seven minutes long.  (another reason I am happy I had an epidural - I felt none of this).  I don't think contractions are supposed to last this long and Evan's heart rate dropped significantly for over seven minutes.  Doctors and nurses rushed in and moved very quickly.  They attached a fetal heart rate monitor directly to Evan's head, and tried to move me around to bring his heart rate back up.  Nothing was working so they gave me a shot to stop my contractions all together.  Thankfully, that brought his heart rate back up.  About 5 minutes later, my doctor was out of another surgery and came in to basically tell me that we were going to have a c-section right then.  I was completely on board when she explained that this was the safest option for both me and the baby.  Within 10 minutes I was in the operating room and 10 minutes later Evan was born!  He was welcomed into the world at 11:17am, a mere 3 hours after we arrived at the hospital.

6 pounds, 11 ounces.  19 inches long

Unfortunately, Evan had some trouble getting his temperature up so he spent most of the next hour or so in the nursery.  Then, they realized he had fluid in his lungs so he was monitored overnight in NICU.  This was one of the hardest things for me because Matt could go see him but I couldn't.  I literally only held him twice before he was taken away.  All that day/night I didn't even feel like he was ours because I couldn't even bond with him.  Matt did go tot he NICU and take pictures and videos though so I could somehow see him.  After many prayers, he was released the next morning from the NICU and has been as healthy as can be ever since!

Family Portrait

We had to stay 3 nights in the hospital and by Saturday we were itching to get home.  I must say that his birth didn't go as we had planned or anticipated, but we are so thrilled to have a happy, healthy baby boy at home now!