Myelle's Birthday

We started the day bright and early in the morning after spending the night at a hotel fairly close to the hospital. When we were on our way in at 7:00 in the morning the thermostat read 64 degrees. It was pretty unbelievable that it was so warm out for our baby's December arrival.

When we got to the hospital, they admitted me and got me started on an IV and put the baby on a monitor. There were delays in the operating room due to an emergency C-section so we were around 30 minutes behind schedule. The wait was a calm one and gave us some time to think about baby names some more. Brett had taken the phone book from the hotel to look for baby boy name ideas since that was the name we still had not settled on 100%. We also prayed together that everything would go well, for the doctors and nurses caring for us, and for everyone who would be traveling to visit our new little arrival.

All of a sudden it was our turn to go back to the operating room. They wheeled me in on my hospital bed and I moved over to the operating table to get the spinal anesthetic. It was a little more painful/pressure than I remember with Kyler. I could tell my nerves were getting the best of me as I was being prepared for surgery. My chest felt tight and I was a little nauseous and light-headed. They gave me some different drugs to help with those symptoms but I really think most of it was stress. Even though I had been through the same surgery before, it still made me nervous and that mother's instinct sort of kicked in where I had great love and concern for my child. The doctor asked Brett if he wanted to be the one to announce the gender of the baby and he was excited to do so.

When they pulled the baby out, the waterworks started. I couldn't help the tears that were flowing down my face and the anesthesiologist kept having to wipe them away for me. I was just so happy that this day had finally come. We had tried long and hard to have this little miracle baby. The doctor told us that the baby had some hair and then told Brett when to take a look for his announcement. It took him a minute and we were both shocked when "girl" came out of his mouth. For me, it only caused more tears of joy. I was in disbelief that I now had a daughter.

She was not much of a crier, especially compared to how noisy her big brother was when he was born. I had to see her before we could confirm her name would be Myelle. Once we told the doctors and nurses her name, they all gushed over what a beautiful and unique name it was. Myelle was wide awake and looking around the whole time we were in the operating room. She cried only when she was being tampered with. She scored 8s and 9s on the Apgar ratings and the only concern they had was that her breathing was a little rapid but they tested her oxygen levels and they were fine.

When we got back to the recovery room, I was able to nurse her and have skin-to-skin contact right away. She did pretty good nursing and her breathing slowed down to where they wanted it. We called the grandparents and started sending out texts and emails with our announcement while she was being bathed. She continued to be alert and wide eyed most of the day with the exception of a couple of two-hour naps. The nurses gave her lots of compliments on her perfect lips.

Big Brother Kyler, Grandma Debbie, and Papa were Myelle's first visitors. Grandma and Papa said that Kyler was very excited when they told him about his little sister and he loved looking at her picture on their phones. When they stopped to get a few little gifts for Myelle, Kyler wanted to carry them and picked out some colorful socks for his sister. He kept calling her "Baby Pat." Hopefully after we get home he will get used to the fact that she has a real name now. Great Aunt Susan also stopped by with her girls and Matt. Myelle seemed to enjoy listening to the conversation and was pretty wide eyed through all the visits. Everyone commented on how she didn't seem like she was less than 12 hours old with how alert and attentive she was.

Myelle didn't have a pacifier the entire first day. She seemed to enjoy being swaddled instead. Her favorite thing is to lie on Mama's chest to keep warm. She nursed very well for the most part except during her middle of the night feeding. She wouldn't wake up for anything so I had to try again an hour later. The night nurse was a super sweet lady and gave her a handmade hat that is super warm and incredibly soft. The next morning, Myelle ate really well at her first two feedings. We are hoping she has her days and night straight - she sure seems to right now anyway.

We are so in love with our sweet little Ellie. She is the perfect addition to our family and has melted our hearts already. She is a very cuddly baby who loves to be held close, tight, and warm. So far, she has a great disposition and hasn't done much crying at all.

Happy Birthday, Myelle Elise! And welcome to the world!!!