Elizabeth Grace Little - The Story of her Birth

This will be the highlights because I need to go to sleep, but I can't believe how good this is! Things are going so well I can't believe it. This whole thing has been amazing - gentle and serene just as God promised. I feel incredible. Ellie is doing great. Kate is doing great. Brett and I are a great team. So, so good. Let me run down how the story of Ellie's birth:

Monday at my doctor's appointment, Dr. Allen said we would have a "discussion about induction." When we got there, the discussion went like this, "Show up at the hospital tomorrow at 7:30am." Good talk, doc. It was exactly what I wanted though, because I had told Alli that day that I didn't want to have to make a decision about induction, and I didn't have to - he's the expert, we trust him, and he decided. He said we were playing with fire at 40 1/2 weeks so she needed to come now. Great, sold.

Brett and I were all packed up and ready to go. It was nice to get to be so prepared. My parents came in town that night, and the next morning Kate was so excited to see them. Brett's parents came down that afternoon, so Kate was all set for an awesome day.

The labor basically went exactly as Dr. Allen said it would. They gave me pitocin at 9am. I got an epidural at 12:30pm - he said I could have it "whenever my little heart desired", and with contractions every 2 mins, that felt like the right time. Funny side note - we were watching movies, "The Proposal" and then "Alice in Wonderland", and it was during Lewis Carroll's story with Tim Burton's interpretation that I felt the need for drugs...go figure :) They broke my water at 1pm, and then we had a little bit of unwanted excitement. The cord was around Ellie's neck and when my water broke, she slid down and her heart rate got really low for about 12 minutes. Stressful, but they got it back up again and took me off the pitocin to get her back up to normal. I felt good the whole time, although the nurses said with a younger doctor it would have been c-section, which was the same thing that happened with Kate. Luckily Dr. Allen is patient. I was a little bummed at this point thinking the labor would now last a long time, but at 3pm I was ready to go. They said, "Don't laugh until the Dr. gets here or the baby will come out." Uhhh, okay. I didn't believe it, but 4 mins after Dr. Allen got there, Ellie was born.

This time, I watched the birth, and it absolutely floored me. I think part of me still wasn't convinced there was actually a baby inside me. And then when Dr. Allen handed (well sort of threw her) to me, I was absolutely overwhelmed. In that instant, I was overcome by how much I loved her. I had just met her, and I loved her as much as I love Kate and Brett. I guess in advance I thought somehow I'd have to share the love I already have with her, not that it would be an all new capacity and amount. Love works in different currency. I can't get enough of her.

It is incredible how good I feel. I feel like I had a great experience with Kate, and with Ellie it's 10X easier. I guess pushing for 4 mins versus 2 hours helps a bunch. Being scheduled made us so much more well rested, so that is great. I was worried I wouldn't remember anything about having a newborn, but it's coming back to us really well. Overall, just so, so good.

Kate couldn't be more excited. She came into the delivery room after Ellie was born and was so sweet. She ran in, wanted to hold her and give her hugs, she had bought her a little Grover present. She is such an amazing big sister, it makes me cry.

Our parents were such a wonderful help. It means so much to have that kind of support and love from them. THANK YOU GUYS! We also have such wonderful friends who've been visiting and calling. The whole thing feels easier with that circle of support.

I have to admit I'm still just a bit nervous about having enough energy to do it. I'm trying to surrender my control and nervousness about sleep and trust that God will carry me and sustain me. In the hospital my daily Bible verse on my blackberry was Isaiah 46, and vs. 3-4 says "Listen...you whom I have upheld since you were conceived, and have carried since your birth. Even to your old age and gray hairs
I am he, I am he who will sustain you.
I have made you and I will carry you;
I will sustain you and I will rescue you."
I trust that and I'm trying to remember it so I don't get scared.

Ellie is a wonderful baby. Things I already know about her - she is gentle, peaceful, feminine, delicate, loving, joyful, kind, and patient. She's eating really well and sleeping well too. She's been amazingly alert right from the start - looking at us with these big, dark & deep blue eyes. She smiled last night while she was sleeping and it was so beautiful. She's a real treasure.

So overall, the best experience we could have envisioned and hoped for. Welcome to the world Elizabeth Grace Little! We love you soooooooo!!!!