I know it has been a month since our little joy arrived, but I have been busy okay! I also have been trying to wait for pictures to come from Garrett because we had his camera at the birth. Needless to say, we haven't seen the Evans kids for a whole month and they are coming tonight! And just so this doesn't happen again we have broken down and invested in our very own camera! Morgan and Garrett are pleased. So here is the story of how Darrek McCoy Evans, aka Jr., came to our family.
Monday July 20- 3:00 p.m.
I go to my regular scheduled Dr. visit to find out that once again I was going to be sent to Labor and Delivery because of high blood pressure. I was also contracting every 8 min. and dilated to 2cm. so the doctor said that she probably wasn't going to let me go home even if my blood pressure came down. As I was headed over to the hospital, I called Darren immediately because he has been very clear that Jr. was going to come on the 20th of July. Darren had a dream a few months before that we were at the hospital on the 20th. He really didn't believe me when I told him. He just kept saying, "Are you serious?" I made a few more phone calls to my mom and to April.
When I got to Labor and Delivery they got me all hooked up to everything and the waiting game began. My mom arrived first because Darren had to finish up some things on the farm and then he went home to take a shower. My mom told me that Chantel, Curtis' wife, had been contracting all day as well and was trying to decide whether or not to come in. Thirty minutes later, we were blessed with her presence! They hooked her up to everything and then later on in the evening we walked the halls together. All of the staff thought that it was pretty funny that we were in there together. It was fun to be able to walk the hall with her, it definitely made the time go by faster. It also made me try to walk faster, I am very competitive you know! April also arrived two and a half hours after I called her. She is awesome!
While we were walking we saw the next best thing to the Savior, the anesthesiologist! I kept making jokes that he better not go far and when I called for him, he had better make it snappy. I even offered him a $20 bill. Darren thought that was funny because he was probably making that every minute he was there. I always knew that I was going to have an epidural. I just know my body and my pain tolerance and I believe in having a nice experience during birth instead of screaming and pushing the baby out uncontrollably. My nurse had told me that he was getting ready to go home for the night, but that he would come back when I needed him. Oh NO he wasn't! I was not about to let him leave and then come back when it was too late. So even though I really was not in need of any pain medication yet and didn't want to slow the process down, I told him to give me the epidural before he left. Darren opted to step out of the room while I got poked while April stayed in to let me lean on her during the process. Even though it did slow the dilation process down quite a bit, I was glad that I did not experience any pain. The only down side to getting it was that it made me itch all night long which was a bummer because I was really looking forward to sleeping. I also wished that I could have had more control over my legs during labor. They kept flopping everywhere and mom and April kept laughing at me. It is also really weird to push as hard as you can, but still not be able to feel anything.
The funniest thing about the whole hospital thing was that Chantel and I were just right on with each other. She would dilate to a 5 and then I would. We went on like that all night long. We also had the same doctor delivering us and we both dilated to a ten at the same time. The doctor looked a little frantic, but handled it well. She decided to deliver Chantel's baby first because the baby's heart rate had dropped slightly. While she was delivering Chantel's baby, April graciously got me pretty with her makeup. You have to look pretty for the little one (and pictures)so you don't scare him/her!
Darren has been telling me the whole time that he was not going to be in the room during the birth. You see, he doesn't do well with blood, needles, etc. Well, he was a trooper and stayed the entire time and even did the videoing of it. He only fell to his knees once. I am very thankful that he stayed in there. It was nice to keep looking up at him, it made me feel stronger. April and mom were also in the room with me and helped me push, literally. April pushed my back up every time I pushed. Mom gave me a lot of coaching and moral support. She even cut the umbilical cord because Darren couldn't stomach it. I am very thankful for both of them.
Tuesday July 21, 2009
Finally after pushing for twenty minutes, Darrek McCoy plopped out at 7lbs. 2oz. at 9:49 a.m! He really did plop out. A little too fast they think. The nurse (Becky Householder) didn't like the way he looked and the way he was breathing. She just kept saying, "I don't like the way he sounds". After I held him for about 2 minutes I started handing him off to everyone. He was with us long enough for Darren, mom, April, and dad to hold him. Then they took him to the nursury to get his shots and things they usually do while I cleaned up to go to my recovery room. When I got to my recovery room is when Darren told me that they were keeping him in the nursery to watch him because of his breathing. It was very frustrating not being able to hold my baby. Finally, they decided to wheel him down to me. I was so excited. Matthew, Garrett, and Rylee were also in the room and really excited to see him as well. He was only in my arms for a few seconds before Becky started to get worried about his breathing again. She yanked off some tubing off the wall and hooked him up to the oxygen. I got worried, started cying, the kids started flipping out, especially Rylee. Darren called in Curtis to give him a priesthood blessing. He still didn't sound very good with the canula in so Becky took him back down to the nursery and put him in an oxygen tent. That is when my night truly became one of the worst nights of my life!
Darrek in the oxygen tent at Mt. Graham Hospital
