At around 5:20 a.m., Sophie woke up to go to the bathroom. She noticed that she was leaking fluids. Immediately, she assumed that her water was broken despite the fact that she was not experiencing noticeable contractions. To confirm this, Sophie read a chapter in her �What to Expect While You�re Expecting� book on signs of a water break. Panicking, Sophie woke up Daniel to tell him what happened and determine if they need to rush to the hospital. Sweet Daniel calmed her down and told her to wait until the doctor�s office opens at 8 to call. Daniel got up and started packing the suitcase in case the baby was going to be born today, almost three weeks earlier than the June 27th due date.
At 8:15 a.m., Sophie called Dr. Irwin�s office and spoke to Nurse Lyn Craig. Lyn told her to come at 9:00 a.m. With the suitcase packed, Daniel first drove Sophie to Costco to fill up on gas and then to the doctor�s office. At Costco, a neighbor who also was filling up on gas recognized Sophie. She came over to wish us luck in her labor process.
We got to Dr. Irwin�s office at around 9:15 a.m. Lyn Craig, R.N. tested Sophie�s urine sample to check for amniotic fluid leakage. Dr. Irwin examined Sophie and her water broke abruptly in his office. It was a funny site since this is only the second time this has happened in his office. Dr. Irwin told Sophie to head to Baylor Medical Center SW Fort Worth right away since she was already 3 cm dilated. Fortunately, the hospital is only a short walk from Dr. Irwin�s office.
When we arrived at the hospital at 10:20 a.m. the labor and delivery nurses, Josie and Angie checked us into delivery room 234. Since Sophie�s water had broken several hours earlier and was not experiencing regular contractions, Dr. Irwin decided to give her Pitocin to speed up her labor. The nurses asked Sophie if she wanted to get an epidural. Sophie declined and said she wanted to stick with the Lamaze Method. An IV was inserted into Sophie�s left arm to administer the drugs. She was hooked up to two monitors to monitor the baby�s heart rate and also to monitor contractions. The contraction monitor was helpful for Daniel (and Sophie) because it lets him know when contractions were coming.
The contractions came in sets of 3 or 4. Sweet Daniel walked Sophie through the breathing exercises we learned in Lamaze class. He also helped make sure she rested between sets of contractions. While all this was going on, Sophie�s blood pressure was checked every fifteen minutes to make sure everything was progressing normally. At mid-afternoon, 3:00 p.m., the contractions were becoming even more intensely painful. Sophie requested a narcotic medication to help her relax between contractions. Sophie handled the contractions well. She was so happy about having the baby that she only said sweet things through the process. She just grabbed Daniel�s hand and the bed rail as she fought through the worst of the contractions while Daniel held her legs open. At around 5:00 p.m., Sophie decided the pain was too much and could not go on without help (e.g. epidural). However, when the nurse checked her she was already 9 cm dilated. With an urge to push, it was time to deliver the baby and too late for an epidural. At this point, Sophie was very exhausted from all the contractions. She now had to garner every ounce of energy she had to pushing. The head nurse came in and helped couch her through the pushing process. After several pushes, the head became visible. �Look at all that hair.� This is when Dr. Irwin came in (5:30 p.m.) as everyone else began preparing for the baby�s arrival. After about eight sets of pushes and a little cut, the baby was born at 5:44 p.m. Our healthy little girl weighs 7 lb 5 oz and is 19 inches long. The diameter of her head was larger than her chest confirming that she was born early.
The nurses cleaned the baby up and perform standard tests to determine her vital statistics. Now it was time to decide on her name. Her middle name was to be Marie based on Daniel�s mom�s middle name. Her first name would be Eliana, Natalie, or Brenna. After seeing her, it was no doubt that her name would be Eliana. While the doctor was patching up Sophie, Baby Eliana was handed to her daddy. It was adorable. She could not take her eyes off of him. Eliana immediately bonded to her father. This must be because of all that time he spent talking and reading the Bible to her. Next, Eliana was handed to mommy for bonding and nursing. She still had her eyes focused on her daddy. A few minutes later, she focused on mommy and exhibited an urge to feed. Exhausted and happy Sophie started breast feeding Eliana right away. Because Eliana got so excited about latching on to mommy�s breast, she did not take time to breath. Baby Eliana turned blue and got the nurse, Josie, really concerned. Josie took her from mommy and made sure Eliana started breathing. Concerned that this would happen again, the nurses took Eliana to the nursery to monitor her for the night. Therefore Eliana could not room with us for the night.At around 6:30 p.m. Daniel and Sophie were told they were being moved to the post-partum room for the evening. Eliana would stay in the nursery so that they can monitor her breathing for the evening. Mommy and Daddy would have to come to the nursery at various times for nursing. Right before they moved Sophie to the post-partum room, 219, Daniel tried to go home to eat dinner. But before he could leave, Sophie�s dad and two brothers came to visit. They were so excited and didn�t know what to do so they just sat there and visit with us. That was great. They got to see Eliana through the nursery window. Sophie�s brother, Jason, thinks Eliana will have hazel eyes just like her father.
After Sophie was fed hospital food, she was moved to the post-partum room in a wheelchair. Still exhausted and having after pains, it was difficult for her to go to the bathroom and lay down on the bed. The nurse, Maggie, monitored Sophie�s health every 3 hours to make sure she was doing ok. Sophie was finally able to go to the bathroom with less pain right before she had to go nurse Eliana. In the meantime, Roy and Victoria Swaney came to visit us, bringing lasagna to feed Daniel since the hospital was not going to give him food. Sophie did not realize that Daniel would not get fed. Lisa Tran also visited for a few minutes. As usual, Daniel did not complain and reassured Sophie that he can go home for breakfast and fix him some Peanut Butter and Jelly sandwiches the next day for lunch. We lived 5 minutes from the hospital so this was convenient for us. As the first day wound down, with Daniel�s help and our boppy pillow, Sophie was able to nurse Eliana three times that night. We forgot to mention our one gripe with the Baylor hospital�s nursery. We specifically told them not to give Eliana a pacifier since it will confuse her during the breastfeeding process. They gave her one and it caused her to stop breathing from over-excitement. The rest of the evening was spent watching the Mavericks/Heat Finals Game 1 on TV. The Dallas Mavs won so this definitely added more excitement to the blessing we had today with the birth of Eliana.
Day 2: Friday, June 9, 2006
Sophie woke up the next morning to a new nurse, Latha, who checked her vital statistics and gave her ibuprofen for afterpains. Shortly, after Latha left, Eliana was brought into our room for nursing and to stay with us the rest of the day. Mommy and Daddy were very happy to see their little girl. Sophie has never seen Daniel this happy since their wedding day. Becoming a father does something special to a man. The pediatrician, Dr. Worsley, came by to give us a status of Eliana breathing monitor. He said she was doing well. However, we had to stay an extra night at the hospital to make sure Eliana was ok.
At around 9:00 a.m. Daniel went home to take a shower, eat breakfast, and bring things back to the hospital. Shortly after Daniel left, Sophie and Eliana were greeted with all sorts of visitors. Christy Aguillard, Children�s Minister, from Birchman Baptist Church came to visit us. The photographer from Growing Families came by to take pictures of mommy and baby to post on the Baylor Hospital website. Philip Griffin, Music Minister, from Birchman Baptist Church took a break, while moving to a new home, to stop by and for a few minutes. After that, a nurse came by and did a Hearing Screening on Eliana. Eliana passed the state-mandated hearing test with flying colors. This baby is very inquisitive just like her father. She is definitely �daddy�s little girl."
Sophie and Daniel woke up to a new nurse coming in to check Sophie�s vital signs. Her name was Cheryl. Shortly after that, the nurse from the Hospital�s Nursery brought Eliana back to mommy for nursing. After she nursed her, Eliana fell asleep and was out for several hours. While Eliana was sleeping, Sophie and Daniel spent some time with each other. Our love for each other is growing stronger every day. Also, the birth of our daughter has made it even more special. God continues to richly bless us. Right before lunch, the nurse, Cheryl, came in and asked us what time we want to be discharge from the hospital. We told them by 2 p.m. After lunch, Daniel packed up all our things and brought them down to the car. A little bit before 2 p.m., the family got to go home. It was wonderful to welcome our little bundle of joy home. At 7 p.m. the Johnson�s, Sophie�s friends, came by to visit and brought us really good food (chicken and gravy) to eat for the next couple of days. Sophie and Daniel were very grateful for their generosity.
Eliana�s aunt, Lisa, came over to visit us. She brought mommy and daddy some food. Mommy got to talk to Grandma Floyd in Alabama. Grandma Floyd wants to come by next week to stay with us and help out. Mommy is working on finding her a ticket here.