The past month has absolutely flown by! It is crazy to think that Eve turned one month on the 23rd! Well, here is the biggest recap of all recaps (well, maybe). Let's start off with the birth story (I know you are all so excited).
The morning of the 23rd, I woke up (probably around 5 am) and had a contraction. This was not super alarming to me because it wasn't very long, and I had had a few contractions in the middle of the night before. So, I thought nothing of it and fell back asleep. However, a little while later I woke up again with another contraction. Probably around 7:30 am I was annoyed because I couldn't fall back asleep. I did not think it was real labor, so just went out on to the couch and laid down. The contractions were very "text book" - meaning at the beginning the contractions are not super hard and not super frequent.
A few hours had gone by and the contractions had gotten progressively closer together and a little more intense. I knew I was actually in labor, but thought it would take a while longer, so just laid on the couch. Reed was very concerned that I was just on the couch and not doing anything. It's like he knew something was "wrong" with me. Kids are amazing! I called my parents who happened to be in Las Vegas for Isla's (my sister's baby) baby blessing. My mom couldn't believe it. When I had Reed she was in DC and couldn't get a flight because it was Spring Break weekend. Now, she was in Las Vegas and there were no flights because of the huge DC storm that had just passed! Maybe she will be at the birth of my 3rd child.....maybe :)
I called the doctor, even though my contractions were still about 6 minutes apart. They set up an appointment for me to see the doc at 1:30 pm. But, by the time we were on our way to drop off Reed to a friend's house and go to the doc's office, I told Tyson, "I'm not gonna make it to the doctor's. We need to go to the hospital." He asked me if I was serious. I said yes, and we were off to the hospital instead of the doctor's office. My contractions had gotten a lot closer together and the intensity had increased considerably. I guess there was just something telling me that I was about to have a baby.
We drove to the hospital and got all checked in at 2 pm. I got checked and was already at a 10! All of a sudden, there was more of a sense of urgency to get me into a delivery room. I got to the room, the doctor came in and checked me, and ended up breaking my water.
They had me start pushing before I actually had the urge to push (I still don't understand why), so was not doing such a good job. After about 20 minutes I finally felt that urge and did a much better job. Apparently, Eve did not turn her head, which made that whole pushing process a whole lot harder on me (Reed did the same thing....maybe a bad pattern is being established...hopefully not, though). The doctor did end up using the vacuum ad after 1 hour of pushing, Eve Sarai Walker was born at 4:01 pm on December 23, 2009. She weighed 6 pounds 1 ounce and was 19 3/4 inches long.
It was the most amazing feeling to see that little girl and know that she is ours forever! The only thing that would have made it better is if Reed could have come to the hospital to see his little sister. Due to the flu, no one under the age of 18 could visit, not even siblings :(
Having a natural child birth was actually amazing and I will do it every time from now on, if that is possible. It was just amazing how my body knew what to do and as long as I kept myself relaxed, things went very well. Right after Eve was born, I felt awesome! I had so much energy and was so proud of myself! The recovery seemed so much easier, and I think that is mostly due to the natural birth. The body is simply amazing if we let it do its job.
Little Eve - so sad...
She does the tongue thing, just like Reed did.
Tired but happy mommy and baby
A pink hat this time!
Sooooo sleepy
Proud daddy!
The hair
We were able to bring Eve home on Christmas Eve :) I stayed in the hospital for a whole 26 hours, and I would make it that short every time if I could as well. I was excited to sleep in my own bed and see my whole family :) Reed was ecstatic to see us when we picked him up. He hugged us and then went immediately to the baby and just stared at her saying, "Baby."
We all went home and took some pictures of Reed and Eve together. Reed was so excited to hold the baby. He even smiled for the camera, something he has not been doing lately. Needless to say, Eve was the best Christmas present we could have ever received!
Walker girls all ready to go home!
Eve going on her first ride in the truck! Lucky girl!
Proud big brother....he was exhausted, but so excited :)
He loves to give Eve kisses :)
Christmas day was really nice. It was our first time spending Christmas with just our little family. Reed loved all the presents and his stocking! He made all the right "Oohs" and "Aaahs" when he unwrapped his presents! He also kept coming to check on Eve. He was already being the protective older brother :)
We all got awesome presents! Reed was pretty much excited about everything except the clothes that I got for him (because you can't play with clothes). Tyson did a great job with my presents! My favorite was a bound copy of this blog until the end of November. It makes me so excited because now I have a hard copy of my quasi-journal with all the pictures. Good job, Tys!
I loved just spending time with my family. It was nice to have a quiet day at home and not worry about anything else going on. It was a great Christmas day, despite the tiredness of all of us :)
The kids!
He loves her so much!
Yeah for Christmas!
The wagon
"Is baby ok mama?"
The stockings (I got the three of us matching stockings with our names on them. Eve will get hers next year)
Ooooooh!
Look dad!
Love that smile :)
The toolbox is still a hit! That is the sign of a good present!
Mr. Potato Head!
My book :)
It seriously is so awesome!
Reed was in the bathroom, found my mascara, and tried to put it on - great, my boy wants to wear make up :) Funny kid!
Sleeping Eve...
Reed was ultra-excited to go for rides in the wagon
Fake smile....
Still sleeping
Reed wore his Christmas tie on the 27th, since we did not have church on the 20th (due to the storm). Yeah, he did not want to pose for me....but the tie is awesome! Thanks Grandma Walker!
Eve is doing really well. She is growing like a weed and trying to sleep more at night and be awake more during the day. Here are some pictures of her through the end of December. The January pictures are coming up very soon! Reed is doing a pretty good job. He doesn't know his own strength, so ends up hurting Eve half the time, but is always concerned with her. He really does love his sister!
Eyes partially open - a good sign :)
Reed loves it when Eve sucks on his finger.
So cute!
The sleeping angel.
She's a really good sleeper :)
What? She's awake?
Love the boots!
I just love this one :)
Sleeping, yet again.....
Eve on New Year's day with her uncle, Brandon and cousins, Josh and Coleman
Sponge bath time
She actually didn't mind it too much
Pretty baby
"What is going on here?"
"Hmmm, what should I do next?"
Yummy fingers
Even though it's blurry, we love this picture of Eve sleeping and smiling :)
Sleeping baby
I love this one....classic Eve
More sleeping
What? She's awake?!
At first, the Nuk pacifiers hit her gag reflex every time and she would spit up. This pacifier, was the only one that she could suck at first. Now, she can handle the Nuk ones.
She also plays with her tongue (not as much as Reed, but still plays with it)
Sleeping again
I have a minor obsession with Paul Frank (he's the guy who does the Monkey shirts)....or at least I did in high school. I saw this for $2 at Target and had to get it!
Sleeping again :) Notice the larger cheeks :)
She's getting chunky :)
So sleepy
Reed trying to wake her up....it didn't work
