Elijah Anthony: His Birth Story

While the details are fresh in my mind, I'd like to share Elijah's birth story with the world. Disclaimer: Graphic details exposed in this VERY long post that has very minimal editing.

It all started Monday night, August 12th, when I woke up in the middle of the night with major cramping in my lower abdomen. Since I've experienced contractions before, I knew that these pains were not contractions because they were not regular and were not radiating throughout my entire midsection like I had experienced before. I was SO worried because I just hit 36 weeks and I did not want to believe that I was in labor, so I slept through the pain. Luckily when I woke up in the morning, I was just fine. Luckily I didn't wake Anthony up and cause him to panic for nothing!

Tuesday morning, I woke up, excited to be on my first day of disability leave from work, and had all these plans for myself. I ran some last minute errands and spent the rest of the day with my sister with lunch and a movie. I DID notice though that my stomach had dropped a few centimeters and the baby was no longer pressing on my ribcage, but was now very heavily pushing on my bladder. I figured that the pains I had the night before were indication that the baby had "dropped". I read up on it through Google (like all paranoid mothers do) and confirmed to myself that I had at least a week or two before baby was here so there was nothing to worry about! Boy, was I wrong.

First Family photo

I woke up on 5:15 on Wednesday morning because I felt a trickling between my legs. I thought to myself "How embarrasing! I think I just wet the bed". I woke up, saw a big puddle of liquid beneath me and got up to go to the bathroom. I absolutely did not think my water broke because like before, I was in denial because it was so early! But when I went to the toilet and saw clear liquid that was tinged with blood, I knew that it was time.

"Babe...My water broke!" With that, Anthony got up and started getting ready for the hospital. Luckily, the hospital bag was MOSTLY packed. I wasn't feeling any pain or contractions yet, so we very calmly called our families, and since we did not want to wake Rosalie, we decided to wait for my Father in Law to come to our apartment and take her back to their house whenever she woke up. When he got there at around 6:00 am, we headed for the hospital.

The 15 minute drive felt like an eternity. I sat there, with a soaked tshirt between my legs and very minimal contractions, worrying myself half to death because I was only 36 weeks and 1 day along. All that went through my mind was "I hope he doesn't have to spend time in the NICU" "I pray that everything checks out okay" "Will everything go smoothly enough to where I can have a natural labor?" Anthony was so great during the whole thing. He kept reassuring me that everything was fine and that God had planned this out for a reason. In the back of my mind, I was also completely bummed that I did not get a week or two of R&R before baby came.

After checking in, the doctor at triage confirmed that my water had ruptured and I was about 3-4 cm dilated and 80% effaced. Depending on how fast I progressed, I could be there from 2 hours to 20 hours. Since it was my 2nd baby, they figured that I would go fast. My contractions were getting pretty strong at this point, but were still quite bearable. I did ask for the epidural as soon as I could get it though because in my mind, the less pain, the better.

They got me admitted and checked into a delivery room probably by 7:30am. The doctor checked  on me and I had dilated to 5-6 cm in just 1 hour. We knew then that it would be fast! My mom, sister, and Anthony were in the room with me and all of us were shocked at how fast I was progressing. We knew the baby would be here probably within the next couple hours.

Big sis celebrating with some "bubbly"

As fast as this labor was going, it definitely felt like a slower pace than my first. Everything was so calmly executed and I really had time to absorb all the details of it. I  was in so much pain with the first one by the time that I got to the hospital that I do not remember much of it at all. This time around, I DID feel the sting of the epidural in my back. I DO remember the catheter and the pain of the doctors checking me every 30 minutes. I WAS able to to notice all the preparation going on around me. It was good, but at the same time, very bad. Lol.

After the epidural kicked in, it was pretty much a waiting game from there. We sat around, they ate breakfast while I starved (lol), and had time to notify our friends and family that I was in labor. I had asked the nurse so many questions about late pre-term babies, I knew she could tell that I was so worried. By the time the doctor came to check on me at 10:25 am, I was fully dilated, and baby's head was already making its way through the birth canal. I asked for a mirror again for the pushing so I can gauge if I was making any progress or not, so even I saw his head peeking through! When they said the words, "time to push" I all of a sudden got nervous because in about 5 minutes, my life would be changed forever and I wasn't sure if it was going to be good or bad.

Spotlights on. Legs in stirrups. Everyone in position. I gave one BIG push and his head was out. "One More!" they said. Deep breath. PUSH. It felt like a wet towel slipping out of my vagina followed by a strong gush of fluid. In my peripheral vision I saw my sister and mom get taken aback with shock. Anthony's eyes lit up and I heard the cries of my son. They lifted him up into my vision and there he was, this perfect little boy, wailing loudly for his mother, beautiful in every single way. He did not get whisked away to the NICU, but instead, was placed in my arms where we locked eyes for the first time and then I knew...Everything was going to be okay and I was in love. So so in love.

He scored 9's on his apgar test and weighed in at 5lbs 11oz and was breathing beautifully. He even had a great sucking reflex which they said was their biggest concern for late preterm babies. I could not stop thanking the Lord for our little blessing because even though it was not in MY plan that he would be here this early, it was his. And regardless about how worried I was, everything turned out wonderful, as it always has.

Fast forward to today: It's so great to be home from the hospital. We spent 48 hours there just to make sure that his health checked out and we were all set to go home. Anthony and I laugh about how funny our 2nd time at the hospital was because we were seasoned veterans at this parenting thing. We remember how the first time we were there with Rosalie, we called the nurse every hour asking how to do something. This time, we really just didn't want to be bothered. But we sincerely do have an appreciation for nurses now because the people who took care of us were just wonderful! (Or maybe we're just biased because many of our friends are in the same field?) Either way, we were so happy to be back in our bed, at home with our 2 kids. Rosalie has her moments of jealousy, but for the most part, is just as in love with her brother as we are.

As for Elijah, he is such an amazing baby. He looks so different to me than his sister does, but they have very similar features, like their lips from their dad. He's such a good baby, hardly ever cries, and is getting used to sleeping in his bed and not being so spoiled like Rosalie was! (Lol, we've learned our lesson). I have had to supplement with formula because his blood sugar was low, so that's kind of a bummer, but I'll save all THOSE details for a later post.

Daddy and Son = <3

Anthony is an AMAZING dad. He is so hands-on with both our kids that it amazes me. I've probably only changed like 2 diapers since Elijah has been born and I am so relieved to have him here with me as my partner. I am just in awe of his demeanor during this entire time and I seriously love and appreciate him so much more everyday (As if that was possible). But no, that doesn't mean I love him enough to have another one of his children...anytime SOON at least ;)

For now, It's time for us to enjoy this newborn phase together as a family and get adjusted to our new chapter in life with baby Elijah. Thank you to all our friends and family for your continued love and support..My heart has grown about 3 times larger already, not just for my babies and husband, but because of all of you as well. From the bottom of our hearts, we are truly thankful to be this blessed and wish nothing but the same for all of our loved ones. This story is DEFINITELY "to be continued".  =D