How Did We End Up Here?

No, this isn’t going to be a fifth grade birds-and-the-bees lesson, so stop covering your eyes. This is going to be the story of the transition from the ending of one nine month journey to the beginning of another one.

The date of her arrival had been picked for a while. After what happened with both Ezra and Liam, there really wasn’t a choice on this matter. Oct 16 was going to be the day. First week of fall break in the schools, done with parent conferences, after everyone’s birthdays, etc, etc….and that was a week prior to her cycle-based due date of Oct 22. Everything was planned around that date including trips and work schedules…and also including our preparedness level.

As mentioned before, we didn’t go too far with the pre-work in the house. But we also didn’t get anything done in the car, or didn’t get a ‘go bag’ ready, or didn’t plan too much in the event things went at a different schedule than the calendar suggested. And well, here we are writing this.

Thankfully I had just got off of work yesterday morning after a 48 hour shift that included middle of the night runs each night. And by thankfully, I mean that I was thankful to have been at home for this to start (not the part of being up each night). Ahna had been doing those kick counts twice a day, and Elia had not met the kick count that morning. Much worry set in, Ezra found a place with the neighbors until my Dad could get him, and off we went to the hospital.

She moved some on the drive in, so some of the panic was tempered, but there was still lots of worry and concern in the air. We got to the hospital, got checked in, and got put on the monitor – where we could see that there was nothing wrong with the baby at all. Movement was ok, and pulse was good. Emotions settled some. However, there was still a lot to be determined, including the course of action from that point forward. Ahna was kept on the monitor for at three more hours, during which time she actually started to go into labor….the very early stages, but labor none-the-less. This changed the ball game. This set in motion the course of action that resulted in a tremendous whirl wind of activity, of doctors, of decision, and of concern.

45 minutes later we were in the OR, hearts beating through our chests, and emotions at an all time high – only put into control by the fact that we were somewhat stunned to be in there to begin with. The procedure went really well, thanks to the hands of three of the best doctors in the entire world…two of which were there the night that Liam was born, including our OB…and a cast of very talented nurses, anesthesiologists, etc.

At 2:12pm, MST, Elia Marie entered our world. She looked great, perked right up, and met all of her newborn marks. At that exact same second, a wave of emotion hit, and 22 tons of weight left our shoulders. She and I made our way into the Post-Op room and waited there for Ahna to finish up with the surgery.

This experience has been so amazingly different from either Ezra or Liam, and it is a little breathtaking at times. I think that both of us have found out the exact meaning of anxiety, yet have also found out the true meaning of love and support.

To Dr. Cassel and her team, to the staff at Parker Hospital, to family, to friends, and to the unbelievable people at Children’s: thank you, thank you, thank you. We would not be celebrating with sane minds and full hearts without what you have done and continue to do for us.

And now, the chance to celebrate Elia.