Ellie's Birth Story

Well folks, it finally happened! Eleanor Gracelyn (Ellie Grace) was born last Saturday, August 4th at 11:17 am. She was 8 lbs 9 oz and 22 inches long. The first couple nights at home were rough, but she's been really good to us the last few nights... Here's to hoping for an easy transition from one child to two!

For those of you who like details, read on... For those who don't, skip to the bottom for photos. ;-)

It's been a rough last 6 weeks. I'm not a fan of summer anyway, plus we've had record heat, plus it's been the last 6 weeks of pregnancy. Yuck. In the back of my mind I was hoping to go early. Even a week early would have been great. But as the days went by, I realized this little one was following in her sister's footsteps (Abby was 8 days late).

I had a scheduled checkup on Friday morning (August 3 -- 5 days overdue), including an ultrasound and non-stress test. Everything looked just fine. The doctor stripped my membranes and we set up an induction appointment for Monday. I was at 3cm at that point. Rocky and I then walked a bit at the mall, saw a movie, had steak and corn on the cob for dinner, and took a pontoon boat ride that night.

I woke up Saturday morning around 3am needing to use the bathroom (like always...), but couldn't fall back to sleep. Contractions had started (I'd been feeling some cramping the last month or so but this was definitely steady and measurable). I started timing them, then told Rocky about it around 4:30. They were definitely getting stronger and closer together, so I called doctor shortly before 6am. We brought Abby to the Rocky's dad's house, then headed to the hospital.

I got into a room at 7:15am and was at 5cm. They started the first bag of antibiotic (I was group b strep positive), and I got an epidural at 8:45am. Checked again, and was up to 7cm. My water broke on its own shortly after 9am. Rocky and I watched women's tennis -- the Olympic gold medal final, Williams beat Sharapova easily. We joked about this match deciding whether we'd name our daughter Serena or Maria. It lasted until about 10:30am.

The resident doctors came in right at end of match, checked me, and I was already complete! I wasn't feeling a need to push (although I didn't know what I was looking for...), so we decided to wait until after 11:00 so we could start another bag of antibiotics then. The feelings of pressure changed around 10:45, so they quickly started the antibiotic and got things ready for delivery. My doctor arrived, and I started pushing around 11am. Ellie was born at 11:17am Saturday August 4. 8 pounds 9 ounces, 22 inches long. Total labor: 8 hours. Pushing: 15 minutes.

God is good: On August 4, 2004, Rocky's mom passed away from cancer. Eight years later, God turned a day of sorrow into a day to celebrate. :)