He's Here!

Eli Daniel Breuker was born Tuesday January 31, 2012 at 3:57am.

He weighed 7lbs. 10oz.

I started contractions at school on Monday around 3pm but was too busy to time them or give them much attention. By the time I got home, close to 6 they were 4 minutes apart, but I was able to talk through them. We went to the hospital and were admitted at 11pm. I was dilated to a 6 and fully effaced. I labored for about 4.5 hours and then pushed for 20 minutes, and then we had our new little guy. I was able to have the VBAC I wanted, which I am over the moon about. I was able to have an all natural birth no drugs no nothing. Well, I did have to have an IV just in case I needed an emergency C-section I already had a line going. But other than hydrating fluid, it was all natural. I can totally see why people get epidurals especially if you are laboring for an extensive amount of time, but I'm glad I didn't get one. I needed to know I could do it and I did. It has totally boosted my confidence in myself and what I'm able to do. This may sound weird, but it was actually a really rewarding and almost kind of fun experience for me. Don't get me wrong, it was not comfortable. I had to repeat over and over that I could do it. I may have sounded like the little engine that could. There were a few times where I wanted to be done. Not wanting an epidural, but just wanting to be done and go home which obviously wasn't really an option.

Eric was great. I was so afraid he would loose patience with me and the process if it went to long. But he was beyond awesome. I could not have asked for a better partner. He was calm, patient, and encouraging which was beyond great. Yeah Eric! I LOVED our midwife Judy! I don't think I will ever go back to an OB if I can help it, and would recommend midwives to anyone and everyone. She stayed with us constantly for the last few hours. She was calm, gentle, and encouraging to both of us and honored all our wishes. She coached both of us on how to do things and was just super awesome! I can't say enough good things about her and the El Rio midwives.

Eli spent 2 days in the NICU because his blood sugar was abnormally low. Newborns are supposed to have a blood sugar level of 45 or higher. Eli's was 17. He was all shakes when he was born. He was taken to the NICU where he received an IV. Within 45 minutes, he was ready to nurse and had come up a 24 blood sugar. He was able to come off his IV by noon on Wednesday, and we were able to take him home Thursday afternoon. He's gotten really good at nursing, which is awesome because he wasn't doing so well at the hospital. He was just so sleepy still at the hospital. He hasn't been too fussy either, which has been awesome. Eric thinks he's really laid back. Anyway, we are all doing really well. Eli is only down a few ounces as of Friday. The pediatrician is really pleased with his progress.

Emmett is struggling a little bit with our life change. The first two days was constant hysteria. Literal crying at absolutely everything. He is slowly warming to Eli. He is great with helping. He loves to get diapers and throw them away. He loves putting Eli's clothes in the hamper. He keeps telling us his eyes are sparkly. We don't know where he got that from, but it's really cute. The sucky part is Emmett has been running a low grade fever all week accompanied by a hacking cough. So we are trying to keep them at a distance. As Emmett is warming, he wants to get in the baby's face and then he coughs. So that has also been a challenge. We'd prefer Eli not get sick right now.

Overall, we LOVE our new addition. Eric and I are really enjoying both boys right now. I am taking 10 weeks leave. Eric goes back to work on Wednesday. It's been a good week for us. We are trying to get into some kind of routine and figure out this new family of 4 thing. So far, so good!