Evie Rae o' Sunshine

I am so excited to say that Everlyn Rae Hansen is finally here! She was born on Monday, May 7 at 8:30 pm.  She weighed in at 7 pounds exactly and was 19 3/4 inches long. She looks just like her daddy :)

Now for the birth story... I'm writing this because I want to remember every detail of the day.  Even though it was just a week ago, it already seems foggy in my memory.

Monday morning, we went in for our weekly OB checkup.  I had been 2 cm for quite some time with no signs of labor, so I wasn't expecting much.  The doctor checked me and said that I was 3 cm and 70% effaced.  Since I still wasn't having any labor signs, she said that we would discuss an induction at my next appointment, although she suspected that the baby would be born before then.  (And man, was she right!)  When I mentioned that the baby's movements had slowed down, she sent me down the hall for a quick NST.  Well, we ended up waiting for an hour while I was hooked up to the machine.  The nurses came in periodically, and they even gave me a sucker to try and wake up the baby.  After some time, they told me very casually that we should go in to triage for a quick fluid check, just to be sure that the baby was doing okay.  They didn't make a big deal out of it at all, so we weren't concerned.  (Side note: we did stop home and grab our hospital bags on my recommendation, but we did not eat lunch... big mistake.)  Labor and delivery was full when we got to the hospital - there weren't even any seats open in the waiting room!  When the nurse took us back into triage, they did a quick ultra sound and monitored the baby's heartbeat.  My OB happened to be the one on call, so she was able to review my file while we waited.  She said she wanted to do an OCT (Oxytocin Challenge Test) to see how the baby responded to contractions.  Apparently, her heartbeat had dipped when I had braxton hicks contractions.  The plan was to administer pitocin, see her response, and then send me home if all went well.  However, the ultrasound also indicated that the fluid levels were on the low side.  To our huge surprise, my doctor decided to admit me to L&D and begin an induction by breaking my water and starting pitocin! Yikes! We called our parents but told them that there was no rush - the doctor didn't expect little Evie to make her appearance until the next morning.  Around 3:00, Dr. W came in and broke my water.  My contractions started almost immediately, and they were already 3 minutes apart! Nevertheless, the started a low dose of pitocin about 20 minutes later.  When she checked me, I was still a "tight 3 cm."  The contractions started coming every 2 minutes, and I was in serious pain.  I squeezed Chris' hand and asked threatened him into talking me through each contraction.  At one point, I even grabbed the bill of his ball cap because I wanted him to talk to me more (but I couldn't talk to tell him that...)  His mom arrived close to 5:00, and his sister came in shortly after.  My mom was on her way back from a trip to Lapeer for work, but we told her not to rush.  I was in so much pain that I finally asked for some Nubane to take the edge off.  The nurse warned me that it would not help my pain, but it would have a "three margarita" effect on me.  I felt immediate relaxation, but it seemed to only last a few minutes.  I kept asking Chris if he thought they needed to give me more - he just laughed, assuming it was the effects of the medication.  When Dr. W came in around 7:00 to check me again, she announced that I was already 8 cm! Chris' mom quickly called my mom, who was almost to the hospital.  She finally came in around 7:15, just after the doctor said that I was 9.5 cm and about ready to push! I quickly told her that she needed to leave.  Chris pushed the call button for a doctor three times (it seemed like hours of nobody coming to our room, though I'm sure it was no more than a couple of minutes.)  The third time, I finally yelled, "I need to push!"  Dr. W and a few residents came in and told me that I could start pushing with my next contractions.  I remember actually feeling pain relief during the pushing - it was probably the least painful part of the entire labor.  I could see Evie's head coming out, and she had a lot of dark hair! Each push seemed to completely exhaust me, and I looked forward to the breaks between contractions.  The doctor did mention using a vacuum since Evie's heartbeat was still dipping, but it seemed to stabilize enough that she was comfortable holding off.  When Evie's head was almost out, the doctor did a quick episiotomy.  After just a few more pushes, her entire head came out, and the doctor grabbed her tiny body and placed her on my chest.  It was surreal - I don't even remember how I responded.  They took her over to clean her off while I was being stitched.  I asked about her apgar scores - 9 and 9! They told me that she was exactly 7 pounds, 19 3/4 inches, and beautiful.  Chris stepped away to take pictures and hold our sweet baby for the first time.  Once she was all snuggled up, they brought her back to me.  She was so beautiful!  The doctors kept praising me on my awesome labor - 5 hours total, 1 hour of pushing, and NO epidural! They told me that I could come back and have as many babies as I wanted.  I was so proud of myself.  I never thought I could do it, but I did! And now, Chris and I have the greatest reward.

 

Our little Evie Rae o' Sunshine :)