Evelyn Ann Dean’s Arrival

Emily entering the clinic

Emily, isn't she beautiful!

Headed to Labor and Delivery

The whole purpose of coming back to Iowa so early in the spring was to be here for the birth of our granddaughter. She wasn’t due until May 12th but since I had one come 10 days early I wanted to make sure we were back by May 1st. I left plenty of time for error and if you read the last post you know we squeezed in between two spring storms and traveled more quickly than usual to avoid really bad weather. So we arrived in Cedar Rapids on April 19th in record time for us. We had a nice week spending time with my older son Gabe and wife Melissa and then with Mitch and Emily. 

At Emily’s appointment the week we came back they found her blood pressure high and there were a couple extra visits right before we arrived to evaluate that and they began treating her with bp meds. She

Ready for action

had a lot of swelling too and I knew they were concerned with the possibility of eclampsia and began to monitor her twice weekly. Now Mitch was trying to save all his days off for when the baby arrived so he wasn’t able to go to all her visits. So this week on Tuesday Mitch went because they were doing another ultrasound but he wasn’t going to be able to go to her visit on Thursday so I offered to go with her. I thought it would be a fun way to spend time with her and support her, little did I know that it was just was what was needed. They are doctoring and having the baby at the University of Iowa Hospital and Clinics which is about 20 miles south of CR. This is where I lived for 7 years, went to school 4 of those years and where I worked for the last 10 years of my career. I love going to Iowa City. Emily is taking a class in IC too so I was going to take her to lunch downtown and then wander around while she attended class. I had just bought a new camera dslr camera body and thought I’d take some photos to get used to the all the new features. That was the plan but as we know the best laid plans are sometimes thwarted.

Emily and Mitch

Emily had me go back with her to her appointment and when they took her bp it was up significantly in spite of the meds. They quizzed her about her other symptoms and I had a feeling that many things were becoming a concern and they were thinking she may be pre-eclampsic. This condition is more about the health of the mother than the health of the baby. This baby was doing well but unfortunately Emily was definitely exhibiting concerning symptoms. Like most of us women, Emily is a

Emily and her parents, Cindy and Jeff

trooper and didn’t feel there was anything really wrong but when all the tests were in, the doctor sat down with us and explained that for Emily’s well being they needed to induce labor and have this baby now, it was not safe for her to remain pregnant. She was now 37 weeks along which is considered full term. They explained that instead of going home they wanted to admit her and get things underway but that the process may take as much as 2 to 3 days. I am so glad I was there as that was a lot to take in. After

Janie, Mitch, Emily and John

some time of questions and answers Emily was headed to the Labor and Delivery unit. We called Mitch and John and had them coordinate coming down so we could minimize the number of vehicles we had here (parking is not cheap here). So Thursday afternoon everything began.

Right after delivery

There are a lot of steps in inducing labor and it definitely takes time. Thursday night we did come home to sleep but Friday night we stayed in a hotel in Iowa City. Mitch paid for it with points from all his work travel which was nice. I won’t go into the all the steps but lets say it was an exhausting experience for Emily and Mitch. Finally after 3 days on Saturday evening the decision was made to have a c-section. Emily’s platelet count was so low that that an epidural was out of the question which was hard for her to hear and why she tried so hard to keep going towards a natural birth but it was not to be. At 1:45 am on Sunday under general sedation Evelyn Ann Dean finally made her entry into this world. She needed a little help at the start but now is thriving and Emily is doing well and on her way to recovery. 

Evelyn Ann Dean

In all of this I was so proud of my son and how he took charge and was there for Emily. Today watching him care for his daughter made me so proud of the man he has become. You can see in his eyes how his little girl has already captured his heart. She certainly has captured the heart of her grandparents too. She is beautiful and I am so glad that we made it back in time to be here for them and really for us. What an amazing experience it is becoming a grandparent. So many of you had told me just that but I think, like many things in life, until you experience it first hand you don’t understand it completely. Its going to be a great summer and I am so thankful that Emily and Evelyn are healthy and we could be a part of this amazing journey. 

Me and Evelyn

John and Evelyn

Mitch, changing diaper!

Emily, Mitch and Evelyn

Isn't she beautiful!

Happy Trails..................