Ellie's Birth Story

Our rainbow baby is finally here!!  Let me first start by telling you about the days leading up to her birthdate.

So we had one final appointment with the specialist before we were set to be induced on March 20th. We went into the office for one last ultrasound and the technician noticed some unusual activity relating to the amount of blood being pumped to the heart and brain.

I noticed her doing the same scan over and over again and started to get worried. My husband was at work so I was stuck there by myself with my thoughts running all over the place. She finally said she was going to get the doctor and that we would probably have to deliver her that same day...yikes!!While she went out to get the doctor I called my husband and told him what was happening. He immediately left work.

The doctor came in and rescanned the baby and said the situation wasn't as dire as the tech originally stated but she didn't want to wait until Wednesday to deliver her. She figured its better safe than sorry so they scheduled me to be induced on Saturday morning (2 days away).

At that point they sent me home and all we could do was wait.  Obviously we were completely freaked out.  The situation went from crazy serious and we would need to get her out right away to eh, we can wait 2 days.  That doesn't exactly put a mama's mind at ease.  The next two days were quite possibly the longest days of our lives.  We discussed asking the doctor to do the induction sooner and what the repercussions of that decision would be and in the end, agreed that we would take the advice of our doctor and wait.

We woke up super early on Saturday morning and started to get our bag ready for the hospital.  We were so nervous and anxious! We'd been waiting for this day for so long and it was finally here! My sisters met us at the house and drove over with us. They were SO ready to be aunts!

We were checked in and put into a room immediately. The doctor was already in another delivery so we waited for 2 hours before getting the induction started. He finally came in at 11am and got the Pitocon started and broke my water. Within 30 minutes I started to feel the contractions, holy crap were they painful!!

The rest of the time went that way. When the contractions would hit, I would move into any position that I thought might help the pain and when the contractions would go away I would just try to relax and not think about what exactly was happening. I kept a close eye on the baby's heartbeat monitor. I figured as long as she was ok, I was ok.

My sisters and hubby were doing the best they could to distract me from the pain and from what I'm told, I was not the most receptive person to it all.  Actually if I'm being honest, I was pretty mean... but I swear it was the pain talking!  Once those contractions started coming they would not let up.  They were coming fast and furious with very little breathing time in between.  Every time one hit, I would double over in pain.  I remember trying to get into all these crazy positions thinking it would alleviate some of the pain but nope... that was not the case.  Nothing seemed to help.  The doctor and nurse kept coming in and checking and I wasn't progressing very fast so the doctor came in one last time around 3pm and checked and said he was going to go deliver another patient because I still had a long way to go.  At that point my sisters also left the room to go pick up my mom who had just gotten off work.  Everyone thought we had so much time until this baby got here.  Of course as soon as the doctor left the room I felt that unmistakeable urge to push.  I told my husband that the baby was coming now and he didnt believe me.  He's like, they just checked you and you're not ready.  Well, I was ready now!  I told him to get someone because that baby was coming.  He was so freaked out because he was alone in the room!  He just kept saying dont push, dont push!!  :)

He ran out and got the nurse who came in to check me again and lo and behold, to everyone's shock, I was fully dialated and ready to go!  They ran and got the doctor.  They set me up to push and we were ready to go.  I'll never forget how calm the doctor was.  He was like "If you feel like pushing, push"  lol... I'm like, I really need a little more direction Doc.  Just tell me what to do!

So we started pushing and within 4 pushes, she was here!  At 3:28pm on Saturday, March 16, our beautiful baby girl entered the world.   It was honestly the most surreal moment of my life.  I was kind of in a state of shock for a few minutes.  I know I saw her and asked why she wasnt crying immediately, to which the doctor replied, give her a minute  :)  and once she did, there was no doubt she was healthy!  Baby girl had a set of lungs on her!  Then they took her off to the side to check her and weigh her and my husband went over with her to cut the umbilical cord all while I continued to lay there on my own, in my own little world.  I remember looking over to my right and just in complete shock that that little person screaming her head off was mine.  She lived the last nine months inside of me and now she was here and needed me more than ever.

They brought the baby back to me.  That first look at her is the definition of what love is.  I looked up at my husband and then down at our daughter and never loved him more than I did at that moment.  She was half of him and would not be as perfect as she is without him. 

It was only then that I realized my sister had made it back just in time to see her niece be born.  The doctor finished doing what he needed to do to me and then allowed my mom to come in and meet her granddaughter as well.  The joy and relief in that room was insane.

They moved us to a postpartum room where we stayed and bonded with our child for the next few days.  We had a steady stream of visitors, phone calls and texts all so happy that we finally had our little miracle here with us.  It all went by so fast though and I wish I was able to enjoy it more.  I know I was just a nervous wreck those first few days.  She was just so small so I just worried about her night and day.

When we finally got to take her home on Tuesday morning was a huge relief.  We had been waiting for this moment for so long and here it was.  The three of us were home as a family.  That's when the real journey begins I guess.  Things will change and we will have challenges but there is nothing we can't overcome together.  God has given us the biggest blessing and we won't take it for granted.  Not for one second!

Our baby bag packed and ready to go!

The stroller and car seat assembled and ready to go the day before we went to the hospital.

My sister patiently awaiting her niece's arrival

Aunt number two trying to nap before the baby's debut

Our last picture before we became a family of 3

What a beautiful moment!  Our munchkin is finally here!

Grandma and Auntie looking on as Daddy assists the nurses taking care of our princess in the nursery

Our pumpkin

36 Weeks

At almost 37 weeks, saying we're excited is an understatement. At our last appointment on Thursday the baby measured 5 lbs 4 oz! So we are all set to be induced on Wednesday, March 20. By that point she should be way over 6 lbs.

Even though our induction date is only 11 days away, the family still thinks its too far away!

So here is a quick pic of me at this point.

34 Weeks

This week has been tough. This whole pregnancy thing is getting really hard. I am exhausted all day long, been having back pain and by the time I get home all I want to do is go to sleep!

I had a doctor appointment on Monday and am officially 12 pounds up! Yikes!

My doctor also confirmed we will be inducing at 38 weeks. That seems so close now... Getting really nervous!

32 Weeks & Our Baby Shower

Last weekend we celebrated our little lady with a beautiful baby shower.  My sisters planned the entire thing and it turned out spectacular!  We honestly could not have been happier.

We are so grateful to all of our friends and family that came from near and far to celebrate with us.  We had an amazing time and our little girl is all set with everything she will need when she gets here.  We are so lucky to have you all!

By the way, they planned it so our baby shower landed on our 4 year wedding anniversary! Happy anniversary to the hands down best husband in the world. You make me laugh constantly and love me unconditionally and I truly can't ask for better than that.

 

And here is our baby girl at our ultrasound last week.  She currently weighs 3lbs 11 ounces and is measuring where she should be.  At first I wasn't a fan of the 3D pics but it really does blow my mind how much she looks like her father in these pictures...same mouth, nose, pout....insane...

This last picture is of the back of her head pointing to the fact that she already has hair growing... so cool!

30 Weeks!!!

So today, Monday, January 21st I officially hit 30 weeks!  You have no idea what this means to us.

I didn't make it to the 3's in my first pregnancy so we are oh so grateful to be in this position.  We feel so blessed to have had this time with her and can not wait until we get to meet her in the real world!

She has been pretty good about showing me shes ok.  Usually when I am feeling anxious, she will bust some crazy moves in order to show mommy shes fine.  Of course there are still the times (though few and far between) where I still freak out and head to the doctor for reassurance.  I think that should be expected though considering what we've been through.  All things considered I think I've been doing pretty good.  :)

So in the last few days we had the glider arrive and we were able to put that together with little effort since it comes mostly assembled.  Then the dresser came...and while it wasn't challenging, it did take longer and we actually had to take a break and finish the next day... just a lot of pieces!

When I got home today I had the changing table and crib waiting for me outside.  Can't wait for the hubby to get home to start with those!  Although he might be too tired tonight to get started  :(

29 Week Update

So at 29 weeks my doctor appointments have become twice a week.  I now see my OB/GYN once a week and the high risk specialist once a week. 

At the OB's office they do weekly non-stress tests and at the specialist they run different kinds of tests through the ultrasound. 

This week they did what is called a Biophysical Profile (BPP).

Its done through an ultrasound where they measure 4 different things about the baby:

1. Body movements

2. Practice breathing movement (to make sure they are practicing using their lungs at this point in case they are born early)

3. Muscle tone

4. Amount of amniotic fluid surrounding the baby

 

 

They score each test, the most it can be is a 2 for each test for a total of 8, she scored an 8! 

Go Ellie!!

 

 

They say the score, along with other factors, will be used to help make some decisions about whether your baby is healthy enough to stay in your uterus or whether it would be better for your baby to be born sooner…

 

 

Yikes right!

 

 

So there will be no rest for this little lady.  She will be extremely closely monitored for the rest of the time shes in there!  I feel like we're in very good hands.

28 Week Update

28 Week Pregnancy Stats

How Far Along:
28 weeks

Size of baby:
Chinese Cabbage (2.7 lbs actual)

Total Weight Gain:
4 lbs

Gender:
It's a Girl!

Movement:
Her movement has started to slow down as she gets bigger and her space gets smaller in there...I am still doing kick counts daily to make sure she is in fact moving...

Sleep:
My sleep has suffered this week... not sure I can pinpoint the reason to one thing but I know a big factor has been my breathing.  My sinuses are very swollen at night and its hard to sleep, even with the humidifier going!

What I miss:
Theres not much I miss actually.  I have been able to expand my diet a lot lately without sufferiing too much from the gallbladder issue, THANK GOD!

Cravings:
This week the cravings have included general tso's chicken as well as chocolate ice cream.

Symptoms:
My whole body aches and I'm tired all day long!  Not sleeping well either.

Best Moment this week:
Best moment this week was on Saturday.  Our family was over helping paint the baby's room.  We had a great day full of painting, shopping and fun!

 

 So in addition to the painting we also were able to make a decision on furniture for the nursery and we got it ordered (thanks to the grandparents)!  It should be here in less than 2 weeks so we have a ton of stuff to get done before that can get set up.

 

My sisters have also been busy planning the baby shower!  We are so lucky to have a family that is so excited to welcome our baby girl to the world.

 

Here are some pictures from the last week:

Me at 28 weeks

Baby girl's 3D ultrasound... how adorable!

28 Week Ultrasound- fists up!

The "before" picture of the baby's room...It was very bittersweet having to paint over that wall.  We put our heart and soul into painting that wall and we can still remember that day like it was yesterday.  We were so happy.  We know its for a good cause though.  Can't wait to have our baby girl in this room soon and I know her brother would want that too.  The first thing that we changed was the lighting in this room.  There was a beat up old ceiling fan here that the hubby replaced with this clean looking light.

Another before picture

The Aunt to be hard at work

If I was anywhere near the room, I had on a mask...only took it off for this second so I could take a fairly normal picture.

My sister painted just about all of the large dots by herself

The grandparents taking a coffee break

At this point we thought we were done but I decided I wanted to add more dots!



So theres the hubby hard at work trying to make me happy (as always)

I wanted in on the action!

The finished product!