Elem is here! The birth story.

Yes thats right! Our little baby boy is finally here! I know I have a lot of catching up to do and it has only been a week or so since I last wrote, but who knew what an eventful week it would be. :) I will start off with the birth story because of course that is the info that I am sure all of you want to know! And it was one tough day, but it was all worth it as soon as I saw little Elem. He was born on Tuesday May 8th at 6:10am and he weighed in at 6lbs 8oz and was 20 in long!

So I guess I will get on with the birthing story to make sure everyone is up to speed on the days' events. :) It all started out with my standard Monday morning weekly doctor visit. Seth couldnt go because he had to work that morning and we werent expecting anything crazy to happen, so his mom went with me! We went in and did the whole weight thing, at which point I found out I had gained another 2 pounds. Not too bad I thought and I was almost to the finish line, so pretty happy there. We went into the room and they did the blood presure, which has been the only thing that I have had trouble with the whole pregnancy pretty much. And she was not happy at all. It was like 140/93 or so. And it had been getting higher the last month and kinda hanging around in that area or higher. So she was like well I ll take it here in a little while but lets just check ya out to see how far you are dialated if anything. At which point I continued to tell her that I would be happy if she told me I was ready to go and I could have him any day now! As you all know I was totally done being pregnant. I mean I loved it but was just ready to meet little Elem and shrink in size a little bit to get some relief on those feet of mine. Doctor collins went ahead and checked me and I was like, wow yeah you are already dialated to 3cm!!! I was like what???

So then she continued to take my blood pressure like 5 times and every time it just kept getting higher, and she said okay Im gonna take it one more time to make sure but if it doesnt go down you are gonna have him today. And my exact words were...gonna have what? The baby? Haha. I mean I had been telling myself and everyone around me for the last month that I was ready to have him, but when the doctor tells you that today is the day and you had not really been planning on that exact day! Trust me, it is a shock!

I got the blood pressure checked and of course it was way up there, so she gave me my paper work and said, okay go to labor and delivery and Ill meet you there after I finidh my rounds! Seths mom and I were in total shock. We were both sweating and just like what? Today? For real? okay what do we do. So we went unto the waiting room and called. I told him what the doc said and that he needed to meet me at the house and the crazoid didnt believe me! He just kept saying stop messing with me its not funny! I was like I dont think this is funny at all. I am really about to go to the house and we are gonna have this baby today!!! Finally he said, I am about to tell everyone here that we are going to have the baby today so if you are kidding you better tell me now, and I just said baby I am not kidding I need you to meet me at ths house now. !!! We have to go to the hospital!

I went home and met seth and this was all about 10:00nd am. He took a shower and I grabbed the last of our things that were on my list and we were on our way. We showed up at the hospital around 11:00am or so and got checked in to what just happened to be the very last room! Thank goodness we made it at that time. Right away we met my first nurse asnd they hooked me up to some fluids, pentacillin, pitocin, and magnesium for my high blood pressure! That was the biggest scare because throughout the rest of the day they kept checking my blood pressure and it just kept getting higher and higher. So the magnesium drip was to ensure that I didnt have a seizure. ANd when I say high blood pressure I mean it was like 155/107 at some points throughout the day. From then on for about 3 hours is was just a waiting game. And luckliy I wasnt really feeling the contractions that bad. They really just felt like cramps.

Around 3:30 though, they told me they wanted to break my water and so I could have my epidural at any time. I was soo thankful because honestly it had kinda been a breeze until that point. The anesthesiologist came in and started prepping me to do the epidural. I was pretty scarfed but still knew it would be better than the pain from the birth. I got into the standard position with your feet hanging over the side of the bed and sitting up with your head down to your chest and he put in the lidocane for the general numbing of the back. That was the worst part but it just felt like a bee sting-literally. Then the waiting began. He couldnt actually give me the epidural until his attending came in the room. So we waited, and waited ad waited. And I did all this waiting with only my nurse and the guy giving the epidural, all my friends and family were kicked out. And this lasted 2 hours!!Have you ever tired sitting with a baby shoved up in your stomach and pressing on your ribs in that dang position for that long?? It is so not fun.

Anyways, she finally made it to my room and he finally got it in and it didnt hurt at all. I was sooo ohappy to have it. And at first it kicked in and I couldnt really feel much. They had to put a catheder in, which I was super scared of and I didnt even have to feel that! So yay! ANd then they broke my water and I didnt feel that either! I was so thankful. So everyone came back in and we all just kinda waited for me to start moving right along. Throughout the day my pain got worse and worse and I ended up having to call the anesthesiologist in like every h our to give me more medacine cause I was sitting there crying it hurt so bad. And it really shouldnt hurt if you have the epidural. I could still feel my legs and everything so I knew they could give me more medacine. Thank goodness for the Dr. Cook, who I seriously think was the best anesthesiologist ever! He was soo nice and so sweet and just reallly didnt want me to hurt. In the meantime several doctors came around and would continue to check me out but unfortunatley I only got to 4cm and 100% affaced by like 10-100pm. Which was not the kind of progress I had hoped to make when I showed up there at 3cm!

A few peeps came by, I think Dawn, Steph, Ajay, my sis, Spoon, Tommy, and the rest of both our fams, but I dont really remember what all I said to them. After a while I was just in so much pain I couldnt make much conversation. So about 5:00am they checked me again and I had only dialated to 5cm. All that time and only to 5. I was so sad. I knew that if I didnt dialate much more that they would call it quits. And they did. They told me that I was going to have to have a c-section. After alll that time. After 18 hours. No natural birth was going to be happening in there.

Only about an hour or 45 minutes later, they started rushing me and seth around to get us ready for the surgery. I was so scared. But you know, I knew it would be better cause Seth would at least be in there with me. Off we went. Seth in his gown and me on the strether thing. Haha. And they had pumped me full of tons of meds right before we left the room so I was on my way to a pretty numb place, or so I thought.

We got to the room and they draped this curtain pretty much right up to my face so I couldnt see anything and then they spread each of my arms out to my sides, like one of those frogs you disect in like 9th grade. Not cool. Then they started pinching me and asking me if I could feel stuff. And I was like yes yes yes. Until finally I didnt really feel much of what they were doing. So seth was at my head and he was holding my hand and I could hardly see him. Then all of the sudden, I felt the worst pain I have ever felt in my life. I could literally feel them cutting on my stomach. And it hurt so bad. I just started crying and screaming and telling them that it hurt and that I could feel it and the doc asked if it was just pressure or pain. I was like pain, pain pain! So they told seth he had to get out and I was just there on the table while the doc said he was going to put me to sleep. All the way under. Which was fine with me because I hurt so bad and could hear them all talking and just wanted it to be over with.

They put a mask on my face and in about 30 seconds I was asleep. And then the next thing I knew I was waking up with my sister and seths sister and seth all leaning over me and telling me that everything was okay and that Elem was here! Born at 6:10 am -6lbs 8oz and 20 inches long, And that he was okay! All his fingers and toes and everything went as it should have gone. I just started balling and couldnt stop crying for about 30 minutes. I was even more upset cause everyone was telling me how beautiful he was and how they had seen him, and there I was crying like a maniac and I hadnt even gotten to see my little baby. And I wouldnt see him until about 12 hours later. :( I continued to recover for the rest of the day just sleeping like crazy. I dont even remember people coming by to drop in, I was just so out of it. But all I know is that I woke up around 6:00 pm that night and they finally told me I could go se my little boy and that he was in the nursery cause he had to be in an incubater cause of the magnesium that I was getting throught the labor. They had to hook him up to an IV to give keep him full and what not and he had to get rid of all the magnesium before they would let him come to our room. Boo, not at all what I wanted. I so wanted him in the room with me.

Anyways. we rolled into the nursery and Seth and I got to see him nd hold him together! Oh he was so beautiful and so tiny and so perfect I can not explain it! Even though I was still really doped up on pain medacation, I was so in love gthe very second I saw him, it is something I will never forget. He was perfect, his lips and eyes, and nose, and feet and fingers. Everything. And he was just laying there sound asleep looking and being perfect and he didnt even know it. Then when we held him he opened his eyes and he was even more perfect. He has these great big blue eyes that just make you melt! And he was so tan and had so much brown hair. It was just the most perfect experience I have ever had in my life and I felt so lucky to finally meet him. Little Elem Zane. :)

And from then on he was ours. And we could go see him pretty much any time we wanted until he was released and could come into our room. Well I know this has been a long one and I have to take a break to go feed the little man! Ill pick up from here tomorrow! :) These are some of his first pics!