Evan's Birth Day

I waited 3 years to write this story for Steve, Evan...I don't think I'll remember things very well if I wait that long for you. So, here goes.

Leading up to March 25, 2012, I had a few false alarms. The weather was ridiculously hot that March and most of the times when I was having contractions I attributed it to that. Your due date was March 30, and I had planned to work the Monday and Tuesday before that. However, Friday, March 23, I walked into school feeling overly tired, and generally not feeling great. I was pretty sure that I wouldn't be able to go to work as planned on Monday, and started preparing for that to be my last day. 

On Saturday, the 24th, I'm sure there was a grocery store run. There usually is on Saturdays. And I remember sitting out in the driveway in a tailgating chair while Steve played. And for most of the day I had small contractions. I talked to Papa on the phone, but didn't mention the contractions because the previous 2 or 3 times when I had said something about them, they stopped and it was a false alarm. I didn't want to worry anyone.

Daddy and I put Steve to bed as usual. While Steve and Daddy were finishing up in the bathroom, I was sitting in Steve's room. You, Evan, took that opportunity to shift yourself into your final position...There was a HUGE kick, and probably your head and butt each going a different direction. At that point, the contractions started to get a little more regular. After Steve was in bed, I finally told Daddy about the contractions. We started keeping track, and about 9 we called two people: Grandma Jean and Nana. Grandma was on stand-by in case things progressed rapidly. She was coming down to take care of Steve while we were busy at the hospital. And we needed to alert Nana and Papa in case they wanted to jump in the car and start driving. I drank some water, and laid down on the couch. I guess I fell asleep because the next thing I knew it was around midnight and Daddy was showering and getting ready to go to the hospital. 

I hadn't felt a major contraction in a while, so I decided we shouldn't go the hospital just yet. I wanted to sleep in my bed one more night, so that's what we did. I had been snoring too much for Daddy to sleep with me, so he went to the office and we both went to sleep. From midnight until 5 a.m. I slept the best that I had in a very long time. At 5, I woke up because I needed to go to the bathroom. I'm guessing that I continued to have contractions through the night, but they weren't strong enough to interrupt my sleep. I waddled my way into the bathroom, sat down, and not only did I pee (a lot) but my mucus plug (gross, I know) fell out and my water broke. Everything looked normal, but now I knew that the contractions from the day before were not a false alarm and you were going to make the decision about going back to school for me. Thanks for that, by the way. :)

I grabbed a towel, then went back to bed and called Grandma. I woke her up, and she said she would be down as soon as possible. Then, I called Nana and Papa and woke them up too. I told them you were on your way and they needed to decide what to do. I'm not sure what happened at their house, but they did get on the road later that day. Then, I waddled downstairs to wake Daddy up. I think I scared the crap out of him, but he woke up. I said that my water had broken, I had called all of the requisite people, and now I was going to take a shower (who knew when my next one would be???). 

After my shower, a light breakfast, and some resting, Grandma was here around 6:30, and we headed out for the hospital around 6:45 or so. Steve was just waking up as we were leaving, but we opted to let Grandma handle him and we just got out of the house.

Once we arrived at the hospital, there was a bit of a misunderstanding and the nurses put me through some extra waiting and testing that wasn't necessary since my water had broken already. The contractions had started back up about 6 a.m., but they weren't too strong yet. We finally got moved into a labor and delivery room and settled in for the long haul. Thank goodness Daddy was blogging occasionally because I'm reading them right now to get my facts straight. :)

The contractions were not regular, so after conferring with the doctor, the nurse got things ready for a Pitocin drip. I had been on Pitocin when Steve was born because unlike you, he didn't want to enter this world on his own. The medicine in Pitocin made the contractions very strong and uncomfortable, so I said that if we were going that route, then I needed the epidural at the same time. Wish granted! By 11:30 both things had been administered, I settled in to take a nap, and Daddy left to get Jimmy John's for lunch and go home to check on Steve. 

My nap wasn't as restful as I had been hoping, and the epidural didn't work quite as well as I remembered it working with Steve. I still felt almost every second of each contraction and I remember being SUPREMELY uncomfortable. I said something to the nurse, so she checked on my progress. Things were going very well, so she wouldn't increase the amount of medicine in the epidural, and I just had to power through.

About 2:15, the pressure you were applying was pretty intense, and I reportedly said, "I'm starting to feel like pushing wouldn't be a bad idea." Meanwhile, Daddy sat and watched basketball (I apologize profusely for having you at one of the worst times of year - NCAA Basketball Tournament), and golf. He did ask at one point if he could do anything for me. I think I gave him a dirty look. 

Dr. Chance-Lawson showed up, as did several other people, and the fun part started. I'm pretty sure that I pushed through about 5 contractions, so that's about 15 pushes total, just like with Steve. And then you were here...all 9 pounds 2 ounces of you. And I was so relieved, elated, and exhausted. 

Then the REALLY fun part began.