Eliza Ann

"Baby Sister" is here and already it feels like she's always been a part of the family. I said the same thing when Austin was born too. Which just strengthens my belief in an eternal family.

On Tuesday the 29th of May I started to leak amniotic fluid. It wasn't very much and I was in denial that it could mean anything. I was up all through the night and seemed to be leaking more so in the morning I talked with Tanner about what I should do. He wasn't very concerned but said if I was worried I could call my midwife but if I told her she would want me to come right in and I would most likely be induced. He suggested me taking it easy and he could take the next few days of work off to help. After giving me a blessing I decided for my own peace of mind to call my midwife. Sure enough, she wanted me to come right in.

I hadn't packed my hospital bag yet and I wanted to have the house all clean just in case I was going to be having the baby. A few hours later I met Tanner at the hospital and one of my friends met me there and took the kids. We checked in to Labor and Delivery and I tested positive for amniotic fluid. Because I had Strep B with Chet, they wanted me to get four hours of antibiotics before they induced me. So Tanner went back to work and I just relaxed.

They were super busy in L&D that day so they didn't get started on my induction until around 6. I was stressed about being induced so my midwife tried some more natural things to get labor started. They used a Foley Balloon, which was super weird but helped me dilate to a five. Then I tried pumping which started contractions but not very consistent ones. So then they started me on Pitocin. I began to have consistent contractions but they were very manageable. Tanner even got to watch part of a hockey game, thats how good I was feeling. ;)

When they checked me they said that my amniotic sac was bulging, which didn't really make since if I had being leaking amniotic fluid. Apparently there are two layers to the amniotic sac and sometimes the outer layer can tear, causing leaking. I knew in my heart of hearts that the only way to get my labor to progress would be to have my water broken but I was so nervous to do that because I knew that would be when the pain would get bad. It is really hard to decide to do something that you know will bring you pain, but I was ready to meet my baby girl and that gave me the courage to break my water.

Things picked up and I had to concentrate really hard on relaxing through the contractions. My midwife really helped keep things calm and I was able to manage the pain better than I have with any of my other deliveries. Once I felt ready to push I only pushed for 80 seconds and she was here. 9 pounds 9 ounces of perfection. Nothing can compare to the relief, excitement and joy that comes when they put that baby on your chest. Eliza is a beautiful healthy girl and I'm so grateful for that.

My heart is so full of gratitude for a healthy baby, a healthy body that has recovered so quickly and wonderful friends who stepped right up to help with the older kids. I am so grateful for Tanner and his unconditional support. And I'm thankful for my mom being willing to drop everything to come and help. New babies are such a wonderful thing.

 Grandma with her namesake, Eliza Ann