Ella Ann gave us quite a surprise when she decided to join us on Monday, January 5, 2009. Here is her story:
I had gone to the doctor on Wednesday, December 17th and had an ultrasound during which they discovered that the baby was small at only 4.5 pounds and breach. Dr. Soleanicov ordered me to have non-stress tests each week to make sure that the baby’s heart rate was OK. On Friday, December 26th I wen
t for another ultrasound to have my fluid level checked and another non-stress test. Dr. Soleanicov was out that day so I saw Dr. B. I had a few strong contractions during the test and he thought that we should move my scheduled c-section date up but he wanted me to talk to Dr. Soleanicov first. So, on Monday, December 29th I went back for another test and ultrasound to measure my fluid levels and Dr. Soleanicov thought that everything looked fine and there was no need to move it u
p. She scheduled me for another ultrasound to get the baby’s weight again and another non-stress test the following Monday.
So on Monday, January 5th, I kissed Sarah goodbye telling her I would see her in a little while and Matt took her to Mamaw’s house while I went to my doctor’s appointment. Little did I know that the next time I would see my little girl, she wouldn’t seem so little anymore! The ultrasound showed that the baby
was 6 pounds 6 ounces but the tech said that she wasn’t sure how accurate that was because it was hard to get accurate measurements the way the baby was sitting. During my non-stress test I had multiple contractions that were quite strong. Dr. Soleanicov decided to send me to the hospital for more monitoring. I called Matt and asked him to meet me at the hospital. We got there around 4:30 and they asked how far apart my contractions had be
en. I told them I wasn’t sure but I thought about every 10 to 15 minutes. Once they got me hooked up they found out that I was having them every 3 minutes! I was also dilated to 3 and almost totally thinned out. The nurse told me she would call the doctor on call but that I was going to have a baby that night!
Even though I made a point of meeting all of the doct
ors in the practice, the doctor on call was not a member of the practice so I was quite nervous to learn that someone I had never met would be delivering the baby. Dr. Holden was very nice though and made me feel very comfortable. They took me to the OR around 6 pm but just as they were getting ready to begin the spinal block they realized that no one had called the
pediatrician. And so began the wait…the pediatrician said she was only 20 minutes away but they didn’t want to start until she got there. In the meantime, another mother was having difficulty delivering so my doctor left to tend to her, the anesthesiologist had to go to another floor for something else, and it was shift change for the nurses. So I started with one group of people and by the time they actually got started I had a whole new nursing staff and was on my t
hird anesthesiologist (I told them I’d be checking my bill to make sure I wasn’t charged for all of them!). Luckily the nurse that had been taking care of me since I arrived decided to stay so that I would have one familiar face. Meanwhile, poor Matt was waiting outside the OR wondering if he was going to miss the whole thing.
They finally got everyone in the room at the same time after about an hour. They got the spinal done and it worked much better than the epidural
did with Sarah. Matt got to come in and at 7:31 pm Ella Ann was born! Since she was breach she came out bottom first and they informed us we had a little girl by telling us that they could see “a girl butt”. We were so excited! It was really great to be able to be awake this time and to have Matt there with me. Matt went over and got her and brought her up so I could see my beautiful little girl. She was 6 pounds 6 ounces (just like the ultrasound tech said earlier in the
afternoon!) and 19 inches long.
I was in the hospital with her for just two nights and went home on Wednesday. Tuesday morning my mom dropped Sarah off at the hospital and Matt brought her up to the room to meet her new little sister. Sarah was very excited to see me and wanted to grab Ella and give her a hug right away. She learned Ella’s name and the new word sister. Matt & I were both in shock at how much Sarah “grew” between Monday afternoon and Tuesday morning!
Ella is healthy and b
eautiful. Due to her being breach her left hip socket is not fully developed and so her leg pops out of place easily. We will be taking her to an orthopedic specialist to have this corrected. She has an appointment for an ultrasound of her hip on January 30th and then she will most likely be fitted for a brace that will correct this problem in 2 to 4 months. Until then we have to double diaper her to help hold her leg in place.
The first week has been very busy with doctor appointments and visitors and very little sleep. Ella refuses to be swaddled
anymore and won’t sleep unless she is curled up like she was in the womb so we now prop her in her boppy pillow in her crib and she sleeps well that way. She seems to have her days and nights mixed up so we are working on that as well. I am trying to breast feed this time and while my milk actually came in I’m finding it very difficult to feed Ella and care for Sarah by myself after Matt goes to work. I think it will take me a little longer to work out a schedule this time around!
Well, it’s taken me over a week to write this one post so I’ll try to update as often as I can and post pictures but I’m not making any promises!
What a month we've had with Ella Ann. We found out that she has colic so we've been dealing with that. We had tried about everything, swaddling, white noise, motion, pacifier, etc. when friends of our recommended taking her to a chiropractor. I really thought they were crazy at first until I started doing some research online and found out that 96 % of parents reported an improvement after just 2 to 4 visits. After several days and nights of non-stop screaming (not just crying but all out screaming) I was willing to try anything so I called an made an appointment. After just two visits we started to notice a difference in Ella's behavior. She didn't scream anymore and when 
she did cry we could more easily comfort her. Also, she started sleeping for longer periods at night and best of all, we finally got to see her smile! 
I have been brave lately and have taken the girls to some playdates by myself and I'm getting the hang of it. My goal right now for outings is to not be more than 15 minutes late. I can't believe I ever thought it was hard to go out with just one baby! Matt and I try to spend some one on one time with each of the girls throughout the week and hopefully we can continue that once I go back to work in just 2 more weeks. I thought it would be easier the second time around but I'm finding I'm dreading leaving the girls just as much as last time. We are trying to find a daycare we are comfortable with to watch the girls for the couple of hours that our schedules overlap so that is adding to my anxiety this time around. Hopefully Ella will continue to do well with the schedule changes coming up.
