Birth Story (Part 2- Epidural = Sweet, Sweet Relief!)

Birth Story: Part 2

After walking the aisles for over an hour, it was time for my epidural...my sweet, sweet epidural!A lot of women are nervous about the needle or the pain associated with an epidural, but I wasn't really nervous about it at all. From being admitted to right before the epidural, I had dilated another 2 centimeters (wow and ouch!); I was just so happy to get some relief from the contractions!

After getting the epidural around 5:15am, it was pretty much a non-eventful morning. I was feeling pretty good and it was time for Chad and I to take a nap. We were very much regretting staying up to watch that movie the night before! Luckily for us, Eisley decided she was going to wait quite a while before making her debut. So we had plenty of time to sleep, watch movies (thanks to Chad for loading a ton on my iPad), and spend the last minutes and hours cherishing each other as a family of two.

Dr. Weisberger got to the hospital around noon. She decided to break my water to help gets things started. WOW! I was amazed at how the shape of my belly changed after she broke my water. It was amazing how much water was actually in my belly! She also gave me some Pitocin to give my contractions a kick-start...and boy, oh boy, did the Pitocin work!

(to be continued...)

Birth Story (Part 1- Holy Contractions, Batman!)

On Saturday night (Oct 19th) I started to feel a bit crampy but really thought nothing of it. I was told, by multiple people, that I would KNOW I was having contractions and these little "cramps" didn't cause any serious alarm on my part. So, Chad and I decided to stay up late to watch a movie and headed to bed around midnight.

Around 2:30am, I woke up with a startle. I was having contractions and I KNEW it (Jen and Alisa- you were SO right!)! I woke Chad up and had him start timing. I was having contractions every 3-5 minutes, so we decided to call the doctor; she told us to head to the hospital.

We arrived at the hospital around 3:45am, parked the car, and headed to labor and delivery on the 9th floor. I don't know if you've ever been to the hospital in the middle of the night (I hope you haven't!), but it's pretty much the creepiest place on Earth. The hallways were both dark and empty...pretty much the beginnings of a creepy zombie movie.

I got checked in, put on a glamorous couture (HA!) hospital gown and started to walk the hallways. I couldn't get the epidural quite then, so I had to walk the hallways for about an hour. Let me tell you...it was the longest hour of my life! Chad was amazing; he held my hand, talked me through each contraction, and pretty much kept me from "hulking out" on the kind little nurse who kept telling me to wait "just a little bit longer."

(to be continued)...

 

There is NO traffic this early in the morning! 

 

Oh Chad...

 

This is my contraction face...and my lovely outfit...haha!

I loved this sign! hilarious!

 

Look how young and naive we are...we have NO idea just how much our lives are about to change!

Walking the halls...

Boys Trip

Our good friend, Tyler, surprised Chad with tickets to a Chicago Bears game at Soldier Field! This was both a birthday gift and a "last-hoorah" gift before Eisley was born. Instead of driving up and back just for the game, Chad and Tyler decided to make it a "man trip" and stay in Chi-town for the weekend!

Our great friend, Michele, let the guys stay at her place while they were in the city! She actually let them take over her apartment for the weekend so they wouldn't have to pay for a place to stay in the city! Needless to say, she is awesome!

Here are a few pics from their trip:

Eisley's Nursery- FINISHED!

We finally got the last piece of Eisley's nursery put into place! It took us forever to find a glider/recliner we liked, but we were finally successful! Thank you Macys for "celebrating" Columbus Day with a big sale! :-) 

What once was a plain, simple guest room has turned into the most adorable room for our little girl. We are so excited to be done with the room, but even more excited to actually see Eisley girl IN her room!! 

Here are the pics from the finished room: 

This cute picture frame was made for us by some of the staff at Longbranch Elementary! What great people! 

These stripes were the most difficult part of the nursery! Chad and I spent a whole day on this wall, but we are SO happy with the results!! 

Our friend, Alisa, suggested storing Eisley's clothes in labeled bins to keep them organized and to help keep the closet and dresser open for the clothes she will be currently wearing. Thanks for the tip!! 

Saw this idea on Etsy and recreated it!  Chad and I LOVE this quote!

Book shelf idea from Pinterest! We got the shelves from IKEA and the books from family and friends! I can't wait to read to my little girl! 

I love this picture frame and picture of Chad! He is going to be such a great daddy!