"JP" James Paul Elliott was born June 26 @ 5:40 pm. He weighed 7 lbs. 10 oz. and was 21 inches long.
It all started on the 24th when I began to go into early labor. Finally my body was starting to do something, seeing as his due date was the 19th.
We ended up going to labor and delivery the night of the 24th because I was bleeding. We were there for about 2 hours only to find out I wasn't even dialated yet. So frustrating!!
The doctor had scheduled us to be induced on the 26th around 6 am but the night of the 25th my contractions were getting stronger and were 5 minutes or less apart. After a few hours of debating about going in I rememberd the Dr. saying if they were 5 minutes apart for an hour then I needed to go into labor and delivery...So at 1 in the morning we decided, better safe than sorry!
And once again after a couple of hours we were told I was still not dialated!! Ugh! They called my Dr. and told me that he requested that I be sent home. Which I later found out by my Dr. that he was upset they sent me home and had tried to get them to just start me. So on we went, back home, AGAIN.
Finally I got the phone call asking us to come in at 6:15 am.
They started me on Pitocin at about 7 am. It was no surprise that I still wasn't dialated. At this point I was accepting the fact that I may be in labor forever! Even the Dr. and nurses were telling me to expect it to be a long day and possibly night.
By the time noon came rolling around the Pitocin was definitely doing its job! I was so ready to be done but since we were expecting a slow progress I was trying my darndest to hang in there and not ask for the epidural too early. Thank heaven my Dr. showed up around noon and saw how miserable I was. He was encouraging me and telling me how great of a job I was doing. Then my waterworks were going and I told him "I don't want to HAVE to do a good job anymore!"
He took that as a clue that I was ready for the epidural. He had the nurse check me and I was already at a 3+.
The nurses had said before that they weren't eager to check me because I started at 0.
I sure proved them wrong!
Can I just say that the epidural was the best decision I've ever made?!? When people describe it as being "heaven" they aren't kidding!
I have a needle phobia and was sooo scared of getting an epidural. The worst part was trying to sit up and hold still during the contractions. Boy, am I glad Kenny was there for me to lean on and hug during that time. Although my hug ended up more like I was choking him. My mom and Kylee said my hands were turning purple I was squeezing him so tight. I have the best husband ever :)
The epidural compared to the contractions was more like a tickle feeling!
And this is me after the epidural....Heaven? Yes, I'd say it was!!
I'm sure glad I wasn't able to feel those ones!
Before we knew it, it was about time to push. Thanks to my sister Tiffini who happened to be talking to my mom on the phone when I upchucked. Tiffini had mentioned that when she threw up it meant it was almost time to start pushing.
My mom asked the nurses to check me. Sure enough, I was at an 8+
I'm not sure what time it was when I started pushing but I'm pretty sure I didn't even push for a half hour!
A give a lot of that credit to my cheering section: Kenny, my mom and dad. (Sisters) Mindi, Cassie and Kylee. Kenny's Grandma and Aunt Pat. And I can't leave out Dr. Spanos.
(Yeah I know, that's a lot of people. But the support I got was way worth being exposed!)
The whole time pushing I pretty much kept my eyes closed and was focusing my attention on their voices cheering me on. Also, the fact that I was a week over due and was SOOO ready to see our baby was a great motivator too.
Now here is some picture overload to tell the rest of the story...
I have no idea what they were looking at and I'm not so sure I even want to know, Ha!
More waterworks! JP has finally arrived!
James Paul Elliott
Named after his late grandfather
High Five. We did good!!
And these were the best moments in our life!
We ended up having to spend an extra night in the hospital because I had lost a lot of blood and I tore pretty good.
Poor little guy wasn't aloud in the nursery. We were all "Isolated" because I had a Gastro Intestinal infection.
We weren't planning on putting him in the nursery anyways, so we weren't too sad about it.
When he was 5 days old he had his first Dr. appointment.
Can I just say how weird it was when they called out "James" rather than my name for the appointment!
They measured and weighed him.
He had gained 3 oz. (7 lb. 13 oz)
and he grew 1/2 an inch! (21.5)
His head and weight were in the average percentiles
but his height, he was in the whopping 91%
pretty shocking seeing as neither me or Kenny are very tall.
Kenny, JP, and I have settled in at home now and are LOVEING life as the 3 of us.
We just can't wait til his personality starts showing.
