Happy Mother's Day!

We've had a rather eventful week, for once! Although things undoubtedly happened earlier this week, the real drama of the week was reserved for the weekend. We got an unexpected mother's day present this year: the early arrival of our daughter, Evelyn, on May 10 at approximately 2:48 a.m. She weighed 5 lbs 3 oz, and was 18 inches long. For those of you who were keeping track, she was approximately 35 weeks old at delivery. As of tonight's posting, both mother and daughter are doing well--I'm home from the hospital, but Evelyn will be staying in the NICU (Newborn Intensive Care Unit) until she figures out the whole nursing thing and can better regulate her body temperature.

For those of you who want more details about the big night's events, read on. For those of you who don't, please just enjoy the pictures! (And thanks to my sister for the photos. We brought a camera but didn't seem to take many pictures, for some reason.)

So, the story goes something like this. I started having contractions on Friday night, around 9 p.m., every five minutes or so. They were stronger than the usual Braxton Hicks contractions, but they didn't feel really painful, so I mostly ignored them for an hour or so (beyond telling Dan I was having them), and then around 10 p.m. we started timing them. Of course, I couldn't decide what to do. My parents had just left town the day before for a week's vacation in Washington State, so, in order to go to the hospital we'd have to inconvenience someone by asking them to come sit with Andrew. I called my sister, who gave me lots of sage advice that I mostly ignored, and called the doctor's office (the doctor said it depended on how I thought I was feeling, which was absolutely no help to me, because I wasn't sure what I was feeling). At any rate, finally, around midnight (with steady contractions the whole time), we called a neighbor and went down to the hospital where we found out that I was indeed in labor (I was dilated to a 5) and we were admitted to the labor and delivery wing around 1 p.m. After having a painful (if short) natural labor with Andrew, I decided to try an epidural this time--and I have to say, I can see why people are such fans! The contractions weren't uncomfortable and, within an hour of the epidural, I was ready to push. Evelyn was born just before 3 p.m. So, all in all, a relatively short labor (6 hours), if not as dramatically fast as Andrew's. And a much easier labor, all things considered--possibly because she was still quite small.

At any rate, we're glad that she's here and that she's healthy, although it was rather hard for me to leave the hospital today without my baby. We're hoping that, if all goes well, she'll be home in another week or two. In the meantime, your prayers and good wishes are much appreciated!