Birth Story

I realized the other day that most of you haven’t heard Eli’s birth story. I’m sorry this is so long…I tried to keep this short but I could talk all day about it!

Well, on Tuesday July 15th I had one of my weekly doctor appointments. I had been 1cm dilated the week before and now at 37 weeks, I was still only 1cm. Since they had done a sonogram the previous week and figured out Eli was getting big, my doctor decided she would induce me on July 29th (I was due Aug. 4) After this 37 week appt., I had resigned myself to the fact that I wouldn’t go into labor before my induction date and that our baby’s birthday would be July 29th.

On Thursday July 17th I noticed around 6:30pm that I was having what I thought were more Braxton Hicks contractions. They felt just like the ones I had been having so Stephen and I had dinner and went on a walk but I kept an eye on the clock. (Stephen wanted me to be sure to let everyone know that he made Chicken Cordon Bleu that night...he thinks it made me go into labor.) Later that night, I realized that these contractions were different because they didn’t stop. They were very irregular...some were 20 minutes apart, some were 10 minutes apart. At about 12:30am, my mom and sister decided to drive down from Arkansas. Even though we still weren’t sure anything was really going to happen, they didn’t want to miss it. Stephen went to sleep around 1am and I stayed up all night timing everything. The contractions got closer together and lasted longer but still weren’t regular. By 7am, they were coming between 3 minutes and 12 minutes apart and were lasting between 45 seconds and over 1 minute. My doctor was on vacation so I called the on call doctor and she didn’t think I was in labor but told me to go to the hospital and get checked out anyway.

I was very irritated by that but went ahead to the hospital thinking they would send me back home. When I got there I was at 3cm and the doctor said she would let me stay if I went and walked and made any change in an hour. The nurse was WONDERFUL! She checked me again to see if she could help things along because she knew I didn’t want to go home. So, we walked…and walked…and walked! When I came back, I was 4cm!

Mom walked with me.

Waiting...

They started the pitocin around 11:30am. The nurse told me I could have the epidural whenever I wanted, but I decided to wait and see how things went. Stephen, my mom, and my sister had lunch while I progressed. The contractions became more intense and the next time the nurse came to check me I was at 6cm! She said the doctor would be in soon to break my water, but just as she said that my water broke! The nurse said if I was going to want the epidural, now would be a good time to get it before the pain got worse and sitting still becomes difficult. I battled with the decision and finally decided to go ahead and get it.A little after 6pm, the nurse said it was time to start pushing. Luckily, I was starting to feel some of the contractions again so I knew when to push. The nurse put a mirror behind the doctor so I could see everything that was happening. It was AMAZING! I was so glad I had gotten the epidural because I was really able to enjoy the whole process and be in the moment.

Elijah Walker Davis was born at 6:42pm weighing 8lbs. 1oz. and measuring 22in. long. Even though he was 2 ½ weeks early he was perfectly healthy. When the doctor put him on my stomach, I thought I saw that he was a boy, but the nurses immediately started rubbing him down with the blankets so it was hard to see anything. Then they took him away for a minute because he hadn’t let out a cry yet. I had to ask, “What is it? What is it?” before the doctor said, “It’s a BOY!!!!” (remember, she wasn’t my doctor.) What an awesome moment! It is crazy to think that all that time he was inside me, he was a BOY! We were so excited. The whole day was perfect and I loved every minute of it. I wouldn’t change a thing and we are so glad our little boy is here! He is a blessing beyond what we could imagine and we can’t wait to see what he has in store for us!