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Remember the completely adorable mini heart, bird, and tag Heidi Grace stamps used on these CHA-S projects??
welllllllll - i have an extra set...
would love to give them away to someone who wants and could use them...
so leave me a comment...
and i'll pick a winner by the end of the week.
and because I don't like to post anymore without a pic of Ev...
Here he is.
Looking adorable, even while having a mini-baby-meltdown. ;)
it's hard to believe...
...and it's been the best month yet.
((gotta love his little "enough photos already mom!" expression in this shot!))
:)
...getting a little tired.
...trying to fit in afternoon naps with Evan.
...enjoying the last few weeks of our minnesota summer.
(which is SO much nicer than the South Florida summers that I grew up with)
...and trying to get into a routine after having family here for 10 nights.
This week we enjoyed a lovely visit from Miss Michele... Took Evan out to the mall for the first time, and then to dinner at California Pizza Kitchen... And since that all went over so well - we then decided it was time that he saw his first rated-R movie... ;) So he went to see Superbad with us - sleeping the entire time while i wore him in my much-loved Hotsling. And then - out to another dinner at Fuddruckers... with his very own cheeseburger and beer (for which i thought that a photo was definitely needed.) ;)
PS - for those of you who asked - the bright red and orange polka-dot blanket is from IKEA... such a bargain, and fun to use in photos!
he's 3 weeks old today... (photo from yesterday!)
i can't believe how quickly the past 3 weeks have gone...
and i can see subtle little changes in his features each day.
Right now Mr Evan...
...has been enjoying his grandparents and uncle's visit
...has decided that bathtime really isn't that horrible
...is making friends with toby (who is figuring out that Evan isn't leaving anytime soon)
...loves the swing (and mommy especially loves it during dinner time!)
We are all doing well... Getting as much sleep as possible... And enoying Ev. :)
One more pic of Evan from this week - in a new little hat that was made just for him... I love this crafter's hats... she has already made me a few hats - and will custom-create any combo for you from her etsy shop... and the little top-knot is just too cute.
((...evan's birth story!))
At about 1pm, I was sitting in Evan’s room, relaxing in his glider chair and just thinking about how I was at the end of the pregnancy and so ready to be a mom, and started to feel some funny twinges concentrated in the center area right below my belly. And since I had been slightly neurotic in making my ob tell me what contractions would actually feel like… (she had described them as starting in your back and wrapping around to tighten in the front) …I definitely decided that this pain did not sound anything like her description, and no way was it qualifying as a contraction… haha. And then about 7 minutes later I felt another one of the same funny twinges. Which made me wonder...
*
So I came downstairs and called Eric at work who logically told me to call my ob to ask. My ob office referred me to the hospital’s birth center. So I called the Birth Center... And I proceeded to describe my mystery twinges to the super-nice nurse, and then said to her “So I don’t know if these pains/contractions actually count or qualify??”… And she seemed to find this funny and told me that yes, they totally DO COUNT and “they go on my permanent record”. Ok. All of this fabulous info was relayed to Eric who decided that he was then out the door at work and on his way home. Good. Because I was definitely not excited at the thought of sitting at home and laboring by myself...
*
When Eric got home at 2:30ish my contractions were pretty regular at 5-7 mins apart and we called our neighbor friend over to go over the Toby details… Toby was a super-star poodle who held down the house while we were gone… (and he sent me flowers in the hospital – which was way too cute!). I sat around and lunched on light foods – until I started freaking out about how dirty I thought our floors were… And then I proceeded to sweep them all and clean up. Labor for me apparently =s Cleaning Craziness.
*
Contractions progressed – and I was thinking “wow this all seems way too easy”… the pain wasn’t so bad, just more like a bizarre pressure… almost like someone was sitting on my very full bladder and making it hurt (which I guess was kind of happening?). I chatted with my Mom and sisters – emailed friends – and then at about 9ish things started to get rough.
*
At 10 I called the Birth Center again and told them I wanted to come in… The not-as-nice-as-before nurse totally dissuaded me from coming in. She told me that there was a chance that they would send me home to labor some more. And just the thought of getting there and then being sent home freaked me out. (It’s a 25 minute each-way trip to St Paul and the hospital). So I said ok… and then I *tried* to relax. So not possible… I called the Birth Center back at about 11:15 and told them that I now wanted to kill myself from the pain and yes we were so coming in. They said ok. :)
*
When we got to the hospital at about midnight I was having contractions 3-4 mins apart. We checked in. Really Eric checked me in while I sat in a chair and got through a few more contractions. The newer nicer part of the Birth Center (which is for low-risk pregnancies) was completely full, so I ended up in the older labor and delivery wing (which is more equipped for higher risk emergencies). I would be thankful of this later.
*
My fabulous delivery nurse’s name was Kelly (which I thought was a good sign!)… She checked me and said that I was only at 2cm (and I had been at 1.5 the day before at my Dr appointment). She told me that I was going to have to labor some more before getting an epidural. And I had pretty much decided early on in the pregnancy that if there was any possible chance of it, I would like the epidural administered in the parking lot as I arrived to have the baby. Waiting was so not an option in my birth plan. And yet – I remained calm – I was also really afraid of being mean to Kelly as I was very aware that she was the ticket to my pain meds. (Eric later said that he was most impressed at this point in the evening, that I held back and did not start screaming and demanding the epi drugs!).
*
So I labored on. And I made Eric just start talking to me about random things during each contraction. His voice, and talking, took my mind (as much as possible) off of the pain and refocused my attention. I told him to make things up if he couldn’t think of anything to say. I just needed him to talk and tell me stories. So he did. He’s the best.
*
And then at about 1:30am I got an IV and some nubain. Nubain apparently =s the most delicious drunk feeling possible after 12 hours of labor with nothing, and it also took the edge off of the contractions – reducing the pain by about a third. And then I labored some more… And then, thankfully at about 3:15am I was at a 3, and I got a completely fabulous epidural. Thank you to the inventor of the epi.
*
Very soon after getting the epi, I had an explosive water breakage episode. Like water shooting everywhere. It was pretty impressive… and then I very quickly progressed from 3cm to 9cm, and then the pressure started.
*
Around 6:30am Kelly decided it was time for me to push. So I started pushing. And at this point I still really knew nothing about the whole pushing and birthing process. Which was probably best for me. The less I know, the less I worry, anticipate, and freak out. I had no idea that pushing the baby out could take as long as four hours (which one of the nurse’s told me when I asked how long this was going to go on for…). I was so clueless… :)
*
More pushing ensued. They told me I was a good pusher. I remember wondering if they just told everyone that to be nice?! At about 7:45am the nurses told me that the baby would probably be delivered by 8:15am. Great. And then things got a little scary for us.
*
Evan’s little heartrate fell to the 70’s, and the nurse’s immediately called the Dr from my practice back into the room. This was when I was really glad that I was in the regular labor and delivery wing. She was just right down the hall, immediately came in, and immediately started yelling for a vacuum and forceps. Which naturally scared me half to death. I wasn’t pushing anymore and I was starting to panic. Evan ended up having to be vacuumed out the remainder of the way, and I’m just so thankful that no forceps were needed. He was born at 7:50am. He pretty much flew out with the help of that vacuum… Totally not anything I had ever anticipated or expected. And all was ok. He was here.
*
A pic from his first hour of life that just makes me smile...
since there isn't much else to life right now...
here are a few more evan shots...
Mr. Ev (from today) totally loving the quilt great-grandma made him...
(the same quilt i blogged about in past posts...)
Sound Asleep.......... & not really minding that i stuck him in the bowl again.... :)
and............
our first family photo - as taken by my mom..........
:)
mom & dad are leaving way to early, and headed back to Florida tomorrow...
we will miss them!
