The Haug Family: Happy Birth Day, Mr. Elliot!

I had my last OB appointment on January 23rd, at 38 weeks and 6 days pregnant. Evie and I went and saw Dr. Ronco. I had been feeling pretty heavy and tired. When she checked me, she said that I was 3cm dilated and 50% effaced. She stripped my membranes with hopes that it would send me into labor, and we talked about scheduling an induction. I only measured 37.5cm and had measured 38cm 2 weeks before, so baby boy had definitely dropped! That afternoon Dr. Ronco's nurse called with my induction date: Friday the 25th, be at Women's Hospital at 6:30am. We had Grandma Marie come down and stay Thursday night so we could head to the hospital bright and early on Friday morning! Here is the long birth story, but you can just skip to the pictures at the end if you would like!

We got to the hospital, got registered, and headed up to our room. I had blood drawn, an IV placed, and fluids started. Lisbeth was my nurse for the day, and was absolutely fabulous. My biggest concern was getting my antibiotics in since I was Strep B positive, and she stayed on top of the pharmacy until they arrived! The resident checked me, and said that I was 4 cm dilated and 50% effaced. Crazy that I walked in the door like that! I was hoping that the day would go quickly since I was almost halfway there already. We got our pitocin started, and settled in for the day. Dr. Gates came in to see us. He was on call for my practice that day, and is just the nicest guy. It had started snowing, and he said the roads were slick, so we got there at a good time! My meds were all started by 8ish.

At 12:45 when I got checked, I was only at 5.5 cm, but 75% effaced. Things were working, but going to take awhile. That was OK since I needed to get my antibiotics in. My contractions had finally fallen into a regular pattern by this point, so Dr. Gates broke my water, and said that there was no turning back now! My contractions weren't very painful, and I was distracting myself by texting with a few friends, so Jon and Lisbeth both went to lunch. Lisbeth was laughing at me. She was in awe that I was contracting every 3 minutes, and reading a magazine. It's all about focus, baby! I have a pretty high threshold for pain.

Around 2:15 after they both came back from lunch, and Lisbeth reassured me that getting the epidural wouldn't slow down the labor process since it was controlled by Pitocin anyways, I decided to go for it. I made a good decision too, because while I was getting it placed, things were getting pretty uncomfortable! The anesthesiologist was awesome! He had a resident with him, and there was a student nurse following me, so he explained everything step by step in detail as he did it. The one person who didn't appreciate this was Jon. He was looking a bit green while I was getting poked in the back. I asked him several times if he was OK. Luckily he made it through. ;)

At 3 pm I was still only 5-6 cm dilated, but 90% effaced. Dr. Gates reassured me that everything was going well. Lisbeth kept saying that I had a beautiful baby on the monitor, and all of the other nurses were jealous. We continued to hang out. Jon had watched a movie or two during all of this, and we worked on a name.

At 4:30 I was at 8 cm, and threw out the name Elliot. We spent a little time on google making sure there weren't any convicts named Elliot Jeffrey, checking out the meaning of the name, and the popularity. Yes, we were last minute decision makers again.

At 5:15 things were getting a little scary. Lisbeth was concerned because the baby started having decels on the monitor(heart rate dropping), so I was turned onto my left side and put on oxygen. I was a bit freaked out, to say the least, but was reassured that sometimes when things progress quickly, this is pretty normal. They also said that if they tickled the top of baby's head, his heart rate would go back up which is a good sign. I was checked, and completely dilated and effaced. He was still up a bit high.

Dr. Gates came in a bit later, and said that baby was still a little high, but we could try a practice push to see what would happen. My practice push sent the little guy all the way down, and it was time to deliver! After 1-2 pushes, his little head was halfway out, and I was told to sit and wait. This was the most uncomfortable part of the whole thing. Dr. Gates was giving his head a little time to stretch everything out. I wanted to push, but stayed put and followed directions. Luckily this guy came out facing the right way. After about 5 minutes, I was instructed to push again. His head was all the way out, with his little hand resting on his cheek. I think I only pushed 1-2 more times, and Baby Haug #3 was on my chest crying. The entire process took maybe 15 minutes. It was such an easy delivery! Jon cut the cord, and I got to hold the little guy for a bit before they took him over to check him out.

Elliot Jeffrey Haug was born at 6:14pm on January 25, 2013. We all took a guess on his weight, and were all way under. Little Mr. ended up being 8 pounds and 11 ounces, and 21 inches long. What??? I was in complete shock that I had an almost 9 pound baby on board. He is so long though, he isn't chunky at all. He has blue eyes, dark hair, and the sweetest chubby cheeks. Looking back at the other two, he is a total clone of Ollie, just with a rounder face and head. We are madly in love with the little guy. He is so chill and very sweet!

Yet again, we had a wonderful experience at St. Vincent Women's Hospital. In the post-partum unit, I had the same two nurses both days/nights. Chris and Laura were both so sweet and wonderful. Due to the horrible flu outbreak, we weren't allowed to have any visitors, but facetimed multiple times with Ollie and Evie, and also got facetime visits from Aunt Erin, Aunt Jenna, Aunt Jody, and the Injays.

Elliot did great at the hospital. He is nursing well, and peeing and pooping great. He failed his first hearing test in his left ear, but then passed both sides 12 hours later. We think that he is absolutely perfect. I just want to snuggle with him all the time! We got to go home Sunday evening. It was raining and warm out. Crazy Indiana weather!

Last belly shot: 39 weeks, 1 day pregnant!