The Butts family: April 2009

The story of Evan's entrance in to the world began early Easter Sunday morning, April 12th. I woke up around 4 am to a contraction, and quickly realized that labor was beginning. I had a hard time believing it at first...I was fully expecting to have to be induced the following week. It just didn't seem like my body was ever going to do what it was supposed to do. Despite the anxiety over what was to come, I was so thankful that I was going into labor on my own. This had been one of my greatest hopes for this labor...to not have to be induced with pitocin.

For the next few hours, contractions continued anywhere from 5-8 minutes apart, and varying in intensity. Some I wouldn't even register as painful, but some were definitely painful and required focus and steady breathing. At 7am I woke Steve up and told him the baby was on its way! I make fun of him because while most husbands would then start running around frantically, Steve's response was a slightly surprised "Cool!", followed by him remaining in bed. In his defense, he said that he could tell by how calm I was that there wasn't need for immediate action. And it's true, I was pretty calm at this point and knew it would probably still be a while.

We spent the next hour or two getting the last of our things and the kids' things gathered, and also making phone calls to Bette, who was taking the kids initially, to Julie, our doula, and to my mom, who was coming up to take care of the kids for our hospital stay. We even got the kids all dressed in their Easter outfits, as we weren't sure whether they'd be going to church or not (depending on which service Bette was attending). Steve ended up driving the kids to Bette's around 9:30. Meanwhile, Julie had advised me to keep moving and going about my morning, which I did. Not only did this keep the contractions coming, but it also made the contractions more bearable. Every time I sat down to relax, the contractions seemed much more painful.

By 11:15, the contractions were every 4-5 minutes apart and every one was painful. I decided it was time to head to the hospital, so we called Julie and let her know. The car ride was pretty miserable, but we made it to the hospital by noon.

Upon arrival I was checked into triage where they determined that I was in fact in labor (at 4 cm and 100% effaced). The interesting (and annonying at the time) thing that happened at this point was that my labor pretty much stopped. Contractions went back to maybe one every 10 minutes. So the triage nurse got me set up in a birthing room and advised me to walk around to get the contractions going again. We walked the loop for a good 45 minutes or so, and contractions picked up a little bit but not a lot.

My dr. arrived around 2:30, at which point she offered to break my water. I was nervous about this because I knew based on past experience that once she did this, labor (and thus, the pain) would take off. But I also knew that if we didn't do this, it likely would have been a very long time before things picked up. So we decided to go ahead with it.

The next hour sucked, as expected. At 3:30, I was checked and they told me I was at 6 cm. I was REALLY hoping I'd be farther along than that, and since I wasn't, I asked for an epidural. Within 15 minutes the anesthesiologist was in the room and ready to go, but when they checked me again before proceeding, I was at 8...meaning things were really moving quickly. Because of this, she (the anes. dr.) was hesitant to give me the epidural. She (and pretty much everyone) had a feeling that the baby would be popping it's head out before she would be able to complete the eipdural. And for good reason...this was my 3rd baby, and things were suddenly moving quickly, so things SHOULD have gone quickly.

In the end, she gave me the epidural, and it's a darn good thing she did! There were a few problems (that I'll explain in a minute) that would keep things from happening as quickly as they should have...while we all thought the baby might be out within a matter of minutes, it actually would be another 3 hours before Evan was born.

Julie and I both had a feeling that the baby was positioned incorrectly, and both the nurse and Dr. K. confirmed this...this was one of the holdups. He was rotated to the side and did NOT want to turn. Consequently, he was staying high up in my pelvis. We tried different positions, and Dr. K. tried internally turning him (sorry if this is TMI:), but nothing worked. Before the epidural, the position that was most comfortable for me was on my left side, but the baby really didn't like it...he kept having late heart decelerations, which is not a good thing at all. (This was likely due to cord compression). He did really well when I was on my right side, but the right side was excruciating for me (again, pre-epidural). So in this regard I was glad for the epidural because it allowed me to be in the position that worked best for the baby.

Another holdup was the fact that he had the cord wrapped around his neck and also around his shoulder, which obviously we didn't know about until he made his exit. But this probably also kept him from moving down and made it harder for him to move into the correct position.

Okay, so back to the story. I got the epidural at 4:00, and when they checked me at 5:00, I was at 9 1/2 cm (and probably had been for awhile), and I stayed there until 6:00. (At some point, my mom arrived from southern OR...we weren't sure if she'd make it in time, but she did, thanks to Evan being a slowpoke! I'm glad you could be there, Mom!) During this time was when they figured for sure that the position was wrong, and tried different tricks to rotate him. We were limited in this, however, because of continued late heart decels. At 6:00 I was in fact dilated to 10cm, so we started pushing. The first 1/2 hour or so was pretty ineffective, however, because he was still positioned incorrectly. After this 1/2 hour, I could tell my doctor was getting concerned. The baby's heart rate was still not bouncing back as quickly as it should, and my pushing didn't seem to be doing what it should (moving him down), meaning he just wasn't turning. The nurse and Julie both thought we needed to move me to my right side, so the doctor left for a bit while we tried that position. My doctor's concern worried me...I knew that the heart rate issues were problematic, and I really didn't want all of this to end in a C-section.

The great news is that once I turned on to my right side to try pushing in that position, I could immediately feel the baby start coming down. It was so strange...even with the epidural, I could very much feel his movement inside of me and could tell that this was the position he needed me to be in in order to turn. I think it was only 10 minutes or so before Judy, the nurse, called the dr. back in to say that she could see the head. (My dr. was out in the nurses' station, and when Judy gave them the news, I heard them all cheer, my dr. loudest of all. It was so encouraging to know they were all rooting for me!).

After this, he came pretty quickly. Again, it was so cool how much I felt...a TON of pressure, but no pain:) After just a few pushes, Dr. K. told me to stop pushing, and they got everything ready. I could hold off for a bit, but then I really needed to push. Dr. K. had me do little pushes, then one big one, and at 6:58pm, out he came! I looked down and saw that it was a boy, a perfect, beautiful boy. Looking back, I had become pretty focused and detached during the last hour or so, but once he came out, the tears came and I couldn't stop them! Meeting each of my children for the first time has given me the greatest moments of my life...moments that I wish I could relive. They put him on my chest right away, and Steve and I marvelled at our new son for quite a while before they went on with the washing/weighing, etc.

I think everyone (except maybe Julie?) was very surprised when they put him on the scale and it read 9 lb. 15 oz.! I had felt that he would be smaller than my other two, and even after he came out, he didn't look as chubby as Jayna had. The dr., too, didn't think the baby would be above 9 lbs. But we were wrong!

The remainder of our hospital stay was really good. I have to say that I am so, so grateful for the care I received throughout the whole process. Judy, my labor nurse, was great. Around 6:30, just as we were moving me to my right side, she told me that her shift ended at 7:00 and she really wanted to be there for my baby's arrival. She got her wish with 2 minutes to spare! Julie was amazing, too. During all the pre-epidural pushing/pain, the one thing she kept telling me that I swear was what got me through it was to stay on top of the pain, and ahead of the pain. Basically, she was reminding me to be in control of the pain rather than letting the pain control me. There were moments where I almost lost it, but she brought me back from the edge, so to speak. I was told by doctors and nurses that I was handling/handled the pain extremely well, but that was largely due to Julie's coaching. The anesthesiologist was incredibly efficient...she arrived quickly, and was honest and gentle in our discussion over whether or not to do the epidural, and she also kept checking back in to make sure things were going well. Finally, I have the best doctor ever! She wasn't even on call that day and she had plans to take her sister to the airport, but on Easter Sunday, she had her husband take her sister to the airport so she could come be with me. We both really wanted her to be there for the birth, and I am SO glad she was. I think the attending doctor can really make a difference in how your birth goes, and she was amazing, both during the labor/birth, and in the months leading to it. If anyone lives in the Tacoma area and needs a family practice and/or OBGYN, I've got your doctor! Oh, and my post-partum care was great, too...they took good care of me while also being respectful of the fact that this was my third and I didn't need to be told how to change a diaper of breastfeed correctly. I have loved each of my hospital stays...all the pampering, food brought to you and dishes washed for you, a little button to push when you need anything, and best of all, time dedicated solely to taking in and adoring your new baby. Does it get any better than that?!

So that is how Evan came into this world. Despite the "glitches", I am so happy with how the labor went and wouldn't change a thing in terms of how I dealt with it all. Physically, I am doing well. Tired, of course, but the recovery has been MUCH easier than it was with the other two. Emotionally, I'm having a hard time with the fact that it's over. I love the birth process, I love the newness and wonder of a newborn, and I know that all Evan's going to do is get bigger! This is what makes me want to just keep having babies! (Don't worry, we'll be reasonable!) On the other hand, we have SO much to look forward to. I can't wait to get to know Evan's personality, to watch him grow and interact with his brother and sister, to rediscover the world with him...like I said, there's so much to look forward to.

Evan Alan, I simply look at you and I tear up. Yes, I'm sure that's partly my raging post-partum hormones. But mostly, it's my crazy love for you. Nothing will ever take that away.

Julie took this picture at some point, and I love it. Steve has been so great through each of my labors...he really knows how to be there for me and help me through.

Seconds old.

Saturday was the first of FOUR whole days in a row of sunshine we've had here in Tacoma...finally! I've been missing the sun, and it's been so nice to get the kids out of the house and enjoy it. Saturday morning, we went to the annual Daffodil Parade. Last year, as you may recall, Travis spent the ENTIRE parade covering his ears AND crying. So much that we almost left the parade halfway through. This year, there was no crying, only covering of the ears. Improvement! Maybe that means next year he will actually enjoy the parade?! Actually, even though he didn't seem to be having the time of his life, he has referred back to the parade several times, talking about the things he liked (his favorites were the clowns and naming the instruments in the marching band). Jayna just kind of sat there taking it all in, but did get very excited every time she saw horses.

Travis sporting his new sunglasses...not yet knowing how loud the parade will be:)

And now he knows.

Mommy and Jayna, snuggled in a blanket.

And now Travis, finally happy.

After the parade, we went to McDonald's with some friends, and then Steve gave me a slightly fishy story that involved needing to stop by the church (but obviously not too fishy, because I believed him!)....as it turns out, a surprise baby shower was waiting for me there! Apparently it had been in the works for quite some time, and I had absolutely NO clue!! I was so not expecting it, and felt so loved and cared for. Thank you, ladies!! Thank you for celebrating this new little life with me!