take a moment

This morning Evie rolled over from her back to front for the first time! Unfortunately along with that fun is some bad news. Last night she had some blood in her stool. We’re going to bring her in to the doc on Monday morning, but I am hoping it is just an allergy to something in my diet.

Sat and Sun Jun 1st and 2nd felt some cramping, but nothing too bad.
Sun 3:30ish starting feeling more contraction-like cramping coming about 30 minutes apart.
6:30ish started being closer to 9 minutes apart and lasting 30 seconds.
8:40 going to try to sleep… didn’t really happen until 10ish.
12am woke to some stronger contractions… they were 12 min, now (1:30) they are about 7 minutes.

Showered at 7, yay!

1:48pm… still going. Dawn got here around 10:30 as well as Rachel and Elijah Meyer to help with Jake. That freed me up to get payroll done for Joe. Contractions got a little closer around 11:30, and are about 5 minutes apart now. They hurt bad, but I still feel like there is a long way to go.

3:00 Dan got here a little bit ago. We are now shipping Jake off to the Abdos & thinking of going to the hospital soon. Contractions are in my back and very painful.

The drive to the hospital was not too terrible. I had a couple of contractions on the 5 minute drive though. Those were not fun to have in the car, but between them, I was still able to hold a conversation asking Dan about his morning at work. We got to the hospital and I declined a wheel chair. I avoided all eye contact with people, but could feel their stares and heard a few comments like, uh oh. Got to registration at around 3:40pm and found out the nmw didn’t tell them I was coming even though she told me to come in at any time. We went into a triage room, and I put on a gown. When I went to the bathroom, I lost my mucus plug so that was hopeful that things were indeed moving along. They set up the fetal monitor. I realized it was the same nurse Connie that helped deliver Jake, which was a blessing b/c she was great. I had a few contractions, although a couple were 6 minutes apart, and that made me think I had come to the hospital too early and I still had many hours left (if not another night). I started having a few contractions that were almost unbearable and then I started to feel like I needed to have a bm. The nurse and Dawn both thought that meant I was close and should just get to a room, but I was still convinced I had a long ways to go, and they were overreacting. We got in the room and went to the bathroom again, this time there was a lot of mucus, and I thought maybe at that point my water broke, but I guess it didn’t. A couple contractions later, the nmw, Lynne Himmelrich, got to the room panting because she had run over. She asked if it was okay if she took a phone call. I said it was, but I REALLY just wanted someone to check me so that I could find out if I was only at a 5 or something and just get an epidural if that was the case. She got off the phone because I was practically screaming through a contraction. She told me to get on the bed so she could check me and that was at about 4:20. She checked me and said, “Well, you can push anytime Dear.” I honestly sort of freaked out in my mind at that point; I was both really excited it could possibly be over within the hour, but also deathly afraid of what the next hour held for me. I asked about getting a squatting bar, but she said just laying on my side would be much faster. She broke my water at 4:26. Evie was born at 4:31. Let’s just say those 5 minutes will need to be erased from my memory before I try another natural birth. My voice was hoarse later from screaming and there were a few moments that I didn’t think it possible to push her out and thought they might have to use the vacuum thing or forceps. However, by God’s grace, I was able to do it quickly and with very little tearing. Dan was holding my hand through it, and was a great coach!
She came out and it again (like with Jake) did not cross my mind to look to see what gender she was. The nurse said the word she, but at that point I was still in a little shock I think, and I also didn’t see her even look, so I wasn’t banking on a girl. Everyone else seemed to believe her though, so when I finally get her in my arms, I checked and sure enough! She is 7lbs 7oz, 20 inches long, and beautiful!

Tonight Jakob is sleeping in his new blue race car bed! We found it on eBay for only $20 (thanks to Rachel Meyer). We are trying to prepare him for getting his new room once it is ready. Then we plan to put the baby in his current room. I am so proud of him and how much he is growing up!

This was taken today as a way of keeping track of Jake’s growth. He is 36 1/2 inches tall today and 29 lbs! He has grown so much in the last 2 1/2 years. I love this shot though, because it was taken after I said “Smile Jake.” Instead of smiling though, he just says, “Cheese!” with absolutely no smile. Then I tried, “Smile like Billy (the name of his current favorite blue friend).” This was how he responded to that. Billy is his potty-training doll that was quickly forgotten about after training, but has been rediscovered. He ate breakfast with us this morning, and followed Jake around today.

I recently told of how trouble-free this pregnancy was. Well, on Thursday my back decided to cramp up. From my lower back to the back of my thighs, I was in agony. I couldn’t find a position to make this shooting pain stop. I tried laying down, sitting and standing. So, Dan just had to put up with my moaning for a good part of the afternoon and evening. Thankfully, it went away for the most part by the next morning. Something still does not feel right in my back, but it is at least tolerable for the time being.

Anyway, not meaning to complain, just wanting to keep notes on this pregnancy! It did open my eyes to what it must be like to have fibromyalgia, or some other sickness that keeps you in constant pain. It was hard to think, much less do menial things like make supper or even walk up the stairs. Praise God for sparing me of such a life thus far!