Ellie's due date was May 28th. The first 20 weeks of Ellie's pregnancy had been quite a challenge. I had been horribly sick and since it was my first pregnancy I had not known what to expect, what was normal, and what I should do to handle the constant sickness. And by horribly sick, I mean constant nausea and vomiting. I have many funny puking stories for her pregnancy.....the two I find most amusing are when I ran out of the grocery store mid shopping trip to throw up on the sidewalk out in front of the store and when I got up mid exam to run to the bathroom to toss my cookies. Oh and there is the one where I threw up on my mom's piano and got a little vomit on Em's senior pictures. Whoops! Other than the sickness, I was blessed with a smooth and healthy pregnancy.
In late April and early May, I started to have Braxton-Hicks contractions constantly. On one instance, they continued for over 24 hours and kept me up all night. We took a trip to the hospital just in case, only to be sent home. As my due date approached however the contractions started to dwindle. My due date came and passed. I started to see the doctor every other day. I remember how the receptionist would always say hopefully we won't see you next time....only to see them next time:) As the days passed, instead of falling apart I was feeling great even feeling better. I honestly thought the pregnancy was going in reverse! Tim and I passed the time going for walks, playing cards, eating out, and shopping for our little one!
Finally on the morning of June 7th, I woke up feeling very different. I was having a few contractions, but more than anything I just felt crappy. I had an appointment first thing in the morning. Things had definitely changed. My blood pressure was up and there was protein in my urine. My doctor said today was the day. I was to go home to get Tim and my bags and meet my doctor at the hospital at noon to break my water and get this show on the road! I remember thinking as I got my bags together....oh crap! I have to have a baby today! I called Tim home from work and we headed to the hospital.
Long before going to the hospital we had decided to try for a natural delivery. We had researched and read about natural deliveries and had even taken a class to help us prepare. We felt like it was something we wanted to try for and could do together.
When the doctor broke my water, we found that the baby had had a bowel movement. This made me nervous, but my doctor and nurses assured me everything would be ok. After breaking my water the contractions I had been experiencing began to pick up in intensity. We had been matched with a amazing nurse who worked with us on ways to continue to progress the labor and deal with the increasing pain naturally. Time passed quickly as we continued to move ahead slowly. It was late in the evening, when my dilation started to slow. I was about 8 cm dilated and had started to stall. At that point, I received a IV pain killer which helped to take the edge off and allowed me to continue. When the doctor had broke my water I asked him how long he thought it would take for baby to come along. He guessed she would be here by midnight. At midnight she had not yet appeared, but we were getting close. At 12:45 they said I was ready to push. When my doctor arrived I gave him a hard time for lieing to me:) I pushed for 45 minutes and at 1:28 am on June 8th Ellie JoLynn was born. Only 10 days late! She weighed 7 lbs 5 ozs and was 21 inches long. We were now parents. It was a very special moment.
Immediately after she was born they placed her on my chest....and you know what she did? She pooped on me! All that work and she pooped on me! (I only add this detail because that is Ellie and Cece's favorite part of the story!)
Her labor and delivery had went pretty much as we had hoped for. We had an amazing nurse to help us out. But I more clearly remember how amazed I was with Tim. He is my rock and did such an amazing job getting me through the pain and helping me focus. I love him so much!
We had no idea how would instantly fall in love...but we sure did. Ellie changed our lives in so many wonderful ways. We love her so!
Here are the pictures from Ellie's Birth Day. Back in the day we probably thought this was a lot of pictures!
Up next....Cecilia's Birth Story:)
Ooohh, I love this! Such a special girl!
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