Baby Elliott: A Birth Story

A couple weeks ago we welcomed our little Elliott into the world. It was a beautiful experience, and I'm so grateful for the opportunity to share it with you!

Elliott's birth story has a beginning in O's birth story. When I had O I didn't progress after having regular contractions, so I eventually had a Cesarean Section. When I found I was pregnant again, I had two choices: elect for another C-Section, or attempt a Vaginal Birth After Cesarean(VBAC). After a lot of research, discussion, thought, and prayer, I decided to try the VBAC under certain conditions. I wanted Elliott's safety above all, so I didn't want to push too hard for the VBAC. My doctor and I discussed things and decided it would be safest if I went into labor on my own. I decided Elliott's due date would be a good cut off day for me. I realize this limited my chances for a successful VBAC, but it also limited the chances for an unsuccessful VBAC or emergency C-Section. Since unsuccessful VBACs and emergency C-Sections are much harder on both baby and mom, I was more worried about avoiding these two situations than being able to say I'd had a vaginal birth.

Here I am at almost 32 weeks.

At 32 weeks along I went in for a check-up and baby Elliott was already head-down. I thought this was great and could heighten my chances for getting to VBAC.
At 36 weeks along he was still head-down and I was 70% effaced. I was really excited about this since that's as far as I got with O. I never dilated, I only effaced 70%. I figured this would give plenty of time for my body to begin to dilate. If I could dilate a little, then the doctor could strip my membranes at 39 weeks and that could help my body go into labor on it's own.
I did several things to help get labor going over the next few weeks. I walked and jumped on the trampoline and continued my daily squats and yoga, but nothing happened. I never dilated or even effaced past that first 70%. I had sets of contractions several times, but my body never progressed.

The night before we went in for the C-Section.

My C-Section was scheduled for 7am June 8. They called me the day before and asked me to be there at 5am. I'm not a morning person, so I wasn't exactly thrilled to be getting up that early, but I set my alarm for 4:30am and Mike and I made it there by 5. Since I'd been having contractions off and on for a couple days I asked the nurse to check me one more time, just in case I had started to progress. She hooked me up to the monitor, but there weren't any contractions and I hadn't progressed any more. Part of me was disappointed and part of me was relieved. I still occasionally fight the thought that it's frustrating my body is unable to perform one of the important tasks it was created for. I try to replace these thoughts with gratitude it can build a healthy baby, what an incredible miracle, and appreciation for the advances in medicine that bring my sweet little ones into the world. If these were still pioneer days, my babies and I probably wouldn't be alive.

 I was a little relieved to be going into familiar territory with the C-Section. I prepped for surgery and my doctor showed up to check on us and meet my husband. He left to get ready and they wheeled me into the operating room. I had the same anesthesiologist that I had with O and he got the spinal block right in. Then Mike and my doctor came in and we got started. I love to know what's going on so I feel more involved, so Mike and the anesthesiologist gave me the play-by-play. Before long they had everything open and pulled out his head. The first thing the doctor said was, "Wow, he's big!" They finished pulling him out and the doctor brought him right around to show us. My first thought was very similar to the doctor's, I thought, "He's huge and he looks nothing like O!" They cleaned him up and took his APGARs. He was 9-10, such a healthy boy! Mike brought him around to me so I could stroke his little head while they started to stitch me up. He's so sweet, his little chubby cheeks are my favorite!

Mike took him to the nursery to be dressed and weighed while they finished sewing me up. Afterward they asked if I would rather go to the recovery room or straight to my room. I wanted to see my parents meet our little guy, so I asked to recover in my own room.
After they wheeled me in, Mike came in with our little Elliott. He weighed 8lbs. 8oz. and was 21 in. long. We haven't had an 8lb. baby in my immediate family before, so he's so big to us!

After my parent's held him and we took some pictures, I rested for a little while until my sister brought Little O to meet his brother. I was so excited for him to meet Elliott, and it was such a sweet moment! He loved Elliott as soon as he saw him. He kept saying, "He's so cute! I love his little feet!"

Little O holding Elliott for the first time.

 We got O a special new shirt for the big day. I wanted him to be excited and not feel neglected. Mike and my mom and sister made sure he had a very fun time while I was at the hospital.

Dada and Big Brother with Little Brother.

Aunt Lindsay holding Elliott for the first time.

Miss Kirra and Elliott were obviously besties from the start! ;)

Aunt Sarah and Elliott

Uncle Austin and Elliott

It was such a great day. We were very grateful for our doctors and nurses, they were fantastic! I feel so blessed to have our little Elliott here happy and healthy. Who could ask for more?