Eva’s Birth Day.

Guess who’s here?!

Eva June Duffy was born into the world on Thursday, November 21, 2019 at 8:43PM. Before all the details leave my brain (because let’s face it — most of it is traumatic and painful and I need my body and mind to forget) I figured I’d jot down some of her story as soon as possible. I’m not the type of person who thinks of a birth experience often or even that positively (in fact, I just reread Lola’s story and don’t remember ANY of it). Even still, I want the story written some place so I can hopefully look back and say “hmm, thankfully I don’t remember that”. 🙂

We arrived at the hospital at 7AM on Thursday for my scheduled induction. After checking-in in the lobby we were told to wait in the waiting area until someone could bring us up to the labor floor. Once we were walked up, we were brought to another waiting area. I had to check-in again, with someone else who did my blood pressure (super low), my temp and all those vitals. I had to get an ultrasound first because 3 days earlier she turned into a transverse position! Well, the ultrasound showed she was actually completely breech. I also got an IV put in (they had to try twice) and they took some blood.

I was moved into a labor room and my two doctors told me that in order for the induction to happen, which wasn’t a choice, they would have to physically move the baby so that she was head down. This consisted of them both, at the same time, pushing on my stomach in a circular motion, while I screamed in pain. I’m not kidding when I say that it was the worst pain I ever felt — up until that point. I made them stop twice but apologized to which one of the doctors replied “don’t apologize, we’re actually torturing you right now”. Yep.

After that, they did another ultrasound to make sure it worked and it did — but she kept trying to move around so they had to bind my stomach so that it was constricted and she had less space to spin again. Not that comfortable! Then I was hooked up to the monitors so they could follow my contractions and her heart rate. The doctors tried breaking my water (again, incredibly painful) but it didn’t work. The stress of the morning caused me to have pretty consistent contractions on my own so they didn’t start the Pitocin yet. This worked out for me because I was able to eat lunch. Around 2, they started the Pitocin, tried breaking my water again — it didn’t work — and then they left me alone for a bit because I think they could tell I was already feeling a little bit exhausted and defeated.

They really wanted to break my water, assuring me that their reason behind this was that since she was my third baby once my water was broken everything would go quickly. It was suggested I get the epidural to relieve the pain of them trying to break my water again. So I agreed and then I quickly realized that no, no… THIS is the worst pain I’ve ever experienced in my life. It didn’t go in right and then I was only numb on one side and it took about 10-15 minutes of them fishing around in my back to make it right. It was a disaster and not quite right even after. In hindsight, I should have communicated that to the doctors — but I couldn’t handle the pain in the moment so I told them it was fine. (Terrible plan, by the way).

Sometime between 5-6PM they were successful at breaking my water. And they were right that things progressed pretty quickly after that. Around 8:15PM I told my nurse that I really felt like I needed to be checked by a doctor. When the doctor came in, he told me I still had time and that I was at a 9. But pretty much as soon as he left, I told the nurse again that no, I actually really was ready and that it was time. He came back in and looked sort of amazed that I was right. Then things sort of become blurry. A million people were suddenly in the room and the bed was being taken apart and then… the epidural that was only slightly working to begin with really stopped working all together. And I thought, no no, THIS is the worst pain I’ve ever felt in my life.

I guess her heart rate was dropping so they put me on an oxygen mask and she responded well to that so they allowed things to continue. I pushed for a couple of minutes (and felt everything), Sean says it was 3 pushes, and suddenly she was on my stomach rather than inside my stomach. She cried right away (which I didn’t even hear and just kept asking “is she okay? but is she okay?”) and the first thing I noticed was that she was TINY. They waited 60 seconds and Sean cut the umbilical cord. The pediatricians looked her over, said she was doing well, and gave her back to me.

Having her back on me sort of helped take my mind off the pain of delivering the placenta and getting stitches — those things I never felt during Javi’s or Lola’s births — so that was a bit of a surprise to me. We were able to keep and hold her for a couple of hours (funny enough, this time is the most blurry for me — but I imagine it was a lot of snuggles and comparing her looks to her siblings). Then we moved to the postpartum floor and they moved her to the nursery for the night to monitor her sugars, temps, and everything else that comes with being premature. She returned to us around 7AM and we were SO happy to have her back!

My pregnancy with Eva, and labor and delivery didn’t go as planned. But really at this point — who even cares?! I get to snuggle my little 5 pound 14 ounce (though she’s down to 5.11 now) baby day in and day out and I couldn’t be happier. She’s a peanut and I’m so in love with her. I hope to share more soon (her siblings are equally as in love!) so maybe in a few days I’ll be able to sit and write again!