Our Doting Eliana

I've been really touched by how well Eliana has embraced having a little sister.  She gets so excited when Lillian is awake and sometimes Eliana cries when I have to put her little sister in the crib.  There have even been times when Eliana was upset about something and I ask if she would like to hold Lillian--Eliana immediately perks up, runs to the couch, and sits with her arms out-stretched.  Ah, the sweet memories these girls are making for me.

Eliana rocking baby Lillian

Carving Pumpkins

Ever since pumpkins started appearing in stores (you know, in mid-July) Hylie has been begging to take some home.  I kept telling her we would get pumpkins after the baby came and Grandma was here.  Well, sure enough when I was at the hospital and Grandma took the girls with her to the store, Hylie let Grandma know that it was officially pumpkin time.  Grandma picked out two big beauties and they were ready and waiting for when Lillian and I came home.  We enjoyed carving pumpkins last Monday for Family Home Evening and are keeping our fingers crossed that the jack-o-lanterns will stay intact until Halloween.

 Eliana's "smile"

Hylie designed her jack-o-lantern, complete with a tongue sticking out!

Grandma's Help

I couldn't imagine having a baby without Mom's help, and thankfully she's spoiled me so I haven't ever brought a baby home without her here.

Mom stayed with the girls while Geoff and I were in the hospital, kept the house in order, ran errands, made dinners, played with the girls, held Lillian, and just spoiled us all silly.

 Five days after Lillian was born, our dear Grandpa Nelson passed away.  He led a life full of goodness, charity, hard work, faith, and selfless giving.  I have fond memories of visiting in my childhood and playing on all the yard toys Grandpa made.  But some of the sweetest moments I had were when I was in college and would go visit and stay with Grandma and Grandpa from time to time.  They always welcomed me whenever I asked to come visit when I needed a break from college life.  I enjoyed joining them for their morning scripture study, watching general conference, helping with tasks around the house, and just watching Grandma and Grandpa interact with such love, support, and respect for each other.  I received a few blessings from Grandpa when my health was not good and when I was job searching after graduation and I was always so grateful that I could ask him for a priesthood blessing and he would respond with such love and willingness.  His testimony of the gospel of Jesus Christ radiated in everything he said and did.  I am so thankful for Grandpa's love of the Lord, love of family, and love of living what he knew was right.  I will miss him, but I will live my life so I can be with him and all our family eternally.

When Mom knew she would need to leave for the funeral, she ran out to the store, bought enough groceries to feed 10 armies, and then spent a day in the kitchen making meals to last us through the Millennium!  Ha ha!

We enjoyed every second with Grandma and needed every ounce of help she brought.  Thank you, Mom, for all you do all the time to help us move along!

Mom also made this absolutely beautiful quilt for Lillian.  What a treasure!  Thanks, Mom!

Lillian's Newborn Photos

Sisters

The day after Lillian was born I was so excited for the girls to come to the hospital to meet her.  Visiting hours didn't start until 11:00 AM, so it was a long wait, but I enjoyed the quiet time cuddling Lillian.

Finally, Geoff, Hylie, Eliana, and Grandma arrived and Eliana and Hylie took right to their baby sister.  It was a sweet visit and I am so grateful these girls enjoy having new little sister.

Lillian Eve

On Friday, October 14th we got up, Mom treated us all to a pancake breakfast and Geoff and I left to have a baby!  After a quiet and calm drive to the hospital, Geoff and I arrived for our 10:00 AM induction appointment.  We got settled in, the doctor checked me (I had actually dilated to 1 cm!!), and determined that I would undergo the same procedure I had with Eliana--using the EASI and pitocen.  I braced myself for the pain I had experienced before.  The procedure to insert the EASI (which is a bladder used to "encourage" dilation) was nothing like it was two years ago--it was practically pain-free!

The induction process started at noon and I waited for the back pain and uncomfortable contractions to kick in...minutes passed, then hours, and all that was happening were regular, but mild contractions.  At first, I thought this practically pain-free induction was great, but then I started to worry that the reason I wasn't experiencing any pain was because maybe my body wasn't responding to the intervention.

The nurse, Nina, was absolutely wonderful.  She checked in on me regularly and kept saying our mantra for the day was "Three's a Breeze"!  She was also mindful of Geoff's needs (for which Geoff was very grateful) and sent him off to get some food while things were quiet on my end.  Geoff and I chatted away, tuned into HGTV, and there were times that I quite frankly forgot that I was in labor.  Crazy, right?

So around 4:00, Nina came in to check up on me and finally I said, "I don't mean to complain or anything, but I'm not in pain and because of that, I'm worried that my body is not progressing."  She assured me that because my contractions were so regular, that my body was moving forward beautifully.  They were going to check the EASI at 6:00 to see if it was ready to come out.  Well, I should have 'complained' sooner, because shortly after she left, my contractions really started to ramp up!  The pain was becoming more and more intense, and my body started shaking from the contractions.

Even though it was getting worse, the pain was not as horrific as it was with Hylie or Eliana's labors--but the nurse saw that things had definitely changed and asked for a doctor to come in and check me at 5:00.  Sure enough, the EASI came right out and I was dilated to a 5.  As the contractions intensified, Nina felt I was in transition and went ahead and put the order in for my epidural and even turned down the pitocen a tad while I waited for the anesthesiologist.  He came in at 6:00 and just before he entered the room, Nina quickly came over to me and quietly said, "I just want to warn you, this doctor talks REALLY FAST."  When the doctor came in, he started talking (really, REALLY fast) and didn't stop talking the entire time he was performing the procedure.  I was so glad that the nurse warned me, because I truly would have thought that something was wrong and the doctor was trying to distract me with all his questions and information on what he was doing.  The epidural itself was a smooth process and shortly after, all I was feeling was pressure, no more pain.

Dr. Drachler came in to say hello and then came back in around 6:40 to check me and break my water.  I was at a 6, and when he broke my water he noticed traces of meconium, so they ordered for the pediatrician team to be present during the birthing process so they could clear the baby's stomach and air passages of any meconium right after it was born.

Shortly after all of this, I started to feel the urgency to push during the contractions.  I let the nurse know (Nina's shift had ended, so now Kristen was tending to me) and she said when I feel that urgency all the time to let her know.  Well, Dr. Drachler decided we didn't have to wait much longer.  He came in around 7:30 and they started setting up the room for delivery.  Once everything was in place they had me push on my next contraction and the baby's head appeared.  Dr. Drachler had me wait until the next contraction, asked me to push once, then he asked me to cough once, and then cough one more time.  Then he said, "Okay."  I just stared at him in disbelief.  Apparently he was holding the baby and waiting to pull it out.  My job was done!  I couldn't believe it for a second, but I looked down and watched him flip our little baby over to discover that at 7:55 PM we had a beautiful, baby girl!

They immediately handed her over to the pediatrician team, I was glad they were taking care of her, but it was hard not getting to hold her right away.  It was difficult to see them go through the process of clearing out her nose and mouth and keep her breathing, but I knew they knew what they were doing and it was the best thing for our baby.

Dr. Drachler finished with the after-birth process, gave me the one stitch I needed, and then started pacing the floor while the pediatrician team continued to work.  "I'm not leaving until I see how much this baby weighs," he announced.  To me, she looked itty bitty, but all the nurses and doctors assured me, she was not a small baby.  Once the pediatricians were done, they weighed her: 9 lbs. 5 oz. and brought her over to my arms.

Finally, I was able to hold our little Lillian Eve.  She was perfect and Geoff and I were so happy she was here!  While Geoff was holding Lillian, I turned to him and said, "If giving birth was like this all the time, I could do it every day."  I don't say that to brag, but I say it in awe at the experience I had in birthing Lillian.  I'm still in shock as to how smoothly everything went and if I hadn't experienced it first hand, I wouldn't have believed how flawlessly everything went.

We called Mom as soon as we could to tell her the wonderful news.  Hylie was on her way to bed, but I got to talk to her briefly to let her know she had a little sister.  Hylie was excited and was looking forward to meeting Lillian.  Our neighbor came over to the house so Mom could slip away and hold Lillian before they transferred me to the recovery room.

We are so grateful to have Lillian Eve in our family and were so blessed to be in such excellent care during her labor and delivery.  We are looking forward to watching her grow and develop talents and take part of the craziness in the Woodhouse clan!

I'm Ready!

Nearing your due date is a tricky time.  You don't know how to plan anything and you have to take each day by day and every minute by minute.  I don't work well under these circumstances.  On Wednesday, October 5th, a week before my due date I went in for a standard check-up where they had me do an NST to monitor the baby's heart rate.  For about an hour, the baby's heart wasn't showing the variables they like to see, so Dr. Drachler turned to me and asked, "So, what are your plans for today? Ready to have a baby?"  My eyes bulged out and my jaw dropped.  Really?  I will admit that one of the next thoughts that came to mind was, "But I haven't cleaned the bathrooms yet!"  ha ha!  I called Geoff who had just finished an appointment nearby, he zipped over to the doctor's office, and the doctor explained we'd go to the hospital for more monitoring and if the baby's heart continued to show the same patterns, I'd be induced.  I called Mom (who was prepping for a colonoscopy) and she was ready to come first thing on Friday and we made arrangements with our next-door neighbors to watch the girls until the baby arrived.  Geoff let his boss know the baby was being monitored and there was a chance I could be induced that day--we chuckled when his boss sent out an email to his company that stated: Woodhouse's wife is in labor, don't bother him for a week!

I was grateful that the concerns over the baby's heart were not urgent, the baby's heart was still beating at a healthy rate, but from what I understood, the doctors were concerned that the baby's heart patterns were showing that it could be using up the placenta and because I had a two-vessel cord (instead of a three vessel cord) there was a higher chance the cord could be getting pinched and the baby was not getting what it needed.  So we got to the hospital and I was monitored for two hours--and the baby's heart was super strong and healthy for every minute of those two hours.  It could be that the baby was just in a deep sleep when I was at the doctor's office, or that this little one was really digging the sausage sandwich I had on our way to the hospital. ;)  Regardless, we were sent home with a completely healthy report.  Part of me was relieved, but later that night I did have a teary moment thinking that I could have been holding our baby right now if we had to be induced.

So, we continued to wait...and the baby continued to grow.  When I went over my due date and the Doctor recommended we induce this labor--I was definitely ready physically.  I dreaded going up stairs, picking anything up, and I was constantly out. of. breath.  Dr. Drachler scheduled the induction 2 days after my due date for when he was in the hospital next.  At first I was unsure about the timing, I had been set on waiting at least a week after my due date, but because I wasn't dilated even after experiencing some contractions and back labor pains for a few days, I figured I'd either be induced on Friday when Dr. Drachler was in, or I'd be induced on Wednesday with a different doctor.  Geoff and I felt most comfortable knowing Dr. Drachler would be delivering this baby, so we accepted the appointment.

Mom came in on Thursday and Friday morning, we left for the hospital (and yes, the bathrooms were clean)!

A Sweet Moment