Ely's Birth Story

Ely definitely had a mind of his own and surprised us all with his arrival! I went to a regularly scheduled appointment with my midwife at 38 weeks, 4 days. She discovered that I was already 4-5 centimeters dilated and 80% effaced, which pretty much meant that the early stages of labor had already passed me by and I didn't even know it. I hadn't felt any contractions or pain really whatsoever. That afternoon my midwife decided to send us over to the hospital so she could break my water there. We got to the hospital around noon on Thursday and she broke my water around 1:30 p.m. We spent the next 8 hours or so wondering why we were there. I was still not experiencing anything too painful and I probably could have waited most of it out at home! I was dilating though and didn't need to use pitocin or anything else to help progress the labor.

Around 9:30 p.m. on Thursday things started to pick up. My contractions became closer together and became more painful. By 11 p.m. I was at 10 cm and was ready to push. I was having a very difficult time pushing because my contractions were strong, but still spaced pretty far apart so Ely had time to retreat back after each contraction. I pushed in several different positions for three full hours before he was finally born at 2:03 a.m. on Friday morning. We found out the reason I had such a hard time pushing him out is that he had three major factors working against me: he was face up (face down is easier), he had the cord around his neck, and he had BOTH HANDS OVER HIS FACE! That meant that I had to push out his big head and elbows all at the same time! But I was able to do it - and without using any drugs of any kind. I was so proud of myself that I was able to give him the best start possible and power through it all. Greg was the best coach in the world, just like I knew he would be.

Ely was 7lb. 4oz. and 19.75 inches long. He has a head full of dark hair, just like his mom. The nurses also remarked about his well developed muscle tone - he can already push his head up at only 5 days old, and when we have "tummy time" he looks like if he had a little more coordination, he could probably crawl. Looks like dad's athleticism was passed on! His hands and feet are also very big - Great-Grandpa Mitchell's hands, and Grandpa Steve's big feet!

He has given us quite a scare though. Because I spent so long in labor, he had some jaundice while in the hospital and had to spend time under bili-lights - like a tanning bed that helps his liver process the extra red blood cells. They are supposed to go down as he got a few days older and his liver caught up, but instead they spiked when he was 4 days old. We've had to go back to the hospital and have outpatient blood tests done for the last 2 days. We got good news yesterday though and found out that his levels are now safe and he should get over the jaundice on his own in the next few days. We've had to supplement with formula because one of the ways to help cure jaundice is to basically force feed him so he clears his system on his own. My milk production has been poor anyway, mainly because of all the stress I've experienced in the past week. I hate giving him a bottle and especially formula because breastfeeding was so important to me, but he needs to eat! And after this condition passes, he may be able to go back to breastfeeding again since I am pumping to keep what little milk supply I have.

Here are a few pictures, but I'm sure there will be more to follow!

For all you Simpson's fans...This is his funny "Mr. Burns Face" since he is clasping his hands and seems to be saying "Excellent..."