Welcome Eloise Belle!

I was SO ready to give birth. SO ready to not be pregnant anymore. My body was sore and uncomfortable + I hate hate hate waiting. 

And, as you probably guessed by my dwindling bumpdates, I was spending as much time as possible with George + was becoming so hella-uncomfy and exhausted, ha.

I was pretty convinced I was going to give birth early this time around. George Bear was born at 40+1 (you can read his birth story here!) and I had heard that second babies come sooner (and faster!). Andddd because I felt very uncomfortable at the end of this pregnancy and because I was hyper-aware of my body, I thought for sure Eloise would arrive sooner!

Well. My due date came and went + I was OVER IT. I knew that life as we knew it was going to change forever and waiting for it was driving me crazy! I was fortunate enough to have a “due date” buddy–my girl Tori was due with her second baby only a few days after me so we spent quite a bit of time texting each other for updates and to send the HUH? emojis to one another. 

On Tuesday January 23rd, I decided to let go of my every morning thought of  “today’s the day!” + just get on with my life. I put on makeup and did a ton of work. I also bounced on a yoga ball for hours at a time.

I was putting George to sleep that night and while I was snuggling and rocking him, I heard a weird little “POP” sound + I immediately was worried my water broke on his bed, ha. It didn’t + I went to the bathroom to make sure I was all good and I had lost a little tiny bit of mucuous plug (haha TMI!?!). I sent a text to Auntie Neen (my bestie Christine!) to let her know that maybeeee something was going to go down and maybe it was going to go down tonight.

I went to bed wayyyy too late with no contractions in sight.

At 1am I was woken up by a contraction + holy moly it was intense! But, I had been experiencing Braxton Hicks for a few weeks at this point so I was debating if they were the real deal. So, not only was I debating whether these contractions were the real deal but I was also concerned that they would be the real deal + Neen wouldn’t be here in time and I would give birth on the Gardiner Expressway. WHICH WOULD BE MY NIGHTMARE.

ANYWAY.

I sent for an Uber to pick her up + then once she arrived, Aaron and I grabbed our bags (I packed WAY too much!) and made our way to the hospital. We arrived at 3am and once we were in triage, they told me I was already 4cm! Woo! But instead of going in to our room right away, it was recommended we walk the halls to get more dilated + ready to meet our little missus.

At this point, I’ve had 2 hours of sleep but I was oh so excited that we were finally going to meet baby sissie! We walked around and I rocked through my contractions for another hour and a half.

They were getting pretty intense + I was getting exhausted so I decided to go back to triage and head into our room! I had an epidural but decided this time around I wouldn’t be so button happy + allow myself to feel my contractions (albeit a duller version of them!) and pressure to push. I, unfortunately, felt very nauseous in the first 45 minutes of the epidural but it was nothing three glasses of apple juice couldn’t fix…extra pebble ice too, of course!

The nurses broke my water around 7am ish and we were waiting to see if my body would dilate quicker on it’s own + if not, I was going to have some pitocin. Amazingly, my body dilated from 5cm to 10cm within the hour AND all of a sudden, I felt the most incredible pressure down south. Like, I was fairly confident I was going to poop everywhere. But nope, that’s what it feels like when you’re ready to push. I should note, with George’s birth (a completely different story!!), I didn’t feel ANYTHING. Like, anything. So, I never experienced this type of pressure before…

I started pushing at 8:57am and she arrived at 9:13am!!! It was fast and furious and intense (because, yes, I actually did feel EVERYTHING this time around which I am so happy + proud of!) and beautiful. As soon as she was out, she was placed on my chest and I weeped.

My sweet baby girl had finally made her arrival + she was beautiful. I looked at Aaron and I couldn’t stop smiling (and crying!). She looked like a mini version of her brother with a stork bite on her forehead + over her right eye. Literally, perfection.

From the moment she arrived, she has been so chill + immensely aware. She immediately latched on and has been nursing like a champion. And ugh, what was life before Eloise?!

Her big brother loves her + he comments on how “tiny” and “cuuuuute” sissie is. I basically just melt into a puddle. All day, err day. When he met her, he was so sweet and gentle + just kept saying “awwww”. Ugh, my heart couldn’t/can’t take it.

Eloise Belle, we love you something fierce. You are everything I ever hoped for in a daughter + I am SO looking forward to getting to know you better, love you harder, and cuddle you every day. You’re a peach. Thank you for choosing us.