Eliana Guadalupe’s Birth Story

 

For those who are unaware…Eliana Guadalupe has arrived!!! 🙂 It’s been a little while since her birth but Carlos and I have been a bit busy so this is my first opportunity to share her birth story.

 

Here is a photo of Carlos and me at the hospital

 

 

So things pretty much started after my post on Wednesday January 2nd. Well, maybe a little before then but as I said, I was unaware. So that night while I blogged I was still noticing that discomfort but I really didn’t think too much about it. Carlos was concerned and felt like I was going into labor. I was certain I wasn’t and that what I was experiencing was false labor but because I was having some pain, I decided to take a relaxing bath. Carlos felt pretty sure I was going into labor but I assured him I wasn’t and we went to bed about 10:30 or so.

I woke up about an hour later with more discomfort and some pain like menstrual cramps. I woke Carlos up and we started timing the contractions. They were anywhere from 5 to 7 minutes apart for the next hour so he called the doctor’s office. The on-call doctor returned our call and discussed with Carlos what was going on and suggested we stay home and continue to watch the contractions for the next hour or two. She said if the pain intensified then to come into the hospital. He then called his mom in Minnesota to let her know what was going on. She lives in Central Time zone and thought he was calling at midnight to wish her a happy birthday. She was very surprised to hear that I might be in labor and asked to be kept informed so she could try to book a flight that day, if necessary. Carlos rested some and I tried to relax and rest, too, but I was too uncomfortable. The cramping feeling was getting a little more intense and finally around 2:30 I woke Carlos up and said I thought we may want to go to the hospital just to make sure I wasn’t in labor. I still was convinced I was in false labor. Thankfully we already had everything packed and ready to go. We gathered up a few last minutes things and made our way to the hospital.

We arrived at Fort Sander Regional around 3:30 and got checked in. They took me into triage and monitored Eliana and me for about an hour. The nurse informed me around 5 am that we were having a baby that day. Imagine my surprise!! They rolled me into the Labor, Delivery and Recovery room and Carlos and I started making the important phone calls while the nursing staff got me all settled in. Carlos’ mom was able to book a flight that morning to arrive in Knoxville around 2:45 pm with her husband.

The first few hours were pretty uneventful. Carlos and I both tried resting up for the eventful day ahead. Neither one of us was very successful. The on-call doctor came in around 7 am and we discussed my birthing plan (which, of course, I left at home…go figure!). She let me know that my progress had slowed since being admitted and discussed wanting to break my water. My birth plan was to try and limit any kind of augmentation of labor. I let her know this and she said she understood. Carlos and I decided instead to take walks around the floor in the hopes of breaking my water naturally. We did this about three separate times for about 30 minutes each time…and they were no walk in the park, let me tell you. The contractions were definitely becoming increasingly uncomfortable but still not terribly painful. I had thought I would get an epidural but I still wanted to hold out until I felt I really needed it.

My parents arrived at the hospital around 10 am and Carlos’ father around noon. Mostly during this time was periodically walking around the unit and laying in the bed. The on-call doctor from the morning ended her shift and another doctor came on. She came in to discuss my birthing plan. She understood my desire to avoid having them break my water and my aversion to pitocin. We made a plan that if by the afternoon I had not progressed in labor and my water still hadn’t broken they would do that but that we would still hold off on the pitocin unless absolutely necessary. By the time she came back to check on me around 1 pm I still hadn’t progressed and my water had not broken so she went ahead and did that. I was still trying to hold out on the epidural at this point.

Once they broke my water the contractions became very intense and close together. At first it was bearable but painful…then it became down right miserable. I could no longer focus on anything. After about an hour of this, I decided to go ahead with the epidural. It was one of the things I was most nervous about. But really it was nothing. They gave me the lowest dose and it took the edge off the contractions. That only lasted for a little while though. Soon enough the contractions were almost as intense as it was before they placed the epidural. They ended up giving me a booster to the epidural and that finally eased the pain. So much so that I was finally able to rest a bit. After a full day of work the day before and not resting that night, I was super tired. So it was nice to be able to close my eyes for that hour.

The doctor came back to check on my progress and, thankfully, I was moving along so they did not feel like I needed pitocin. Around 6 or so they said that I was ready to push. I had three wonderful support people in the room with me. My amazing husband, mother and mother-in-law. They were wonderful to have present with me. I was so nervous but so excited to finally meet la frijolita!! 🙂 After about an hour of pushing the epidural was wearing off. The contractions were getting to be painful again but it actually helped in the pushing process to be able to feel the contractions and pain. I ended up pushing for about two hours…it was pretty exhausting but after those two hours I was finally able to meet Eliana Guadalupe. 🙂 At the very end pushing the doctor had to give me some oxygen because Eliana’s heart rate started to drop. When they saw her the doctor realized that the umbilical cord was wrapped around her neck but they quickly took care of that. She was beautiful…it was such an amazing experience to see her. I immediately started to cry. She was perfect…

Eliana was born at 8:14 pm, weighed 6 lbs and 6 oz and was 19 in in length…just beautiful…

Meet Eliana Guadalupe

37 weeks!!

HAPPY NEW YEAR EVERYONE!!!

So today Eliana is the size of a winter melon (whatever that is!). It is now less than 3 weeks away until her due date!!! WOW! I don’t think it’s really quite hit me that she will be here so soon. It seems surreal.

So if you couldn’t tell by my last post I have have been nesting like a mad woman! 🙂 All of Eliana’s laundry is now done (probably the only time I will be able to say this from here on out!) and all of Carlos’ and my laundry is now complete. I wanted to have a good head start with laundry before la frijolita arrives. All of her bottles, cups, spoons, and such are also clean! 🙂 My closet is finally organized and all of my bathroom drawers as well. There is still plenty to be done but I am feeling pretty good about what all has been taken care of so far. There is still some cleaning to be done, especially since Karen will be making a trip down soon! 🙂 All the bags are packed for the hospital and ready to go! See what I mean about nesting?!?!?! *haha*

This is my last week at work before starting my maternity leave…and it’s a short week at that! 🙂 I’ll be glad to have some time home before she arrives to finish up things and to just relax. Hopefully I will have a few days before she decides to make her entrance into the world!

So at the doctor’s appointment on Friday Carlos and I were told that I am now 2 cm dilated and 60% effaced. This does not mean that labor is imminent by any means but it’s progress! 🙂 Carlos was so excited…he had a huge smile on his face for the remainder of the day. Since then any time I make a comment about aches or make sounds of discomfort he asks if it’s labor. *haha* 🙂 He’s so cute my little husband. She said that my status might change or that I could be like this for weeks. So it’s just a waiting game now. I’m still hoping that she will not arrive before this weekend. And to be even more selfish (I know…it’s bad) I’m hoping not before Tuesday the 8th because I just scheduled a day at the spa with the gift certificates I received at Christmas. *haha*

Speaking of, Carlos and I are wondering what everyone’s predictions are about when Eliana will make her grand entrance. What is your guess?!?! 🙂 Please comment! Carlos is betting on the 6th while I say the 10th. We would love to know what others think!

New Years Eve was a pretty laid back evening. I have been so achy and such that we decided to stay in and lay low. We watched some of the coverage of the festivities and toasted with 7up at midnight. It was very eventful! 😉 Hope everyone else had a wonderful night and a great kick off to the new year. 2012 has been filled with many amazing memories and moments. It was a pretty awesome year for the Juarez family. I am so excited for 2013 and the wonderful moments and memories that are sure to come.

How far along? 37 and 4 days

Total weight gain: I’ve actually lost a little bit of weight recently…I am now about 24 lbs over my pre-pregnancy weight

Maternity clothes: Trying to stay as comfortable as possible these days so I’m mostly wearing leggings, yoga pants, some jeans, and comfy tops…:)

Stretch marks? No new ones!

Sleep: Oh sleep…how you elude me! I am waking pretty often in the night due to aching and needing to reposition often…and still have lots of weird dreams! I’m also feeling pretty restless lately…

Best moment this week: Ringing in the New Year with my honey!

Miss Anything? I am still missing lots of things but as I am nearing the end I’m also thinking about how I’m going to miss being pregnant. 😦

Movement: Still pretty active!

Food cravings: Sweets…mostly baked goods like cupcakes and cheesecakes…YUM!

Anything making you queasy or sick: Nothing in particular but I did have a nasty bout with nausea the other night…it was pretty awful! It was a major flashback to the first trimester…no fun!

Sex: Girl

Labor Signs: Braxton Hicks are continuing as usual but at times seem to be more painful or achy or accompanied by pressure…the doctor also said I am 2 cm dilated and 60% effaced…so I am progressing! 🙂

Symptoms: Achiness all over, difficulty sleeping, slight swelling of my feet and sometimes hands, tired, some pain/pressure in my pelvic area at times, and just generally pretty uncomfortable…

Belly Button in or out? Still pretty much flat…

Wedding rings on or off? It depends on the day…today they are off!

Happy or Moody most of the time: Pretty happy…pretty restless though

Looking forward to: Doctor’s appointment today and this is my last week at work before starting my Maternity Leave!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! 🙂

***Update since the doctor’s appointment: So it turns out after seeing the doctor today that I have progressed a little bit further afterall! 🙂 I am now 3 cm dilated and 80% effaced. The doctor also made a comment about how low Eliana’s head is at this point. She seemed surprised that I haven’t been noticing contractions…apparently I’m having them and I’m not as aware as I should be. *haha* I figured they would be pretty bad and what I’ve been experiencing has been uncomfortable and somewhat painful but nothing unbearable. So it could be any day now!!!!! 🙂 The doctor was obviously not able to tell me how much longer but it seemed she was indicating that it would be soon and that the due date is probably out of the question now.