The Birth of Elijah

So I tried very hard to write this on the one week anniversary of my little man's birth but being a new parent is tough, and time flies. Unbelievably though, it has been an entire week since I gave birth to the most amazing thing that has ever happened to me. I can't believe how fast time flies and I already wish I could freeze time so he would never grow up. I wanted to share my birth story of how Elijah Ryan entered this world because I will never forget the moment my whole life changed.

Elijah Ryan Joseph

March 17, 2011 at 4:58 pm

7 lbs. 12 oz.

19 1/4 inches

We arrived at the hospital at 5 AM, nervous and excited that this was the day our little boy would be born. At the time of my arrival, I was already 2 cm dilated and 80% effaced so we were well on our way. Around 8 AM I had dilated to 3 cm and it was time to break my water. Everything they say about this is true, its warm and literally feels like your peeing yourself. By this point, my contractions were getting stronger because of the pitocin and I requested my epidural. Mind you I'm not really good with needles so I was mad nervous but I'd like to think I hid it well. However I was really afraid to get the epidural on my own since they don't allow anyone in the room other than the nurse and the anesthesiologist. However, the epidural wasn't really as bad as I thought it would be. Just slight pressure here and there. The worst part was the anesthesiologist leaving mid-epidural to incubate someone. Afterwards, we played the waiting game. I spent most of the day unable to feel my legs and switching sides every few hours. By 3 PM, I was 9 1/2 cm dilated and the contractions were longer and stronger. Even with the epidural I could feel the contractions. I decided not to increase the epidural because I wanted to be able to feel something in order to push when it came time. Which leads me to the hardest and most important part of this experience, the pushing aka the hardest thing I've ever done in my life. Around 4 PM is when we officially started the pushing process which involved me holding my breath, while pushing as the nurse counted to 10 x 3. Eventually this because so exhausting. I could literally feel all my energy being drained from my body and my thirst was insane. All I wanted was water. As the baby was closer to crowning the real problems began. The baby's heartbeat got real high and then real low all too fast. Apparently my cervix was too small for the big guy and he was stuck in the birth canal. This part is real cloudy for me because I was drugged and exhausted, but Nick remembers everything vividly and has shared bits and pieces as we've looked back. Because things were getting real serious, one of my delivery nurses tried a new method and handed me a towel and we basically played tug-a-war to push the baby out. Surprisingly it worked and my arms were sore as heck for days afterwards. After 58 minutes of pushing, the doctors decided I wasn't going to be able to push this baby out on my own and had to use forceps to pull him out. Then panic set in because I didn't hear any wailing baby cry, instead all I could see was my son blue in front of me. Immediately I started asking, "Why isn't he breathing? Is he OK?" The nurses got to business quick cleaning him off and removing the fluid from his lungs. However they weren't able to remove all of it so he had to go to the nursery immediately to be monitored. I was so sad I couldn't hold my baby and spend the first hour of his life staring into his perfect little face. After delivering, I was too tired to even hold him up. It wasn't until 10 PM that I was able to really hold my son for the first time and it was indescribable. I fell in love instantly. He was the very definition of perfect and I couldn't get over the fact that I was apart of creating something so perfect. He was everything I'd ever wanted or imagined and more. I was so proud of me and Nick for what we had gone through and this symbol of our love. Experiencing birth is like no other experience ever, it will change your life and who you are forever. It really is the most magical thing I've ever been apart of. I guess after 9 months of a fairly easy and smooth pregnancy, a delivery of that magnitude balanced everything out. The books definitely didn't cover everything but that's okay because it just made it that much  more unique for me.

And now a week later, here I am. I'm loving every second of being a mother. Even the lack of sleep. It's crazy how your body just naturally adjusts to not sleeping. Elijah is the sweetest baby ever. He's always so calm and content. Sleeps all day and through the night. Doesn't really fuss over anything. All I ever want to do is kiss his perfect little face and hold him close to me. Although I really miss being pregnant (Surprise!), the bond of breastfeeding makes up for it. And everyday I can't get over my little creation of love. How much I love him already and want to give him my all and the best of everything. He has stolen my heart and I will never be the same because of him.

Well I know this is a novel of a post so I will leave you with some pictures of the birth! Enjoy!

Daddy holding Elijah for the first time.

First family photo.

Love at first sight.

Perfection.

The two loves of my life.

Farewell Pregnancy, Hello Baby

That's right this is my last pregnancy post before the little man arrives.

It's so surreal that tomorrow this time I'll be holding my son.

What brought about this sudden change is my weekly checkup revealed I had protein in my urine which is an indicator of preclampsia, high blood pressure in pregnancy.

Even though I dont' have high blood pressure the doctor wanted to induce to prevent future problems and because I'm well on my way.

2 cm dilated and 80% effaced as of Monday.

I went into the doctor hoping she would say something like, "Let's have a baby today" but I really was surprised when she meant it.

Pretty crazy too because I was just telling Nick earlier in the week that it would be cool to deliver on St. Patty's day.

Little did we know, luck was in our favor

& we will be delivering our own lucky charm tomorrow morning at 5 am.

I know I should be sleeping already but I feel like it's the first day of school tomorrow

& my nerves will probably prevent me from getting any sleep at all.

All in all, I'm pretty darn excited that the day has arrived and my little man will be in my arms finally.

So farewell pregnancy, it's been a pleasant experience and I can't say that I have any complaints

other than I'm really looking forward to sleeping on my tummy, seeing my feet again and being able to move freely.

But I will miss rubbing my tummy, and especially miss feeling Elijah moving around inside me.

It really is an indescribable bond.

Practically 37 Weeks

& my fellow prego, Elisa!

Dear Elijah,

I love you so much already.

You are so loved by so many.

 I can't wait to kiss your perfect face,

and hold you every night until you fall asleep.

Nothing has been more rewarding than becoming your mother.

I can't wait to meet you tomorrow.

I love you.

Love, Mommy

The next time I post Elijah Ryan will be here!

Please keep us in your prayers for a safe and smooth delivery!

36 Weeks & Almost there.

I'm officially 9 months :)

I've been feeling exteremly tired, large and overwhelmingly ready for my son to be here.

Since my lost post, Nick has come home and has been a huge help.

We managed to check off all the remaining items off our baby necessity list (carseat, stroller, monitor)

and start/finish the nursery in one weekend. Of course, my handy man is the one responsible for all we accomplished. He really has been a team player as it's been a lot harder for me to get around and what not.

Not to mention the killer contractions that have kicked in. This past Sunday I thought for sure I was going into labor because I having contractions for 3 hours and they were ranging between 5 to 7 mins apart, lasting 30 secs to 2 mins long. But eventually they faded away and I was disappointed because I had mentally prepared myself that Elijah was coming.

In the midst of all the pain and excitement, I have made progress which means he'll be here sooner than we expected.

As of now:

Elijah weighs 7 lbs and 6 oz.

I'm 1 cm dilated and 80% effaced.

Which means... Elijah will be here in the next two weeks. If he hasn't arrived by the end of next week, the doctor is planning to induce!

All very exciting news but I feel as if any day could be the day.

But mentally I'm way more prepared. Our bags are packed, the nursery is complete, the carseat is installed and my husband is home.

So now it's just a matter of time and the waiting game begins.

Here are a few shots of the nursery:

We're still missing artwork and his elephant mobile but I'm absolutely in love with it.

A big thanks to my hubby for putting it together for me and Eli. :)

35 Weeks

I can't believe I'm already 35 weeks. It seems like just yesterday we found out we were expecting and now we are counting down the weeks until he is here. What a week this has been though and it's only Wednesday! I had a doctors appointment Monday and everything was normal. I measured 35 cm and I am 1 cm dilated and 50% effaced. Of course silly me didn't even ask what "effaced" meant, but leave it to Nick and good ol' google. Effaced is when the cervix begins to thin out in preparation for the delivery. Even though that sounds like I could be going into labor any day...it's perfectly normal for first time mothers to be dilated and effaced for weeks before delivery. However, yesterday I thought for sure I was going into labor because my mucous plug came out. Again, wth right? The muocus plug seals the opening of the cervix and you normally lose it before going into labor. So of course I'm freaking out...Nick isn't home yet and I'm about to have a baby. "I'm not ready" was all I kept thinking to myself! But once again, the doctor said that was normal and I didn't lose all of my mucous plug, just some of it and it would happen more often as I got closer to delivery. Now I feel like any day I could be going into labor and there's so many things I still have left to do! To top off, I seemed to have gotten this rash known as PUPP, it's red hive-like bumps on my abdomen and stretch marks that itch like crazy! And what do you know.. doctor said it's normal, that it occurs around the the third trimester and goes away after delivery. So now I'm dilated, effaced, lost my mucous plug and I'm breaking out in hives! What a week, right?

On the bright side, all of this means I'm only closer to having my baby here. Thankfully, Nick comes home in 3 days (YAY) so that will put my mind at ease and it will be great to have his help around the house as we prep for baby. I'm getting really excited and nervous because I don't feel like I'm ready but I don't think you ever really are "ready". Many moms have told me it just comes naturally. I'm praying that they're right and that everything goes well. But I could use all the prayers I can get :)