Eleanor has arrived!

Eleanor,

Below is the story of your birth...

40 weeks and 6 days. It was a Monday. Mommy had hoped to work up until the day you were born, but I became pretty uncomfortable for the last few days of pregnancy, so I spent the day getting rested up for your arrival. I picked up your big sister at school at 4:00 so we could have some time to play together one last time before bringing you home for good! Daddy came home from work and went out to shovel snow- it had been snowing all day and there were about 2" on the driveway. Grandpa Bob and Grandma Suzie came over to watch Ruby while we were at the hospital with you. Mommy and daddy gave Ruby a quick bath and got her ready for bed before we left.

Family of three for the last time!

We checked into Mercy Hospital at 8:00 PM to be induced. You had no interest in leaving the comfort of mommy's tummy. We got settled into our room and I changed into my hospital gown. I was so excited to meet you that I immediately started out as a bad patient... the nurse gave me a cup to pee in, and instead I went into the bathroom and emptied all of my pee without putting any in the cup! I just had to laugh about it- it was the last time I could blame my mishaps on "baby brain"! After that, I climbed into bed and we waiting to get started... and waited... and waited. Daddy watched the GOP Presidential debate on TV, but that of course could put me to sleep (except I was too excited to sleep).

Finally, at 9:30, the nurse administered the first dose of Cytotec to get things going. I began feeling contractions, but nothing real significant yet. The biggest problem was that I had drank so much water throughout the day that I had to pee every hour! That makes for a long night- especially when you're hooked up to blood pressure cuffs and heart monitors! We hoped and prayed that the Cytotec would take effect and I would be dilated by 12:30 AM. I also took some sleeping pills, thinking that if I had any shot at sleeping throughout the night, now was the time! My contractions began getting stronger so I thought for sure we'd see progress. I was so tired from the sleeping pills that your daddy said I looked like I was drunk. How frustrating it was that I was so tired and had drugs in me to make me sleep, but I couldn't sleep a wink since I was having contractions every 3-4 minutes! When the nurse checked me at 12:30, I was barely dilated to a 2. Darn! At about 1:00, I was given an IV to begin the antibiotic that is required since I tested positive for Group B Strep. I would need to be on this drip for at least four hours before you were born in order to pass along the antibodies to you. I sat on the stability ball for the next hour to try to get you to drop further into the birthing canal. During this time, my contractions continued to get stronger and stronger. I was checked again at 1:30 and still, no progress. I was extremely discouraged that I had been having these painful contractions but without effect. At 2:30 it was decided that I would receive Pitocin, since my contractions were less than 5 minutes apart. She started the drip and the drug kicked my butt. The contractions were so bad, I was pretty sure I wasn't going to survive. At 3:15, I was dilated to almost a 3 (yay, progress!) I asked if I could have an epidural at that point. The nurse consulted with the doctor who came back with her to break my water first. My water was broke around 4:00, which meant even more painful contractions. At 4:30 the anesthesiologist came in to do my epidural. I recall him introducing himself and me saying, "hi. I love you."

By the time the epidural was administered, I felt a lot of pressure. As the anesthesiologist was packing up his equipment he commented, "well, this wouldn't be the first time it happened right away for me!" As he walked out of the room, your daddy went to use the bathroom, and I had so much pressure that I more forcefully told the nurse, "Sheryl! You have to check me. I have a lot of pressure and I need to push!" She thought it might be the real deal so she was moving things around the room in preparation for delivery as I laid in bed trying my hardest not to push. She called for the doctor who took forever to arrive. Because when my water was broke, it was full of meconium (your poop), we had to have a special person in the room to take care of you in case you didn't cry right away. In cases where there's meconium in there, they don't stimulate babies after birth because they don't want them to inhale the poopy. So, there were three nurses in the room but no doctor. My nurse asked me to give one "test push" and you almost came out! At my next contraction, the doctor walked in the door and as she sat down to put her second glove on, out popped your head. One more push and you were born. It was 4:56 AM and you cried right away... no poopy meconium worries for you! However, you were completely full of meconium- in your ears and everything! It took quite a long time for the nurses to get you cleaned up.

You weighed 8 lbs, 1 oz and were 21 inches long... exactly the same as your sister! Your head measured at 14 1/4, which the doctor said is a pretty big head. We said it means lots of brains. Your chest measured 13 1/2 and your first APGAR score was 8; the second was a 9. Mommy is pretty proud.

We spent the next several hours admiring your beauty. You looked so much like Ruby, yet had many of your own features. I was able to move fairly soon after you were born, since the epidural never took effect. This was nice because I could then shower up and feel good before we switched rooms. We were moved into a newly remodeled suite, which is where we would spend the next 48 hours. Yup. 48 hours. Because you came out so fast, we ended up being 10 minutes short for the required 4-hour antibiotic for Group B Strep. Therefore, you were required to have a longer hospital stay.

You had your own bath, too. You especially enjoyed having your hair washed... but what girl doesn't, right?!

All cleaned up and content, you looked like an angel.

We just loved you instantly and took turns passing you back and forth throughout the day. We knew that we were going to name you Eleanor but hadn't decided on a middle name. We tossed around a few ideas, but none of them really "worked". We still love the name Grace and thought it would be pretty cool for you and your sister to have the same middle name. Eleanor Grace Engquist. What a pretty name!

That evening, daddy picked up Ruby at school and brought her to meet you. She asked to hold you almost right away. I'm pretty sure it was love at first sight.

Ruby's teachers celebrated your birth by making Ruby a crown that said, "I'm a Big Sister!"

We got you all dolled up for your visitors. In addition to your sister, Grandma Therese, Grandpa Bob and Grandma Suzie all stopped by to meet you. You wore a very special hat that was crocheted by your great grandma Carol.

The next day, it was just you, me and daddy at the hospital. We walked around the birthing unit (we even set off some alarms- there's a new security system that required you to wear a band around your ankle. If we went near the elevators or an exit, it would set off the alarms. We set off two during our walks. Oops.), read books and tried to catch up on some sleep. Daddy left at about 2:30 to go to work for a little while and to pick up Ruby. You and I spent the alone time reading and singing songs.

When Ruby got to the hospital, she wanted nothing more than to hold you and look at you. We took a walk to look at the fish down the hallway and hung out in our room. It was wonderful to have some family time- just the four of us!