Evelyn Grace

So as of yesterday it had been two weeks since my sweet little girl made her entrance into the world... so I figured it was about time that I post about it before the memories start to fade on me!

Here is how it all played out...

I had been having an increased amount of braxton hicks throughout the week of my due date. On Sunday, November 6th, I noticed that I was discharging some mucus and then I did end up losing my mucus plug at around 3pm. Andy and I decided to go see a movie that night because I was not suspecting that anything would be happening anytime soon. So we spent some time out together and came home and I decided to head to bed. Andy was up watching some tv show episodes on the computer. I had been noticing tightening every four minutes but nothing painful so I did not think much of it. Well I got up to go to the bathroom at about 11:30-11:45 and as I was getting out of bed I felt a release of fluid. With losing my mucus plug earlier I figured it was still just working parts out so I did not think for a minute that it could have been my water breaking. Well I made my way to the bathroom and I could not stop "peeing," so I thought. I called out to Andy and he told me to stand up and that if I was still releasing fluid that it was my water. Well sure enough I stood up and could not stop it. 

We called the midwives and because I tested positive for Group B Strep, they wanted me to come in right away to start the antibiotics. After my water had broken I had noticed that I was starting to experience some cramping, almost felt like intense menstrual cramping. We got the hospital and they hooked me up to the antibiotics and I tried to rest as much as I could. Well... my body never kicked into labor so they started Pitocin on Monday morning.  I spent the day kicking up the levels of Pitocin to get labor going... I was having contractions but they were either not frequent enough, intense enough, long enough, or the time in between was too long. My body just got to a point of complete discomfort. I was feeling a lot of it in my back. I even tried to take a bath and could not manage to get comfortable at all. After being on Pitocin all day they decided to take me off and give me some morphine to sleep. You can only be on Pitocin for so long before it is really no longer effective. The nurse told that I would be put back on at 5 in the morning because they wanted to get things going as early as they could. 

Well, I woke up on Tuesday and it was way past 5 and I had not seen any nurses or midwives yet to get antibiotics or pitocin or vitals or anything going. I was beyond frustrated! Well we finally got back on the pitocin at about 11 and finally saw a midwife at that point. I guess it was a busy morning in the maternity unit with lots of woman in labor. Not something you want to hear when your water has broken and you have yet to go into labor. I was to the point where I wanted to just drop everything and leave everything there and go home. I did not see how it could be worth it anymore. So I spent the day waiting for the Pitocin to have an effect. At around 3 o'clock one of the midwives came in and talked to Andy and I about doing an internal monitor in order to really manage the contractions and get things (hopefully) rolling faster since there was really only a few more hours before I would have to be taken off the pitocin again and brave another day of it. At this point I was only about 3 cm (after almost 39 hours since my water broke..) Andy and I ended up deciding to go with the internal monitor. 

At about 6 o'clock I was finally in active labor and feeling the intensity of the contractions! I labored on the birthing ball as well as walked the halls but as the hours went on I was so uncomfortable... I tried laboring in the tub and could not sit on my butt at all... so I went back to the bed and finished out my labor on my hands and knees. It felt amazing to have all that pressure off... I actually remember dozing off in between contractions! At about 8 o'clock I was dilated to a 6 and finally at 10 o'clock I told the midwife I was feeling a ton of pressure and felt like I had to poop and could not help but push. So she checked me again and I was 9.5 cm and completely effaced and she said I could start pushing after 5 contractions. Prior to my last check Andy had called my mom to come relieve him for a little bit. My poor husband had been cooped up for two days and watched many episodes of 24 on the computer to keep some sort of sanity! Little did my mom know that when she walked into the room I was starting to push!!

So about 10:15-10:20, I was told I could start pushing. Of course it was uncomfortable... but there is something about being able to push that makes things so much better. No longer are you focusing on getting through the contractions and breathing through them but you can actually do something with that pressure in order to get one step closer to holding your baby! I wish I could put into words what it felt like to push a baby out but it is not easy to explain. After about 40 minutes, at exactly 11 o'clock on November 8th, Evelyn Grace Hentges FINALLY made her entrance into the world at 8 lb 1.4 oz 21 inches long!  We are so glad she is here with us!! Also, we managed it all without any pain meds! Yay! I was at points where I was wanting something to take the edge off but did not have the energy to ask for it so I just sustained through the contractions taking them as they came.

It has definitely been a time of adjusting. I was freaking out the first few days until my milk came in, concerned that I was unable to nourish my baby. Of course I knew that the colostrum is full of wonderful nourishment for the baby... it is just crazy that such a small amount of something can keep a baby thriving and hydrated... So now we are adjusted to feeding, for the most part... she wants to eat ALL the time though! Still trying to decipher when she is actually hungry and when she just wants to do it for comfort! We have our good nights and our bad nights... working through some gas issues I believe. We are currently doing the gripe water and leg pumping but she does not like the taste of the gripe water and only seems to get frustrated when we rub her belly and pump her legs... So I am learning to pray a lot more!  :-) I have not really had time or energy to dive into the Word :-( but man am I praying more than I ever have! I have had the privilege of being able to pray over Evelyn in my arms as well as praying past the breastfeeding frustrations and gassy belly! I was expecting my motherly instincts to just kick in right away... but they really did not! I found myself staring at her for days wondering what to do with her and now this week finally I feel like things are clicking and I am experiencing much joy even in the frustration!

I am so SO thankful for my husband! He has been such an awesome support and cheerleader! Seeing him with Evelyn just warms my heart! I feel like his fatherly instinct kicked in way before my motherly instinct kicked in. He is simply amazing! He stood by my side every minute while we waited for my body to do SOMETHING in the hospital. He was with me when I wanted to just curl up in a ball and quit and go home and forget everything! And He was with me to rub my back when I was finally in labor and was down and determined to birth Evelyn on November 8th! He was there for me to wipe my tears and pick me up with I lay in the bath tub in tears after no sleep and frustrated with feeding. He also sat by my side many times when I was feeding Evelyn to encourage me and help me keep Evelyn awake. He is a rare gem... I am more and more in love with him each passing day as I realize what the Lord has entrusted me with! As Thanksgiving is tomorrow I am overwhelmed with what the Lord has brought our way this year and I am overjoyed for what he has in store for us in the year to come! I pray for continual peace and joy when things get hard and grace when I fall! Not to mention the ability to soak up every sweet memory and not let any of it pass by!

I have tried to get this picture to rotate the right way and can't... so I gave up :-)