Welcome Home Eloise!

Ok, so here it is 6:00 a.m., I have been up for an hour feeding little miss and am WIDE AWAKE!  So, I apologize in advance if this post isn't the easiest to read or doesn't make sense!  :)  I said in my last post that I would have to do a couple posts to get everyone caught up on where we were in life, so here is Part Deux!

Eloise was born on Saturday, June 5th, and on Monday, we got to go home! Let me tell you, WE. WERE. READY! I was soooo done sitting in the hospital bed like a sicky, not being able to go and do anything, besides the fact that I hadn't felt the summer sun on my face since Friday afternoon.  Those of you who know me well, know that I LOVE me some fresh air!  Just ask my husband, I am the air/heat nazi! :)  Anywho, Monday morning, a lovely nurse came wandering in our room with a checklist of things we needed to have done before we leave the hospital.  Luckily for us, I had already accomplished most of what was on our list :)  So, we got all cleaned up, got our stuff packed up, and prepared to wait for the hospital staff to get around to us.  Bless their hearts, they have just a few things going on at any given time around there, and Monday was BUSY!

Eloise had her first "professional photography" session, and let me tell you, they don't have the boring old hospital pics anymore!  The photographer had a little cart that she pushed around with a computer, printer, bassinet, etc. etc. She set up a little "nest" for Eloise to lay on/sit in for her pictures, and took probably 20 pictures of her!  Then we got to pick any of the poses and put together a picture package!  Pretty crazy huh? It was quite fun, and we learned that Eloise is quite the ham....once again, those of you who know me well, know this apple (so far) is not falling far from the tree :)

Once the photographer left, an audiologist came in to check her hearing (good to go) and her pediatrician came in to check her over (good to go). Once they left, WE were good to go, and headed out!  We got Eloise all packed up in her carseat, put her in the car, and made our long trek home to meet Eloise's big sister!  Let me tell you, Izzy was very happy to see us! Of course, she wasn't too sure about this little "thing" in the car seat, but she didn't pay much attention to her!

Once we got inside, we gave Eloise a little tour of her new home, fed her, and settled in for a relaxing day!  We are so happy to have her home!! :)  Even Izzy is starting to get used to her!

Ready to go home!!

AJ with his two neices!

Sleepin....

Welcome home Sweet Pea!

Welcome to the World!

Ok, ok, ok, SORRY for the delay!  I have been a bit busy over the last 3 weeks!! I will be posting a couple of different posts today or today and tomorrow to get everyone caught up on our new little life!! So, here's the start...

I should start by saying that on Friday, June 4th, all day I was feeling "funny".  I can't really explain it, I wasn't in pain, but I just felt different.  Friday night I was starting to have some contractions that were stronger than what I was used to having, but I went to bed as usual anyway! All night I kept dreaming about going into labor and about 2:30 I woke up thinking my water broke! Mind you, since the false alarm a couple weeks prior to this, I refused to go to the hospital for contractions, so I was WAITING for my water to break, and I swore this was it!! I woke up, rushed to the bathroom, sweetly screamed to my husband that he needed to get up, and then started picking up the house...

While I was picking up and making the bed, Eric was getting last minute things in the car.  I called my mom and dad, gave Izzy kisses and put her in her kennel, and headed on our way to the hospital.  When we got there, we were put in this little room so they could monitor my contractions, check my blood pressure, and all of that fun stuff.  Turns out my water didn't break at the house, they think it was part of my mucus plug, but...they determined I was in early labor, SO they admitted me!

By the time I got to my hospital room, my contractions were coming fairly frequently and consistently and were painful.  We got into our room around 6 in the morning and the doctor said he would be in between 7 and 8 to break my water.  So from 6-8, I got my IV put in, wandered to and from the bathroom, ate a couple popsicles and ice chips, and breathed through my contractions!  Once the doctor came in and broke my water, it was time for me to get my epidural.  My new best friend, the epidural man, came shortly after my water broke and took all the pain away.... :) Once that was taken care of, Eric and I just hung out!  We couldn't really sleep because we were so excited, we just talked, watched TV, and enjoyed each others company.  Our nurse or doctor would come in around every hour or two to check my cervix which was progressing quickly. Around 3 in the afternoon I was 9.5 cm dilated, completely effaced and then I stopped...I stayed at 9.5 cm dilated for another hour and a half! 

At that point the doctor thought that she was too big to fit and that was why my body was not dilating more so he was starting to prepare us for a potential c-section.  Our fabulous nurse, Laura, knew that we really didn't want to have a c-section, so she came in and started having me push with my contractions with the hopes that pushing would open my cervix up to 10 cm.  It worked!!!  After that point, I just remember pushing alot!  I know that the doctor was still very hesitant because Eloise was coming out sideways, he didn't want to risk her health, but her heart rate was awesome throughout most of the delivery!  Once I had pushed enough for her head to get out a little, the doctor used a vacuum to pull her out the rest of the way. They did have to suction her when she came out b/c there was meconium in the amniotic fluid, but then we heard her cry....

7 lbs. 10 oz., 20.75 in. long, born at 6:09 p.m.

And then we were three...

Welcome to the world Miss Eloise Genevieve Baker!!

Friday Fun

As I sit here waiting impatiently for Eloise to arrive, I wanted to remind all of you of one certain someone who is enjoying every minute of the peace and quiet: our little Isabel! In honor of our furry baby and the apple of our eyes, I thought I would post a picture of Izzy and her daddy from a walk that we took last weekend in downtown Chattanooga. As some of you know, Izzy is not the easiest dog to take pictures of (she's a bit of a diva) so this picture is extra special! Enjoy :)

Finished Nursery

39 Weeks and Counting

Hello All!!!  I know its been a couple weeks, we forgot to take pictures last week and I forgot to make a post!  Last week was my last week of school, YAY!!  I managed to make it through the entire school year, eventhough many of my co-workers were sure Eloise would make her appearance before school was out for summer! :)  I can't say I blame them, I thought she would have come too!  This may be TMI for some of you, so if is stop reading now:

I lost my mucus plug or as AJ would prefer I call it "blueberry pancakes" last Friday (May 21st).  I started feeling contractions the next day and we even timed them, but they didn't do anything to help my cervix along, so FALSE ALARM!

Ok, TMI is over, resume reading now :) 
Since that weekend, I have continued having contractions, but nothing terribly painful or consistent, so I'm just hanging in there for now!  Last Monday at our 38 week appointment, our doctor said I was 2 cm dialated and almost completed effaced.  Today at our appointment, I was about the same amount effaced and 2 and a half cm dialated.  Still making progress, but no big news yet!  We have our (hopefully) last appointment with our doctor next Monday, June 7th which is the day after Eloise's due date.  If our little girl hasn't made her appearance by then, we should be able to set an induction date at that time.

Check back in the next day or so for a video of Eloise's FINISHED nursery.

39 weeks!!!