Evelyn Ravinell

Introducing our daughter,
Evelyn Ravinell

April 3, 2013

1:16 AM

7 lbs 14oz

20 1/2 inches

The Lord blessed us with a wonderful birth. After going 10 days past our due date and being dilated 4+ cm for several weeks, I was admitted Tuesday evening to start a very low dose of pitocin. I had an appointment earlier that day and discussed the plan with my doctor. We agreed that we would start the pitocin with hopes that my body would respond well and we could eventually turn it off or break my water so I could continue with my plans for a natural birth. My doctor did warn us that it could take 5-6 hours for my contractions to start getting into a regular pattern before all that could happen. I was hopeful and prayerful that wouldn't be the case. 

We picked up my dad at the airport, grabbed supper at McDonalds and arrived at the hospital at 7:30 pm Tuesday. After all the paperwork was complete, the pitocin drip was started around 9:00 pm. Several of our church family gathered in the hospital waiting room to share the special time with us. The ladies took turns coming back to my room to visit and keep me distracted. My nurse came in about every 20 minutes to check if my contractions were getting stronger. I could feel them getting stronger, but I wasn't feeling any pain with them. Each time she came in she would increase the pitocin just a little bit. Around 11:00 I started getting panicked because I wasn't feeling any pain with the contractions. I knew that my contractions had to pick up quite a bit in order for the doctor to make the decision to break my water or turn off the pitocin. Finally around 11:45, I had a contraction that was a little more painful. They were coming on quicker and a little stronger. More than pain, I just felt very uncomfortable from the pressure. Around 12:10, the pressure was incredibly uncomfortable and I started to feel an urge to push. I thought it was ridiculous, because I knew there was no way I was anywhere close to being ready to push. My water broke on its own around 12:30 am. The nurse checked me and I was at 9 cm. From there, everything was such a whirlwind. She was on the phone with my doctor, more nurses were coming in, and equipment was being put out. At some point my doctor came in, checked me, and told the nurse she needed to gown up in a hurry. Next thing I know she is telling me I can push with the next contraction. From what Chris tells me, I pushed for about 20 minutes. It sure felt like a lot longer than that and at one point I said, "I'm done with this!" Our beautiful Evelyn was born at 1:16 am. 

Evelyn is a name I have always loved and Chris grew to love. Ravinell was Chris' great-grandmother's name. She was such an influential person in Chris' life growing up and in mine for the past 5 years. While there were often struggles, taking care of her in our home was such a blessing. When we found out we were expecting, we both had hopes that she would be able to meet her great great grandchild.  Her passing in January was bittersweet for so many reasons, one being that she would never get to meet the one who would carry her name. She was a wonderful servant of God and we hope that Evelyn will live to match her character. We will certainly share our many treasured memories of Grandma with Evelyn. 

We are so madly in love and just soaking up each moment. Chris was wonderful during the delivery and has been such an amazing support. He is a great Daddy and Evelyn sure does love him! 

41 Weeks

Well, we're in April and still waiting on Little Miss. There is no way anyone can prepare you for the mental exhaustion that comes along with going past your due date. Dealing with questions, comments, and people constantly wanting to know if the baby is here yet does a number on your patience. Not to mention trying to watch for any consistency or frequency to contractions. I've had several episodes of strong contractions 6-7 minutes apart that ended after a couple of hours. You get all excited and think that it's finally time, only to be let down. Then there's the packing and unpacking of the hospital bags. I've become quite an expert in that department. We have one bag that stays in the car for our long term stay, but then we have our bags of things that we're still using day to day. We take those silly things anytime we're going to be very far from the house, in hopes that something might happen.

All complaining aside, I'm thankful to still be healthy and that Little Miss is still healthy. There is a light at the end of the tunnel in knowing that we will have a baby this week! Let's all pray that it's closer to the beginning of the week and that she will decide to come on her own!

40 weeks...still waiting *edited with picture*

Well, we hit the 40 week mark on Saturday. I don't have a 40 week picture. I'll probably regret it, but it wasn't at the top of my priority list this weekend. Perhaps if I actually get dressed in decent clothes tomorrow I will take one. *Edited with picture*

• I'm working on getting over a sinus infection. Let me tell you, having a sinus infection at 40+ weeks pregnant is for the birds! Thankfully, I'm finally beginning to feel like I'm among the living again. 
• Amazingly, I still don't have any stretchmarks. I'm not all that concerned about it, but it's still surprising to me. 
• My favorite comments at this point are: "Have you had that baby yet?" "Still no baby?" "You're supposed to be having a baby right now!"
• I'm beginning to wonder if we might have an April baby?!?! I'm over trying to guess and predict at this point. We'll just be thankful when she decides to get here. Preferably, I would like to avoid April 1. 
• I'm thankful for my mom and husband who have taken great care of me the past few days! 

36 Weeks

 

We're less than one month away from our due date. I keep telling myself that the most we will have to wait to hold our little girl is 6 weeks! That's not long to wait! I'm continuing to live by little dates to help pass the time...doctor's appointments, lunch dates, church meetings, family coming, Duck Dynasty season premier...every day gets us that much closer to our life changing. My plan is to stay busy and active until the day she decides to make her arrival. 

My goals for this week:

• Get freezers cleaned out
• Start some freezer cooking
• Wash up her sheets, blankets, towels, etc.
• Get her closet more organized and shower gifts put away

33 Weeks

We had another great week! I had an appointment this week and everything is looking great. I did have an ultrasound to check on our little girl's weight, because my fundal height and my weight were the same two appointments in a row. Little Miss was being a little stubborn and hiding her head during the ultrasound, but the tech was able to get enough measurements to say she is right on track. She weighs 4 lbs 3 oz, which is perfectly average. It was fun to know how she is positioned and get confirmation for what body parts I'm feeling.

We spent our 33 week mark celebrating at Disney! I had to have a picture for proof. :)

32 Weeks

We're down to less than 2 months until our due date! Of course, I'm trying to keep in my mind that Little Miss could actually be an April baby. I am so thankful this pregnancy has been so smooth this far. I was telling someone the other day that I don't feel like I'm 7 months pregnant. I was feeling winded after doings something a few days ago and couldn't figure out why. Later that evening Little Miss kicked me pretty high up and I realized that she is now squishing my lungs more, thus feeling winded. It just hadn't occurred to me that we're at that point in the pregnancy. I kept thinking "such and such will happen later." Well, here we are at "later."

I am loving how the nursery is coming along. I'm not stressing about getting it done too quickly, mainly because I have other things to take care of. But I also don't want to just be sitting around in the last few weeks, which are probably going to be the longest anyway, waiting for her to come. I probably won't post any more pictures of the nursery until I can do a whole nursery reveal post! :)

27 Weeks

I can't believe we're already in the 3rd trimester! It is exciting to think that we're so close to having our little girl. We definitely have a lot to do before she arrives and I'm ready to hit the to-do list hard. We got the nursery cleaned out this week and it's ready to be painted after the holidays. I also started a few sewing projects this week. I made a super soft blanket that matches her car seat and started working on her quilt.

Little Miss gave us a bit of a scare this week. Tuesday evening I realized I wasn't feeling her move like I normally do in the evening. I couldn't remember if I had felt her move at all that day or much the day before. I got a little concerned, but tried not to panic just yet. I knew I had been really busy, running errands and on my feet most of the two days, so it might have been that I just wasn't as aware of her moving. The OB had given me a little cheat sheet of common concerns and solutions to use as a first resource before calling the office. I followed the directions on there and drank some sweet tea, ice water, and ate something. The sheet said to do that and lay down in the position you feel the baby the most. If I didn't feel movement within 2 hours, I was to call the doctor. I did all that and prayed fervently. At about 5 minutes after the 2 hour mark, I was about to call the number when I felt her start to move. It wasn't a lot of movement, but enough to relieve my fears. I went on to bed and woke several times in the night to her moving. The  next morning she was moving and dancing all over the place, which made me so happy. Since that night (Tuesday), she's been more active in the mornings and not as much in the evening. That little scare certainly made me even more thankful for each of her little kicks and wiggles.

21 Weeks

Love, love, love this week! So excited to know that we're having a sweet baby girl! My mind has started spinning with all the the ideas of things to sew, make, and buy!

20 Weeks

19 Weeks

Sleepless Nights

I've always had occasional trouble sleeping. I have trouble shutting my mind off and letting my body relax enough to sleep. There have been nights when I don't fall asleep until 4 or 5 in the morning. It gets rather annoying.

Thankfully, since I've been pregnant I haven't had hardly any trouble sleeping! I can fall asleep anywhere in about 5 minutes. It's been great. I've been able to experience that feeling of being so tired I'm asleep before my head hits the pillow. Lovely, sweet sleep.

Until last night...

I tossed and turned, physically and mentally. My body was exhausted, but my mind wasn't ready to sleep. Around 1 AM, I got up and decided I was hungry. So I had my first "crazy-pregnant-lady-food-moment." I ate an entire can of fruit cocktail followed up by an oatmeal cream pie. I was really wanting some of the jalapeno cheddar Pringles I bought at the grocery store, but I was tired by the time I got done eating the entire can of fruit cocktail. I washed it down with glass of ice water, made a couple trips to the bathroom, and slipped off into peaceful sleep. p