Yea! Eva is finally here! She was slow coming, at nine days late, but she is definitely worth the wait. I was scheduled to be induced at 1am. I went into the hospital at 1am that morning, already in labor. I swear that I was in labor for 3 weeks! I had been having contractions since the first week in April! Anyway, the nurse at the hospital told me that I was most likely in labor because my contractions were cyclical at about five minutes apart. At about 2:30 or 3am, the nurse gave me pill called Cytotec that was to help ripen my cervix more quickly. At this point I was already dilated to a 4. For about an hour and a half, I my contractions increased in intensity and became closer together. The nurse also noticed that with each contraction Eva's heart rate would drop. However, it would quickly recover after the contraction was over. Aaron lay asleep in my room because I told him he should sleep until I needed him! I expected my labor to become difficult to the point of needing Aaron to coach me through the pain. However, that point never came! I would only describe my contractions as uncomfortable. At 4:30am the nurse came in, discovered that I was dilated to a 4+, and asked me if I wanted my epidural. The anaesthesiologist had just given the girl in the next room an epidural, and didn't want to go home and come back for me! So, before I even experienced pain, I was given my epidural! By 6am I was dilated to a 6 and at 7am I was at a 9! That was quick! My mom arrived at about that time for support and Aaron woke up and joined in the fun as well! At 7:30am I was told that I was dilated to a 10 with a small lip. My doctor was still performing a C-section with another patient so I couldn't start pushing until he showed up. At 8:40am my water broke. My amniotic fluid was green, so the respiratory therapist was called. They assumed the baby had taken in her own waste. They would have to pump out her lungs and stomach immediately after birth. Soon after 8:40am I pushed through my first contraction--but just one contraction. At 8:45am my doctor arrived, and at 9am I started pushing through contractions again. During this time, the doctor noticed that the baby's heart rate was really dropping with each push/contraction. He said, "We need to get this baby out." Call it what you want, but I believe it was a tender mercy from God that I only pushed through 3 more contractions (4 contractions total) before Eva arrived! So I pushed for about 5 minutes on my first child! That is unheard of! When Eva came out at 9:10 am, the cord was wrapped around her neck twice. This was the reason her heart rate was dropping. They quickly put Eva on my belly, cut the cord, sucked out her nose and mouth, and handed her off to the respiratory therapist. He sucked out her lungs before they let her take her first breath. Aaron counted 23 seconds from the time her cord was cut until she took that first breath! That was an intense 23 seconds. The first thing I wanted to know when she was born is if she was indeed at female! I was very excited that she was a SHE! They continued to pump out her stomach and collected 2 teaspoons of meconium (baby poo). Now that my baby was okay, they weighted and measured her. She was over 7lbs and around 20 inches long. When I was born, I weighted her exact weight as well! I thought that was kind of neat. They then handed off the baby to Aaron because I began to have complications. My placenta would not come out. The doctor literally had to dig my placenta out piece by piece. This took about an hour after the baby was born. To give you an idea of the rarity and seriousness of this situation, Aaron asked the doctor, "How common is this?" The doctor answered, "I've never seen this." Aaron says that the doctor had his "game face" on and was very serious and worried during this hour. I remember him telling me, "I'm sorry kid-o." I also remember how he was perspiring. He looked really concerned and worn-out. It was a little frightening, but I was very grateful for him. The worst part was that my epidural had worn off by the time he started digging out my placenta. This means this was very painful. The nurses kept putting things in my IV and giving me shots that were to lessen the pain and calm me down. Finally, at 10:06am, the doctor re-sewed me up for the last time and I was finally done. They let me hold the baby and feed her. Aaron was able to bond with her for the first hour of her life. I know that was a special experience for him. They also let me eat a light breakfast at this time. Several hours later they had me stand up and walk to the bathroom. Up to this time I had felt wonderful, however, a large blood clot passed when I stood up and I began to hemorrhage. I was bleeding so heavily that I began to faint. I remember being so frightened. It sounds silly, but I honestly thought that I was dying. It was very scary. They tried getting smelling salts to wake me up, but nothing worked. My nurse yelled for help and they wheeled me to another room and had me lie down. They put some things in my IV to raise my blood pressure and put an ice pack behind my neck. I stayed in bed, sure I wasn't going to survive the day...and if I did, sure I would have the Doctor "tie my tubes" when I saw him next! I continued bleeding heavily for much of that day. I was extremely weak, and they would not let me eat anything because if my bleeding did not slow down they would have to take me to surgery and perform a DC on me. They thought that maybe the doctor didn't get all my placenta out and he would have to go back and scrape me out :( Finally, late that afternoon, my bleeding began to slow down. I was able to eat at 4:30 or 5pm. By the next day I could get out of bed long enough to shower. I was still weak and light-headed, but showering felt fabulous! The doctor had me stay and extra day and the nurses keep a close eye on me. However, I recovered quickly. I felt myself again very shortly and even considered having more children one day. How quickly we forget. Eva is just worth whatever troubles I went through! Aaron and I love being parents and thank God for his tender mercies. We feel we experienced many miracles during my labor and delivery. 50 years ago neither of us would have survived the experience. Even if I had decided to deliver at home, the baby definitely would have not survived and I would most likely not had survived either. We are so blessed!
For all those women out there that find themselves large with child, take a swim! It's the way to go. I am 38 weeks pregnant now and still swimming! Why you ask? Well, besides being a little crazy, I enjoy being...well, lighter! My belly is this flotation devise that makes me feel like The Unsinkable Molly Brown. However, I'd be no good at diving for pennies off the bottom of the pool! But, swimming has allowed me to still get my workout in while allowing me an hour free from my uncomfortable largeness. 
It's okay, you can laugh out loud, I do. However, I think I'm the only pregnant lady that still even attempts them!
a 10 mile bike in 27 minutes, 
and a third mile swim in 5 minutes. 
Including his transition times (changing from his workout clothes/shoes into his swim wear), Aaron finished his first triathlon in 54 minutes! That was good enough to give him a 7th place finish! We are all so proud of Aaron! Great Job! What a Hunk ;) 
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