Eli's Birth

Above: One very tired looking mama and one adorable sleepy baby

Below: The 3 of us right after Eli's birth

I know that some of you really want to hear all about Eli's birth, so here you go (I'll try not to be too graphic)!:)

First let me say that comparing Lily and Eli's birth is literally like night and day- they were that different! Similar wonderful outcome, but totally different experiences!

So on Monday morning we went into the hospital in Bangor for me to be induced. I was awake at 4a.m. that morning- excited and pretty nervous. The hospital backed us up 45 minutes, but we were still there by 7:15a.m. It was a strange feeling driving to the hospital without being in labor. With Lily I had been in labor for 17 hours before I was admitted to the hospital. It was a much more comfortable drive, but an odd feeling knowing what we were headed towards. It sort of felt like asking someone to inflict pain on you!:) And yet I felt really good about our decision to do the induction.

Once we were at the hospital and checked in (and Joe passed his flu screening) the nurse got us all settled in. They did my IV, vital sign checks, and fetal and contraction monitors. I was actually really happy to find out that I was already having regular contractions on my own (just a few minutes apart)- it's just that I wasn't feeling all of them (which is why I thought that they were so irregular). That was further confirmation for me that it was time for our little guy to be born! At around 8:30a.m. the nurse started a gradual dose of pitocin to kick in my labor and make my contractions stronger and closer together. About half an hour later my doctor came to check on me and break my water.

Those first two hours of the induction were fairly relaxed and my nerves began to calm down a bit. They continued to increase my pitocin every 15 minutes and while I was definitely feeling all of the contractions with increasing strength I still felt like the pain was manageable. But after two hours that all began to change and very quickly my contractions began to hit me like a freight train. I am still amazed at how quickly I transitioned into active labor and how fast the contractions became as strong as they did. At around noon I was experiencing the benefits on an epidural! The time that it took for them to put the epidural in was by far the most difficult as I was experiencing really painful contractions and trying to hold very still at the same time (Joe claims that I nearly crushed his hand from squeezing so hard)!:)

The epidural worked great and I was able to call my dad and then lay down and relax. Over the next hour and a half I went from 3 to 10cm dialated!! As I was resting my nurse would come in every now and then and ask if I was experiencing any pressure. Apparently as they were watching the baby's heart rate they suspected that the baby was getting pushed down and that I was getting close. I thought they must be crazy. I was HOPING that we might have the baby by early that evening, but I thought that I still had many hours ahead of us. I did begin to notice an unusual pressure (that was painful but tolerable) with each contraction, but I just thought there was no way I was ready to have the baby. So when the nurse came in to check me we were BEYOND shocked when she said that I was fully dialated and that I was ready to have the baby!!!

In that moment I can't even tell you how much joy, relief, shock, and excitement that we were feeling. When the nurse said that the baby was right there, ready to be born, and that I wouldn't likely have to push very much I welled up with tears. Not only was my labor very long with Lily (26 hours), but after two hours of pushing her head turned and got stuck and the doctor had to do a vacum delivery. So when the nurse said that this delivery would be much different I was so overwhelmed with relief! Five hours of labor- unbelievable!!!

Right then the nurse started getting everything ready as my doctor ran over from her office. As Dr. Rinaldi rushed in she just kept saying, "I can't believe it" as apparently she was just as shocked as I was about how quickly my labor progressed! About 10-15 minutes later of pushing our amazing little Eli was born!!! This time around I was very present and aware of everything that was happening during his delivery (all of the amazing things and the hard/not so pleasant things). I wouldn't have wanted it any other way! When they lay that screaming little bundle on your stomach there is nothing like it in the world! What an incredible experience!