What a difference a week makes...

Hello!! :) Surprised to see me?!?! LOL :) I was sure I wouldn't be able to blog until this boy was 1 year old!! LOL

So, the new addition to our family {finally} arrived last Monday!! Thank you, Missy, for letting everyone know the details!! You were a great reporter!! :) And, thank you for visiting Eli's website!! :)

I can't believe he's here!! He was a BIG boy & I was pretty uncomfortable there at the end, and after the final push (I'll go more into that...not THAT into that, though hehehe, in a minute), I was talking to Dr. H & said that my sister who had the C-section asked me what it felt like to push a baby out (hehehe) & I told her it was the best feeling of relief EVER!! LOL Dr. H agreed & said she remembers that with her babies & that even the afterbirth (sorry if that's too graphic for you) was even more so...Anyways, amazing what kind of conversations you have with your OBGYN while she's still working on you!! LOL

Anyways, here's how it all went down :) LOL

6:15a.m. Steve & I arrived at the hospital (yes, 15minutes late...what can I say?)

6:30ish Pitocin drip started...WiCkEd stuff, man...

7:00ish Pitocin is definately working...

8:00ish Yeah, where's that epidural?!?! LOL

9:ooish FEELING GOOD!! :) Epidural's in!! :) I'm dialated to 4cm!! (from 2.5 when I came in at 6)

10:00ish Still laboring...The pitocin's working, and the gang's all there...Mom, Dad & Chelle were there after Dad's car was forced into the Krispie Kreme drive-thru...Abbey & The Inlaws arrive shortly after.

11:00ish Still laboring...Dad, FIL, BIL, and Abbey leave the room every time the nurse comes in!! LOL

12:00ish A "Check" tells us we're at 5cm!!

12:15ish Eli's heart rate starts dipping at the end of every contraction & nurse does another check...We jumped from 5cm to 7cm in 15minutes!! YIKES!! There's some information lost in translation between my nurse & Dr. H (apparently there was a language barrier), and pitocin is stopped for a bit to let baby destress...

1:00ish Dr. H comes in & is upset with the nurse because she didn't get the right message...says we could've been done by now!! LOL :) They restart the pitocin, and with Dr. H just right outside things progress quickly again...

2:00ish My nurse (who is pregnant, btw) is forced by the other nurses to take a lunch, they start getting things ready for me to push...

2:20p.m. PUUUUUUSSSSSSSSHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!! Steve is threatened within an inch of his life to count to ten every time I push...

2:45p.m. I'm pushing but can tell that there's something going on with the baby...Dr. H is VERY focused on "things." I vaguely remember hearing something about the umbilical cord...

2:50p.m. Dr. H says, "You're gonna have to deliver through it..." HUH?!?! I believe that's what I've BEEN doing!! LOL One final push & Eli Jacob Lee enters the world!! Dr. H placed him right on my belly, just like in A Baby Story (she didn't do that with Abbey because she came out "sunny side up" & the nurses needed to check her right away...) Anyways, there was my precious baby boy, screaming his head off & all gross with that "stuff" on him!! :) What an amazing miracle!! :) There's not a more miraculous sight, I've gotta tell you...

Now, you know that my inlaws were here & surely you know that I've left out some of THAT part of the drama...but I'll get to that :)

My MIL is a nurse... An OB nurse, and she's been an OB nurse for over 30 years, so I'm sure she's got a wealth of knowledge...Do you know why I'm sure? Because she never seems to waste a moment to remind us all that she's been an OB nurse for over 30 years & doesn't hesitate to share some fact or use OB nurse mumbo jumbo that nobody but an OB nurse would understand while explaining things to you...

But there was not a breast yanked out of a hospital gown without permission this time...So, maybe she's learning?

There were a few issues, though...And I was VERY proud of my husband for standing up for me to her...I believe Steve had told her to video a few things for us, and that was fine...I believe she understood I did not want a documentary version video, or any of the pushing, for that matter, but some before, and some after would be just fine, thank you!! :) So, towards the end I started feeling "pressure" & was starting to get uncomfortable, even with the epidural...So uncomfortable that I was starting to breath through the contractions again, but because of the need to push, not the pain of contractions...There is a misconception about epidurals that they take away ALL the pain...that is false...ANYWAYS, MIL got out the video camera during one of these moments & starts narrarating my "progress" to the camera, and I look at her & Steve & said, "Uh, no!" I wasn't going to go into it, because I was trying to breath through that stuff, so there wasn't much breath left over to say, "TURN THE HONKEN CAMERA OFF YOU CRAZY LADY!!" But, when Steve saw what she was doing he said, "Mom, turn the camera off." She says, "I won't get any of the [nurse jargon here that means documentary video]." "Mom, turn it off!" Then, my very tightly wound husband took a few deep breaths & says, "Mom, let's get a cup of water," and leaves the room to tell her that I probably didn't want to be taped because of how uncomfortable I was. When he told me that my jaw dropped!! LOL :) I hadn't told him why, but that was EXACTLY why!! I do not get excited about seeing myself in paint, thank you!! LOL Or, anyone else seeing, either!! But, she did pout the rest of the day, I think, at least that was my perception. But, that didn't completely stop her the rest of the week...but that's another blog entry!! :)

I felt AWESOME Monday evening & Tuesday & Wednesday...We came home Wednesday & that night we had the inlaws & my family over for burgers & dogs & watched the AI finale...It was a pretty good one...It was a little awkward in spots, though, because the inlaws (at least his mom & dad) don't watch AI (I KNOW!! Who doesn't watch AI?!?! LOL) and MIL kept asking questions & made this comment, "Oh, so they're just trying to sell [fill in the blank]." My Mom says, "Isn't that what all TV shows do?" Again, MIL didn't say much after that...that's her way of pouting...

Thursday I was feeling a little more achy & tired (duh, I'd just spent the first night at home with a baby & a big girl!!), and Friday Eli had his first meeting with Dr. Matt!! He was already past his birth weight!! Which means that we can let him go a little longer between feedings during the night!! :) YAHOO!! :) (I was waking him up during the night to feed him every 3 hours, because I wasn't sure if it was OK to go longer than that...) Saturday & Sunday I was tired, too, and achy & sore...Yesterday wasn't too bad, but I think I definately over-did it last week in the beginning...I just felt so much better than I had in a long time, I didn't think about it...

Last night I was an emotional wreck...HORMONES GONE CRAZY!! I just started thinking that tomorrow (today) would be my first day with both the kiddos by myself because Steve went back to work today. I was just dreading last night's feedings & today's "activities." But, things went just fine, mostly, and Abbey was really good, and Baby Boy did alright, too :)

Alright, duty calls...Steve needs to get online & I need to get Abbey into her jammies after her bath :) Love you all & thank you so much for your prayers!! Things went so well at the hospital & after today I know that I am capable of being home by myself with the 2 of them...I know that not every day will be easy, and tomorrow may be a totally different story, but I needed today...

Okay, seriously...LOVE YOU ALL!! :)