Nine days after Jilly was officially due, I went in for a non-stress test. She didn't move around as much as the doctor wanted, and I was quite overdue, so they said I would be going in for another induction at 5 pm and that I wouldn't be able to "opt out" this time around. (Note to self: next time, don't go in for a test when the baby is usually napping or something. Drink a soda before hand, wake the kid up!) We called our friends the Johnstons' to see if they could take Evelyn until Mom Cluff could make the 6 hour drive from Idaho. They had Evelyn over, but Ev decided she didn't need to sleep and was still up when Grandma arrived at 10:30 pm.
Evelyn threw up on Grandma when they got back to our house. Just what you want to have happen when you're in the hospital with a new baby!
I'd been given cytotec this time around, and pictocin. Not much was happening as we sat there and watched TV, and around 10 pm, we decided to call it a night and try to sleep. An hour and a half later, I woke up to a pop, and nearly all the amniotic fluid came out. I went into labor real fast after that. I had hoped to hold off on an epidural, but only an hour after the water broke (1:30 am) I needed it to cope with contractions that were right on top of each other. I went from 2 cm to 5 in 45 minutes of hard contractions. The nurses had to pump saline back into my uterus to give Jilly some cushioning, as she was getting completely squished by really hard contractions. I had to go on oxygen as well. My epidural was much lighter this time around (per my request) and 3 hours later, I was ready to push a baby out.
She arrived at 4:50 am, with 20 minutes of pushing. She didn't want to breathe intially, and one of the few things I remember was a doctor saying, "Come on baby, you've got to breathe sometime." She finally started crying, more like whimpering, and quieted down once she was all wrapped up.
Daddy gets to do all the fun stuff, like watch her examinations and baths.
She obviously didn't enjoy her bath very much.
Cute and calmed down.
After Evelyn was born, I fell asleep (partly due to the heavy epidural - I kept pushing the button). This time, I couldn't go to sleep. I just wanted to see Jillian and hold her. When she finally came in, she started fussing, and that carried on for a few hours. I was already having a mini-panic attack that she might be colicky, but the nurse assured me that no judgement like that could yet be made, and that she probably just had a headache from getting squished. She eventually stopped fussing.
Grandma arrived with Evelyn in the morning, who had only thrown up once. Evelyn was pointing out Jilly's facial features.
Grandma with another grand-baby.
Little feet. Jilly weighed 7 lbs, 7 oz, and was 19" long. Only 2 oz. smaller than Evelyn, and shorter than Ev by an inch.
Evelyn was happy to be with Mommy again.
I didn't remember Evelyn looking so small in the car seat.
Grandma took good care of Evelyn, even getting her hair into pigtails.
The night we arrived home, we put together a new bouncy seat so Jilly would have a safe place to lay out in the front room of the apartment.
We also discovered that Evelyn had some yucky stomach virus - she threw up again around midnight, repeatedly, for about an hour. I thought I was going to mentally and emotionally lose it. Post-baby hormones and never having had a throwing up toddler before, Ben and I were way stressed out. I said a prayer that I could keep it together, and Evelyn was eventually able to go back to sleep. Everyone was exhausted.
Jillian peacefully slept through it all.
