Baby Ella is here!

On Saturday, September 6, we had our precious little girl!! I was scheduled to be induced at 7am, and we couldn't sleep for 2 nights before. It's really nerve-wracking to know when you're going to deliver. It just makes the anticipation that much worse.

So on Friday night, we had a little get-together at a local pub for a few friends that had moved out of town. They were back for the weekend, so we figured we'd go make a visit. I knew I wasn't going to sleep anyway, so may as well go out & see some other people. After about an hour, we had another place to go. On Friday afternoon, the hubby & I decided to make a night of it & go out to eat at 10:00. With the scheduled induction, I was advised not to eat after midnight. I wanted to make sure I had some energy to make it through the delivery, so I put off dinner until the latest possible time! I tried to get together some friends, but there wasn't much of a response since I waited too long to invite people. We had 2 takers, so the 4 of us ate a late dinner. It was very nice, and really exciting to think that this was our "last meal" pre-baby!

When we got home, my mom, brother & sister were here, waiting for us to let them in. I wanted them to come into the delivery room, until I began pushing. Brad & I wanted it to be a special time, just for the 3 of us when she finally came. After a few minutes, I decided that we should get to bed. It was nearly 1:00 in the morning, and I had a big job to do the next day. We went upstairs to hopefully get some sleep. I laid in bed for an hour or two, reading & trying to get sleepy. Well, I was sleepy, but apparently not enough to actually fall asleep. By around 2:30, the hubby & I (maybe I should say "daddy") decided to go for a walk. He was having a hard time sleeping too. We walked around the school parking lot for about a half hour. I was getting pretty sore, and was hoping to go into labor on my own without the induction. My feet got really swollen (which had become a regular occurance at this point), so we had to stop. We went back to bed, hoping for a few minutes of sleep. I finally got to sleep. only to wake up at about 4:15. I really had to go to the bathroom, so I got up & walked in there. Once I got into the room, I got what I thought was a cramp. I stood there for a minute or two, and it passed. After about 15 minutes of this cramping, then no cramping, I realized that this must be what labor feels like. It felt nothing at all like what I had anticipated. I expected the pain, but the other part that no one ever talks about is the worst part. It feels like really bad food poisoning, and every organ in your body wants to come out. It's a really sickening feeling, and not fun at all. I kept thinking that I had food poisoning & was cursing our late night dinner. I went back to bed, and asked Brad to start timing them. He was completely asleep, so it took a minute or two before he understood what I was saying. He got out the phone & used the stopwatch feature to time the contractions & the time in between. They were about 1-1/2 minutes long, with about 4 minutes in between. According to the childbirth class, it was time to go to the hospital. Brad called the doctor, who didn't answer - but he left a message. He went downstairs to wake up my poor brother & sister, who had only been sleeping for a few hours. I went into the baby's room, where my hospital bag had been sitting. I knew that I had everything I needed, except for my clothes. I only had a few outfits that fit towards the end, so I couldn't pack them up or I would have had nothing! Well, at this point, I couldn't put together an outfit to save my life. I grabbed random shirts, pants & a dress. I put so many clothes in the bag, that it would barely zip. I put on the dress, grabbed my earrings (don't even ask me why - I have no idea why this was important to me) and went downstairs. Brad was outside with my brother, taking the dogs out to go to the bathroom. He had said he was going to take them for a walk, but I let him know that was not an option. I was ready to go, and it needed to be right then.
My mom was getting ready for work in the downstairs bathroom, so I poked my head in to get my hair brushes. After that, we were out the door. Mom had considered going to work that morning, but once I went into labor, she called her backup & asked her to come in. All she had to do is open the door & wait for her to come in.
The hubby drove in his typical fashion, only more urgently. I'm not sure how many red lights we encountered, but we definitely didn't stop at all of them. It was pretty cool, you could see the excitement in his face. He was determined to get there as quickly & safely as possible.
Once we got to the maternity admission parking, he pulled in & I walked over to the wheelchairs, which were thankfully at the door. I was not interested in walking anymore, so it was great to see them there. I got in & Brad took the wheel(s) again & we sped through the hallways, trying to remember where the hospital had told us to go. We went back & forth through the hallways a few times before we finally figured it out. We got to the admission desk, and I had a few papers to sign. I could barely answer the simple questions they were asking, and I'm pretty sure my signature was just scribbles. I could hardly remember my name, let alone what my signature looked like. After what seemed like an eternity, they told us where he should wheel me to, and we went on our way. We got into the room, and I immediately climbed into the bed. I had planned to try going natural, but that was quickly being replaced with dreams of epidural-induced numbness. I got up a few more times, convinced that I was still having a touch of food poisoning, and I also threw up a few times. I couldn't bear it anymore, and asked for the epidural. After that, it was pretty much smooth sailing....ahhhhhhhhhh. I was 4 cm when they induced me & an hour later I was 9.5 & fully effaced. The doctor came back in & told me that she had to postpone a c-section because baby Ella was ready for me to push. After 45 minutes, and a lot of confusion about exactly what I was pushing, she was out! It was really hard to figure out if I was doing it right - I couldn't feel a thing. Some women still have some feeling on one side or the other, but all I could feel is my toes. They were cold, but we had to remove my socks because my feet kept swelling from the IV fluids.
Anyway, when the doctor pulled her out, she laid her on my stomach. Brad cut the cord, but she was purple. There were a few seconds - felt like 20 minutes- where she wasn't breathing & they were clearly trying to get her to breathe. She finally cried, and so did we. It was really sweet to see his face when he saw her for the first time. She already had him wrapped around her tiny little finger. Since she wasn't breathing well, they took her over to the warming table & did all of the things they do to a newborn. This wasn't at all what I had hoped for, but I wanted to be sure she was ok before she came back to me. It seemed like an eternity, they declared her first APGAR score a 4, and the second was a 9. Then they wrapped her up & put her in my arms. They had finished stitching me up (only 2, which I still can't even feel - how long do those things take to heal?) and I din't even realize that daddy hadn't held her yet. He was with her the entire time they were working on her, so I had assumed that he was able to hold her. My family came in then, and I asked who wanted to hold her. Hubby said it was his turn, and I handed her over to him. After that, it was just a bunch of passing her around. My parents were there, along with my brother & sister, as well as my mother in law. The proud grandparents are still smiling, and can't wait to see her again.
Right now, our little sweetie is sleeping on daddy's chest. She keeps making this little sound that I tell myself is a giggle. She usually smiles while she does it, so that makes me laugh. She does it every time she eats! She's such a good little girl - sleeps very well & we got the nursing thing all worked out. No more formula for this little one! Only the best for my little girl!