Recapping the Big Day

It has been a very busy week, but at the same time it has been incredible.  We are kind of getting into a routine of eat, sleep, diaper/outfit change, repeat...

Here is how the big day went down!  

We made it to the hospital at 7 am.  All of Jennie's work friends were excited to see us.  They had our room all ready with a sweet poster on the door that they had all signed.  For those of you that don't know, we delivered at the hospital where Jennie is a labor and delivery nurse, so we got the royal treatment to say the least.  After getting checked in, they started Jennie's IV and Dr. Livingston came around 9 am and broke her water.  The contractions got a little more intense after that and at 10:30 she got her epidural.  

This is Jennie after the epidural (first four pictures are courtesy of Ryan Jackson Photography)...

Our delivery room

Jennie's belly

The excited parents!

After the epidural, things started to slow down.....  She stayed at 4 cm from 11 am to 4 pm.  We were getting kind of worried since she wasn't progressing very quickly.  But at 4 she was 6 cm, then at 5:30 she was complete.  Then we "labored down" for an hour.  That is one of many inside L & D terms that I learned during this experience.  It means that even though you are ready to push, you just wait it out for a little bit so you don't have to push as long.  Well, at 6:30 we got ready to push.  I was very nervous because I was the only person in the room that doesn't do this for a living!  It was way less stressful than I thought it would be.  The epidural makes life very easy.  Jennie pushed for almost 30 minutes and at 6:54 pm she was born!  It was an awesome experiance to see her and to watch them put her on Jennie's chest.  It was a really special moment.  Here are some pictures from right after the birth.  Thanks to Lisa for taking the pictures...

Our first family photo

Here she is posing as she gets weighed.  Jazz hands!

It was a really special day for all of us.  The hospital stay was as nice as a hospital stay can be.   The whole staff really showered their love on Jennie and Elliot while we were there.  It was awesome to see how much she is loved. 

The first night was interesting.  We kept her in the room with us and tried to get some sleep (yeah right).  It wasn't so bad, as the excitement and adrenaline were enough to get us through.  I can't brag enough about how good of a baby she is.  She eats like a champion every two hours, she doesn't cry very often, she sleeps good.  I don't want to jinx it, but so far, she is an awesome baby.  We went for her doctor's appointment today and they didn't have to do the jaundice blood work because she looked so good!  Also, she is almost back at her birth weight so they said we could skip the 2 week appointment!  Nice work Elliot!  

We have had so much support from friends and family and we are so thankful to everyone!  We are utterly and truly blessed!  Here are a few more pictures....

Another family photo back at home

Mommy and Elliot taking a well deserved nap!

Our little alert Elliot trying to get the camera!