Ellie's Birth Day: Part 2

So the doctor was concerned. Ellie's heart rate was NOT doing well no matter what they did. It was low and staying low.

She wasn't progressing any further as far as dilation was concerned and something seemed to be wrong. The doctor manually turned the baby to see if that might help. It didn't. The doctor then sat us down and let us know that Ellie was stuck. She was too big for me and she was essentially being head butted against me over and over again with every contraction.

We asked lots of questions. Neither of us really wanted to have a c-section. One thing we asked was whether or not we could back off on some of the drugs to slow the labor down. The doctor agreed that this would relieve some of the pressure from Ellie... but it wouldn't solve the problem. We could take her pain away and keep her from head butting against me, but it was bringing us no closer to getting her out.

To be honest, I wasn't entirely shocked. I was born c-section, so was my sister, and all of my nieces and nephews are c-section babies. My sisters and I are very petite and some people are just not structured to push a baby out :)

I did get really scared. This wasn't what I wanted and I did NOT want to have surgery. Grant asked everyone to leave the room. Nurses, doctors, family, everyone. The two of us talked about it, and then Grant prayed over us. He prayed over me and over our daughter and when he said "Amen", we both knew what had to happen.

As soon as we said "go", it was a whirlwind. I was prepped for surgery and given more anesthesia and Grant was given scrubs and they started wheeling me down the hallway. I closed my eyes to pray and take deep breaths as we were headed down the hallway. I was afraid they were going to have to give me oxygen again. I went into the operating room alone while Grant waited in the hall with a nurse. When they were ready for him, they brought him in and he sat next to me. And before I knew it, my daughter cried.

Grant and I looked at each other and smiled. I said "oh my gosh" about 5 times, and then they showed her to me. And then they took her away. And then Grant left and I got realllly dizzy but I was just so deliriously happy even though I was so out of it.

I sat in recovery and my parents came to see me. They had seen Ellie through the window and told me how beautiful she was. I kept falling asleep and then I would wake up and ask for ice. When I finally got ice, I immediately threw it up. Lovely :)

Then they brought me my Ellie. I held her and she slept in my arms and Grant and I just stared at her. She was and is so perfectly beautiful. I was just amazed at her perfect, tiny little nose, her full lips and dark hair. I just melted.

Ellie had a giant bruise on top of her head, and also her ears and shoulders. This was from her rough day of labor. My baby girl was trying so hard to get out but she just couldn't. The big bruises were so sad, but they also were such validation for me, proof that we made the right decision. I don't regret it for one moment.

The day didn't go exactly how I thought it would, but it's our story of how we met Ellie. She got to us safely and the Lord proved once again how He knows best for us and He had His hand of protection over us the entire time. We are so, so thankful for the blessing that is our precious Ellie Paige.

Ellie's Birth Day, Part 1

Okay, it has been almost two months since I've blogged. I'm sorry. But I've been enjoying my time with my girl and writing this post has has been such a daunting task that I've just avoided it. But I need to get back into the swing of things so I can start blogging about everyday nonsense again.

This post might be the length of a novel but I have to document everything so I can remember it clearly as the years go by. Here we go :)

On Thursday, July 12, I had my normal weekly doctor's appointment. Everything was going fine at the end of my pregnancy, but I had noticed before I went in that Ellie had not been moving quite as much. I could still feel her move every once in awhile, but she was not nearly as active and the things that normally made her dance (coffee, etc.) she wasn't responding too. I assumed it was because she was running out of room. I mentioned it to my doctor nonchalantly and she wanted me to have an ultrasound just to make sure everything was okay.

As I sat back down in the doctor's office after my ultrasound, I was confident that the doctor would tell me that everything looked normal and that my baby was just getting a little squished in there and she would see me next week. Imagine my surprise when she walked in, told me that my fluid levels were very low, and that it was no longer safe for me to carry Ellie to full term. I was 38 weeks, Ellie was already 7lbs and healthy, and it was safer for her to be out of me than in me. Her final sentence was "so, how would you feel about having a baby on Monday?"

WHAT?!?

What a crazy weekend that was. Grant had a sinus infection and then passed it on to me. I had to go to the pharmacy on Saturday morning and get a Z-Pack for myself to kick the yuckiness that I was feeling.  I think we went to Le Peep twice that weekend for breakfast, just the two of us. It was all just very surreal.

We were told to check in to the hospital on Sunday night to get everything started. Sunday we got stuff done around the house, made sure our bags were packed and finished crossing things off of our to-do list. We went out for our "Last Supper" which I knew would be pasta. The wait at Olive Garden was 45 minutes to an hour (um, no thank you) so we went to Johnny Carino's to load up on the carbs. I had bow tie pasta with alfredo sauce and chicken. And bread. Lots of bread. So much bread, in fact, that my initial blood test at the hospital came back showing my as highly diabetic and they had to re-test. They were all concerned until I told them how much I just ate!

We drove to the hospital. Walking from the car into the hospital was just crazy. We were laughing... "I can't believe we're doing this!". We checked in a little after 9:00pm and things IMMEDIATELY went crazy.

I was so shocked at how quickly everything went. My room was ready, my name on the board, they had my bracelets ready to go. They had me changed and in the bed within 3 minutes of my arrival. One nurse was asking me questions on my right while the nurse on the left was trying to find a vein to do take my blood. She blew a valve and IT HURT. Blood was everywhere and she was trying to find another vein and I started to kinda panic. It was all just happening so fast. They said my blood pressure plummeted and they had to give me oxygen. This was all in the first 10 minutes after my arrival. I should've known that things would only get crazier!

They instantly started the induction process. I'm not going to get into the nitty gritty details, but they had to do something to me every few hours that was painful and weird. The goal was that after doing this every few hours, my body would kick itself into labor. I would often have contractions during this procedure and that made it even worse. Good times :)

It was slow starting and it was a loooong night and neither Grant nor I got any sleep whatsoever. My doctor came in early early Monday morning and was not too happy with my lack of progress. She thought the drug would've kicked in stronger and she advised me that it would be a loooong day. And then... it started. And it started in a big way.

Hi, my name is Jen, and I would like to tell you about contractions. THEY. HURT. I was thrashing. My mom got to the hospital that morning and was there for the intense labor part. I was kicking, holding on the sidebars of my hospital bed and begging for the epidural. They said I couldn't have it yet. I kept asking. And then they gave it to me. :)

So, the epidural process started out a little... traumatic. I was not too nervous about it. But the anesthesiologist started working on me and I started screaming. He was shocked... "you can feel this? I gave you local to numb the area.." to which I responded YES I CAN FEEL IT THANK YOU VERY MUCH. And then he gave me more local and started working on me again and I started screaming again. Crying. Holding the hand of my mom and bruising the shoulder of my nurse Tina. (Thankfully, Grant had stepped out during this moment. He would've been passed out on the floor). "You can still feel this? You should be numb!". WELL I AM NOT NUMB, CLEARLY, SO PLEASE DO WHAT YOU CAN TO MAKE THAT STOP.

Again, this process took forever cause I kept having contractions throughout his attempts and he kept having to wait until they passed. Finally, after his third attempt, I started to get relief.

And let me tell you something: all that excruciating pain was SO WORTH IT. Oh my heavens. I loved my epidural and I would do it again. I still had feeling and knew when I was having contractions but I wasn't thrashing in pain anymore.

And then I get to have a lemon popsicle and I was a happy girl.

Family and friends started arriving and I was progressing VERY well. The labor was moving quickly and strongly. My contractions were very intense and were coming quickly. Everytime the nurse checked me I was progressing and we assumed we'd have our girl around dinner time.

While everyone was hanging out in the hospital room and visiting, the nurse would come in every few mintues and ask me to change positions. She'd say "Can we have you lay on your left? The baby doesn't seem to like this position very much" and I'd flip over. Then she'd come back in and move me to the other side. In the course of an hour, they probably had me move a dozen times. And all of a sudden, I wasn't progressing. My contractions were still very, very strong and very, very close together. My body was doing exactly what it was supposed to be doing. But I was no longer getting any further along as far as dilation was concerned. Faster labor, stronger contractions, Ellie was no closer. Weird.

TO BE CONTINUED....

Saturday Morning, 7:35am

She's here.

My beautiful baby girl is here.

She joined us Monday at 3:56pm. I'll post her whole birth story another day, but, in the meantime, I wanted to announce her arrival and show you some beautiful pictures :)

Here she is:

Ellie Paige

Born July 16, 2012 at 3:56pm

7lbs, 1oz. 

20.5 inches long

Her first experience with a head piece. I think she was a little unsure!

I could melt.

Me and my girl

Going home!

We are exhausted beyond words. I have so much more to share. I can't explain how much I love my Ellie Paige. She's pure delight and practically perfect in every way!

The Last Day Without Her

In just a few hours, we will head to the hospital.

And, Lord willing, sometime tomorrow our daughter will be born.

Tomorrow.

AI almost can't remember what it's like to not be pregnant. As I type this, Ellie is kicking and rolling and I can't believe that in just a matter of hours I will be holding her in my arms.

We've had such a nice day. Unfortunately, both Grant and I have a sinus infection. We're both on antibiotics and they are working, but we aren't feeling 100% ourselves. We slept in, laid in bed, laughed, messed with the dog, had brunch, ran a few errands, and came back to the house to do our normal Sunday afternoon activity: watch golf while taking a nap.

I had a weepy moment the other night. I got sad realizing that this chapter is over. This chapter of just the two of us. Our routine, our daily life, our normal is going to change. And that's okay. And I know it's going to change for the better. But I have loved this season. I have loved this time with my darling husband. It's been five and a half years of learning, loving, and laughing together. And now it's going to be different. Our morning routine will be different. Our bedtime rituals will be different. Getting in and out of the car will be a whole new world :)

My mom likened it to the feeling she had when she moved out of the house I grew up in. She knew she was moving to a bigger house and a better house, but the house she was leaving was the house that all of us were babies in.... and she was sad to leave it. What she went on to was better, but saying goodbye was a very sad thing. And that's what I was feeling.

Many people have asked me if I'm nervous. I am. I'm nervous about labor. I'm nervous about delivery. I'm nervous I might have to have a c-section. I want her to be okay. I want Grant to be okay (he's squeamish in hospitals) and I'm nervous about breast feeding.

But I'm excited. I'm excited to see her, touch her. To kiss her face and hold her. I'm excited to see what color hair she has and who she looks like. I'm excited to see all the friends and family that are traveling in as I type this to meet her. It'll be a fun week.

And I know I'm going to be tired. I know that life is about to get really hard. But it's also about to get very purposeful and meaningful and I just can't imagine what a drastic change the next 24 to 48 hours has in store for me.

The Lord is in control. He already knows the minute she will be born, and how she will be born. He already has every minute of her life planned out. I'm just the vessel to bring His daughter into the world and raise her to love Him. And I plan on doing just that.

Your prayers are greatly appreciated in the hours, days, and weeks to come.

BIG NEWS and the Sunday School Shower

Yesterday afternoon I went to my doctor's appointment as usual. I mentioned to my doctor that Ellie has not been moving quite as much. She's still moving, I do feel her, but she is not just not moving as much as she normally does. My belly has also not grown that much in the last few weeks, so my doctor decided that I should go have a quick ultrasound. 

I was kinda excited. I love ultrasounds. Any excuse to see my girl is fine by me! She's still head down. Getting pretty squished in there. I got to see her little profile. Isn't she cute?

The ultrasound tech told me that she is right around 7lbs even and looks very healthy!

After the ultrasound, I went back and met with my doctor. I like her. She's a real straight shooter. Low drama. Tells it like it is. She walked in to the room and asked me the following question:

"So, how would you feel about becoming a mom on Monday?"

"Huh?"

She went on to explain that Ellie isn't moving as much because her fluid levels are getting low. And they will continue to decrease. In other words, her living environment is slowly declining and it is time for her to be "evicted". Again, she asked "So, would you like to become a mom on Monday?"

"As in.... Friday, Saturday, Sunday.... MONDAY?!??"

"That's usually how that goes"

"Um.... okay?"

So that's where we're at. We're being induced. Grant and I will check into the hospital late Sunday night and will likely deliver Ellie girl sometime late Monday. I'm in shock. I'm overwhelmed. I'm excited. I'm running around taking care of all kinds of things around the house and making sure I have everything ready.  It's kinda nice to be able to plan and call our family that live in Louisiana and let them know that they should head down on Sunday or Monday. It's crazy to be able to know when she's coming! 

Our little girl will very likely be born on July 16, 2012! 

In the meantime, I need to post these pictures! Grant and I have been beyond blessed to be a part of a Sunday School class at our church since 2008. Okay, so the church calls them "Life Bible Studies" but I still call it Sunday school :) These people have become family to us and we are so thankful to be able to "do life" with them. The ladies threw a GORGEOUS shower at Elizabeth's house back in early June. I'm so glad that one of the hostesses also happens to be a fabulous photographer. These beautiful photos don't do the shower justice! Everything was just lovely:

Delicious food

I loved all the beautiful details

Part of this banner is now used in Ellie's nursery!

The front door

My sweet niece, Grace, holding newborn Avenleigh!

Oh, yummy bundt cake!

This vase is also part of Ellie's nursery!!

Please excuse my puffiness. But my goodness, could that little strawberry onesie be cuter?

I am quite large. 

Two of my favorite girls! Grace Parker and my little friend Lily. 

The amazing hostesses! Kyndall, Sarah, Lynn (and her VERY newborn baby Caleb!), and Elizabeth. Thank you so much for making this shower so special!!

Elizabeth and Sarah

 It was a beautiful day. I can't believe that my little girl is going to be here SO SOON. I'll keep the blog up and running as much as I can!! 

Ellie pictures coming soon :) 

38 Weeks and Ellie's Nursery

So much for blogging more in July! Things have been going well and I just haven't sat down to write anything. My apologies!

What's been going on around here? I've been very thankful as we have had some relief from the heat. The Houston area has been pounded with rain and the blazing sun has been hiding. While the kiddos in the area are missing the pool time, I'm enjoying not dying of heat stroke! 

To be honest, I've had the best week. I feel like God has blessed me so much with a calm, relaxing week. I know these times of peace and quiet are about to be few and far between. The fact that I can sit at my kitchen table and drink a cup of coffee and do my Bible study and keep up with chores and listen to the rain is something I am not taking for granted. Things are about to change around here! 

I've been feeling pretty good! Things are feeling pretty tight in my belly. I feel like my sweet girl is not moving as much as she used to. More rolling and bulging than kicks and punches. I have a bit more energy this week than last week. I've been having Braxton Hicks contractions, but nothing too painful just yet. I have a doctor's appointment this afternoon so we'll see if I have made any more progress. I'm still crossing my fingers that our girl will make her arrival a few days early. I'm very ready to meet her! 

There are still two baby showers I need to blog about... but I'm gonna go ahead and post some pictures of Ellie's nursery today! I had so much fun putting this together. I was dealing with a VERY small room so that really restricted the size of the furniture. I left the walls the color they were, a very neutral "Whole Wheat" from Sherwin Williams. I decided to go with white furniture, tan and cream bedding, and pops of turquoise. Turquoise has quickly become Ellie's signature color. :) 

I wanted Ellie's room to have something personal and meaningful to me and Grant. Our first date was a John Mayer concert, so I took a lyric from his song "Daughters" and had my friend Sarah use her magnificent talents to turn it into a poster for her room. 

Here's what she came up with (ISN'T IT AWESOME!?!)

I just love it. I feel like Ellie could have it in her room for years and years. I had it framed and it's just what I imagined. 

Here's a few more pics of her room! 

The furniture is from Baby's 1st Furniture on Richmond near the Galleria. The rug and the curtain are from Target. The medallion on the wall and the butterfly mirrors are from Hobby Lobby. 

The pillow is a gift from my sister! I think she got it from an Etsy seller. 

The bedding is from Pottery Barn Kids. The "e" is from an Etsy seller I found. It was the first thing I purchased after we decided her name is Ellie!  The "ellie" letters are from a banner used at a baby shower (more pics of that shower to come!) My friend Elizabeth had the banner made from someone on Etsy. I took the letters off and my mom helped me re-string them and hang them over the crib. 

The vase on the ledge is also from the shower at Elizabeth's house. She had it filled with flowers at the shower, but mom and I went to Hobby Lobby and found those little sticks ($1.99 each) and thought it added a fun flair to the room!

There are a few more photos of some little "happies" but I'm having a hard time getting my phone to email the photos. I'll post more later. Pray for progress at the doctor today!!

July

Oh my goodness. It's July.

JULY.

Quite possibly our daughter's birth month.

Yes, it is quite possible that she could delay her arrival until early August. Our due date is July 27th so an August birthday is not all that far fetched.

Still, there's something very momentous about the fact that today is July 1st.

Little girl. Our sweet little girl. The little girl who is quite unsettled, tossing and turning within me at this very moment. She's almost here! Her clothes are washed. I've packed her things for the hospital in case she decides to come early. This week I will be 37 weeks. I'm already 80% effaced and the Braxton Hicks contractions are in full swing.

Most nights I don't sleep very well. I just can't get comfortable. I think it's just preparation for the lack of sleep that is about to be a major part of my life :)

We're just so excited. Lately I've been having a little bit of nerves regarding labor and delivery, but the nerves are greatly outweighed by the sheer joy of knowing that I get to hold our Ellie girl so very soon!

This trimester has been hard. I've been very uncomfortable, often in pain, and experiencing all kinds of new symptoms that I had no idea were even related to pregnancy. From numbness in my hands and fingers to a constant metal taste in my mouth... even a recent occurrence where it feels like my whole back is vibrating.... (WEIRD, I KNOW), this has just been a rough trimester. On top of that, the fatigue is something I have never ever experienced before. I am EXHAUSTED all the time. I nap every day, which is good since I'm not sleeping well at night. So, if Ellie wanted to come a little earlier than her due date, I wouldn't complain too much about that :)

In the mean time, I've been trying to enjoy the little things. Long walks with my husband and my dog. Watching TV and going to lunch with friends.... all without the interruption of an infant. While I'm excited for Ellie to be my new little companion, I'm well aware that there will be days where I will miss this season of life.... the season of not being responsible for someone else at all times! So I'm just trying to "live it up" before I start a new chapter. Mommyhood.

I am going to try to blog a lot this month. Who knows if I will actually accomplish that, but I just want to document all of these thoughts and feelings in my final weeks of pregnancy and life as I know it!