She's here! We are so excited and grateful that everything turned out so well. We got a phone call around 9am on Wednesday, August 5th, that they had a bed available for us. So we quickly packed up and took Tate to Janet's house and then on to the hospital. We got to the hospital at about 10am and into our room around 10:30am. The nurse started the pitocin at 11am and after checked me, telling us that I was 3+ centimeters dilated. At 11:30am, Dr. Hebert came in and broke my water. At that point I was dilated to 4 centimeters. My mom arrived shortly thereafter (with some lunch for Rob) and we spent the next little while chatting. I got an epidural about an hour after they broke my water. That was not a fun experience. I think that it was less painful when I got the epidural for Tate's birth. Still, I am grateful for modern medicine that takes away the pain and allowed me to enjoy the experience.
Around 2pm I turned in my bed, causing the fetal monitor to move. The nurse came in to adjust the monitor and decided to check to see how I was progressing. After checking, she said "You're complete." I thought she meant that she was done checking me, but she meant that we were ready to have a baby! After quick preparations on the part of the hospital staff, and a few pushes on my part, baby Ellie arrived at 2:30pm! She came out quietly and was purple, which scared Rob and I. Apparently she had taken a big gulp of fluid on her way out and that may account for the silence. Once they started suctioning her out though, she started screaming and yelled for a really long time!
After a while she calmed down and Rob and I got a really good look at her. She is beautiful. She weighed 7 lbs and 3 oz and was almost 20 inches long. At first glance I thought that she looked smaller than Tate had, so I was surprised to learn that she was actually bigger than Tate had been (and she had been born 10 days earlier than Tate). Her head was beautifully shaped, probably because it didn't take long for her to come out.
My Mom and Dad were at the hospital before she arrived, so they were the first ones to meet her after me and Rob. Janet brought Tate a couple hours later. I think he was scared when he first walked into my hospital room and saw me laying in the bed. He looked like he was about to cry. I think he was just overwhelmed with everything going on around him. He met Ellie and was interested, but there was so much going on: Nana, Papa, Grandma, Grandpa, and Cory were all there plus nurses were in and out, etc. We gave Tate the present that we had gotten him and told him it was from his new baby sister. He opened his new Mack truck (from Disney's Cars movie) and was SO excited. We picked a good gift.
I felt really good after the delivery. I didn't have any pain even though the epidural was wearing off. The nurses kept asking me if I had pain and seemed surprised by my negative response. The pain finally did come, but not until about midnight that night. Eventually everyone left except for Rob and Tate and we finally got some alone time together as a family.
It was hard being in the hospital this time. I didn't mind it so much when I had Tate. In fact, I think Rob and I were terrified of going home and taking him with us. But this time I spent more time alone because Rob was with Tate. So I decided early the next day that I wanted to go home. We left the hospital around 5pm on Thursday. I was glad to be home but REALLY overwhelmed and ended up having a little breakdown around 10pm that night. I bawled my eyes out. I just wasn't sure I was going to be able to handle two little kids plus all the things that come with keeping up with my house. Rob was very sweet and insisted that I go to bed. After a few hours of sleep I felt so much better. It must have been the fatigue and the drop in hormones after delivery.
Anyway, here we are 5 days later. Still tired (Rob and I both forgot about how newborns sleep all day and stay up all night) but slowly getting the hang of it. Rob has to go back to work tomorrow and I am very nervous about being by myself. I am mostly anxious about being able to give Tate the attention he needs. We are trying very hard to have extra patience with him and to make him feel involved in everything that is going on. We'll see how this next week goes!
Me and Tate right before we left the house to drop him off at Grandma's and head for the hospital.
We let Tate take the very last picture of my belly.
This is the last official picture of our family of three before it becomes a family of four.
Such a great picture. Rob gave me no warning before he took it!
She's here!
He is such a natural Daddy.
Our first picture together.
Nana and Papa.
We finally decided on the name Ellie. I have a little girl in my Primary class named Ellie and she is such a doll. We thought the name was cute. It was down to Ellie or Abigail and we decided on Ellie after we got a good look at her. I had picked the middle name of Mona almost from the moment we knew we were having a little girl. My Mom has always said that she hates her name, but I am honored to be able to give my daughter such a strong name and have her be forever linked to such a great woman.
Tate and his new Mack truck.
Ellie in her "going home" outfit. It is newborn size but was really big on her.
Tate holding his baby sister for the first time. He didn't want to hold her while we were at the hospital. We didn't want to pressure him on any aspect, so we just waited until he was ready.
SO CUTE! It makes my heart melt.
Uncle Bryan.
Such a doll. Healthy and gorgeous. We are so blessed.
Tate and I took Ellie to the doctor today for her first check-up. She weighs 7 lbs 7.5 oz (30th%ile) and is 20.5 inches long (75th%ile). Her head size was in the 15th%ile, small like Tate. The doctor said that she looked great. She does have a "stork bite" mark on the back of her head. It is about the size of a golf ball but will fade with time. She is a rockstar when it comes to pooping - we usually change her diapers in pairs (she waits until you get a new one on and then minutes later fills it up again). She is also a pretty good little eater, if I can keep her awake long enough. She is starting to be awake more during the day. She will usually stay awake for an hour or so after she eats. She still struggles with sleeping well at night, so I usually only get about 1 or 2 hours of straight sleep in between feedings. Rob has been home all this week, which has been a big help. I am struggling a little with getting the hang of two kids. I guess it is a learning process, I just hope I can get a handle on it soon. Rob leaves for Boston next Tuesday!
