~A Family of Three~

Life sure can change on a dime!  We were clearly planning on welcoming a new member to our family in the near future but definitely weren't expecting it to happen when it did. For those of you who don't know, when I went to my regular appointment at 35 weeks (and 3 days) they discovered that I was showing signs of toxemia.  I had retained a ton of water (and thus gained a lot of weight) in two weeks and my blood pressure was quite high at 140/90.  My doctor put me on bed rest and said that he wanted me to come back in and see him in a couple days and that we would just keep a close eye on everything.  I stayed down for the weekend and went back a couple days later and we found that my blood pressure was nowhere near normal but it was slightly lower than my previous appointment so that was definitely encouraging.  I had to stay on bed rest but I didn't need to go see my doctor until the end of the week and he also mentioned he didn't see a problem with me going to my shower that was scheduled for Saturday as long as I stayed down throughout the week.  Over the next 4 days I stayed in bed which has to be one of the most awful things ever when you actually feel quite normal and yourself.  I had a digital blood pressure cuff that I kept nearby so I could check my blood pressure once or twice a day and things were going very smoothly.  My blood pressure was dropping a little bit and I was feeling great!  Friday came and I got up to get ready to leave for my appointment but checked my blood pressure first.  It had jumped a little bit from where it had been throughout the week and was a bit high for having just woken up but I tried not to think too much of it.  I told Logan what it was and he played it off pretty well but I know deep down he was a little worried.  We got to my appointment and they took my blood pressure right away and as soon as I saw the nurse's face I knew it wasn't good news.  They checked it a number of times (different nurses with different cuffs) and said that my blood pressure was way too high and that we just needed to wait a second until my doctor came in.  We were told that my blood pressure wasn't at a safe number anymore so they were going to send us down to labor and delivery so I could be monitored for a bit before they decided whether or not to keep me but I could tell from everyone's reaction that I was most likely not going home.  After being monitored for a fairly short time, my nurse came in and said that she was going to get the Pitocin going aka we were having this baby!  They got me all hooked up and the Pitocin started by 11:30am at which point we were really playing the waiting game.  My doctor came in and told us that because I was only dilated to a 1 and about 80% effaced it would probably be a long labor and to plan on anywhere from 12-16 hours.  Let the long wait begin...

At 1:00pm my doctor came in and broke my water (at this point I was probably only a 2) hoping it would speed up the labor a bit.  Even though I had only had a few minor contractions, I asked him how long I needed to wait until I got my epidural and he said I could have it whenever I wanted.  I thought about waiting a bit but then thought: "What the heck, let's just do it right now."  About 5 minutes later the anesthesiologist was in the room and a few minutes after that she was done and I was feeling fantastic!  (*Side Note* I had heard so many horrible horror stories about the epidural so I was quite nervous but mine was a breeze!  Thank goodness!) As soon as the epidural kicked in, the remainder of my labor couldn't have gone smoother.  As soon as I hit a 4 I moved super fast and was complete by 7:00pm.  It sounds like a long time, but it had only been 7.5 hours since they got me going and about half the amount of time my doctor thought it would be.  I was lovin life!  They called the nurses in to prepare everything for the delivery and then someone came over the intercom and called an "emergency code red" and all the nurses and my doctor had to run out right away.  It turns out there was an emergency c-section that needed to be taken care of so I ended up having to wait for them to finish with that for about 45 minutes.  At this point I was definitely ready to get this baby out!  My nurse came in first and had me push for a few minutes but then grabbed my doctor pretty quick because he was coming fast.  About 20 minutes after I started pushing, our sweet Eli was born at 8:09pm.  In total, my labor was about 8.5 hours, virtually pain free and couldn't have gone any smoother!

Only those that have experienced having a baby can truly understand the special moment it really is.  Having our little guy put on my chest right after he came out and feeling the overwhelming joy I felt combined with the look of joy on Logan's face was by far the best moment of my life.  Because I was only 36.5 weeks when I delivered, they had a few doctors from the NICU on hand in case Eli needed any help breathing at the beginning.  Fortunately his lungs sounded great and he was breathing on his own like a champ from the get-go.  5 pounds 11 ounces and 18 inches later our bundle of joy instantly became the highlight of our lives!

Elijah Logan

Daddy and his mini-me
This is one of my absolute favorite pictures!

Our first family photo
Please, oh please just don't even look at me.  I can't believe I'm even posting this picture but I  had to put at least one of all of us up.

Chillin' after his first bath!

Love my baby angel!

As of today our little Eli is officially 1 week old and we couldn't be loving him any more!  It has been such a joy to have him home with us.  Logan was able to take a week off to stay home with us which was wonderful so we could have that time together as a little family.  Being a mom is greater than I could have imagined and I can't wait to see what the future brings!

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Sunday the 6th, our second day in the hospital, seemed to be a normal day.  We were looking forward to going home and getting all settled.  We were going through our normal morning routine as we prepared to get discharged when Logan said he had gotten a text from a friend that wanted to come visit us that evening to see Eli and to say happy birthday to Logan...wait, what?!  I had totally forgotten it was my husband's birthday!  I was absolutely mortified/heart broken/furious with myself.  Of course Logan just laughed as I kept apologizing over and over again and could have cared less but I couldn't believe I had forgotten it!  I love birthdays so much and had plans to make it such a fun and special day for Logan and not only did none of that happen but I didn't even remember to wish him a happy birthday that morning!  So, here is my birthday shout out to the greatest husband and daddy in the world!!  Eli and I are so blessed to have you in our lives and hope you know how much we love you!!  (Eli told me :)) I promise next year we will celebrate twice as much to make up for the lack of festivities this year.  I hope your 24th year is an amazing one!!