Baby Eliza!

2 weeks old!

Eliza Jane Black joined our family on November 16, 2017.  She was 8 pounds 2 ounces, and 20 inches long when she was born.  She has lots of dark hair, and is a little cutie.  I love her inquisitive little eyes, and her gentle spirit.  So far she has been sleeping a lot, and unlike my other babies, she has not been putting on weight super quick.  I think that is because she sleeps so much, but she is learning to love eating and I think will start gaining weight pretty quickly.

Now for the Birth Story:

I was induced with Eliza a week before her due date (due date was November 23rd).  We did this for a few reasons, mostly because I need to have a hernia surgery done before the end of the year, and I need to be completely healed before that.  (Still not sure how I am going to be able to go through surgery with a newborn...)  But also because we wanted her birthday to be separate and apart from Thanksgiving.  And the doctor was going to be out of town the week of Thanksgiving.  So I decided to be induced ahead of time-- my first time ever being induced!

My mom came out on Monday of that week to help me prepare for the new baby.  She helped me sew a skirt and matching quilt for the crib.  It turned out really cute!  She also sewed a car seat cover, and then she helped me make a couple frozen meals, and we also went to Costco to buy some more frozen meals.  I loved that time with my mom, and she really helped me feel more prepared for the baby to come.

November 16th came (finally!) and I called the hospital to see if they had a room for me.  They were full, and told me I would have to wait until later that afternoon to come in.  That was actually a blessing in disguise, because I got to go and see the afternoon performance of the Nutcracker, in which Ben had a lead role (Fritz).  And he did amazing!  He is a natural actor!  I was so proud of him.

I got a phone call from the hospital right at the beginning of watching the Nutcracker.  They told me I could come in at 3:00.  So I just had time to finish watching the Nutcracker, go home and get my packed bag, and say goodbye to the kids and my mom.  Then Gabe and I were off to the hospital!

We checked in, and they gave me a cytotek (spelling?)  to ripen my cervix.  Then the waiting began.  At first I was worried nothing was happening.  It seemed my contractions were not getting much harder or closer together.  After about 6 hours of waiting, I was getting really bored and not sure anything was going to happen.

The nurse came in and checked me at 9:30, I think I was dilated to a 3 by that point.  She said she would come back in one hour.  In that hour, the contractions really picked up and became very painful.  But I was determined to wait until 10:30 when the nurse would come back in and check me.  She finally came in, checked me again and said I was dilated to a 4.5.  I immediately told her I wanted an epidural.  So the anesthesiologist came in and worked on me for what felt like forever, meanwhile the contractions were coming hard and strong.  It was so hard to sit still.  Finally he was done and I laid back down.  I kept waiting for the epidural numbness to set in, but it didn't come!  I started groaning and screaming from the pain each new contraction brought.  Then I felt a strong pushing sensation, and knew I had to push this baby out.  The nurses were scrambling around me, they had just called Dr. Baer and he was not at the hospital yet.  They kept telling me NOT to push, and to wait for the doctor.  But I really needed to push.  Finally the on call doctor, Dr. York, came in and said the heart beat was too low, we need to deliver this baby.  That made me worry, is the baby okay?  So I pushed a few times (all without help from the epidural), and suddenly she came out. Little Eliza Jane was born at 11:20 pm. And then the epidural finally kicked in.  :)

We are so grateful she is here!

Here are some pictures from the hospital...