Eve's Birth Story

Eve's birth was a beautiful and wonderful experience!  It went quicker than Ava Kate's and it was, like hers, quite easy and smooth -- thank the good Lord!  I was due on August 18, and fortunately, my midwife, Carolyn agreed that an induction on August 19 would be a good idea since the pregnancy had gone so smoothly and Ava Kate had been a rather large baby.

On August 18th, despite regular Braxton Hicks the week before, Eve's due date came and went.  Parker took the afternoon off and we treated Ava Kate to a special day of fun on her last day as an only child.  We went took her to get ice cream, went bowling, and out to dinner.  It was very bittersweet, and I'll be honest -- I was a bucket of tears most of the day and night.  I am not good at closing chapters, and I just felt so sad that our family of 3 days were coming to an end.  I was excited about Eve, but sad that Ava Kate would no longer have my full attention.  We took her to spend the night at the Morgans' that night since we had to be at the hospital at 5 am.  She was super excited and had no idea how her little life was about to change.  I cried a ton. :)

On Thursday morning, after a decent night of sleep (surprisingly), Parker and I woke up bright and early and got ready to go to the hospital.  When we arrived, we checked in and the nurse started Pitocin about 6:15 am.  I was at 2 cm when I went in and when the midwife checked at 8ish, I was about 4 cm and 50% effaced.  Carolyn (the midwife) broke my water about 8:30 am... and let me tell you... that is my *least* favorite part of labor.  It is SO gushy and I cannot stand feeling like I'm peeing on myself every contraction.  Yuck!

Contractions picked up a bit, and by about 10:30 the doctor came in to give me the epidural.  Parker stepped out of the room for this one -- if you remember, he passed out when I got the epidural with Ava Kate, haha!  He still hasn't lived that one down.  Unfortunately, the epidural didn't work on my left side at first and that was pretty uncomfortable.  The doctor pumped the meds up and finally, I had relief about 11:30.

The nurses and midwife had lunch and when Carolyn came back around 1 pm to check me, it was go time.  I started pushing at 1:15 and little Eve Kennedy was born at 1:31 pm.  She has 10 fingers and 10 toes and 2 very good lungs, haha! :)  She weighed 9 lbs 2 oz and was 21" long.

Dad, Tammy, and Mrs. Lydia were at the hospital waiting to meet Eve, so we got some sweet moments with them.  Mr. Jack was holding down the fort at the office and Ava Kate was with Candice and Jacob.  After a while, everyone left, so Parker & I got a lot of sweet time with Eve.  Then, Ava Kate woke up from her nap and Candice & Jacob brought her (& Ella Paityn) to meet Eve.  It was such a sweet moment that I'll cherish forever.

Dad brought my Grandma by and Weston came later that afternoon. Mrs. Lydia & Mr. Jack came that evening as well.  My good friend Lauren stopped by and overall it was a peaceful, relaxing evening.

The first night was not nearly as bad as our first night with Ava Kate -- in fact it wasn't bad at all.  Eve slept in her cradle a bit and then on my chest the rest of the night.  I was able to move around and go to the bathroom just fine - pain free.  I seriously don't know how I pushed a 9 lb baby out and didn't have any issues, but I am SO thankful!

Fortunately, we were able to go home the next afternoon and the Morgans treated us to a steak dinner.  Ava Kate was a little unsure of Eve being home the first night, but she warmed up to her quickly!  The next day (Sunday) we went to O'Cools w/ Dad & Weston for our weekly Sunday lunch, and from there, we fell into being a family of 4.  Parker was able to take a week off and enjoy some bonding time, and we enjoyed several visitors throughout the week! :)