(Since Era Lee is over a month old, I determined that it was prime time to do 2 things: Recount for her the events leading up to her birth and a 1 month old post. This post will account for the Birthday post)
Miss Era Lee Bell,
Today is the day you are born! I woke up around 7:00am by your 2 brothers climbing into my bed. It's a Saturday morning: the day after VBS. What a busy last week you spent inside my tummy! Monday was VBS where we entertained 20+ 2-5year old (which was no small feat considering I was 38 weeks pregnant!) Lucky for us, we had help. Tuesday we went to work, and Wednesday we went to the Doctor. I saw you on ultrasound and you were measuring right on track... except for your legs. They were measuring 2 weeks ahead of schedule. We knew immediately that you were going to be a tall one! The Doctore said that everything looked great and unless you came earlier, we would get to meet you on June 26th 2012. Thursday and Friday brought more VBS fun, and we stayed later on Friday to help clean up. I was exhausted!! Later that day, we went on our weekly trip to Wal-Mart. By the end of the day, I was ready for bed.
That brings us back to today, June 16th, 7:00. Your brothers jump into bed with us and demand to watch TV. I turn the TV on and go back to sleep. Your daddy gets up about 7:45 and gets in the shower. we don't have any plans, just a few last minute things to do before you arrive. About 8:00 I determine that I need to go to the bathroom. It felt as though something extra was happening down there. I sit up in bed and it seems to go away. I then head to the bathroom. It feels as though I have peed in my pants (although I know that I haven't). I tell Jayton, who is currently using the toilet in our 1 bathroom house, that he needs to vacate the premises because Mommy needs the bathroom. I then tell Josh (who is in the shower) that something's not quite right and that something water-like is running down my leg. He immediately demands that I call the doctor while he gets out of the shower. I call the answering service and tell them my circumstances. She then states that my doctor is the doc on call, and transfers me to the nurse. I repeat my condition to the nurse and she states very calmly "Yeah... your water broke. Just head on over to Labor and Delivery" to which I ask "Umm... where is Labor and Delivery" (I must interject here that this is not the hospital I delivered the boys in, so I was totally not familiar with the Labor and Delivery part of this hospital!). After she instructed me, I went back to the bathroom and informed your Daddy that "Well, looks like you're getting a baby for Father's Day!" and then broke into tears. (I'm the emotional type.) Daddy then proceeds to call your Grandma (who just got back from vacation less than 12 hours before) to come get Jayton and Jonah because my water had just broke and we were headed to the hospital!
Wheww! I was a flurry of emotions. Totally ready for you, but totally NOT ready! Plus, I was worried about you brothers and how their lives were about to be turned upside down! Jonah, seeing Daddy in panic mode and me in tears, then starts crying. Daddy, in all his panicky glory, calls your Aunt Cisgo to help keep your brothers but instantly forget that she is 10hours away celebrating her and MW's 10th wedding anniversary!! The entire household is in turmoil! Did I also mention that I hadn't had a chance to take a shower yet? Or put on any make-up? Ahhh. This was just not going as planned!
Grandma a.k.a. BooBoo arrives about 8:30 and Jonah seems to calm down a little. We leave for the hospital (I'm still crying like a baby, by the way.. and my water is still "breaking" so there is literally water EVREYWHERE! Haha). I assured your Daddy that no baby had ever been born without pain being involved, and since I wasn't in pain it was not necessary to pass every car and/or run any red lights on the way to the hospital (much to his disappointment!). We pulled up to the hospital and he let me out at the door. I was going to wait for him in the foyer, but I realized that my pants were all wet, and to avoid any potential embarrassment, I proceeded down the hall to labor and delivery.
When I got there, the place was a ghost town except for a few nurses. I told them that my water had broken and she sent me to a room. Your Daddy, in the mean time, had gotten into the hospital and saw that I was no where to be found. He promptly called me, and I told him that they had gotten me in a room, and that they would call him when they were ready for him (this, by the way, was not helpful information to a Dad already in panic mode!). After they determined that indeed my water had broken (duh),and that I was not in full labor (I had only dialated to a 1) they started the process of asking me all sorts of questions and prepping me for surgery. (Did I mention that I hadn't been able to take a shower?) After all personal questions had been asked, they then allowed you Daddy to come into the room. I could tell he was a little confused... and so was I, but at least he was finally there. Delivery was to be expected around 11am.
More needles, more blood work, more itchy bracelets attached, IV finally inserted, and Epidural administered (that was a point in this experience that I would love to forget, so I chose not to re-live it here.) and I was told the assisting OB wouldn't be arriving until around 11:30 so delivery was postponed until then. By now, both sets of grandparents had arrived with your brothers in tow. All that was left now, was to wait.
Your Brothers are rocking the Big Brother shirts. How appropriate!
They wheeled me off into the operating room and moved me to the table. Nausea overtook me as they prepared me for your arrival. More needles, more bracelets, more nausea. Your daddy came in a few minutes later and sat by my head. "Ready to start. Bell. Repeat Cesearen. 38 weeks" someone stated. I remember a lot of pushing a tugging and pulling and pressure around my tummy area. I could feel everything that they were doing, although I felt no real pain except pressure. "So, you having a boy or girl?" the nurse asked. I said "She'd better be a girl, or he'll be wearing a lot of pink!". I also remember it taking a long time. Then it happened: "Here she comes!" said one person "I'm calling it 11:36am" and then your cry. Your first cry. "It's a girl!" someone else said. A sigh of relief and then tears... from me this time. The nurse wiped my face for me since my arms were stretched out to my sides. "Congratulations, she's beautiful." He said. I had to take their word for it, since I had yet to see your face. After a few long seconds they brought you around for me to see. I instantly knew that you were mine... you had extremely long toes. Your Daddy and the nurses quickly wisked you away while they finished me up. I don't remember much about what happened next. The nurse told me that he would be giving me something to relax me, and boy he must have because it knocked me out! Here's what happened while I was still in surgery:
You finally got to meet those crazy brothers of yours! They'd been talking to you and poking you for 9 months. They already love you!
The next memory that's clear was in the recovery room about 30 min later. I remember commenting to the nurse about not remembering anything. I then asked her how much you weighed. 7lb 5oz (You Daddy guessed it right on the nose) and 20.5 inches long. Then she asked if I was ready to hold my baby. "Of Course" I said. You and your Daddy came in and they placed you on my chest: "Kangaroo Care" they call it. I was just glad to hold you. After 2 hours in the recovery room, they wheeled us into our room.
Your brothers and grandparents had been to eat and they came back around 3. We visited with them a while before they had to leave.
MawMaw and Granddad had to pack for a Book Fair and BooBoo and PawPaw had to take your tired brothers home for a nap. After that, we had a rest. I was finally able (with a lot of assistance) to get out of bed and walk to the bathroom late that afternoon and it felt good to start feeling normal again. Uncle MW and Aunt Cisgo made it to the hospital around 8:00 after driving 10 hours from St Augustine Florida! They sure were tired!
Sunday brought a very busy day.It was Father's Day, and it's a good thing you came when you did, because I hadn't had a chance to get your Daddy a Father's day gift! You were the perfect one! There weren't many other new mothers in the hospital that weekend, so we got a lot of attention from the nurses and staff. They came and took your hospital pictures that morning, I finally got a shower, and then Sunday afternoon brought more visitors. BooBoo and Pawpaw brought Jayton and Jonah back, Landi and Landon came after church as well as Meredith and Justin. Later that day Aunt Chelle and Becca came by, Bro David and Bonnie. MW and Cisgo came back (I must interject here that your Uncle Nick was sick and unable to come to the hospital to see you, otherwise... he would have been there. And your Uncle Shawn and Aunt Lora had to stay home with the chickens as well as Uncle Jason... except he stayed home with Cody and Levi... not chickens.)along with Cindy and Johnnie. After that Ms Wanda, Kim, Kristen, Kylee, and Ashley stopped by to see you.
That night after everyone had left, we did a little "roaming of the halls" to see if I would be able to go home the next day. It was a slow go and I was still very sore, but I made it several laps around the maternity ward.
Monday morning, after a visit from Dr. Lucy, she said that if I wanted to go home I could and she would fill out the paperwork for me. Technically, I could stay in the hospital until Thursday, but I could go home any time I wanted. We determined that we would just go on home, so we got the appropriate discharge papers and headed out the door with our NEW baby girl! I was still very sore, but I knew that I would feel better at home than I would in the hospital.
That first night at home was very tiring. Thank goodness Jayton and Jonah stayed one more night at your BooBoo's house. It would take a while to get into a nighttime routine with a newborn and 2 preschoolers!
Well little girl, that's it: the story of your birth. Only God knows what the future will hold for you, but I sure am glad he's chosen to give you to us. To see you, hold you, and love you is God's perfect plan. We love you so very much and can't wait to see you grow!
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