Our Family

Our Family

Thursday, April 18, 2013

Labor and Delivery--Mom's Version

Well, what they say about labor is true, contractions really do hurt! I started going into labor at 3am on Friday morning.  I had been quite concerned I wouldn't know what they felt like, but I quickly learned. I woke up Rand at about 6 am after having noticed a pattern and consistency in them.  We gave our doctor a call and he told us to just continue to monitor them and also mentioned he would be out of town until the next day.

By 8am, the contractions hadn't changed much, so Rand decided to go to work with the plan that I would call if anything changed.  At around 9:30 Rand called to say that his boss had sent him home. I felt so greatful. So, it seemed we were just in a waiting period. We settled in to resume another episode of my new found favorite show, Prison Break, and kept on track of monitoring the contractions.  About 1pm, we decided this was the real deal and contacted my parents, Rand's parents and our brothers and sisters.  They started to get increasingly more painful and so we finally headed in.  I was really feeling nervous that I would be the "boy who cried wolf" and was feeling somewhat the weight of that on my shoulders.

We arrived at the hospital at about 4:30 to find that there were 11 other ladies in active labor.  Full house! We were placed in an overflow like room.  After what seemed like forever, a few frustrated tears, and a few walks in the hallway to help me dilated further, a lot of waiting, and progressively worsening contractions, we were finally admitted at about 7:30pm to our room. Our doctor was the on-call doctor for Dr. Trottier.  Her name was Dr. Wesswood, I believe, and I liked her.

Rand's parents stopped in and my parents arrived shortly after.  We opened up a precious "hospital package" from our dear friends Whit and Kyle. It made me start crying. I immediately opened up the chapstick, snuck a gummie bear, and put on a headband. It was a good distraction from the contractions. They began to get worse and worse. I would try and breath through them, but man often it felt like, I can't do this anymore.  It was past a point of tears, but sometimes they would flow.  Rand and my mom held my hand and I felt super cared for by them.

I was still not dialating past 3cm, so they decided to give me petocin to help me dialate more, but this also means that my contractions would be more frequent. (P.S. All this lingo was jargon to me just weeks ago).  My biggest blessing was the anastesiologist, Karen, who cam in to give me my epideral.  Praise the Lord! She was the sweetest lady and I truly will never forget her.  After a few more contractions it finally set it and I no longer felt any pain ... or really anything below my hips.  Quite hilarious at points because I literally had to have Rand or the nurse move my legs when I needed to shift positions.

Rand and I were told to rest while we waited for me to dilate to 10 cm. In this process the nurse noticed that her heart rate kept dipping during my contractions.  We attempted shifting positions, right side, left side, back, tummy, and all fours (quite interesting when you can't feel your legs) and it continued.  The doctor was called back in and the mood shifted slightly to more urgency. By this time I had dialated to 9.5 cm and so she had me push (something I also couldn't feel).  When this happened the heart rate dripped especially low and they made the call to do an emergency c-section. Apparently the umbilical cord was compressing her head somehow during the contractions.

Despite a C-Section being nothing that I had thought of before because of an overall healthy pregnancy I felt like "Yeah, lets do this thing".  Rand, however, was feeling a little more uneasy, I think recognizing the seriousness of the situation.  In flew a crew of about 6-7 people who got me ready to be transferred to the operating room.  Rand was handed scrubs to change into, which I must say he looked might fine in ;)

The realization of what was happening struck me when I was wheeled away from Rand and into an sterile, cold, operating room (similiar to the ones in the movies) and alone with a big team of people that I no longer knew.  It was at this point that I felt scared; for Ellie and for surgery.  The Lord knew my fear and provided comfort to me through Karen, the anesthesiologist who was now getting me numbed for surgery. I remember at one point she stroked my forehead, like a mother would, and I started to feel at ease again.  Finally I was prepped and ready, basically having no feeling from my shoulders down from the anesthesia and epidural. Rand was finally able to join me and he held my hand as we waited for the surgery to be complete and to meet our little Eloise.

After 21 hours of labor and the C-section She finally arrived at 2:13 am on April 13th. I remember not being able to move and seeing her being checked by the nurses and feeling a mix of surrealness, joy, and sadness over not being able to touch her.  It was an incredibly special moment for Rand and I feel like I will always savor that memory. They took her away to the nursery with Rand, while I was stitched and stapled up.  I remember feeling  extremely short of breath and couldn't stop trembling.  I was so well cared for by my nurse Erin in the process, though.  She really was a calming comfort to me.

After an hour and a half I was reunited with Ellie and Rand and was able to feed her for the first time. I still didn't have much feeling in my body, though, and was still trembling.  It was surreal to be with my husband and our new daughter.  It really didn't feel like real life.

Only bummer with a C-section was that I couldn't sleep on my stomach right away! Apart from that I really didn't mind.  I am just so glad that she was healthy and safe and am so glad that the nurses and doctor made the decision that they did.

Recovery has to last the full 6 weeks.  They say its really important because the three layers of tissue that they went through to get to the uterus all need to heal.  Apparently the stitches of the inner two layers are most vulnerable at 3-4 weeks because they are starting to dissolving.  So, the next month in a half I have to hang low.  Boo. I'm not very good at that. On the up side, I have an amazing husband who really wants me to heal and get better. Man do I love him. I am so excited for our new adventure!


Meet Eloise!

The Low-Down

Weight: 6.89 pounds
Height: 20.5 inches
Eye Color: Blue and big like mom's!
Hair: Dark Brown
Lips: Rose-buds like dad
Nose: Dad's
Ears: Possibly Dad's
Skin: A little darker, must be her hispanic heritage on Mom's side
Limbs: Long, like mom and dad's
Middle Name: Mary, after my mom
First Name: Daddy picked out and mommy loved!

Favorite things/Memories so far:

  1. When she stares at you with crossed eyes
  2. Her smile when she sleeps
  3. Her smell, she smells so good!
  4. The frog leg moves she does when you try and change her diaper
  5. That she has been patient and is nursing really well!
  6. When daddy dances with her.
  7. Getting to snuggle with her so much. 
  8. Feeling like its christmas everyday because she is here to stay!
  9. Seeing Rand love her!
  10. Having her fit into her precious name and calling her Ellie or Lu Lu
Possible photo Shoot this weekend with our new camera, hopefully well get some more pictures up, but here are a few of my favorite so far! We are both feeling so loved and supported by family and friends. Between meal deliveries, packages, cards, flowers, and mail my heart feels full!
At the hospital

First Day Home

My Favorite-- With Daddy




Labor and Delivery-- Dad's Version

Dad's Version in an email he sent to our family.

 Hi! Attached is a photo of our little Eloise! 

She has really taken to the pacifier and has been doing so well learning to breast feed. Feel free to forward this email on to anyone you wish(I don't have many email addresses). I have been taking photographs with my camera, but sharing them is tricky because the Internet hasn't been very good here at the hospital, and to be honest there hasn't been much time yet.

Both momma and daughter are sleeping right now so I found myself with a quiet moment, but may find myself drifting off as well. We are planning to leave the hospital on Tuesday, and Jessica has been making good progress as far as recovery goes. We are both running on a few hours of sleep since this whole thing started, so you can imagine my relief at the fact that Jessica is getting some rest.

The nurses have been fantastic, really taking outstanding care of our little one and the new mom. Ever friendly and encouraging, they seem to be really fond of our little family. Jessica said the anesthesiologist "made me feel like her daughter". Jessica is completely unhooked for the first time today, finally being free of IVs, catheters, monitors, and so on. She has been up and out of bed, but can easily overextend herself without knowing it due to the different pain medications dulling the pain. Eloise was born 6lbs 8.9oz at 2:13am on Saturday, April 13th. She is 20.5 inches long and is extremely healthy, from top to bottom (that includes some very full diapers).

We really appreciate all the thoughts and prayers and are excited for you to meet her!

Rand