My due date for baby Eli was March 24. Boy I don't remember those last few weeks dragging so slowly with Seth! I know every 9-month-pregnant lady is sore and tired, but those last few weeks were much harder than I anticipated because Seth's pregnancy was not nearly this hard! But there was an end in sight, so I knew I could make it!
Because I chose to have this baby in Idaho Falls at Mt View Hospital, instead of Pocatello (a 45 minute drive away), (and partly because I wanted SO BADLY to be DONE being pregnant!) I opted for a scheduled induction on Friday the 21st. We were scheduled to go in at 6am, but when I called that morning at 5am to make sure they didn't fill up over night, they said every room was full, they would call me in a few hours to see what it looked like then. After calling every 2-3 hours all morning, we finally were able to go up at 2pm that afternoon. Despite having to wait till the afternoon, we actually had a great morning. We slept in, had a good breakfast, and the 3 of us enjoyed being home all together one more time before Eli entered our lives and changed everything! (For the better, of course!)
Well, to my surprise, when we got there, I was already dilated to 5cm. Having been dilated at 3cm since 35 weeks with pretty much no change since, I figured I would still be at a 3. But I was already half way there! So they started an IV and got the pitocin going! Since they were so busy in labor/delivery that day, it took a couple of hours to get that going; it was 4:30 when they started the pitocin. I still wasn't in pain from the contractions, but the nurse asked if I was planning on getting an epidural. I said I was, and she said the nurse anesthetist was already there so whenever I wanted I could get one. Well, I figured since I was going to get one anyways, why wait? So I still have yet to experience true labor pains! (With Seth, I got an epidural before I even got pitocin!) The anesthetist was awesome, and the epidural was awesome.
A short few hours and a few March Madness basketball games later, and it was time to push! I was really nervous about pushing because it was really physically hard for me with Seth, and I had to push a lot. So I was prepping myself mentally for a similar experience. This time though I only pushed through 2 contractions, 5 times, and he was out! I was done already! Wo. Awesome. He was born at 8:48pm. They immediately gave him to me to hold, and even offered to let me cut the cord (after Geran (of course) declined). I was so in rapture of my little dark-haired bundle that I also declined. It was so special to be able to hold him so quickly with Geran so close to us, too.
My nurses were awesome, and my 1st post-partum nurse was especially great. I tore a little bit and had to get stitched up, but I really didn't feel sore. Everything after the birth went very smoothly. Eli had no problems latching on for me to breastfeed, and he nursed for a long time! I enjoyed the snuggle time with him. :) He did great through the night and the next day.
Meanwhile, Seth was at my sister Rosemary's house. Seth loves it over there, and I know Rosemary is such a sweet mom and aunt, but I still missed my little Seth and was a little worried about him being away from Mom and Dad for so long. So we made the (poor) decision to come home the day after Eli was born. Eli had to have his 24 tests done before we could go, which means we couldn't leave until at least 9 or 9:30pm. Of course after they finished all the things they needed to, Eli was hungry, so we didn't leave until after 10:30pm, arriving home at 11:30. It was a bit of a long night! We should've stayed an extra night! Oh well. We made it anyways!
Seth has been a great big brother, and has not had any jealousy issues like I thought he might. I am so pleased with him. He has been such a sweet boy, loves to pat Eli on the head and say hi to him, pat his back to help burp him, give him "big hugs," and is really good and telling me when Eli is crying! "MOMMMYYYYY! ELI CRYYYYIIIIIINNNNGGGG!" he says. Very loudly and emphatically. Good thing Eli isn't too fussy. He also takes and binky and a bottle, and nurses about every 3 hours, which makes my life way easier! The transition from 1 to 2 kids has been seamless and I love everything about it. Everything is easier the 2nd time around! Plus, Geran and I aren't out-numbered yet. :)
Here are a few of the pictures I took yesterday. I plan to take some with Eli and Seth together, but just haven't gotten around to it yet.
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| Yes, Seth still naps in his bouncey chair! Can you believe this bouncey chair has lasted this long??!! Fortunately, Seth still takes a good nap every day (though that may have something to do with his 10-11pm bedtime....) so I can usually catch some shut-eye while both kids are sleeping! |
