For Elliot’s birth, I decided to schedule an induction. This
was a new thing for me, but I decided to do it because my doctor brought it up when I was talking to her about how low Elliot was. She
also knew that my last delivery was a fast one, in the car, and that I didn’t
want to have another car-baby. She pointed out that because Elliot was sitting
low that might make him a fast delivery when I start going into labor, so she
suggested I schedule a delivery so I can make sure I’m at the hospital and
everything’s under control. I liked the idea of that, a lot!
At my very last dr.’s appointment,
she scheduled it for me. It was nice going through the following week knowing
that if he didn’t come sooner, we’d at least have him in our arms by
the 10th. Not only was I excited to have him here, but he was also
getting very tight for me. It’s exhausting being so heavy and
bearing that weight around all day. Plus, I had a cough that was wearing me out
a little. I’d been having contractions every day, some of them frequent, some
of them strong. I was getting mixed messages about when this baby
was going to come. It was starting to make Ryan and me very anxious and trying
our patience a little.
 |
| IHOP with Gramma Kris, Mon 9th |
Gramma Kris arrived on Sunday night (8). We spent the next
day (9) telling her about Jared’s school schedule and showing her to the bus stop
and everything
That night I really wanted to get some good rest so I would
be ready for my and Elliot’s big day. But, unfortunately, around one in the morning (10) I couldn’t sleep any more. I
had an awful stomach ache and laying down made me feel like I was going to
throw-up. Throughout those
early morning hours I tried a few different things to try and feel better. Nothing was effective enough to last very long though. It was
something of a miserable time. I finally threw-up at about 5am.
Soon after that I gave up on attempting to sleep and went
and took a shower. Ryan woke up too and help me finish getting ready. Even though it was early we decided we’d keep getting ready and go to the hospital
early if we needed to. Ryan did everything and I mainly sat in our room and
then in the living room, holding a bowl. I threw-up a second time and soon after
that we were ready to go and headed to the hospital. It wasn’t the most
comfortable ride with my nausea, stomach pains, and coughing, but we made it.
When we got to Holland Hospital, just before 7am, Ryan got
me a wheel chair and wheeled me through the emergency entrance, up the two
separate elevators, and to the birthing center. When we
entered the Boven Birthing Center, we were taken to a room where the RN helped me get ready for the induction delivery. We talked to her about
how my morning had been going. She gave me IV fluids and some medication for
nausea. Before the
nausea medication kicked in though, I did throw-up one more time. :(
After the medicine kicked in, I felt much better, though I
was still achy all over from all the throwing-up and coughing. My doctor came
by to check on me and talk to me about the procedure of things again. Hearing
about my sick morning, she wondered if I wanted to postpone the delivery a
little ‘til I was feeling better. I said I would much rather get the delivery
done, with the hope that that would help me feel better more than anything.
Jess, the RN, called the anesthesiologist, and he was really nice and
did a good job. It was a little hard to hold still hunched over while having
contractions, for him to get the epidural in. But, it was worth it afterwards.
I was able to lay down and rest again. The epidural
was much more effective on my left side than my right, so I still felt the
contractions a bit on that side.
Around maybe about 2pm, I could feel that my contractions
were starting to bear down, so I told Jess. I was
completely dilated, so she called Dr. Palmer, who was able to come within about 10
or 15 minutes. My job in the meantime was to not push on my contractions, but they were still pushing Elliot down on their own.
When Dr. Palmer arrived she came in to check on me and see
if there was time for her to get her scrubs and things on. I was doing okay, so
she hurried and got gloved and covered. Then it was time to push. It only took three contractions
for me to push Elliot out. The first time I kind of messed up on the breathing.
You’re supposed to take a deep breathe, hold it in and push while your lungs
are full. I kept puffing the air out of my lungs while pushing, so my pushes
didn’t have as much strength. But, I had it figured out and did a really good
push on my third contraction, and at 2:51pm Elliot was OUT!!
Dr. Palmer had talk to Ryan about cutting the umbilical cord
before, so they were on the same page about Ryan wanting to be the one to do
it. When Elliot came out he had the cord wrapped around his neck and one
shoulder (I think his right). It was a little tight, but Dr. Palmer was able to
unwrap him without any risk and then let Ryan cut the cord. (Elliot’s heartbeat
was completely normal while he was in the womb, so we know that the cord wasn’t
tight on him during the pregnancy, so he was completely fine.)
Elliot was a
messy little gray bundle, but they quickly put him on top of me so I could hold
him for a minute. Dr. Palmer gave Ryan some scissors that were circle shaped on
the end (no poky point) and somewhat dull. Ryan had to give it a couple tries
before it cut all the way through. I guess they don’t want to give the dads
anything too sharp, just to be safe. Ryan had to sit down and compose himself
after that. Everything that goes on with the delivery and all the fluids and
things make him queasy.
Elliot was taken from me and wiped off a bit and diapered,
then returned to me so I could hold him skin-on-skin. He was sucking his hand
and rooting around almost right away, so I tried feeding him and he caught on
right way.
After a while he was weighed, measured, and his feet were
scanned so he could have his foot-prints recorded and printed off. The nurse
who was scanning his feet with this little machine commented on how big his
feet were and that they were nearly too big to fit for the scan. (It looks like
Elliot will probably be the tall-brother when he grows up.) He was our second
biggest newborn, with a size of 8lb 12oz and 21.5” long.
We were soon moved to another room for recovery. The
next couple days, while we were at the hospital, Elliot spent almost all the
time in our room. I couldn’t bring myself to have him in the nursery. I just
adored him so much, I didn’t want him to be away from me so soon.
In the evening, Gramma Kris came over with
the kids, and Jared, Karl, and Emmaline finally got to meet their new baby
brother. They adored him from the start and have continued to love and adore
him every day since. They’ve been so sweet and gentle with him, and are always saying
how much they love him and want to hold him. That first evening Emmaline was
just a little in shock and confused with all that was happening. She started crying then just
climbed into the bed and wanted me to hold her. Then she and I held Baby
together. She’s a sweet girl.
We also had a visit from Chris Muhrer and Rachel and Chris
Harling, the next day (11). Chris brought some orange potted flowers. Rachel
brought a baby blanket she had quilted. It was so pretty. Both the gifts helped
my and Elliot’s room feel a little more homey after they left that evening. They
each took a turn holding Elliot.
Elliot continued to be a good eater. He was literally almost
always eating, or else he was asleep. He didn’t like is diaper changes or to
have his clothes off. He just really seemed to like being clothed and covered.
So when he was being changed he would cry, or squeal rather. He had something
of a high-pitched cry, so Ryan started calling him “Piggy.” He did sound very
much like a piglet.
The next morning (12) Ryan came back to get us. Our discharge
paper work went smoothly and we were able to leave at about 11:30am. Elliot’s
discharge weight was 8lb 3oz.
It was so nice to finally be going home with our sweet
little boy. I was feeling great; I don’t know if I could’ve asked for a better
recovery. I was feeling pretty good,
just still a little fatigued. But, that went away after a few days. We are so very blessed with how well everything went and how
well Elliot and I are doing! I love being a mom so much. Each of
these children are so precious to me and I adore them all so much. I’m so grateful to have a husband who loves them as much as I do.
Elliot is so sweet and precious, and we all love him more
than words can say already!
Happy day of Birth, Elliot!!!
