Eleanor's Birth Story
Little Eleanor Pearl will be 3 weeks old tomorrow, so I thought I should share her birth story before months have passed. I can't believe how fast time is flying by, she's changed so much and is growing, it brings a little tear to my eye sometimes. However I'm so excited to see what each day brings.
Our due date, January 15th, came and went. We continued to wait anxiously for our little girl to arrive. On Saturday, January 18th I woke up around 5:30 with some contractions. They were different from the Braxton Hicks, and they came repeatedly, though not very regularly. I thought it might be the start of labor, but they faded away fairly quickly. I had a few on Sunday as well, but again nothing regular or very intense.
We were making dinner on Monday night and I started having some contractions again. These were a bit more intense, but about 20 minutes apart. As the night went on we continued to time them. I went to sleep around 12:30 or 1. Then a few hours later I woke up with some strong ones, this time about 10 minutes apart. I called the doctor and they said to come in to get checked. As we started getting dressed and grabbing some final things for the hospital contractions started coming about 2-3 minutes apart. I was getting a little worried, I remember thinking, I hope that she doesn't come out before we get there! However we still had quite awhile to wait.
We were admitted to the hospital around 4:30am. However whenever I sat down in bed the contractions slowed, so we did some walking in the halls to get things going. A couple hours later things were starting to get painful, and I'd made good progress so it was time for an epidural. They had to try it twice, and I started to get a little worried that I wouldn't be able to have one. However it took the second time, and I was able to get some rest. Both of our families were there the whole time, and came in and out of the room throughout to visit. It was so great to have them there with us to laugh and keep the whole situation laid back (and feed me ice chips of course).
I have to say after going through the experience of child birth I am in complete and total awe of women that do it without any pain medication. However for me being able to relax made the whole thing so much more enjoyable. Matt was there coaching me through the whole thing, helping me breathe through contractions. He was so wonderful and supportive, and I was happy to have him there.
Before we knew it it was time to push and bring little girl into the world. It was the craziest, most intense experience of my life, there aren't really any words I can use to describe it. However I've never felt so much relief as I did when she was here and in my arms. They put her right on my belly for some skin to skin contact as they cleaned her up. She was so alert, with big beautiful blue eyes and lots of hair!
Next it was time to clean her up and get her weighed and measured. She was 8 pounds 12 ounces, 21 inches, much bigger than I thought she would be. We were so happy to meet her finally.
After we had some time together as mom, dad, and baby it was time to introduce her to the families. Everyone came in to check her out, still wide awake and showing off her baby blues. Matt went with her to the nursery so they could give her the first bath, and everyone watched through the window. Over the next few days in the hospital we took time to get to know her, but we were so incredibly happy to finally be home.
We are obviously so in love with our little girl, and can't wait to see what each new day brings with her. Thanks to both our parents, brothers and sisters for all their love and support, to friends and family for visiting, and showering us with gifts and food. Little girl is so loved already!
xo ~ Emily
