Evelyn's birth story

So, we're parents now! The whole thing came about in an unexpected way, starting Friday the 13th. We had our normal weekly appointment, and the doctor didn't like how things were developing. After four weeks of bedrest, I had finally developed PIH, pregnancy induced hypertension. While not a big deal in the grand scheme of things, Dr. Choudhary basically didn't want to run any risks that we didn't have to. Since that was the actual due date, she told us to go home, grab our bags, have a good dinner, and head to the hospital for part one of inducement. I was to stay overnight, and Nate was good enough to submit to the torture of a fold out cot and stayed with me. We all know how fond I am of hospitals, so it was a bit of a shock that A) I would have a daughter the next day, and B) I would have to spend more time in the hospital.

The plan was to have a dose of Cervidil Friday night, monitor things overnight, and then get the Pitocin drip the next morning. After a very sleepless night, my doctor came in Saturday morning and did an exam to see how things were progressing. Unfortunately, Evelyn had not dropped into my pelvis. Instead of letting me go through 12 hours of labor and then going to a C-section, they decided to curtail the whole process and just jump straight to the surgery.

Talk about a shock!

In the background, the place where we were to deliver (The Birthing Inn at Loudoun Hospital Center) was full to overflowing. The facility has 9 delivery rooms, 2 dedicated operating rooms, and 24 post-partum rooms. The night before Evie came, the post-partum side was completely full (all boys!). Over the course of the weekend, there were 8 unscheduled C-sections, and the night after Evie came, there were 18 new babies. All of the nurses were completely swamped, yet we never felt a lack of care.

Anyway, due to the brisk business they were doing, things kept getting delayed. They took me back to the operating room to get the epidural started (they did the operation with me awake, the new way of doing C-sections) and Nate waited in the room for "15 minutes." Almost an hour later, they came to get him, and they started as soon as he walked in the room. While the experience was not at all what I would call pleasant, the point is, they got Evie out. She had the cord wrapped around her neck, so it was a very good thing they went C-section.

Unfortunately, our poor families had to wait almost 4 hours for any sort of news as to how things had gone. Due to the repeated delays and a lack of staff, no one got out to tell them all was well until Dr. Choudhary left the hospital. They had to wait a bit after that since I was still in recovery, but they finally got to meet the newest member of our family.

The best part of a C-section? The drugs. After the baby is out, they bring out the goooooood stuff. I highly recommend Nubane...... it was scary while they were sewing me up, and my temperature dropped alot at one point, but it was nothing they couldn't handle. Dr. Choudhary said that next time, we will just schedule a C-section, none of this waiting around nonsense.

We went home on Wednesday. Since then, there has been a bit of a learning curve. We are incredibly lucky that Evie is not a screamer. The longest she ever cries is 5-10 minutes, and that is usually caused by baby gas. She will go to anyone with a smile, and the only thing that seems to upset her is being cold. She will sleep several hours at a time at night, and goes right back to sleep after being fed and changed. Last night she discovered that she loves having a full stomach, and has since started demanding more food at each feeding.

We took her to the doctor on Thursday, since we had a few feeding questions, and had a very nice experience. I had just given Evie a little zerbet kiss on her cheek, and she smiled. The doctor then informed us that that had been a real smile, not just the gas induced variety. She also rolls onto her side, and tries to push up when laying on Nate's chest. It is incredible what the human body does!

The only fly in the ointment is how frustrated I am with my own recovery. It is taking much more time than I would like, and after four weeks in the house, I am ready to be out and about. There is one more week of stair restrictions (only one flight up and one flight down a day) and then I should be able to do a few more things. Nate is able to be home with us for the next four weeks, so that makes everything easier.

Thank you to everyone for all of the support and good wishes we have gotten. I will keep everyone updated, and hopefully I will get some non-exhausted time to get a little more personal with everyone.