On December 29, our family changed forever--
I just want to record some of the details of that perfect and beautiful day when our sweet baby girl, Ella, joined our family.
My due date was December 19th. In my mind, Ella would be born on time and we would be home with family for the holidays with our brand new baby (Haha, first time mom expectations!) The due date came and went... and the next day, the next, and next...and nothing! No contractions at all--none! I was losing my mind! When we went to see the doctor on December 22, there was no progress whatsoever. Since I was on my way to being a full week overdue, the doctor scheduled an induction to begin the night of December 28--anticipating Ella to be born on Monday, December 29. Scott and I were both SO excited that no matter what, we would be meeting our new baby girl within the week.
Scott and I had a wonderful Christmas together in our little apartment, and the days that followed were pretty quiet and uneventful--we were pretty confident that the little lady would hold out until the induction, and she did!
We headed to the hospital on Sunday, December 28 at 8:30 p.m. The first really big snowstorm of the year had just slammed Provo, but luckily we just had a few blocks to drive from our house to the hospital. We arrived at the hospital, got settled in and I received my first dose of Cytotec--the first of about three I would receive that night. Now, I was told that in rare circumstances Cytotec induces full-blown labor, but most of the time, it just slowly starts to "ripen" things and get the body ready for labor (TMI? I'm sorry!) So after I received my first dose, my mom and sister headed home, and they were just planning on coming back to the hospital in the morning when I would start the Pitocin drip and when the doctor came to break my water. Scott and I were just planning for a long night at the hospital--uneventful and anxiety-filled as we waited for our baby to come.
Uh, we were wrong! About an hour after my mom and sister left, I started to have contractions. And then my water broke. In a panic, I called my mom and told her that "Uh, I think my water broke. Maybe you should get back here!" At that point I was dilated to just over a 2. And the contractions were a couple of minutes apart. So they started me on Pitocin.
The contractions were strong and consistent... and pretty darn painful. Everyone was making fun of me because the only thing I could think of to do to get through those contractions was to have Scott squeeze my hand. Like really hard. I think the poor boy thought he was going to break my hand, but it helped (I think). But after awhile, all I could do was beg for that blessed epidural! I kind of felt like a pansy for asking for it so early on, but man, it was insanely relieving and I enjoyed every remaining minute of labor.
With everything happening so fast, our little Ella was a little distressed. With every contraction, her heart rate would drop. And that freaked me out! They had to put me on oxygen in efforts to get a little more oxygen to baby. And in order to slow things down, they had to take me off of Pitocin. Her heart rate began to normalize, but the contractions didn't slow down. During this whole ordeal, the nurse called my doctor who was at home in Salt Lake (not expecting to have to be at the hospital until 5 or 6 that morning). He left home immediately and drove down the snow-covered I-15 to get to the hospital. After all of this, it was about 2:30 a.m., and I was dilated to a three.
An hour later, my nurse came in to check on my progress. So, at 3:30, an hour later, I was dilated to a six. Things were happening fast! She said she would come back in as soon as the doctor arrived at the hospital which should be any minute. Twenty minutes later, my doctor came in with the nurse. I think at this point, we were all expecting that we were still a couple of hours away from the delivery. My doctor checked the progress, and said, "You're at a ten, let's get this baby here!" We were all sooo shocked at how fast everything happened (especially Scott, I thought the boy was going to pass out!)
I pushed through three contractions, and at 4:06 a.m. our sweet Ella Pearl was here. I've never heard a sweeter sound than her little cry. She had lots of strawberry-blonde hair and was perfect in every single way.
She weighed 7lbs 1oz and was 20 inches long.
For some reason, for the few hours after her birth she couldn't stop sticking out her little tongue... so many new things to figure out, I guess!
I was SO tired and knew that I should rest while I could, but let's be honest... I couldn't! I couldn't stop cuddling and staring at my little girl. I couldn't believe she was mine.
Our Ella has brought a piece of heaven into our home.
I can't believe that Heavenly Father is entrusting Scott and I to raise this perfect little spirit, but I am so thankful that we have His help.
We love her SO much.
