The Story of Eli
Elijah Rafael graced us with his presence on September 2nd 2011 at 5:36am weighing 7Ibs 9oz and was 21 inches long. He had quite a procession the 2 weeks before with the East coast earthquake and Hurricane Irene hitting us. I thought for sure during the whole hurricane he was going to come because this mama was stressed but nope he wanted to have all the attention. This is his birth story I hope you enjoy.
After we got settled back in after the hurricane I made an appointment for Tuesday the 30th of August. I was supposed to be seen that Friday but rescheduled because my midwife was going on leave for 6 weeks and I wanted to see her one more time. She checks me and tells me I am 3.5cm and 75% effaced at a -2 station. Totally fine by me because I had been this for about 2 weeks so I didn't think much of it. Everything was going perfectly aside from all my icky pains and discomfort. Eli was perfect and I had made it to 39 weeks. We said our goodbyes and I went on my way home. Wednesday came and went with a few contractions here and there. Then came Thursday I woke up feeling very heavy and my mind and body were just not feeling normal. Somehow that morning I had a feeling I was going to have the baby real soon. After lunch my contractions got to about 10 minutes apart. When Steven finally got home I really wanted to go and do something to take my mind off of possibly being in labor. So we went and ate then drove down to Yorktown for some ice cream and to walk on the beach. On our way back the contractions got down to 5-7 minutes apart. We decided to go to the hospital.
By the time we dropped Zack off at the sitter and parked we were in triage at 9pm at Riverside Regional (Langley was full so we were routed to another hospital). They hooked me up to the monitors and of course my contractions slowed down. They decided to have me walk around the hospital for an hour. So that's exactly what we did. I walked and walked and walked telling Steven that this baby was coming tonight whether he liked it or not. I was NOT being sent home like I had been with Zack. Finally the hour passed and they checked me again I progressed to 5cm!!! WOOHOO!!! We were being admitted!!! Praise the Lord I wasn't going to be pregnant anymore! Well at least that's what was going through my mind. Not sure about what Steven was thinking but by the looks of it he was having a mini panic attack on the inside.
Once in our room I got hooked up to monitors again and they started on my IV which because of my tricky veins took some time and made the husband angry. I on the other knew what was coming and some minor pricks in my arms weren't compared to what I was about to feel in a few hours. We waited and waited. I can't say what time my contractions got bad because I honestly don't remember. It felt like I was in pain for hours when they came and checked me and I was at 7cm, they decided to break my water. After more labor I finally asked for an epidural which I think made Steven very happy. After receiving my epidural I was able to relax and even almost fell asleep. My nurse came in to try and find the babys heartbeat because kept moving away from the monitor. After trying to find the heartbeat for 20 minutes they decided to put in a while on his head. But when they checked me to put it in I was 10 cm and he was ready come out. They got me all set up and ready to go. Again I am sure Steven was having a panic attack at this point. After a few pushes Elis heartrate started dropping the doctor told me they were going to use a vacuum to ease him out quicker. It took one push and he was out.
When I saw him he was blue and steven said the umbilical cord was wrapped around his neck. I didn't get to hold him right away. They had to take him to the warming table immediately to get him to cry. I was very nervous because with Zack he started crying immediately and he was put on my chest before being rushed away. All I heard at this point was Steven asking them why wasn't he crying. Then we heard him and his little cry sounded so sweet and perfect. Eli was here and we were a family of four.
"It's cold out here put me back in!!!"
After we got settled back in after the hurricane I made an appointment for Tuesday the 30th of August. I was supposed to be seen that Friday but rescheduled because my midwife was going on leave for 6 weeks and I wanted to see her one more time. She checks me and tells me I am 3.5cm and 75% effaced at a -2 station. Totally fine by me because I had been this for about 2 weeks so I didn't think much of it. Everything was going perfectly aside from all my icky pains and discomfort. Eli was perfect and I had made it to 39 weeks. We said our goodbyes and I went on my way home. Wednesday came and went with a few contractions here and there. Then came Thursday I woke up feeling very heavy and my mind and body were just not feeling normal. Somehow that morning I had a feeling I was going to have the baby real soon. After lunch my contractions got to about 10 minutes apart. When Steven finally got home I really wanted to go and do something to take my mind off of possibly being in labor. So we went and ate then drove down to Yorktown for some ice cream and to walk on the beach. On our way back the contractions got down to 5-7 minutes apart. We decided to go to the hospital.
By the time we dropped Zack off at the sitter and parked we were in triage at 9pm at Riverside Regional (Langley was full so we were routed to another hospital). They hooked me up to the monitors and of course my contractions slowed down. They decided to have me walk around the hospital for an hour. So that's exactly what we did. I walked and walked and walked telling Steven that this baby was coming tonight whether he liked it or not. I was NOT being sent home like I had been with Zack. Finally the hour passed and they checked me again I progressed to 5cm!!! WOOHOO!!! We were being admitted!!! Praise the Lord I wasn't going to be pregnant anymore! Well at least that's what was going through my mind. Not sure about what Steven was thinking but by the looks of it he was having a mini panic attack on the inside.
Once in our room I got hooked up to monitors again and they started on my IV which because of my tricky veins took some time and made the husband angry. I on the other knew what was coming and some minor pricks in my arms weren't compared to what I was about to feel in a few hours. We waited and waited. I can't say what time my contractions got bad because I honestly don't remember. It felt like I was in pain for hours when they came and checked me and I was at 7cm, they decided to break my water. After more labor I finally asked for an epidural which I think made Steven very happy. After receiving my epidural I was able to relax and even almost fell asleep. My nurse came in to try and find the babys heartbeat because kept moving away from the monitor. After trying to find the heartbeat for 20 minutes they decided to put in a while on his head. But when they checked me to put it in I was 10 cm and he was ready come out. They got me all set up and ready to go. Again I am sure Steven was having a panic attack at this point. After a few pushes Elis heartrate started dropping the doctor told me they were going to use a vacuum to ease him out quicker. It took one push and he was out.
When I saw him he was blue and steven said the umbilical cord was wrapped around his neck. I didn't get to hold him right away. They had to take him to the warming table immediately to get him to cry. I was very nervous because with Zack he started crying immediately and he was put on my chest before being rushed away. All I heard at this point was Steven asking them why wasn't he crying. Then we heard him and his little cry sounded so sweet and perfect. Eli was here and we were a family of four.
"It's cold out here put me back in!!!"
