Yes, yes, I should have posted long ago. It has been six weeks since my third son flew wildly into this world, and I am just now posting about his beautiful self. In fact, I write quickly as he lies on the floor next to me, already starting to squirm, as big brother Matthew plays with letters and middle brother Augustus snoozes away the afternoon in bed. :) So much has happened and I haven't been faithful to record it and for this, I feel quite bad. Keep on living, I must tell myself. Life goes on and can be enjoyed even if not recorded. I would say I'm super busy but that's not always the case. Sometimes I just need a break, a tv show, a snack, a nap, a shower, etc. etc. etc. I don't always get the opportunity to get on the computer and when I do, I forget to write.
I will quickly recap the last several months to the best of my knowledge, for the memories of before Elijah and shortly after, all deserve to be remembered.
MAY
May 25 we brought the two boys to the Omaha Zoo with Grammy, Grampy, and Grandma. Two months and one day from the arrival of Elijah, I'm feeling pretty worn out and pretty big! It's nice to have the extra hands to help with the boys.
JUNE
Grammy and Grampy come out. With the extra help, Dave and I are able to head to Omaha for our anniversary date! We walk around old market downtown, look through little shops, buy some amazing coffee called tap dancer that I think Dave loves more than Starbucks, and we end our date at Brother Sebastian's steakhouse for a phenomenal meal! I order the crablegs and fillet mignon. It was a wonderful date and time away.
JULY
The same Sunday Grandpa left, Grammy and Grampy arrived. I think they came so early in hopes that Elijah had the same idea, but nope! Day after day, we played with the boys, lots of stories were read, cleaning was done, good meals were made, but baby stayed put! Until...
THE BIG EVENT (six weeks later!)
Dave had the birth planned from the beginning. He wanted to hit the week when he had the maximum time off saved up. Meaning, he wanted me to go into labor on a Thursday night before a nuclear Friday (no work Friday) so that he would have Fri, Sat, Sun, then he'd go back to work Monday and essentially never take any time off. Guess what? The bum won. It happened just like that.
Thursday July 25th, one day after my due date, I had an appointment to have my membranes stripped. Dave, Mom, and I drove up to the doctor appointment in the afternoon (Dave left work in the afternoon) and we saw the doctor. Being we lived over an hour from the hospital, the idea was to have the strip work so that we could be admitted that night and possible be induced if necessary. The doctor stripped my membranes at my 2:15PM appointment. It was ROUGH! She really did A LOT, as she knew I wanted to go into labor on my own! She stripped until the top of my head turned red and then decided to quit. Yeah, never hurt before but this was the worst! Then we drove to the mall and walked around Scheels for a while. Then we got starbucks in Scheels and Mom walked some stores while Dave and I just walked... and walked...and walked... we went to best buy, a shoe store, outside. I just kept trying to move. I felt a little crampy but nothing that ever stayed. If I stopped moving, the pains stopped, just like supposed false labor. I got a call from my Doctor (Dr.Sides, Avery, who just so happens to be a family friend as she married a classmate of mine, so we knew each other prior and had hung out years before at Dave's family branding) she called me at 4PM and told me her afternoon plans, that she was going to go for a run and then to have me meet her at the hospital at 6PM to check me to see if we've progressed. After we walked, we decided to head toward the hospital but first we ate at applebees. I had french onion soup and a salad that really wasn't very good. But the soup was! I was a bit uncomfortable and we were at the bar area so I was standing most the time while leaning on the tall stools. On the way to the hospital from the mall and all through dinner, I was timing my 'contractions' which were all three minutes apart like clockwork. We get to the hospital at about 7PM. The nurse checked me and she said I was only 1.5 cm. I doubted her because at 2PM strip, i was 2 cm and afterwards Dr.Perfilio told me I was now 2.5cm. Dr. Sides finally got in at about 8PM and she checked me and said I was definitely 2.5, maybe 3. I had to be 3CM to be admitted, so she had me walk laps in the maternity ward for an hour. By now, I was walking laps with Dave and every round we'd make I'd have a contraction, some enough that I had to stop walking. I called in my doula Diana just in case. She took over walking laps with me so Dave could take a break. I rounded a corner with Diana and Dave and we walked into Dr.Sides. She asked me how I was feeling. I told her I didn't think it was real and I didn't think I'd go into labor that night. Dave called microtel a mile away because I decided I also didn't want to drive back home. So Dr.Sides said she'd check me again and we could make our decision. She checked me and I was 3cm and she put me on a contraction monitor. As everyone was talking about the plan, the monitor consistently beeped every three minutes and I wasn't doing very good keeping conversation. I kept saying I wanted to go to the hotel so that Mom and Dave could sleep but finally I decided they should go and I should stay in the hospital because I didn't think I could go to sleep at the hotel. After this, Mom and Dave decided they would stay with me. By 11PM I got to my room. They had to ask me a ton of questions and all I wanted to do was get into my hot jetted labor tub. Finally I was able too. Dave had a headache and I was so concerned with him my doula finally told him to go lay down and helped him make his bed so I'd quit worrying about him. My mom I think was out somewhere on a couch or chair reading, trying to give us some space. My awesome mom made me three maternity gowns and the prettiest one for labor, I didn't want to get wet so I took it off, took a hospital gown to cover me while in the tub, we turned the lights off, and I labored in the tub with the doula by my side. My doula put counterpressure on my lower back every single contraction except a few, and trust me! I definitely felt the difference. She was a life saver, so was the tub! Dave's headache was better after a while. He was by my side everytime I needed him. He held my hand a lot. My mom was in and out of the room as well, giving me water, checking on me. My nurse kept wanting me to get in bed to monitor the baby and so every once in a while (every hour?) I would get out of the tub and into the bed, which totally sucked compared to the tub. I tried bouncing on a birth ball and leaning over the bed which helped. Every time, baby was perfect. So every time, I'd head back to my warm heavenly tub. I want to say around 4AM they finally checked me. I was soo mad! I wished they didn't because here I thought I'd be a 7 and I was only a 4! Talk about a let down. So at this point, my endurance and mentality was going way down and I started to beg for drugs, even the risk of an epidural which I know is not possible in my back, but of course, no one listened. Even my nurse, at this point, told me I'd make it and that I didn't need drugs, that they really wouldn't help anyway. I was surprised she was even against it, which actually helped me mentally think I could cope with what I wanted to be as my natural labor, and so I stopped asking. I think by 5, or 5:15 Dr.Sides came in for the first time and wanted to check me again. I think I was at a 7. I remember tapping her on the shoulder next to my bed and telling her to break my water now and let's get this over with. She said "You got it" and we got going. I laid in the bed and I remember someone on a phone with my main doctor (Dr.Sides was the head intern at the hospital, my main doctor was from the clinic at Offutt, the doctor I've been seeing for appointments) and they told her to get here quick. They also called another intern that was supposed to assist. Dr.Sides broke my water and I suddenly hit transition in no time at all. I felt like pushing quicker than I was supposed too. Probably within five minutes of her breaking my water I told her I felt like pushing. She checked me and said I was only at a nine and I'd have to wait, also my cervix was still over the head and if I pushed now I'd risk tearing my cervix. I told her I couldn't help pushing so I tried to breathe through a few. In just another two minutes she told me I was full but the cervix was still over the head so I could push, but she'd have to keep her fingers inside to keep the cervix out of the way. Talk about annoying, distracting, and uncomfortable! But I didn't care, I was done! So I pushed! I think I gave two hard pushes and his head was out. My doula took my hand and reached down so I could touch his head. Once I did that, I was over! I pushed one hard quick push and his body literally flew out so fast Dr.Sides was unprepared but she caught him. Along with his body, about a gallon (half a gallon?) of fluid, blood, etc. also flew out of me and splattered the room, all of the nurses and the large mirror they brought in (that I may have glanced at once if that). It was a three ring circus now because Dr.Sides was unprepared, she caught him, flung him onto my chest, a nurse slid on the liquid, tripped over my IV, ripped it from my arm as the sweet baby boy emptied his bowels all over my stomach and chest. The cord pulsated for a while, clean up crew began, and THEN the doctor who was supposed to deliver me, walked in the door. Baby Elijah was born! Elijah in the Bible flew up into heaven, and so it was, Baby Elijah was named, who flew out of my body in one quick movement. Then Dr.Sides delivered the placenta and they literally dug in me to pull out clots! I nursed him right away and he nursed for forty minutes! They didn't even take him to weigh him until after I got to hold him that long. Dr.Sides and Dr. Masters stitched up my second degree tear. (I pushed so hard and fast without warning that Dr.Sides didn't have a chance to assess the baby's position, which was both shoulders in the wrong position coming out at the same time).The stitching was no fun. My legs kept shaking and I tried to distract myself with the squirmy baby on my chest. After they were done, we made everyone leave the room including my mom, except for the nurses who were weighing baby and doing vitals, so that Dave and I could decide on baby name. We had a few in mind, but after the events that happened and seeing the baby, we decided on Elijah Paul. Clean up, paperwork, then we rested. Mom hung out with us and we took turns cuddling baby until Grampy and the brothers could come see Elijah for the first time. They showed up around 9:30/10AM and we took first family photos. Matthew knew his name already as he was repeating all the way up in the car ride. Gus didn't really care, he just wanted Momma to hold him and then walk around the room. They stayed for a little over half an hour, Daddy took them out to look at a fountain and I nursed again, then Mom rode home with them and Dave and I stayed that day and overnight until the next early afternoon before we went home. He was circumsized the next morning and all went well. Then we went home.
AUGUST
Mom and Dean stayed with us until August 11th I think? I can't even remember anymore! But they were great help with the boys. The boys still ask me where Uncle David and Aunt Jodi are. I tell Matthew they had to go home. But it was nice to see them a couple of days while they stopped through on their road trip.
When Mom and Dean left, Becca, Jourdan and their kids came to visit. We had fun except then our entire family except Elijah caught strep throat halfway through their visit and so it was a huge bummer to have our great friends just sitting at our house, taking care of us, while we were all super sick. I appreciate Becca more than words can describe! She cooked and cleaned and helped with the boys. I am so grateful for their friendship and just wish our visit was smoother.
Ann and Joel came after that and stayed a week. They were also super helpful, Grandpa Joel even folded laundry!
This past week, we drove home to SD because Dave had labor day off, only had to take Tuesday off, because Wed he had off to drive to a meeting in Columbus all day Thursday. So, we went home Friday evening and left the ranch Wednesday to get to Columbus. It was a great visit where we got to see all our relatives and we spent Saturday on the golf course with our dear friends Bo and Joanna. This was the best day I've had since before and after the baby. I was the happiest I've been in a long time. Care free. Grandparents watched the boys and Grammy Grampy watched the baby. We stayed the night with Sis in law Rachel and went to the lake on Sunday. This was such a good visit, aside I got a really bad cold Saturday night! :( I seem to be incapable of being neither, sick, or in pain, or now, emotions are strong with the postpartum thing, but I'm hanging in there, I have more help on the way, more to record, this took an hour to write so I better go! All unedited so forgive me fellow grammatical obsessors! I'll get to it someday! But for now, I just keep on living.
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