The Birth Story of Evi Reece (Part 1)

Early on Monday, April 30th, my labor started... though it took awhile to realize that this was really it!!!

Devin and I went to bed early that Sunday night and around midnight I woke up feeling uncomfortable and a bit hungry.  I decided to go downstairs and watch some TV... soon I found myself walking around because I was just hurting.  I wasn't really having contractions, but I was in pain.  After about an hour, I went back upstairs to lay down and hope for some sleep.  I woke up around 3:30 a.m. with contractions.  They weren't regular and weren't growing in intensity, but they did hurt which usually indicates real contractions and not just Braxton Hicks.  When Devin woke up around 4:30, he asked me if I was okay and if I needed him to stay home from work.  I told him I was fine so he got up and headed to work as usual.  He texted and called me several times.

I got up and took Finley to MDO... came home and cancelled plans with a friend.... put Jude down and laid down on the couch.  Beth texted me to tell me she was praying C3 would come the next day (May 1st... the day I was praying for) and I told her that I thought she might come sooner.  Both Devin and Beth begged me to go to the hospital, but at that point my contractions still weren't consistent and varied quite a bit in length and intensity.

Kristin, my friend and labor expert (former OB nurse), texted me to check on me and when I texted her back, she called me... I told her what was going on and she agreed that if I could lay down at home that it would be better than going to the hospital because sooner or later it would be clear if I was indeed in labor.  Around 1 that afternoon, my contractions finally stopped.

After ten hours, I didn't know whether to be happy or frustrated, but I got Jude up, fed him lunch, and then we picked Finley up from school and went to a little good-bye party for one of her classmates.  I couldn't hardly sit down which made driving difficult and so despite not having contractions, I was still very uncomfortable.

That night I took Finley to dance.  I kept walking around because sitting hurt and Jude was a mess as always.  Kristin told me that if I had any more contractions to go in because they might keep me if I was far enough along.  That turned out to be important advice.

After dance, Devin and I got the kids to bed and I felt better than I had all day.  We went to bed early since we had both been up most of the night before with my contractions.  Around eleven, I got up to go the bathroom and was surprised that I was still feeling pretty good.  Around 1:15 on May 1st, I got up again and went to the bathroom.  This time I wasn't feeling so well and realized that I was bleeding a little bit.  I decided to take a shower.... I took my time and was just praying about what to do.  As soon as I got out, I knew we needed to go to the hospital.

I opened the bathroom door and Devin sat up so I told him that I thought we needed to go in.  He had been wanting me to go in for 24 hours so he was more than happy that I finally agreed.  At this point, I was pretty worried.  The blood and the fact that I wasn't having contractions scared me.  I just wasn't sure what was going on and knew that I would feel better having C3 monitored (even though I was still feeling her quite a bit).

We debated about whether to call Allison or Devin's mom to come watch the kids.  I wasn't sure what Allison had the next day and since I really didn't think I was in labor, I thought we would probably only be gone a couple of hours.  I hated to interupt her sleep if this wasn't it and we knew that Jan had stayed in town and could probably take a nap the next day if she needed to so we called her and she was at our house in less than 20 minutes... just enough time for me to put makeup on, take a few pictures, and for Devin to get the car loaded! =)