July 30, 2011
Dear Eli,
I’ve wanted to begin writing to you for some time now. Really, since before you were born, but as you will undoubtedly find out, I can procrastinate. Since it’s easier to type, and because of said procrastination, this will have to suffice as my love letters to you. I’m not much of a baby book kind of mommy, so here goes... I hope you will enjoy reading it one day as much as I will enjoy writing it.
You daddy and I met at work. To say that we didn’t like each other much at the beginning might be an understatement. I thought of him as kind of a jerk, not very friendly, and always stealing my parking spot. However, as time went on, we found that we actually had a lot in common and eventually realized we loved one another. We had what you might call a whirlwind courtship. We starting seeing each other in August of 2008, were engaged in April 2009, and married 11 weeks later on June 27th. I’m pretty sure your dad would have started trying to have kids as soon as we got married, but I wanted to wait at least a year, so it was on our first anniversary trip to the beach that we decided we were ready. Not too long after that, we discovered you would be joining our family.
It wasn’t exactly great to be pregnant. You made me very, very sick for about 5 months, then again for last two. I used to joke that I would spank you as soon as you were born for making me feel so terrible. However, when I was about 16 weeks pregnant, a friend of ours lost her child who was born about 16 weeks premature. After that, I quit complaining. I asked God to bring you here safely, and he did, but not without a few hiccups along the way.
In January, I started having contractions while sitting in church. I called my doctor who sent me to the hospital. It was quite a sight, the whole family trooping out of church together, and the preacher asked if it was because we didn’t like his message :) Of course that wasn’t the case, and the bottom line was that we needed to make sure you were safe. The doctors were able to stop the contractions, but at the point I was sufficiently convinced that you would come early... I was wrong.
You due date was originally April 5th, but because you were measuring small, the Doctor pushed it back to April 12th. Our best guess was that you were somewhere in between. I just KNEW that you would be a March baby. You daddy and I went out looking at March birthstones to commemorate your birth... glad we didn’t buy anything! April 1st came and went. By that point, I was beyond frustrated that I hadn’t met you and I just wanted to hold you. That, and you made it dang near impossible for me to breath, you were so high. I remember we went to the doctor on April 6th the doctor told me that you must be super comfortable in there because you didn’t seem in too big of a hurry to arrive. We tried to schedule a c-section, but nothing was available. I would have to wait. We left there and went and met your Grandmommy and Poppa for breakfast, and I remember having a breakdown in the middle of The Waffle House. I was mentally, emotionally, and physically exhausted, so I came home and went to bed.
I slept right through the doctor's office calling me. When I woke up, it was too late to call them back, no one was there.
I woke up EARLY the next morning and counted down the minutes to 8:00 a.m. so I could call them back. At 8:05, I found out that you would be born the following day...the 5:00 c-section had been canceled, the OR was free.
What a busy day that Thursday was! We had to go back to the doctor’s office, we had to go to the hospital and do paperwork, we had to wash clothes and get ready for the next day. We woke up SUPER early on Friday, April 8th because I couldn’t eat anything past 7:00 a.m. We drove to Douglasville to The Cracker Barrel. I ate as much as I could, but because you were so squished up into my stomach, I didn’t have much room. By 11:00 a.m. I was starving.
Confession: I ate a waffle at 11:15.
Another Confession: I lied to the nurse about it.
Moments before we left for the hospital
Dear Eli,
I’ve wanted to begin writing to you for some time now. Really, since before you were born, but as you will undoubtedly find out, I can procrastinate. Since it’s easier to type, and because of said procrastination, this will have to suffice as my love letters to you. I’m not much of a baby book kind of mommy, so here goes... I hope you will enjoy reading it one day as much as I will enjoy writing it.
You daddy and I met at work. To say that we didn’t like each other much at the beginning might be an understatement. I thought of him as kind of a jerk, not very friendly, and always stealing my parking spot. However, as time went on, we found that we actually had a lot in common and eventually realized we loved one another. We had what you might call a whirlwind courtship. We starting seeing each other in August of 2008, were engaged in April 2009, and married 11 weeks later on June 27th. I’m pretty sure your dad would have started trying to have kids as soon as we got married, but I wanted to wait at least a year, so it was on our first anniversary trip to the beach that we decided we were ready. Not too long after that, we discovered you would be joining our family.
It wasn’t exactly great to be pregnant. You made me very, very sick for about 5 months, then again for last two. I used to joke that I would spank you as soon as you were born for making me feel so terrible. However, when I was about 16 weeks pregnant, a friend of ours lost her child who was born about 16 weeks premature. After that, I quit complaining. I asked God to bring you here safely, and he did, but not without a few hiccups along the way.
In January, I started having contractions while sitting in church. I called my doctor who sent me to the hospital. It was quite a sight, the whole family trooping out of church together, and the preacher asked if it was because we didn’t like his message :) Of course that wasn’t the case, and the bottom line was that we needed to make sure you were safe. The doctors were able to stop the contractions, but at the point I was sufficiently convinced that you would come early... I was wrong.
You due date was originally April 5th, but because you were measuring small, the Doctor pushed it back to April 12th. Our best guess was that you were somewhere in between. I just KNEW that you would be a March baby. You daddy and I went out looking at March birthstones to commemorate your birth... glad we didn’t buy anything! April 1st came and went. By that point, I was beyond frustrated that I hadn’t met you and I just wanted to hold you. That, and you made it dang near impossible for me to breath, you were so high. I remember we went to the doctor on April 6th the doctor told me that you must be super comfortable in there because you didn’t seem in too big of a hurry to arrive. We tried to schedule a c-section, but nothing was available. I would have to wait. We left there and went and met your Grandmommy and Poppa for breakfast, and I remember having a breakdown in the middle of The Waffle House. I was mentally, emotionally, and physically exhausted, so I came home and went to bed.
I slept right through the doctor's office calling me. When I woke up, it was too late to call them back, no one was there.
I woke up EARLY the next morning and counted down the minutes to 8:00 a.m. so I could call them back. At 8:05, I found out that you would be born the following day...the 5:00 c-section had been canceled, the OR was free.
What a busy day that Thursday was! We had to go back to the doctor’s office, we had to go to the hospital and do paperwork, we had to wash clothes and get ready for the next day. We woke up SUPER early on Friday, April 8th because I couldn’t eat anything past 7:00 a.m. We drove to Douglasville to The Cracker Barrel. I ate as much as I could, but because you were so squished up into my stomach, I didn’t have much room. By 11:00 a.m. I was starving.
Confession: I ate a waffle at 11:15.
Another Confession: I lied to the nurse about it.
Moments before we left for the hospital
It was a good thing I did, too, because the second half of the day went by pretty quickly and I wouldn’t eat again until after midnight. More on that later.
Your dad and I went to the hospital at 3:30. We met your Grandmommy and Poppa there. I remember being so scared. I was scared something would happen to you during delivery. I was scared something would happen to me. I was scared of not being able to take care of you. I was scared it would hurt. I was scared of the unknown. I cried in the waiting room (much like I’m crying now remembering it). We all held hands, and your Poppa prayed for you, and for your daddy and me. Then it was time.
We went back to the OR prep room where we changed clothes and they got me ready for your arrival. Your daddy took a picture of me and I took one of him.
Getting my “game face” on. Ready to meet his son!
Then we waited. And waited. And waited. I remember being so hot. Like… boiling. The nurses put these plastic things on my legs along with huge socks. I was dreaming about water. There was a sink in the prep room, and I was staring at it. S-T-A-R-I-N-G at it. Dreaming about a single sip. So because I was dying of thirst, of course the doctor was late (when are they ever on time?).
I was supposed to be taken back at 4:30, but that didn’t happen. At 5:00, my doctor finally got there. They wheeled me back to the OR. I was holding your daddy’s hand, thanking God he was there with me. I was literally clinging to him. Then they told him to let go, he’d have to wait outside for a bit. LET GO?! WAIT OUTSIDE?! HUH??!?
So there I am, terrified, the one person I want is pacing the halls outside the OR, and the anesthesiologist comes at me with a HUGE needle. Oh boy.
(By the way, you are currently laying on your play mat… you’re kind of fussy, which isn’t exactly conducive to my writing, but you’re looking up at me and switching between whining and smiling… and you’re beautiful.)
So now it’s time. It’s really, really time. No turning back! I’m all numb, can’t feel a thing… and so it begins.
As it turns out, it’s a good thing you never dropped. You were wrapped head to toe in your umbilical cord. It was around your leg, around your arm, and around your neck. If you had dropped, and come into the world in the usual way, it could have killed you. I thank God every day that He saved you from that.
Your daddy watched you being born. He couldn’t see anything gross, he just saw you from the first second you entered this world. I, however, was holding my breath, waiting for you to cry. It was only a few seconds, but it felt like an eternity. As soon as I heard your sweet voice, I broke down. I was so happy and thankful that you were safe. Praise God! This is the first picture of you, after you were born:
Your daddy was taking pictures of you while the doctors were fixing me back up. Suddenly, he turned to me and smiled. I smiled back… he checked on me to make sure I was ok, then I said, “I’m fine! Keep taking pictures!” As soon as you were ready, they handed you to me. This is the first picture of you with your mommy:
You were born at on April 8, 2011 at 5:30 p.m. You weighed 7 lbs 5ozs, and were 20 inches long. You had 10 fingers and 10 toes, a good amount of hair, and your father’s nose. However, it was clear from the beginning that you would eventually have your mother’s eyes. Your Grandma and Grandpa had driven down the morning of your birth, having told their bosses the day before that they wouldn’t be back for a few days. Your Grandmommy and Poppa had been there since they wheeled me back. Your Aunt Kate, Uncle Cameron, and Aunt Kelly were there in time to meet you that night. Originally we had heard that no one was allowed to visit after 8:00, but your Aunt Kelly said she was getting into that room, and no matter what, she was GOING to see you! Gotta love that red-headed spunk :)
The first night in the hospital, I didn’t sleep. Literally. Didn’t sleep. I was terrified something would happen to you…that you would stop breathing or something. You were in your basinet next to my bed, but I kept leaning up and checking on you. Eventually I put your on my chest and tried to rest, but I couldn’t. I stayed awake and watched you sleep.
This, of course, made for kind of a rough day for mommy on April 9th. Along with everyone that had been there the night before, your Uncle Bob and Aunt Tina drove all the way from Indianapolis to see you, and your Uncle Andy and Aunt Jessica came over as soon as they could. It was nice to know that so many people would be loving on you so I could take a quick nap.
On April 11th, we took you home. Of course your daddy picked out your hat.
I think that’s all I have to say for right now. I’ll pick up where I left off, later. I think I need to go help your daddy, though. He’s giving you a bottle, and I’m pretty sure he’s about to fall asleep, too. I love you, Eli James.
Love,
Mommy
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