Life is Busy

I had no idea how crazy this one little baby girl would make my life!

I barely have time to breathe lately -and sleeping is completely out of the question. Other things have added to the craziness as well.. such as the fact that Lilah has decided that using the toilet is optional and it's much better to just pee in her undies and get mommy's attention for a little while..... Oy! I keep reminding myself that it will get easier... I hope I'm not lying to myself just to make myself feel better. 'Cause that would just be wrong.

I've been trying to find the time to type out Elyce's birth story... not that it's super exciting but it's memories, ya know. So I figured I'd do it now that it's dinner time and Lilah is in hysterics for no apparent reason. Don't ask me why. Call it sleep deprivation.

We were on the schedule at the hospital for an induction on April 7th, exactly a week before Elyce's due date. We'd been on the schedule for weeks.

Why?

Because I couldn't handle pregnancy for a day longer than I had to.

I know, I'm a wimp.

But I was exhausted.

This pregnancy, with all of the pre-term labor stuff, was trying. And I was so tired of the contractions and pain and never knowing when I would finally have her, I just was ready for it to be over with.

So, you can imagine my disappointment when every pregnant woman in Kootenai County decided that April 7 was the day to go into labor. Labor and Delivery was full and all they could tell me was that they would call me when they had a room free.

I spent the day on pins and needles, trying really hard not to be cranky with everyone around me. I put all my nervous energy into baking a giant double batch of chocolate chip cookies.

Finally, around 1 pm Brady couldn't stand my jumpiness any longer and decided to take the kids to the park in our neighborhood to play some basketball. I put on an old movie and made a pot of coffee and tried to relax with my mom.

The next thing I knew the kids came bursting through the door shouting "Daddy hurt himself!". Yes. Daddy had sprained his ankle. Badly. He put some ice on his ankle, took some Ibuprofen and went to take a nap.

And was rudely awakened 20 minutes later by his hugely pregnant wife shouting "They called! Wake up! We get to go in! Hurry, 'cause I'm not missing out on that room!!!"

We threw our things into the car (unfortunately forgetting to throw some Ibuprofen in as well) and made our way to the hospital. I got my bed and my wrist band and informed the nurses that I would not be leaving until I had this baby, one way or the other.

Just kidding.

But I felt like it when they told me that between the time they had called me and my arrival two more woman had come in to L&D.... and that if either of them were actually in labor I would get bumped again.

Thankfully, they were both false alarms and we got to stay!

My doctor had called to tell us that he wouldn't be able to come in to break my water until around 9:30 PM. We were fine with that, got the IV going......... and started getting caught up on 24.

What? Nothing like a little Jack Bauer while you're in labor.

My sister in law, Jessica came in a short time later and she and Brady watched a movie while I took a nap.

Around 8:30 I was uncomfortable enough to get my epidural... but still not in much pain. I knew from experience that I wouldn't really make any progress until my water had been broken and I wanted to have the epidural out of the way beforehand.

My doctor ended up not being able to come in until around 11:15 (the poor man delivered 4 babies, including Elyce in two days) and he broke my water. I was still only 3 cm. At 12:45 AM I was 5 cm and by 1:15 AM I was complete.

My last 3 deliveries, I'd given birth after just 1 or 2 easy pushes, so we honestly believed that we'd have a baby in five minutes.

We started pushing.

And kept pushing.

For an hour and a half we pushed. Nothing. My poor, crippled husband at this point had an ankle the size of a football.

It was black and blue.

He kept having to go sit down between pushes to get off his ankle. Poor guy. Thankfully Jess was there to fill in! She was an awesome coach/leg holder.

Finally, we decided to take a break. I had been up at this point for 24 hours, since 3 AM the night before and I was exhausted. The doctor said that the baby was doing great so there was no need to use the vacuum or hurry her along and we should just try to sleep for a couple of hours and see what happened. Sounded like a plan to us! Jess ran home to feed Eli and Brady and I just crashed hard for a couple of hours.

I woke up around 4 AM feeling just awful. Tons of pressure. I needed to sit up. I needed the puke bucket. I couldn't move from the waist down.

And my husband was snoring away on the couch.

I had just finished saying that I NEVER get sick during labor. The moral of this portion of the tale? Never say never. The nurse came in just in time and helped me get sat up, and Jess came back just in time to hold my hair back.

Poor Jess.

It's a good thing she loves me. I'm afraid she got to know me more that day than she probably ever wanted to. She's a good sis in law.

I looked over at Brady. Still snoring. Just then Doc came in and we decided to start pushing again. This time, I knew that I had to get her out or we were going to have to use the vacuum, and if that didn't work it would be a c-section. I was determined. Half an hour later, at 4:47 AM on April 8th, our beautiful baby girl was being placed on my chest.

She was posterior with a brow presentation- meaning that she was facing up with her head thrown back so that her forehead was born first. It was pretty amazing that we were able to deliver her in that position without her turning and without using the vacuum. Her little head was so misshapen the poor thing!

But she was beautiful.

Dinosaur head and all.

It's amazing and indescribable the feeling you have after having given birth. So grateful for a healthy baby, so exhausted and so in love.

The kids and my mom gave her a Birthday party the next evening at the hospital, complete with brownies, balloons and a birthday candle.

She's the sweet, perfect addition to our family.