Evelyn Elizabeth Thayer

I was scheduled to be induced on 12/12/11 because 1) it was easier to plan for Samuel's care since he's diabetic and 2) the last ultrasound at 38 weeks showed Evie was getting pretty big.  The weekend prior to being induced was pretty miserable.  I had severe cramping and spent most of the weekend on the couch, although I had cramping through much of my pregnancy, so I wasn't too concerned.

We arrived at the hospital at 5:30am.  After a quick exam, they asked if I'd had any contractions over the weekend.  I told them 'no', only cramping.  Turns out the cramping were contractions because I was already dilated 4cm.  They decided to go ahead and induce since there was no telling how long it had taken to get to 4cm.  At 11am, they broke my water to speed things along.  I was dilated to 10cm around 3pm, but they wanted to wait to see if the baby would drop more on her own.  After a long, slow day (even the nurses and my doc though my labor would progress much quicker), they had me start pushing around 5:45pm.  After just one push, Evie decided it was time to make her appearance - a little too quickly though because my doctor wasn't there yet.  They called my doc (who is in a medical building attached to the hospital) and the nurses were doing everything they could to get Evie to stay put.  My doctor came running into the room, huffing and puffing from taking the stairs so he didn't have to wait for the elevator.  It was a pretty funny sight.  They had him in his delivery gear in no time, had me push once or twice more and Evie came into the world at 6pm sharp.  She was 8lb,12oz and measured 22 inches long (although her first checkup at 5 days old showed she was only 20 1/2 inches).

I'll spare you the pictures of her right after she was born, because, well... babies right after they're born are kind of gross.  So here is a pic of Evie at 17 hours old...



The cute little Santa hats are made by hospital volunteers for babies born near Christmas time.