Ellie is here! (No holding back)

I'm sure most of you already know, but Ellie is here!!! (pictures at the end of this post)  AND what a blessing she has been thus far.  To say that I am overjoyed and eternally grateful for her presence is quite possibly the understatement of a lifetime!  So, I think it is time to share with you all the story of Ellie's birth ... 

To those of you reading this blog, be warned ... it is not for the faint of heart.  I will be going into detail about things that you may not want to hear or even imagine - if you would like the lighter "G-rated" version CLICK HERE!

It all started on Monday morning, April 15, when I got up for the day and realized I had lost my mucous plug.  Well, everything I heard and had read said that this is a sign that things are beginning to move, but that it could still take 2 - 3 weeks for labor to begin.  So, I just went about my daily routine: got ready for work, made the drive in to work, started writing press release and such to be prepared for when I was going to be out of pocket on maternity leave.  

Around 10:30, I felt some leaking (you know where) and went to bathroom to check it out.  No blood or funny colored stuff - just clear fluid.  (*In our birthing class, they told us that sometimes your water won't break with a gush but will otherwise leak due to a small tear - but either way it is vital that the baby be delivered within 24 hours of this happening.) So, I shook it off and thought "I'll just keep an eye on it. I'm sure it's nothing since the last time I was at the doctor I hadn't even dilated."  So, I went on about my business trying to get things tied up at work.  To be safe, I set up my "out of office" on my email and kind of tried to clean things up around my work space ... just in case!

Then, around 11:30 I felt the leak again.  Went to the bathroom again and same scenario.  So, I let Tyler know what was going on and he told me to call the doctor.  I also talked to my dear friend, Anjolyn and she said "this is it!"  As a mother of two, I value her advice and wisdom, but for some reason I still didn't think this was anything but a false alarm.

I called the doctor around 11:45 and they did not answer, so I left a message.  I tried to call again around 12:30 and still no answer.  I tried to remain patient (as patient as anyone can be when you think you could possibly going into labor.)  Finally, around 1:30 I got in touch with the doctor's office.  My doctor, Dr. Hoffman, was actually not in the office that day but was instead working at the Flower Mound hospital (where I was planning to deliver.) Another doctor checked me at the office and confirmed that the leaking fluid was IN FACT amniotic fluid.  However, she said there was still a lot of fluid in my sac for me to be leaking.  She established that there was a small tear in the sac and that I needed to go to the hospital so they could run a more intense test to make certain the sac was torn.  Mind you, I drove myself to the doctor because I thought it was a false alarm (and later found out that I had a slew of people back at the office upset with me for being so stubborn to drive myself - sorry guys!)

As soon as I walked out of the doctor's office, I called Tyler to let him know what was going on and he left work immediately to come pick me up from the doctor and drive me to the hospital.  In addition, I called my mom to let her know what was going on since she was in New Mexico and would have to get on the road soon if this were the real deal!

Tyler picked me up and we proceeded to the hospital.  I, of course, had a small panic attack on the way to the hospital thinking "oh my gosh, this is it!  This is the moment I have been waiting 9 months for ... but what if I can't do it?  What if I'm not ready? I'm scared!!"

This is just another moment where God showed me that he made Tyler special to be my husband.  He calmed me down and reassured me that, if anyone could do this, I could.  He acted so calm and collective - which helped calm me down.

We made it to the hospital around 3:30.  The instantly hooked me up to monitors so they could monitor Ellie's heartbeat and my contractions.  While the monitor showed I was having contractions, I couldn't feel them because I was so concerned with listening to Ellie's heartbeat and trying to let everything soak in.

The nurses did a more in-depth test to verify if my water had broken or not.  This test took about 10 minutes.  And, the head nurse was almost sure it was negative. (which was a little disheartening, since I was so amped up!)  But once the test strip had set the full 10  minutes, she noticed there was a very fain second line and decided to get a second and third opinion from the other nurses on site.  She came back and said "it's positive."  The water is broken!

Oh wow!  Ok ... It's go time. I began to prepare my mind to push this baby out naturally without meds (this was something I wanted to try, but was not opposed to medication if it became too intense.)  My doctor came in to check my dilation and Ellie's position.  After he checked me, he said "Here's the deal.  Ellie is head down, but here head is sitting on top of your pelvis instead of inside your pelvis."  I was confused and asked what that meant.  The doctor knew my wish to try to have Ellie naturally and he let me know "this means that if you want to we can still labor and try to have this baby, but in my 30+ years of experience, I have never seen a successful vaginal delivery in this situation.  If you labor naturally, we will without a doubt end up having to do an emergency c-section because of risk to you or the baby."  He said, "my recommendation is to have a c-section."

You can only imagine the thoughts barreling into my mind at this point.  All along, I never even considered a c-section because I just thought we were going to have this baby naturally and maybe some help from a few meds.  The doc gave Tyler and I a few minutes to discuss our options.  I broke down crying to Tyler, because of all the thoughts going through my head - "Will you still think I'm pretty with that scar? I'm scared! What about the recovery? I have to have a spinal tap?!?" etc.  Again, Tyler was so amazing, reassuring, gracious, calm and patient.  He was truly meant for me!  So we decided to go with the doctor's recommendation and have a c-section instead of jeopardizing Ellie's or my life.

Before we embarked on this journey, we asked the doctor and head nurse if they would say a prayer with us. Tyler said the prayer asking for safety and guidance.  When he was finished, Dr. Hoffman said "It's always nice to have help and He (God) is the best kind there is."  Needless to say, this set my mind at ease - knowing that my doctor and I both believe and value the same Creator! 

From that point everything was a blur.  They instantly started pumping meds into me, setting an IV, prepping me for surgery.  Tyler was instantly given scrubs and a hair net to get prepped.  Next thing you know, I am being willed into the OR and Tyler is waiting to join me (they did not allow him in the room while they were prepping  me and giving me the spinal tap.)  I was blessed with an absolutely phenomenal group of doctors, nurses and anesthesiologists who were all very kind, gentle, encouraging and supportive!  God was definitely watching over us.

The spinal tap was definitely not enjoyable, but was not quite as bad as I thought it would be.  The whole time they were trying to do the tap, my body was trembling.  Not because I was cold, but because I was so nervous about what I was about to undergo.

Once, they had the tap complete, Tyler joined us all in the OR.  He sat by my head and kept me company during the process.  He held my hand and offered nothing but encouraging words through the whole procedure.  The anesthesiologist was also by my head adding meds to my IV from time-to-time and giving me play-by-play updates on what was going on.  At one point, I told the team it felt like they were touching my heart because I felt SO much pressure in my chest.  I later came to find out that was because two full grown men were pushing on my chest as hard as they could trying to dislodge Ellie.  Apparently she was stuck in there pretty good, because they had to use the forceps and the vacuum (both to no avail) in trying to pull Ellie out.  Stubborn little girl :)

Finally, I heard "Tyler, are you ready? Get your camera ready!" and seconds after that I heard the most precious cry in the whole world!  She was here, finally!  She made it safe and sound.  Tears rolled down my cheeks as they brought Ellie around for me to see her.  She was perfect from her head to her toes and I was so thankful to God!  They cleaned her up and gave her to Tyler as they escorted him back to the delivery room while they stitched me up.

Here she is in all her glory!

8 pounds 1 ounce, 21 inches long! Big, healthy girl

39 weeks and we are a family of three!

She's got quite the personality already!!!!!

There is not a more rewarding feeling than bringing a new life into this world ... being a mom is AWESOME!