Ella's Birth Story (Part 1)

It all began on Tuesday, March 15th. I had a miserable day at work feeling uncomfortable and so desperate to go into labor or SOMETHING to prompt Ella's arrival. I had a doctor's appointment right after work and while I wanted everything to be just fine with Ella, I was secretly hoping for some reason to deliver her early. I was growing more and more worried that something could happen to her before the c-section planned for that Friday. I made it very clear to my doctor that I did not want an amniocentesis. I believed it to be an unnecessary risk, but the hospital usually requires it prior to 38 weeks. My doctor was able to avoid the amnio by waiting until the last minute to schedule the c-section. She asked me if I minded if the c-section was Thursday or Friday and I said either one was fine with me. Later in the day she sent me a text saying we were to be at the hospital at 5:30am on Thursday and the c-section would be at 7:30am. So we got ready for a St. Patrick's Day baby! Wednesday was the longest day ever but I knew that Ella would be in our arms soon. We finished packing our bags Wednesday night and then neither of us were able to sleep a wink. We arrived at the hospital on Thursday morning, excited about the big day ahead. Our pastor showed up early with us to pray with us before we would go back for surgery. They got my IV started, took some blood, and gave David his scrubs for the OR.


David got the Flip camera ready and we headed down to the OR at 7:30. We walked down the hall and there was the little chair for David...the chair that dads have to wait in while moms get prepared for surgery. The same chair David sat in before Ethan's and Noah's births. I gave him a kiss and went with the nurse to the OR. They sat me up on the table to prepare me for my spinal. The anesthesiologist asked me several questions and then I shared with her that I had Factor V Leiden and had been off of the Lovenox for over 24 hours (as I was told by my OB). She then asked me if they had done the PT, PTT blood test. I told her I didn't think so, but they did take some blood earlier. She said that it was absolutely necessary to have this blood test done to check the coagulation of my blood before she could proceed with a spinal (it could paralyze me if my blood was too thin and/or I could bleed to death). So they sent me out of the OR and back to my room to wait for another blood test. 45 minutes later they came back in with the results. They said my blood was still too thin and that the c-section had to be postponed for Friday morning. At that time they would do another blood test to make sure my blood was where it needed to be. To say I was disappointed is an understatement. I started crying and was overwhelmed with a sense of dread. What if something happened to Ella between then and Friday? Irrational, I know. i was also upset that my grandad had driven all the way from Montgomery, AL at 3:30am to be there and now he would miss her arrival on Friday as he had to go back home. I only cried for about 20 minutes and then I just accepted it. I would spend the rest of the day just trying to enjoy my last day being pregnant with her. They decided to keep me at the hospital for the night.

David and I woke up Friday morning, ready to meet our daughter...
(to be continued)

Ella's First Photo Shoot

I'm busy loving on this little girl and haven't had time to write out her birth story. I promise, I will get to it very soon. For now, I'll leave you with pictures from my first photo shoot with Ella!

More pics of our sweet girl

Ella Jane - 1 Day Old

More pics and birth story to come!

Ella Jane is here!!!!!!!!

We are so in love. Ella Jane arrived at 9:57am weighing in at a whopping 8lbs, 15oz. and 19" long. She is so beautiful and we are in awe! All we kept saying was, "thank you, Jesus, thank you" when we heard her first cries. I promise pics will come soon! For now, we are just spending time cuddling with our girl.

Postponed and Disappointed

We were so ready. We arrived at the hospital at 5:30 this morning. They put me in a room, took some blood, put my IV in and wheeled me down to the OR at 7:30. The anesthesiologist asked me a few questions and when I told her about the Factor V Leiden and that I took my last Lovenox injection Tuesday night, she said they would need to do a blood test to see if my blood was coagulating before she could do the spinal. Forty-five minutes later they came in and told me that my blood was still too thin and it was too dangerous to do the c-section today. So we have been rescheduled for tomorrow morning. They are keeping me at the hospital tonight to keep an eye on Ella. I am extremely disappointed and honestly, just super impatient to have Ella here in my arms. So we wait some more. I guess she really wanted her birthday to be March 18th, not the 17th. She doesn't want to share with St. Patrick. :o)

We will hopefully have some wonderful pictures to share with you tomorrow. In the meantime, pray that I get some rest (I slept NONE at all last night). I'm pretty exhausted physically and emotionally right now.

Our Rainbow Baby Arrives Today!

Sweet Ella Jane will be in our arms in a matter of hours. I can't believe it. The day is finally here. We will post pictures as soon as we can. Please be in prayer for us this morning. C-section is at 7:30. I didn't sleep a wink, but I'm too excited to be sleepy.

We love you so much, sweet girl! Your mommy and daddy can't wait to hold you!!!!!!!!!!!

Impatiently Waiting

UPDATE: My doctor's appointment went great and Ella is doing very well. Her heartbeat was on the lower side (120's) so Dr. D went ahead and put me on the NST. She had great accelerations and everything looked great. Dr. D had not yet scheduled my c-section, so she asked if I preferred Thursday or Friday. I told her either day was fine. She texted me later and said to be at the hospital at 5:30 Thursday morning and the c-section is scheduled for 7:30. So it looks like we are having a St. Patty's Day baby!!! I am a little bummed however that my favorite nurse (Amy) who was with us when we had Noah will not be able to be there on Thursday. She will be there Friday, but I'm sad she won't be able to be there with us during the surgery. :o( My bro and sis-in-law will also not be able to be there because of work and other obligations that they absolutely can't get out of, so they are a little bummed too, but I know we will have the rest of our lives to all enjoy Ella together. Please be in prayer for us on Thursday morning!


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Original Post...
I can see that several of you are checking in on me a few times a day. Sorry! I guess an update would be nice. Ella is set to arrive via c-section this Friday. We will have internet at the hospital, so I promise we will update with pics as soon as we can! At my last doctor's appointment my blood pressure was a little higher than it has been the whole pregnancy. Not high, just higher. I also had a little protein in my urine. I go back to the doctor today and if either my BP or the protein has gone up, they may consider delivering today or tomorrow, but that's unlikely. Most likely our baby girl won't arrive until Friday afternoon sometime. Can I just say that I have never been more impatient for something than I am about her arrival? I'm very anxious and trying to just give it over to the Lord (every hour!!!). She's moving a lot today which comforts me. I just want her here while I know she is developed and thriving!!! Speaking of thriving, the ultrasound tech at my high risk doc estimates that Ella is about 8lbs, 9oz. WOAH! Keep in mind that I'm only 37 weeks and 2 days! Ethan came on his due date and he was 8lbs, 3oz. She would probably be a 10-pounder if we had to wait until 40 weeks to deliver! I must admit that I'm a little sad that she won't be a tiny baby when she arrives. She's ALREADY growing up too fast!

I had a breakdown yesterday. It's a mix of hormones, tired of being pregnant, anxious for her to arrive safely, and being just plain exhausted. Fear had a grip on me yesterday. I had all these thoughts of the thousands of different scenarios that could happen between now and Friday and I just became overwhelmed. Since I lost Noah, I've heard from countless women about how they lost their child. It really is unbelievable how many different things can go wrong in a pregnancy...even at the end. Usually grief follows fear. I started thinking about Noah and missing him so much. I ache to have him in my arms while I also desperately ache to have Ella in my arms. It's strange that in just a few days we will walk through the same doors of that hospital where we left empty-handed and broken-hearted just 20 months ago. I'm praying that God is writing a whole different story for us this time. I want that place of heartache and sadness to be filled to the brim with joy and love for a little girl. A little girl that is here because of her brother.

It won't be long now. These last few days are definitely dragging by. I know she will be here soon. For now, we just have to wait.

Baby Shower and the wait

My sweet sister-in-law, Esther along with 3 of my dear friends (Sandra, Angela, & Trista) threw me a baby shower at my church last weekend. It was so much fun and wait until you see the pics below of how they blessed us with so much girly stuff! The decorations, the food, the cake, the friends...everything was just perfect!

The hostesses....

All the guests (minus a few who had to leave early)...
thank you to friends who drove from across state and from out of state to be there!!!
Love you girls!!!

The BEAUTIFUL cake, made by my friend, Trista Ross at http://www.sugarandspicesweets.blogspot.com/

The cookie favors (also made by Trista)

Diaper Cake made by Sandra

Isn't this the cutest? Ella was spoiled with all these clothes by her Aunt Es!

Ethan being silly...

Ethan wanted to help open all of Ella's gifts

The loot...

Thank you everyone for the beautiful shower and all the cute (and useful) gifts!!! It was so great to see some dear friends and it was such a special day.


We are in the final stretch...13 days to go (Ethan continues to remind us). Yesterday was kind of crazy. My day was filled with LOTS of contractions and I started to wonder if Miss Ella would make an early appearance. I swapped texts with my doctor, left work early, rushed home to finish packing my bag, ate lunch, then sat down and drank a glass of water. Then they stopped. As much as I am anxious for her to be here, I DO NOT want her to end up in the NICU, so it would be good if she could hang in there at least another week (or 2!). I'll be 36 weeks tomorrow and the plan is still to have the c-section on March 18th...but like I've said before, Ella may have other plans!

Today was the first Saturday in FOREVER that we had no plans at all. No birthday parties, no weddings, no baby showers, no church activities, NOTHING! And it was so nice! So I did what all mothers do at this stage in the game. NESTING! I gave David a list of chores and we are now relaxing after a long day of cleaning and preparing for Ella. We bought her car seat today, David put up the bassinet in our room and we set up the Pack n Play in the living room. They are all set up and waiting for her cute little self...

And her room has become my favorite room in the house...

13 MORE DAYS!!!