Alan and I welcomed our son, Eli, into the world on April 16, 2011 at 6:35am and as our lives are now changed forever, we couldn't be happier to have such a beautiful and healthy boy added to our family. We will use this blog to record our experiences learning to be parents and to track Eli's development both of which will largely begin in Africa when we return in a few months.
But before we begin to document these things, we thought it might be good to start with Eli's entry into the world. This was an incredible experience for both of us and something we want to try to remember all the details of...yes, even the painful ones because those moments were really the most amazing when I reflect back on them. I had no idea what my body was capable of nor my mind because really the two had to work equally hard to get through the labor and delivery. I had my mind set on a natural delivery meaning I did not want to use drugs either for pain or to induce labor if I could avoid it (although I knew in my head that there was a possibility either for safety reasons for the baby or because I would need relief from the pain, that I would change my mind). It was in no way easy or pretty and in many ways I think it was a very primal experience in which I had to let go of any control I may have wanted over the situation and just let my instincts take over. When I reflect on the most challenging parts of the delivery, I feel that I must have turned into someone I would not recognize now. And there were moments when I wanted to give up and simply thought there was no way I could carry on, but with the help of Alan and my doula and the nursing staff, I continued and am so happy I did!
The night before going into labor, Alan and I decided we'd make sure to get in a nice dinner out before our family of two became a family of three so we took some quick pictures in our back yard and headed out to one of our favorite restaurants in Athens. I had already starting having mild contractions but stayed like that until the next afternoon.
When the contractions started to get more regular and more painful, our doula came over to the house and she was instrumental in helping us stay home laboring as long as possible before going to the hospital.
We walked up and down my driveway having contractions along the way as Alan timed them.
Around 9pm, the contractions were more regular and more uncomfortable so we decided to check into the hospital.
We got settled in our room and spent the next 10 hours going from 5cm to 10cm which we did not document with pictures (we were a little preoccupied!) but it basically consisted of me standing or sitting in the shower for hours, as this was one of the only ways I got relief from the contractions. They were definitely intense but I felt more and more capable of managing them over the hours. In between stints in the shower, the doula and Alan would walk with me up and down the hallways in the hospital, or they'd rub my sore back or just let me lean on them as I focused on my breathing. Eventually after numerous checks by the nurse, we discovered that my water had in fact not broken yet so the doctor manually broke my water which really progressed my labor to another level. The next two hours were the most intense I've experienced in my whole life. The breathing and shower were no longer helping me and I had to pull on physical and mental resources I wasn't sure I had to manage the pain and not give up. Finally, I got to push which I did for about an hour. And although the pain was definitely still there, if felt amazing to know that any second I'd get to meet our baby. And eventually, little Eli made his big entrance and we were completely overwhelmed with this moment when we got to see this guy for the first time. He went right on my chest where he stayed for a while as we just stared in wonder at him. The little guy then got his first try at breast feeding which he did surprisingly well with.
Alan got to cut his cord (well, sort of...the doctor had to cut the cord when he came out because he was all twisted but Alan "trimmed" it later) and then got to go to the nursery with Eli to help the nurses give him his first bath.
Now we've made it home and are spending time with Eli and his grandparents and we're all learning to adjust to less sleep but way more joy!
But before we begin to document these things, we thought it might be good to start with Eli's entry into the world. This was an incredible experience for both of us and something we want to try to remember all the details of...yes, even the painful ones because those moments were really the most amazing when I reflect back on them. I had no idea what my body was capable of nor my mind because really the two had to work equally hard to get through the labor and delivery. I had my mind set on a natural delivery meaning I did not want to use drugs either for pain or to induce labor if I could avoid it (although I knew in my head that there was a possibility either for safety reasons for the baby or because I would need relief from the pain, that I would change my mind). It was in no way easy or pretty and in many ways I think it was a very primal experience in which I had to let go of any control I may have wanted over the situation and just let my instincts take over. When I reflect on the most challenging parts of the delivery, I feel that I must have turned into someone I would not recognize now. And there were moments when I wanted to give up and simply thought there was no way I could carry on, but with the help of Alan and my doula and the nursing staff, I continued and am so happy I did!
The night before going into labor, Alan and I decided we'd make sure to get in a nice dinner out before our family of two became a family of three so we took some quick pictures in our back yard and headed out to one of our favorite restaurants in Athens. I had already starting having mild contractions but stayed like that until the next afternoon.
When the contractions started to get more regular and more painful, our doula came over to the house and she was instrumental in helping us stay home laboring as long as possible before going to the hospital.
We walked up and down my driveway having contractions along the way as Alan timed them.
Around 9pm, the contractions were more regular and more uncomfortable so we decided to check into the hospital.
We got settled in our room and spent the next 10 hours going from 5cm to 10cm which we did not document with pictures (we were a little preoccupied!) but it basically consisted of me standing or sitting in the shower for hours, as this was one of the only ways I got relief from the contractions. They were definitely intense but I felt more and more capable of managing them over the hours. In between stints in the shower, the doula and Alan would walk with me up and down the hallways in the hospital, or they'd rub my sore back or just let me lean on them as I focused on my breathing. Eventually after numerous checks by the nurse, we discovered that my water had in fact not broken yet so the doctor manually broke my water which really progressed my labor to another level. The next two hours were the most intense I've experienced in my whole life. The breathing and shower were no longer helping me and I had to pull on physical and mental resources I wasn't sure I had to manage the pain and not give up. Finally, I got to push which I did for about an hour. And although the pain was definitely still there, if felt amazing to know that any second I'd get to meet our baby. And eventually, little Eli made his big entrance and we were completely overwhelmed with this moment when we got to see this guy for the first time. He went right on my chest where he stayed for a while as we just stared in wonder at him. The little guy then got his first try at breast feeding which he did surprisingly well with.
Alan got to cut his cord (well, sort of...the doctor had to cut the cord when he came out because he was all twisted but Alan "trimmed" it later) and then got to go to the nursery with Eli to help the nurses give him his first bath.
Now we've made it home and are spending time with Eli and his grandparents and we're all learning to adjust to less sleep but way more joy!
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