Eliza Rachel Byram
She's here!! And she's perfect! Eliza Rachel Byram joined our family on Wednesday, September 13, 2017 at 10:39 pm. She weighed 7 lbs, 1 oz and was 20 inches long.
It's not really a secret that I had a lot of fears and anxieties about her birth, but overall I'd say that while it was still insanely painful and not how my ideal birth would go, it was less traumatic for me than both Kate and Josh's births and all things considered, it went pretty darn smoothly. I am so, so grateful for that! (And especially for my amazing nurse Kristi and Michael for making it happen!)
I'd been walking around dilated to almost a 4 for a week already on the morning of my OB appointment on Wednesday, the 13th. I had been very nervous the whole week leading up to that day that I'd be going into labor at any second. I SO did not feel ready and hoped that she'd wait a little longer. (And she did just that! Ha!) I stopped exercising and tried to take it as easy as I possibly could in hopes that Eliza would wait until at least the 13th. Ideally, I wanted to make it to that day because that's when my mother in law (Kathy) would be coming into town. While I have amazing friends that would take my older kids for me in a heartbeat so me and Michael could go to the hospital to have a baby, it sure would make it a lot easier on everyone if Kathy was here so that she could take care of all that. I was also really hoping that she wouldn't be born on the 11th. Yes, there are worse things than being born on 9/11, but it's not the birthday I would choose for her.
Anyway, back to my OB appointment. I checked with Kathy to make sure she was still coming that day and then asked my doctor at the appointment to strip my membranes. It's kind of funny how well stripping my membranes works for me. For both Kate and Josh, I went into labor about 8-12 hours after stripping my membranes, so I was fairly certain that it would work again. And as scared as I was about labor and delivery, I was also super uncomfortable and knew that this baby would have to come out eventually... so might as well do it sooner rather than later. :-) Especially because I was 38.5 weeks and this girl was fully cooked!
Well, I tried to stay busy that day. I took Kate and Josh to see Halloween decorations at Walmart and then took Kate to preschool. I tried to clean up the house a little and spend some quality time with Josh before picking up Matthew and Kate from school. And then Kathy got into town. We hung out with her and then Michael came home from work and we had dinner. After that I got the kids ready for bed and read them books and laid with each one of them. While doing all this bedtime stuff I felt a few contractions. After I put them all down I went to our bedroom and just kinda sat on the couch in there. I couldn't do much other than play mindlessly on my phone because I was paying such close attention to my contractions and feeling kinda nervous about everything that I suspected might happen that night. The contractions continued but weren't very painful yet. I'd actually been having soooo many contractions for several weeks, so I didn't want to jump the gun and go running off to the hospital prematurely just because I was overly confident in getting my membranes swept. Well, Michael came upstairs and I let him know what was happening. It was probably around 8 or 8:30 pm. He got in the shower and by the time he got out I was preparing to go to the hospital. He asked what else we needed to pack and I told him to get my wallet and the phone charger and put it in the bag. After that we let Kathy know we were leaving and off we went!
We were chatting on the way to the hospital and even then I wasn't a thousand percent sure that we'd actually go in. I just wanted to be close just in case the contractions got super intense. (Looking back, if they were intense enough for me to drive towards the hospital, then then were intense enough.) However, the hospital is only five minutes away and by the time we pulled up, I was like, "WE ARE GOING IN." Haha. So glad we left when we did! We went right up to L&D and checked in. They informed us that it was insanely busy that day and there weren't even any delivery rooms open! UGH!!!!! Seriously, WHY does this always happen to me!? (Yep I just wrote that dramatic line, but I can't even begin to tell you how frustrating it is that I only seem to have my babies when it's insanely busy.) However, they sent me to triage and gave me a hospital gown to change into. After I did so I walked back out and I remember standing in the middle of the triage room with Michael, unsure of where to go next. There were no nurses around for a few minutes! So we just stood there and I wasn't happy that another contraction hit while I was just standing there in a hospital gown. Eventually a nurse directed me to what I think was the last open bed in triage. Agh. It was in the corner and was the smallest space ever. It barely fit the bed and didn't even have a chair for Michael. Michael did find a birthing ball in the common area and chose to sit on that. Haha!
Eventually my nurse, Kristi, came to see me. SHE WAS AMAZING!!! Seriously the best nurse ever. Michael explained to her what my labors are like (very very fast) and that this was our fourth kid and that if at all possible I'd love an epidural. As bad as I wanted one, I knew my chances weren't very high of getting one - especially since it was so busy. But Kristi jumped into action. I was so amazed and grateful for how hard she tried to move things along quickly and get me that epidural! She checked me, told me I was a 5, and got me officially admitted. Then she sent out to get my labs done and my IV bag going. She told me that as soon as the bag was gone or almost gone, I could get my epidural. I remember feeling a glimmer of hope because I thought, "Hm, it only takes a couple minutes to get those fluids in me, right????" (ha) She said she'd try her hardest to get me into a delivery room as soon as one opened.
I also want to mention that there was a girl right next to me (a curtain away) that was in labor and in a lot of pain. She was vocal and moaning and Michael joked that it sounded like a torture house in there, where everyone can hear other people being tortured. I thought that was funny, and true. But anyway, Kristi told me that that girl was kind of in a race with me to get the next available room. Even though she'd beaten me to triage, Kristi said she was going to try to get me in first because I was most likely to deliver first. Some guy came to get my labs and as soon as he was done they stuck me with the IV for my bag of fluids. I was so excited for how fast things were moving, especially since it was so busy that night! They also had me sign the paperwork for my epidural, and I remember wondering/doubting if that paperwork would even be necessary. I was still not feeling super hopeful about getting that epidural.
Well, eventually the contractions were getting so bad that I felt the panic start to creep up, as much as I tried to stop it. I remember looking at my IV bag and wondering WHY THOSE THINGS ARE SO FREAKING SLOW!? CAN'T I JUST SWALLOW IT OR SOMETHING!? After one particularly bad contraction I had a hard time not crying. I feel like a wimp admitting that but I could tell that transition was only minutes away and I was scared. Knowing (and suddenly remembering very clearly) just how bad that hurts is kinda terrifying. ;-) Michael was encouraging me, feeding me ice, and trying to get me to breathe a certain way. I was trying to stay in control and pretty much expecting my water to break at any second, since that usually happens when I'm around a 5 or 6 and that means that I'm in transition and birth is just a few minutes away. I really tried to remember all the empowering things about giving birth. Birth is miraculous! I can do this! Women's bodies are amazing, gosh darn it! It is truly awesome what we can do! But it is just so hard to focus on that when you're in that kind of pain.
Suddenly, in walks Krisi WITH THE EPIDURAL GUY! She went and got him for me and brought him into triage to give me my epidural right then and there, even though my IV bag was probably not even halfway gone. I couldn't believe my eyes. Michael did a little celebratory move. He was genuinely so happy for me, which I remember thinking was really cute. They had me sit up and Kristi had me hold onto a pillow. Michael was basically kicked out of the area since there was really no room for him in that tiny space with the anesthesiologist in there. I remember that as soon as I sat up and held onto the pillow, a contraction hit and it was absolutely a transition contraction. There was no doubt about it. I had no idea how to stay in control at this point and I remember thinking, "Um, is this epidural worth it at this point? I'll probably be ready to push in about three minutes...." As I'm thinking this the anesthesiologist is doing his thing and rubbing something on my back with and telling me to hold very, very still. SO HARD when you're in transition! I could hear Michael also telling me to hold still and also saying, "This is probably your LAST horrible contraction you'll feel.... EVER! You've got this!!" Somehow (it felt like a miracle) I managed to get through it by telling myself I was almost there, and this was almost done. The epidural was placed and I laid back down. They immediately started moving me out of triage and to the L&D room that had just opened up. As we were leaving I gave the anesthesiologist a very, very sincere thank you. I knew he probably didn't have to be so accommodating and I was truly grateful. However, as we went down the hall on the bed I did NOT feel the pain relief I was hoping for. (But I was being kinda silly because I was hoping to instantly feel nothing, HA!) I told Michael and Kristi how bad it still hurt and Kristi said that when you're really far along, it can take a while for the epidural to catch up... but that it should start working any second to at least take the edge off. We passed a nurse that asked where we were going and Kristi told her and the nurse was mad because she'd wanted that room for HER patient. (The one next to me in triage.) Again, Kristi totally had my back and was such a good advocate. Love her!
We got into the room and told the nurse in there that I was likely going to deliver very quickly, though my water hadn't broken yet. (Which was very surprising to me.) It was about 10:25 pm. I remember Michael telling her that it would be nice to have the baby after midnight since I'd mentioned that the 14th was a prettier day than the 13th. The nurse agreed and then checked me. She laughed and said, "You're definitely going to have a 13th baby. There is no cervix left - you're complete." I was still in a lot of pain and as I was telling Michael how frustrated I was that I was still in so much pain, he said to me, "But.... you're talking! You're telling me about it!" Haha - that was significant because usually in transition/once at a 10 I'm not able to communicate or speak or do anything really other than yell. ;-) So that was when I finally realized that the epidural had indeed helped. Without that epidural, I definitely would've ended up giving birth in triage, without a doctor present. It was the only reason I was able to hold the baby in as long as I did. And it was good because the doctors were SO busy and I had to wait another few minutes for a doctor to get in there!
When my doctor walked in, she looked at me and laughed because she was the one who'd stripped my membranes that morning. She joked about how she shouldn't have done it because of the surplus of deliveries that night. Then she set me up and said, "Let's have this baby!" Music to my ears. She quickly broke my water (can't believe it didn't break on its own!) and then with the next contraction I got her head out and with a push after that, the rest of her was out. Two pushes and it was over! (Same as Joshua!) I felt it way more than I expected to with an epidural, but I assume that's because it still hadn't caught up to my body.... so it was such a relief to have her OUT! They immediately gave her to me and I got to hold my baby girl! I truly love this part of birth- it really is so magical. Everything is 1000% worth it when you get to meet your child face to face. I love my babies so, so much. And Eliza immediately stole my heart. I was and still am in awe of the miracle of life, and I feel so blessed to be entrusted with another beautiful daughter.
Michael cut the cord and we got to enjoy Eliza for the next hour or so before they did any measurements or anything. I finally had a chance to thank Kristi profusely for being such a rockstar and she told me that the girl next to me in triage had ended up delivering in triage. Eek! I feel really bad for her but I would've felt a lot worse if I'd taken the room and then not delivered for a while. It was either going to be me or her delivering in triage, and I was the one who ended up with the better and more aggressive nurse. ;-) So even though I tend to be unlucky in that the whole world always seems to go into labor at the same time as me, at least I got lucky in a lot of other things that night. Anyway, they eventually took all of Eliza's stats and I found out she was my smallest baby at 7 lbs 1 oz! I was pretty surprised about this since I was actually the most physically uncomfortable with her during the third trimester than any of my other kids.
When they moved me to a recovery room, they had to move me to a different wing (not maternity) because there were no available recovery rooms and they really needed my delivery room. Sheesh. I was more than happy to move of course, but my new room annoyed me because there was nowhere for Michael to sleep since it wasn't a maternity ward room. Also, my nurse was not a maternity nurse and while I appreciate that she stepped up to help with how busy they were, it was also apparent that she didn't really know what she was doing and she kept talking and talking to me at 3 or 4 am when I was pretty desperate to at least try to get a few minutes of sleep. I sent Michael home to sleep for a few hours because he actually had an important day of work the next day that he really couldn't miss.
The next morning Michael brought Matthew over for a few minutes to see Eliza on his way to school. Matthew was adorable and so excited to meet her. It made me so excited for the rest of them to come as well, which they did around dinner time that day. It was all kind of chaos when they came, which was pretty hilarious. I love my family. I am truly blessed.
I was so so excited to get out of the hospital the next day. (The 15th.) I hate being interrupted every 10 seconds and pretty much unable to sleep at all. I am usually delirious by the time I get home, and this time was no exception. I got home, let the kids snuggle Eliza for a bit, and then went and took as long a nap as I possibly could. I am so grateful that Kathy stayed a few more days to help out with the kids. She was such a huge blessing to us and I owe her so much!
My mom was also able to come for a couple days and she was heaven sent. She takes over absolutely everything and makes the new baby transition 100 times easier. It is always so hard when she leaves.
Eliza is such a sweetheart. She's a tiny little thing but she loves to eat. She sleeps okay, which I'll take. She grunts a lot and is my only kid to not freak out and get angry about tummy time. She loooooves the bath and being outside. She is the perfect addition to our family and I'm so thankful that she's ours! Yes, I'm SO tired and newborns are hard, but these are some of my favorite days ever. They go much too fast and I know that in no time at all I'll be wishing I could enjoy these newborn snuggles again. Love you Eliza!
I'd been walking around dilated to almost a 4 for a week already on the morning of my OB appointment on Wednesday, the 13th. I had been very nervous the whole week leading up to that day that I'd be going into labor at any second. I SO did not feel ready and hoped that she'd wait a little longer. (And she did just that! Ha!) I stopped exercising and tried to take it as easy as I possibly could in hopes that Eliza would wait until at least the 13th. Ideally, I wanted to make it to that day because that's when my mother in law (Kathy) would be coming into town. While I have amazing friends that would take my older kids for me in a heartbeat so me and Michael could go to the hospital to have a baby, it sure would make it a lot easier on everyone if Kathy was here so that she could take care of all that. I was also really hoping that she wouldn't be born on the 11th. Yes, there are worse things than being born on 9/11, but it's not the birthday I would choose for her.
Anyway, back to my OB appointment. I checked with Kathy to make sure she was still coming that day and then asked my doctor at the appointment to strip my membranes. It's kind of funny how well stripping my membranes works for me. For both Kate and Josh, I went into labor about 8-12 hours after stripping my membranes, so I was fairly certain that it would work again. And as scared as I was about labor and delivery, I was also super uncomfortable and knew that this baby would have to come out eventually... so might as well do it sooner rather than later. :-) Especially because I was 38.5 weeks and this girl was fully cooked!
Well, I tried to stay busy that day. I took Kate and Josh to see Halloween decorations at Walmart and then took Kate to preschool. I tried to clean up the house a little and spend some quality time with Josh before picking up Matthew and Kate from school. And then Kathy got into town. We hung out with her and then Michael came home from work and we had dinner. After that I got the kids ready for bed and read them books and laid with each one of them. While doing all this bedtime stuff I felt a few contractions. After I put them all down I went to our bedroom and just kinda sat on the couch in there. I couldn't do much other than play mindlessly on my phone because I was paying such close attention to my contractions and feeling kinda nervous about everything that I suspected might happen that night. The contractions continued but weren't very painful yet. I'd actually been having soooo many contractions for several weeks, so I didn't want to jump the gun and go running off to the hospital prematurely just because I was overly confident in getting my membranes swept. Well, Michael came upstairs and I let him know what was happening. It was probably around 8 or 8:30 pm. He got in the shower and by the time he got out I was preparing to go to the hospital. He asked what else we needed to pack and I told him to get my wallet and the phone charger and put it in the bag. After that we let Kathy know we were leaving and off we went!
We were chatting on the way to the hospital and even then I wasn't a thousand percent sure that we'd actually go in. I just wanted to be close just in case the contractions got super intense. (Looking back, if they were intense enough for me to drive towards the hospital, then then were intense enough.) However, the hospital is only five minutes away and by the time we pulled up, I was like, "WE ARE GOING IN." Haha. So glad we left when we did! We went right up to L&D and checked in. They informed us that it was insanely busy that day and there weren't even any delivery rooms open! UGH!!!!! Seriously, WHY does this always happen to me!? (Yep I just wrote that dramatic line, but I can't even begin to tell you how frustrating it is that I only seem to have my babies when it's insanely busy.) However, they sent me to triage and gave me a hospital gown to change into. After I did so I walked back out and I remember standing in the middle of the triage room with Michael, unsure of where to go next. There were no nurses around for a few minutes! So we just stood there and I wasn't happy that another contraction hit while I was just standing there in a hospital gown. Eventually a nurse directed me to what I think was the last open bed in triage. Agh. It was in the corner and was the smallest space ever. It barely fit the bed and didn't even have a chair for Michael. Michael did find a birthing ball in the common area and chose to sit on that. Haha!
Eventually my nurse, Kristi, came to see me. SHE WAS AMAZING!!! Seriously the best nurse ever. Michael explained to her what my labors are like (very very fast) and that this was our fourth kid and that if at all possible I'd love an epidural. As bad as I wanted one, I knew my chances weren't very high of getting one - especially since it was so busy. But Kristi jumped into action. I was so amazed and grateful for how hard she tried to move things along quickly and get me that epidural! She checked me, told me I was a 5, and got me officially admitted. Then she sent out to get my labs done and my IV bag going. She told me that as soon as the bag was gone or almost gone, I could get my epidural. I remember feeling a glimmer of hope because I thought, "Hm, it only takes a couple minutes to get those fluids in me, right????" (ha) She said she'd try her hardest to get me into a delivery room as soon as one opened.
I also want to mention that there was a girl right next to me (a curtain away) that was in labor and in a lot of pain. She was vocal and moaning and Michael joked that it sounded like a torture house in there, where everyone can hear other people being tortured. I thought that was funny, and true. But anyway, Kristi told me that that girl was kind of in a race with me to get the next available room. Even though she'd beaten me to triage, Kristi said she was going to try to get me in first because I was most likely to deliver first. Some guy came to get my labs and as soon as he was done they stuck me with the IV for my bag of fluids. I was so excited for how fast things were moving, especially since it was so busy that night! They also had me sign the paperwork for my epidural, and I remember wondering/doubting if that paperwork would even be necessary. I was still not feeling super hopeful about getting that epidural.
Well, eventually the contractions were getting so bad that I felt the panic start to creep up, as much as I tried to stop it. I remember looking at my IV bag and wondering WHY THOSE THINGS ARE SO FREAKING SLOW!? CAN'T I JUST SWALLOW IT OR SOMETHING!? After one particularly bad contraction I had a hard time not crying. I feel like a wimp admitting that but I could tell that transition was only minutes away and I was scared. Knowing (and suddenly remembering very clearly) just how bad that hurts is kinda terrifying. ;-) Michael was encouraging me, feeding me ice, and trying to get me to breathe a certain way. I was trying to stay in control and pretty much expecting my water to break at any second, since that usually happens when I'm around a 5 or 6 and that means that I'm in transition and birth is just a few minutes away. I really tried to remember all the empowering things about giving birth. Birth is miraculous! I can do this! Women's bodies are amazing, gosh darn it! It is truly awesome what we can do! But it is just so hard to focus on that when you're in that kind of pain.
Suddenly, in walks Krisi WITH THE EPIDURAL GUY! She went and got him for me and brought him into triage to give me my epidural right then and there, even though my IV bag was probably not even halfway gone. I couldn't believe my eyes. Michael did a little celebratory move. He was genuinely so happy for me, which I remember thinking was really cute. They had me sit up and Kristi had me hold onto a pillow. Michael was basically kicked out of the area since there was really no room for him in that tiny space with the anesthesiologist in there. I remember that as soon as I sat up and held onto the pillow, a contraction hit and it was absolutely a transition contraction. There was no doubt about it. I had no idea how to stay in control at this point and I remember thinking, "Um, is this epidural worth it at this point? I'll probably be ready to push in about three minutes...." As I'm thinking this the anesthesiologist is doing his thing and rubbing something on my back with and telling me to hold very, very still. SO HARD when you're in transition! I could hear Michael also telling me to hold still and also saying, "This is probably your LAST horrible contraction you'll feel.... EVER! You've got this!!" Somehow (it felt like a miracle) I managed to get through it by telling myself I was almost there, and this was almost done. The epidural was placed and I laid back down. They immediately started moving me out of triage and to the L&D room that had just opened up. As we were leaving I gave the anesthesiologist a very, very sincere thank you. I knew he probably didn't have to be so accommodating and I was truly grateful. However, as we went down the hall on the bed I did NOT feel the pain relief I was hoping for. (But I was being kinda silly because I was hoping to instantly feel nothing, HA!) I told Michael and Kristi how bad it still hurt and Kristi said that when you're really far along, it can take a while for the epidural to catch up... but that it should start working any second to at least take the edge off. We passed a nurse that asked where we were going and Kristi told her and the nurse was mad because she'd wanted that room for HER patient. (The one next to me in triage.) Again, Kristi totally had my back and was such a good advocate. Love her!
We got into the room and told the nurse in there that I was likely going to deliver very quickly, though my water hadn't broken yet. (Which was very surprising to me.) It was about 10:25 pm. I remember Michael telling her that it would be nice to have the baby after midnight since I'd mentioned that the 14th was a prettier day than the 13th. The nurse agreed and then checked me. She laughed and said, "You're definitely going to have a 13th baby. There is no cervix left - you're complete." I was still in a lot of pain and as I was telling Michael how frustrated I was that I was still in so much pain, he said to me, "But.... you're talking! You're telling me about it!" Haha - that was significant because usually in transition/once at a 10 I'm not able to communicate or speak or do anything really other than yell. ;-) So that was when I finally realized that the epidural had indeed helped. Without that epidural, I definitely would've ended up giving birth in triage, without a doctor present. It was the only reason I was able to hold the baby in as long as I did. And it was good because the doctors were SO busy and I had to wait another few minutes for a doctor to get in there!
When my doctor walked in, she looked at me and laughed because she was the one who'd stripped my membranes that morning. She joked about how she shouldn't have done it because of the surplus of deliveries that night. Then she set me up and said, "Let's have this baby!" Music to my ears. She quickly broke my water (can't believe it didn't break on its own!) and then with the next contraction I got her head out and with a push after that, the rest of her was out. Two pushes and it was over! (Same as Joshua!) I felt it way more than I expected to with an epidural, but I assume that's because it still hadn't caught up to my body.... so it was such a relief to have her OUT! They immediately gave her to me and I got to hold my baby girl! I truly love this part of birth- it really is so magical. Everything is 1000% worth it when you get to meet your child face to face. I love my babies so, so much. And Eliza immediately stole my heart. I was and still am in awe of the miracle of life, and I feel so blessed to be entrusted with another beautiful daughter.
Michael's first time holding Eliza
When they moved me to a recovery room, they had to move me to a different wing (not maternity) because there were no available recovery rooms and they really needed my delivery room. Sheesh. I was more than happy to move of course, but my new room annoyed me because there was nowhere for Michael to sleep since it wasn't a maternity ward room. Also, my nurse was not a maternity nurse and while I appreciate that she stepped up to help with how busy they were, it was also apparent that she didn't really know what she was doing and she kept talking and talking to me at 3 or 4 am when I was pretty desperate to at least try to get a few minutes of sleep. I sent Michael home to sleep for a few hours because he actually had an important day of work the next day that he really couldn't miss.
The next morning Michael brought Matthew over for a few minutes to see Eliza on his way to school. Matthew was adorable and so excited to meet her. It made me so excited for the rest of them to come as well, which they did around dinner time that day. It was all kind of chaos when they came, which was pretty hilarious. I love my family. I am truly blessed.
Matthew meeting Eliza for the first time.
Joshua was so excited and proud to be a big brother!
Sisters!
First family photo as a family of 6!
I was so so excited to get out of the hospital the next day. (The 15th.) I hate being interrupted every 10 seconds and pretty much unable to sleep at all. I am usually delirious by the time I get home, and this time was no exception. I got home, let the kids snuggle Eliza for a bit, and then went and took as long a nap as I possibly could. I am so grateful that Kathy stayed a few more days to help out with the kids. She was such a huge blessing to us and I owe her so much!
Meeting Grandma Kathy
Going home!
My mom was also able to come for a couple days and she was heaven sent. She takes over absolutely everything and makes the new baby transition 100 times easier. It is always so hard when she leaves.
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