I’ve had this draft started for days now, but each time I sit down to write, I’m needed by one of the children. I guess that’s life with 4. But, it hasn’t really bothered me like it probably would have in the past. I am feeling more relaxed this time and just taking each moment at a time. I know how fast each stage disappears, so I’m trying my best to soak in all the newborn snuggles while I have them.
But tonight! This is the night. All four are asleep…. for now. So let me tell you the story of Eli’s birth.
Friday, April 13th
Eli’s birth story started Friday, April 13th. I had been exhausted and tired all week, but Friday afternoon we decided to venture out to Costco to stock up in hopes that our baby would be here soon. I’m sure I was quite the scene. I’m sure I looked as uncomfortable as I felt, but I was excited to think that would be the last Costco trip before the baby.
After we checked out, Blake and Evelyn had to go to the bathroom. After they finished, Blake said, “Mom! Let’s take a picture in that mirror.” Yep, I felt and was HUGE. I’ve never felt so uncomfortable in a pregnancy before, which should have been a sign that things were going to happen soon…
Saturday, April 14th
We had hosted my cousin Cheri and Lance and their new baby along with my Dad and Michael the night before for a chill night of cookies and a movie. We took the morning a little slow. I went to the Rec Center to get a little exercise and picked up some books at the library. When I was walking up the stairs to the indoor track, I had to stop a few times because of painful contractions. Ouch! I had a few more and then was able to do the rowing machine and elliptical for 20 minutes. It felt good to move since I hadn’t worked out in a while.
I went home and showered and then took Blake to a birthday party. Brandon was out mowing the lawn and Oliver had just gone down for a nap. I was feeling tired (and who am I to turn down a nap?) so I went and laid down. But throughout my nap, I had contractions on and off. Nothing too painful, but definitely there.
Brandon had a dinner party with some co-workers that night. We got ready and left for that. They were surprised I was there…the children had so much fun with all the other little ones and it was fun to have some adult conversation with some really neat people who are doing some exciting things.
The entire time we were there I felt like I was going to pop! I had so much pressure down there. I thought it would have been funny/gross if my water had broken there, but it didn’t. We got home around 9:30 and let the kids do one last Easter egg bath.
While Brandon was bathing them, I got a huge burst of motivation. I prepped dinner for the next day (since we planned to host Brandon’s home teaching family) and made a pan of brownies. I tidied up the kitchen and then went upstairs to say goodnight.
Around 11:30 pm, I started having contractions. I told Brandon I was going to lay down. Brandon asked me if I thought we were going to have a baby that night and I told him I didn’t think so since we’ve never had our babies early. He decided to go finish up a little work just in case.
When he came back upstairs, he expected to find me asleep. But instead, I was in the bathroom getting ready and packing our bags. I had started timing contractions and they were about 4 minutes a part. I was doing well breathing through them, but there was no way I could sleep through them at that point. He brought his laptop back up and we layed in bed timing contractions while he worked and we chatted.
Sunday, April 15th
Around 2 am, they were still going strong, so we thought we should get to the hospital. I called my neighbor, but I didn’t get an answer. I called my dad who said he would come down as soon as he could. He got to our house around 3 am and we left right after.
The contractions were definitely hurting at this point, but not too unbearable. In fact, the drive to the hospital was SO FUN. We blasted up the music and listened to Piano Guys “Batman Evolution” on repeat. I told Brandon this was his time to speed through the red lights, but we didn’t hit any.
We got to Davis Hospital and tried to enter. However, since it was the middle of the night, we had to walk around to the ER entrance. We got checked in which took forever! I handed Brandon my license so he could take care of the paperwork while I rocked back and forth when the contractions hit. They called my midwife and a nurse to come get me, but the wait took forever.
Finally a nurse came and got us and took us up to Labor and Delivery. The halls were quiet and it seemed like we were the only ones there. I got changed into a gown and they started the monitor. Baby was great! They told me since I wasn’t 39 weeks yet that they would need to monitor my progress for a few hours and if nothing had changed, they would send me home. But when the nurse checked me, I was a 7.5!!
No going home for me. She said, “you’ll have a baby before morning.”
The 3 worst parts of labor include:
- Getting the IV
- Getting checked
- Getting the epidural
I knew once all 3 were done, the rest would be smooth sailing. Ha!
The IV was in by 4 am, but only after a failed attempt in my left arm and then a successful one in my right.
After doing a natural birth 90% of the way with Oliver, I knew I wanted an epidural this time. The anesthesiologist was ready as soon as my blood work came back. It was a blessing that my platelet counts stayed in the normal range this pregnancy, so I would have been shocked and majorly disappointing if they dropped by delivery. But they had to check just in case. By this point, contractions were getting more intense and I was groaning through them, but handling it ok. I hadn’t reached crazy status like last time yet. The results were back in 15 minutes and my platelets had jumped to 195. Epidural time.
I hate, hate, hate getting the epidural. It freaks me out, but I knew it would be so worth it. That’s what I kept telling myself. The epidural was in by 4:30. At 4:45 they broke my water. I could still feel a lot of pressure, so the red button on the side of the bed to up the epidural became my best friend. If I was getting an epidural, I was going to take FULL advantage of it.
At 5:15, I was a 9, so they decided to give me a little pitocin to get me to a 10. I can’t remember when they started that exactly, but by 5:45 am, I was waking Brandon up from his restless sleep on the couch to go get the nurses because I could tell I needed to push right then.
They came right in, checked me and then my midwife explained, “the head is right there. this is going to be quick.” I got giddy since I’ve had to push nearly 45 minutes with all 3 others.
A contraction came. I pushed 3 times. Another contraction came. I pushed 3 times again.
The third came. I pushed 3 times. And the head got stuck right as it was coming out. That was awfully painful. The pressure! I’m shocked I didn’t tear a mile long. While the head was there, a nurse said, “that looks like a girl’s head.”
So we got a little geared up for a girl. But then 2 more pushes and out HE came.
At 6:08 am. 7 lbs. 12 oz. 21 inches.
Brandon announced the gender and it was indeed another BOY. He layed on my chest for a minute or so, but he wasn’t breathing great and wasn’t making much noise, so the nurse took him to the warming bed to get him to cry and clean out his lungs.
He was just fine, he just happened to be a quiet little one. I got to have him right back on my chest a few minutes later and just couldn’t get enough of his sweet newborn smell.
The perks about delivering in a smaller hospital was there was no rush to get to the postpartum unit. We got to stay in the delivery room until 1:30 pm. The room was quiet and peaceful, full of lots of love for each other and the newest member of our family. We also got a little nap before Brandon went to pick up the children, which was needed after a sleepless night.
This was overall our best experience. He came 8 days early and on a Sunday, which meant we got to enjoy the day together without work distractions. Brandon and I kept joking that we needed to have a baby to have uninterrupted talking time. It was such a fun date together. 😉
And I’d do it all again tomorrow.
Next up…. visitors!
