First few days

Since we have been home on Wed. afternoon, the first few days have been going by pretty well so far :) . A few rough nights but one really good night so we are hoping for a repeat performance very soon! Overall, Elias is doing very well with breast feeding and on Monday we go back to the pediatrician to check that he is gaining weight appropriately. I think this appointment should go well since he is eating very regularly and seems to be passing enough dirty/wet diapers which means he is in good health.

We have learned lots of things he doesn't like so far and things he does like. He loves to be swaddled but can't stand his arms in the swaddle anymore. He HATES to have his diaper changed because that means he is cold! The other thing is that he really likes to be quite during the day and at night he has a period of time where he is a bit out of control, it doesn't last too long but you have to try just about everything to get him to stop fussing...my sister used to call this the "witching hour" with her first little one so we are hoping that this goes away in time.

I can't help but look at out little man, it is amazing to have him here and we just love him so much! Adam is a really great Dad too, he helps out everywhere possible with exception to the breast feeding of course! But if I need him to change the baby in the middle of the night or soothe the baby when I have done all I can he jumps right in.

Things should get a bit easier with feeding Elias around the 2-3 week mark I plan on introducing the bottle because I am going to start pumping my breast milk. I think it will be nice to have the option to have Adam feed the baby especially in the middle of the night.

So there you have it, that is our 4 day wrap up so far, we are learning allot with this process of being new parents and every day should get better as we learn what works and doesn't work.

Hope you all enjoyed the pictures !

We are home!

Hi Everyone,

I feel like I have so much to catch up since my last update. First things first....Elias John is here! He is a healthy little boy, he weighed in at 7lbs. 12.3 ounces & is 21.5 inches long. We couldn't be more happier with our little guy and he was worth all the work to get out!

After my last post on Friday about being induced mother nature took over on its own it seems...Saturday I woke up not feeling well at all, I attributed my feeling strange to the extreme humidity we were experiencing here in CT. About 12:30 in the afternoon I started to have some back pain on top of feeling crampy and by 3pm Adam and I figured going for a swim in his parents pool might make me feel better. We then decided to go to dinner & the movies. On the way to dinner at 6pm I started to feel my back pain intensify & while eating dinner I decided to time what was going on. I thought I would have contractions I could feel in my belly so I wasn't sure what was going on.

After calling my sister who has been through back labor she verified what I was feeling was labor. I was so upset because back labor was not what I wanted at all. We skipped the movies obviously & went home right away. I called my doctor when we got home and told her how I had been feeling all day & she advised me to come into the hospital and get checked out.

We got to the hospital by 9pm on Saturday night and they decided to keep me because I was inf fact having contractions & my cervix had soften almost completely on its own. I was only 1cm dilated at this time & the hope was that staying overnight controlling my pain would give me some quality sleep so that they could start the induction process a day earlier.

On Sunday morning the Pitocin drip started at 7am & my doctor came in to check me at 9am but I was only 2 cm dilated by that point. My pain started to increase dramatically by this time with every contraction and by 12noon I was buckled over shaking in pain looking for my epidural. My dilation was moving slower than molasses, but I was making some progress so they gave me my epidural and THANK GOD for that. I was able to manage my pain and I got some rest while the dilation process was still going on. By 3pm I was only @ 5cm dilated and feeling really discouraged. My contractions started to get too close and the baby's heart rate was doing ok but not great. They slowed the Pitocin drip to get things under control & it took until 7pm for them to safely start increasing the Pitocin drip again.

It was a rough day, when I was finally fully dilated & able to start pushing it was 10:30pm! UGH..... Honestly, this was the longest and hardest thing I have every been through and I still had all my work ahead of me. The doctor had determined I was having not only having a crappy back labor experience but Elias was "sunny side up" - meaning face up. She quickly told me that was not the best way to try to deliver a baby on top of back labor. She explained my options after an hour & half of pushing with little progress (forceps/vacuum/possible c-section if the baby's heart rate kept dropping). I was convinced I could do it if I could get my epidural topped off more. After I got topped at midnight I was in fact moving along and making some progress.

Thank god my doctor was patient with me, I had to have oxygen on in between contractions to help the baby's heart rate but I avoided having a c-section and other means of intervention. I ended up pushing out our "sunny side up" baby after 3.5 LONG HOURS.

To be honest I felt cheated a bit, all the work I had done trying to keep fit during this pregnancy just didn't hold up when I needed it. All the nurses & doctor told me the exact opposite but I still felt like why couldn't I have pushed Elias out sooner? The doctor reassured me if I wasn't as fit as I was I would have ended up in a c-section and she said I really impressed her and the nurses. It was a very involved labor with lots of things against me but I did it.

Looking at Elias for the first time was the best feeling for Adam and I. I could have run 2 marathons in a row and not felt as drained as this process but it was something I had to get through and I did it. Elias is such a joy to have and honestly we can't stop looking at our little man, he is just the best. We have lots of new experiences to go through and learn but we are excited to do it together as a family :)