Eva - the Lobby baby

So we had things planned. Mother's Day we went to church and then to Jeremy's parents to celebrate Mother's Day and my birthday (which is the 14th), my SIL, and my FIL birthdays. We had a great time and left around 4:30 to make it home by 5:30 to finish last minute preparations and get to bed early since we had to leave our house at 4:30 AM for the induction. My parents were planning to spend the night and come to the hospital in the morning with the kiddos and hang out with us in the room until I was ready to push. I loved my induction and birth with Katie. We were hoping to mimic it. 

I'd already had false labor several times. Real contractions, just not progressing and leading to labor. So when I started having contractions around 6 I thought nothing of it but that it was bad timing because I need to get some good sleep.we watched Maggie ride her (without training wheels, woo hoo). I did some laundry, got the kiddos ready for bed....I noticed that the contractions were getting a little more intense so I told Jeremy that i was going to bath and if they didn't stop then maybe we should time them. The bath was nice and I had a few mild contractions but I wasn't considering it labor. 

I got out and got my comfy pjs on and started doing a few odds and ends. I tried timing a few contractions but they were crazy spaced, like 2 minutes, then 4 minutes, then 5. Just no rhythm or pattern. I was still talking fine throught the contractions but I was getting that antsy, climbing the wall feeling. Jeremy wanted me to call my MW. I didn't want to alarm her nor did I want to get the hospital and the contractions stop. So he called and talked to her and then put me on the phone. We talked and she told me to go on in and if it wasn't real labor the we'd just go ahead and induce and maybe have us a baby by midnight. She asked how long it would take us to get to the hospital and I said probably 1 hour 15 minutes by the time we got the car loaded and me, Mom, and Jeremy in the car. By this time I was In a good amount of pain and was pretty sure this was it. Mom and Jeremy were taking forever so I 'politely' told them it was time to go. 

Contractions in the car were bad. Jeremy was driving like a pro, flashers flashing and weaving in and out of traffic. We were all calm and I was handling the pain well. We had a couple of scares with traffic but were able to make it with being in a jam. We were about 10 (normal drive time) minutes from the hospital when I felt my water break and a gush of warm fluid. I asked mom to call my MW and tell her that my water broke and that I was feeling like I needed to push. Jeremy asked me to give him one contraction where I didn't push. It was all i could do to oblige but i did. I could hear myself half screaming half moaning and I knew from Emma's home birth that we were much closer to delivery than I wanted to be. With the next contraction more fluid and much harder not to push. I laid the seat back and we were all able to watch Eva turn slightly and start descending down the birth canal. Crazy amazing but not good when you're in the car. Then it was out of my control to not push.It felt SO good to push even though I really was trying not to. By this time we were on the congested roads around the hospital. There was lots of horn honking and weaving in and out ofbtraffic. I was so hoping we were going to make it. We ended up making the hour drive in 30 minutes.

Jeremy literally slid to a sideways stop at the hospital entrance. The hospital where we have our babies only delivers babies. Jeremy jumped out and ran to the double sliding doors which didn't open fast enough so he pried them open. I managed to get my door open and mom and I started walking in. Right when I got through the 2nd set of sliding doors I had a contraction and could feel her crowning. Someone ran up with a wherlchair. Jjeremy told me to sit down and I told him I couldn't. He helped me finish pulling my pants down in time for her head to finish emerging. Nurses were running, the guards were in shock, and I was screaming. Two pushes, tons of blood curdling screaming, and Eva was delivered fom a wheelchair right in the doorway of the lobby at 9PM, 3 hours after my first false/real contractions in the arms of a very shaky nurse. Eva immediately started crying and was pretty and pink. Her cord was really short and very thick. They clamped it and let Jeremy cut it. Then they took her stuffed and her up under my shirt for skin to skin. 

They wheeled us up to my room. They did the baby eval which was great. I tore really badly. She came so quick, I was in an awful position in the wheelchair and something about her shoulder. So lots of stitches. Ugh. My MW got here as the doctor was stitching and he was terrible! He stitched forever it seemed. I was extremely shaky and a little light headed. I was in shock, mentally, from having birthed so quickly. It was so surreal. 

They weighed little Eva and she was 8 pounds 2 ounces and 21 inches. And has some dark fuzz.....no red. : ) All my life whenever I would think about having a child it was always a brown headed little girl. Maybe this is my brunette. I spent the first hour or two shaking uncontrollably and shivering. My mind couldn't and is still struggling to comprehend the birth. 

The night went pretty well. Eva nursed and nursed. Mom stayed at the hospital with me and Jeremy went home to take care of the kiddos there. It worked out best that way last time. Neither Mom nor I got much sleep. Adrenaline and emotions were running high.

It's morning now. I've had a shower and am possibly beginning to comprehend all that happened in the last 12 hours.God was so good to orchestrate things such as He did. Had my parents not been at my house already I've no clue what we would have done. Nor do I know what would have happened if we had of had to make the drive during the day in traffic. I'm. Thankful that it was night and the lobby was empty except for security men and the receptionist. Normally it's a bustling central point for the maternity hospital, a pharmacy and 2 floors of doctors.