Evelyn Elizabeth

It's amazing how quickly we adjust to a new member of the family.  Another piece of the puzzle coming together.  Evelyn Elizabeth was 8lb 12oz and 20 inches long.  This week she had her 6 week appointment and is 10lb 15oz and 21.5in.  She's eating well, sleeping well and overall just growing well.  I couldn't be happier about it.  Labor wasn't at all like I'd hoped or expected, but I'm just happy to have a beautiful, perfect, healthy daughter.  I was planning to have a VBAC and went into labor spontaneously on that Friday evening.  I didn't really realize it was labor at first and fell asleep on the couch for a couple of hours.  When I woke up, there was no doubt that I was having contractions because they were about 4 minutes apart.  I decided to take a quick shower and we called my cousin to have Adelle go over there overnight while we went to the hospital.  By the time we were ready to go, contractions were about 3 minutes apart.  We are grateful that my aunt's husband was willing to come get Adelle and take her over to my cousin's house because we still had a 20 minute drive to the hospital.  We got to the hospital right at midnight and by then contractions were pretty painful, still about 2.5 - 3 minutes apart.  They put me in one of the emergency rooms in the OB triage ward, where I was monitored to see how I would progress.  The bed was uncomfortable and I was having back labor, but after an hour, I hadn't progressed at all.  I was planning to get an epidural as a precaution because if I were to have an unplanned c-section, I could only be awake if I had the epidural.  I was in the ER for about 3 hours, still contracting, still having back pain, when finally the doctor came in and decided to admit me even though I hadn't progressed "enough."  They wheeled me upstairs where I got the epidural fairly quickly (and was extremely grateful).  I still hadn't been progressing much, but the baby's vitals were all good, so I continued to labor.  After a couple of hours, several doctors came in wanting me to turn on my side (very hard to do when you have an epidural and your lower half is practically numb) because the baby's heartbeat had dropped a bit.  The baby responded to the new position and was stable again for about 15 minutes, then the heartbeat dipped again.  They decided this time to have me turn on to my hands and knees (I'm so glad there weren't many people to witness me trying to turn and put my knees under me.)  A few doctors helped... I stayed that way for about 45 minutes because the baby's vitals were stable again.  By about 7am, I still hadn't progressed and the baby's heartbeat had dipped again.  At that point, the doctor and several nurses came in ready to prep me for the OR - I was going to have another c-section.  8 hours of labor ... I hadn't progressed past 5 cm and the baby wasn't fully descended.  I was awake for the surgery  - it was very quick, but then sewing me back up took a little while.  My arms were aching so badly because of how they were positioned and my throat was so incredibly dry.  Of course it was all worth it when they finally finished and I got to hold my little girl for the first time.  Every birth is a miracle and I'm so grateful for my little miracle.

The first time I held my new baby girl. 

 Adelle is already very fond of her little sister.

Home from the hospital (3 days old).

1 week old.

9 days old.