Eli's birth story:
On Monday, 12/19/11, the first official day of winter break from school (impeccable timing on the little man's part) I found myself being super productive. I vacuumed, changed sheets on the guest bed, did laundry, ran errands, and wrapped all of my gifts. While wrapping, around 4:30 in the afternoon, I started to feel really uncomfortable. I knew I was feeling contractions, but nothing seemed measurable so I figured they were just Braxton Hixs.
However, by 5:30, I was super uncomfortable so I called Scott at work to let him know that something was not right. By the time he got home at 7:30, I was contracting like crazy, but still, they didn't seem to have a steady measure (they were between 5 and 8 minutes apart). We made dinner, relaxed, continued to count just to be sure and convinced ourselves that nothing would happen that night.
We got into bed around 10:00 and as I rolled over to go to sleep... bam... my water broke! We called the doctor on call and were excited to find that it was Dr. Rinala, one of our favorites. She sent us ahead to the hospital. On the way to the hospital my contractions started coming every 3 minutes and were super strong.
Once in triage, I was contracting, getting sick, and decided fairly quickly that I was getting the epidural. Scott was right there with me, rubbing my back, talking me through each contraction, staying incredibly calm, and loving me. I don't know how I would have gotten through that hour without him.
Finally, they took me up to a lovely room in the labor and delivery wing where, after the longest hour of my life in triage, I got an epidural. However, at that point I had gone from 2cm dilated to 8 cm dilated in only 20 minutes and my contractions were coming too fast. This caused Eli's heart-rate to drop dramatically. He should have been around 130 and he was at 70. They thought for a minute that I might need a c-section if they couldn't get it under control. They gave me meds to slow my contractions and soon his heart-rate was normal.
Next came the waiting game... and we waited. Scott had made a fabulous 14 hour mix on his iPod of our favorite chill music. /the lights were dim and he was by my side. The epidural caused me to have the shakes so he rubbed me and talked to me. Our moms and my dad were there too, anxiously awaiting Eli.
At around 4:15, the nurse emptied the room of everyone but Scott and I. She sat me up to help with my last cm of dilation and together Scott and I took a 45 minute nap... the last for quite a while. When the nurse and Dr. Rinala came back, it was go time. Scott and I had agreed that he would stay up by my head and coach me through it all. However, when the time came, we were surprised to learn that the birthing team was our nurse, Danielle, Dr. Rinala, and Scott. Dr. Rinala told him to grab my right leg. He was right in the thick of things.
An hour and a half went by, Scott and Danielle holding my legs, music continuing to play, and all three of them coaching me. Once again, I don't know what I would have done without Scott there. Felling him holding me and hearing him talk to me and tell me I could do it was wonderful. Then, after that hour and a half of exhausting pushing, I heard the most wonderful sound I could ever imagine... the crying of our miracle Eli.
Of course, after holding him, I told Scott to leave me and go check on the baby... how many fingers, how many toes, does he look alright? Scott told me he was perfect (while secretly thinking, Oh my God, he has a cone head!). After getting stitched up, I got to hold my baby in my arms, feel him skin to skin, and the three of us, Scott, Eli, and myself, officially started our new life together.
Fast forward... two days in the hospital, fairly uncomfortable, crowded, exhausted and ready to go home... our wish came true and we came home on Thursday afternoon. We were greeted by decorations from Caitlin and of course, Jack. Now our family was complete.
Jack was totally confused and a little freaked out at first. He wasn't sure what Eli was and why he was in our house. However, over the next few days, he really got used to him and now he LOVES him. He sits with us when we feed, checks on Eli when he cries, and of course finds dirty clothes and burp cloths delicious to lick.
While Scott and I are definitely tired, overwhelmed, and always learning, we have been so blessed to be surrounded by helpful and loving family and friends. Everyone has been so great and we are so appreciative. I cannot wait for this new life of the Fullen Family to continue to unfold and to see what it brings. I'll be home from work until April so I have lots of time to learn and figure things out! Stay posted for entries and I'll do my best to keep on top of things.
Enjoy some pics of Eli's week 1 journey!
I'm a week old!
Enjoying a popsicle. 
Grandparents gather around. 
Brand new baby Eli! 
Look at me... celebrating Christmas night. I'm wide awake looking for Santa.
