Evelyn Violet Shreve entered the world on Sunday, February 1st at 10:02pm. She was 8.7lbs and 19 3/4" long.
Evelyn's birth was so different from Toby's! Everyone always says that every baby is different, and it was definitely true for mine.
As many of you know, I was expecting Evy to be early. Possibly a whole month early. That was based on my last period and we reached milestones earlier with this pregnancy. Then, we had tons of contractions as December dragged on. We had a false labor start at the very beginning of January.So I was very surprised when Jan 14th passed (my guess at her arrival), and even more surprised when her due date (Jan 27th) passed us by. The 2nd week in January, we were 2cm dilated, and 40% effaced. (Toby came 2 days after that point, so I was just sure we were having her anytime). The following week, we were 3cm dilated, and 60% effaced. Another week and we were still 3cm, 75% effaced, with a cervix "like butter," according to our midwife.
So Jan 30th, we were 4cm dilated, almost totally effaced, and the midwife was just sure that she would see us that weekend. All weekend, I was having contractions, but not regularly, and most weren't very strong. I had bloody show from Friday onwards, sort of indicating that I was still dilating. So Sunday afternoon, I was getting pretty nervous about sending Ted back to work and having an emergency dash to the hospital in traffic. I asked the midwife if I could come in and be checked, and she allowed it and let me know that if we were 5cm or more, they would be willing to break my water and keep me.
We got to the hospital around 6:15pm. I was 6cm when she checked me! Still not having regular, strong contractions. She broke my water at 6:30, and we were having crazy contractions every other minute by 7:30. I had an idea from Toby's labor and the false start that my contractions weren't going to space out from that point, so I asked for the epidural. (It does make me feel a little wimpy, but not sorry in the end). We got our epidural in place at 8:30pm. I was 8cm at 9pm. I couldn't feel pain with contractions, but my body was still tensing with them involuntarily. And I was shaking uncontrollably, as if I were really cold.So the midwife needed to go assist a C-section briefly, and then would be right back. So...maybe 9:30 the pressure and urge to push are beginning...The nurse pages the midwife out of the surgery and she's asking me to breathe normally through the contractions. I fought pushing through 4 contractions, and then something changed. I can't describe it, totally different sensation, and I knew she was coming NOW. The nurse is like, "hold on, the midwife is on her way." So not happening! The midwife comes running in with the next contraction and I'm like, "she's coming, I can't help pushing!" She said I could, as she throws on her gown and gloves. Next contractions, they can see her head! The midwife asks me to do tiny pushes...(this is something like trying to stop peeing mid-stream, or stop pushing in the middle of a large bm, really weird and almost IMPOSSIBLE). The epidural was not strong enough to dull the tearing sensation as she crowned. I screamed something about tearing, and then - she was there! 10:02pm
4 hours from start to finish, and 2 minutes of pushing. 2 contractions to get her out. Crazy fast! Kind of scary fast.
