Evan's Birth Story

Well, it's been a hectic few weeks around the Webb house with the arrival of little Evan. He's turned our world upside down but he's just so darn cute you can't help but want to hug him. I'm still adjusting to motherhood and round the clock feedings but I'm beginning to feel a little more like myself again. Patrick has adjusted to fatherhood like a pro (we all knew he would) and is just about the happiest dad ever. He's been my hero these past few weeks--round the clock diaper duty, cooking, napping with Evan and dealing with an emotional wife.

Before too much time passed and the details got fuzzy I wanted to chronicle the story of Evan's birth. The journey began with our weekly OB appointment on June 16. The prior few weeks my blood pressure had been rising little by little. It wasn't extremely high but it technically met the definition of "pregnancy induced hypertension." On the 16th it was once again high and upon examination the doctor found that I was already 3 cm dilated! I couldn't believe it. I hadn't been experiencing any contractions (or so I thought). The doctor said maybe I just have a "high tolerance for pain." Me, I thought, no way. I think I'm such a wimp when it comes to pain. Anyway, the doctor did another ultrasound and said the baby and amniotic fluid levels looked good. He recommended we go ahead and induce labor since there was no real advantage to waiting any longer and there could be some risk to waiting given the blood pressure issues. I was surprised and a little scared but we trusted our doctor and his explanation of the situation. I wasn't in favor of induction at first but once he explained everything and the fact that I was already 3 cm dilated, I felt good about the decision. After the decision was made to induce, things progressed quickly. The doctor called the hospital to book us to start the induction at 6 am the next morning. As we walked out of the doctor's office, I think Patrick and I both were a little in shock. All of a sudden it hit us that we would be meeting our son the next day!

I was pretty emotional but after a few minutes to gather myself I drove home and Patrick went back to work to finish up some last minute projects. When I got home it was time to prepare--call the family, finish packing my bag and get the house in order. Thank goodness I had done a lot of preparation beforehand. That night, we went out for our last dinner alone and tried not to be too nervous about the next day.

We arrived at the hospital at 6 the next morning. It was funny when we arrived there was a whole group of couples all lined up with us arriving to be induced. We got into our room and they hooked me up to all the IVs. They started the Pitocin around 8 am to get the contractions going. Much of the rest of the day is kind of a blur at this point. I could start to feel the contractions but they really weren't bad for quite awhile. I just tried to relax and even watched a little Brigid Jones on TV. At some point the nurse got the OK from my doctor to break my water. After that the contractions increased quite a bit. I still felt like I could handle them. My doctor came to check me periodically and was surprised I was still smiling when I was about 5 cm dilated. That wasn't to last much longer. By the time I reached about 7 cm I was ready for an epidural. Getting it put in wasn't bad at all and I was feeling relief soon.

After I had the epidural some family came to visit for awhile...that was around 6 pm I think. It was nice to see everyone but I was so tired. Before we knew it, my doctor came in to check me and said he could feel a little of the baby's head--it was time to push! The nurse got me all prepped to push and after a few tries I got the hang of it. Patrick was a great coach (the doctor even commented on his good paced counting skills).

I think I ended up pushing for about 45 minutes-hour and then out came Evan! My first thought when he came out was that he looked enormous! How did that baby fit inside? Of course, he wasn't really that big--8 lb 4 oz is pretty much average. I was able to hold him for several minutes before they cleaned him up. All I could do was stroke his little cheek and try to let it sink in that he was really ours. I thought I'd be a crying mess when he was born but I only cried a little (much more crying came later).

Patrick was beaming as he watched the nurse clean up Evan. To be honest, for me it took awhile for the reality of his birth to really sink in. There are still days that I can't believe he's really our son and not just some baby we're watching for a friend. Reflecting back on everything now, I realize what a beautiful day it was and how blessed we are that everything went smoothly. We are so blessed to have a perfect little boy and wonderful family and friends to support us and share in our joy.

Continue to pray for us! Come visit us anytime...mommy and Evan love visitors (and mommy loves adults to talk to :)