She's here!!!!

Ellyanna Grace Thompson
born at 2:40pm, 9 May 2009
7 lbs 12 oz, 20 inches

I know this post is long overdue, but as anyone who has had a newborn in the house knows there is very little time in those first few weeks for doing anything besides taking care of the baby. Anyhow...I'm just now getting around to blogging about the birth of our little Ellyanna Grace. She is 17 days old today and just as precious as can be. She arrived on her actual due date which was also my 34th birthday. This will certainly be a birthday to remember....along with my first Mother's Day.

Mom arrived on Thursday, May 7th and had just a couple of days to rest before Ellyanna was born. That evening Sam and I went for a walk and that was the first time I started feeling like I was getting close to giving birth. My back was hurting and I was feeling some contraction pains. We didn't walk for long considering how I was feeling. Saturday morning I had an appointment with Dr. Van de Castel at 8:00. I had been to see her on Friday as well, but I think she knew that I was getting close so she wanted me to come in on Saturday morning too. I was having contractions that morning and they started getting stronger around 7:00 when I was getting ready to leave. By the time we left the house, the contractions were strong enough that I asked Mom to drive to the doctor's office.

Dr. Van de Castel put me on the fetal monitor and could see the steady contractions, but when she examined me she said I was still not starting to dilate. We left there at 9:00 and went home. I was still having lots of contractions and they were starting to slow me down a little bit, but were not unbearable.

Sam had an electrician at the house that day putting in lights on the back patio. Having someone in and out of the house made it hard to relax in the living room, so I was sitting at the dining room table and Mom started timing the contractions. They were around 5 minutes apart, but only lasting 30-40 seconds. I figured I was still in early labor because while the contractions were somewhat painful, it was very manageable. In all the classes we attended throughout the pregnancy we were told to labor at home until the contractions were lasting for 1 minute, were 5 minutes apart and were consistent for 1 hour. It didn't seem like I was to that point, but when I was up moving around I noticed the pain was pretty constant so I laid down on our bed a little after 1:00.

Mom came upstairs to check on me and was just heading back downstairs to get the stopwatch to continue timing the contractions when I felt a pop and my water broke. I jumped up off the bed and called to Mom, but suddenly felt so sick and was in so much pain I went to my knees and was leaning on the couch in our room. It was frightening to be in that much pain so quickly. Mom knew we had to get to the hospital and went to get Sam. They had to help me down the stairs and out to the car. I am such a quiet person, but could not keep quiet with the harder contractions. I was really scared underneath it all because it came on so suddenly. Thinking back on it, I'm convinced that I basically went from early labor directly into transition with no real active labor. I was in so much pain all the way to the hospital and don't have a clear memory of much after my water broke. It was pretty surreal.

We got to the hospital and up to the labor ward and the midwife put me on a fetal monitor. When they did the exam they said I was already dilated to 9 centimeters, which was shocking to me since it had only been about 4 hours since I'd been at Dr. Van de Castel's and she said I was not dilated at all. At that point I started feeling a lot of pressure, so they transferred me to a labor room and within a matter of minutes (it seemed to me) I was pushing her out. It was all so different than I thought it would be and once my water broke everything happened so quickly. At home I was prepared for a long labor and suddenly here I was, just an hour later, at the end of labor pushing this baby out.

I didn't realize it at the time, but when Ellyanna was born she was not breathing and her face was very purple, so they didn't hand her to me or have Sam cut the cord. They took her directly over to the table and began working on her. Soon after I heard her first cries and she started getting pink. It was a much more intense experience than I was prepared for. I knew it would hurt, but was not prepared to go directly from early labor into transition so my body had no time to work up to it. By the time we got to the hospital there was no time for any type of pain relief so I ended up having her completely natural, which is what I originally wanted, but had no idea how painful that would be. If there had been time I'm sure I would have been asking for something.

During birth Ellyanna swallowed some meconium, so the doctors were concerned that she may have breathed it into her lungs as well. We watched her closely for any signs of pneumonia, but thankfully she's been just fine. Also, I'm positive for Strep B, so they usually would have put me on IV antibiotics during labor to prevent the baby from getting infected. They didn't get a chance to though because she came so quickly. We have to watch her closely for her first 3 months in case there are any signs of the Strep B. It's pretty serious if she has it, but it's rare for a baby to be infected by the mother, especially in very quick births, so I'm not too worried even though we'll be watching her.

I had a much different reaction to Ellyanna's birth than I thought I would. During pregnancy when I thought about seeing her for the first time I felt very emotional about it, but when she was born I felt very disconnected. It really bothered me that I didn't have that rush of maternal feeling, but I think I was so emotionally exhausted from the birth experience that I didn't have anything else to give at that point. I'm sure all women feel like their birthing experience was harder than most, but I was not prepared for what I experienced. Even Mom, whose given birth to three, felt it was a very hard birth. When people hear how fast I had her I usually get a comment about how great it is that it was so fast. While I've come to appreciate that it was fast, having her so quickly gave my body no time to adjust to the levels of pain. I was thrust right into transition and pushing the baby out with no real leading up to it. However, it all turned out good. We have a healthy beautiful baby and probably because it was so quick and I had no pain medication I had a very quick recovery. I never felt terribly sore and actually felt pretty good early on. I think my lack of maternal feelings at the delivery were transferred to Sam. It was cute seeing how proud he was of his little girl. I think it kind of took him by surprise how much he loved her at first sight. Throughout the pregnancy he didn't feel the connection that I did with having her inside me, but that changed very quickly once he saw her. He's a very proud daddy.

The German hospitals like to keep new babies and mothers for 5-7 days, but we stayed for 3. We stayed long enough for Ellyanna to have her first pediatric checkup, but I was very ready to get back to my house on Tuesday afternoon. I was glad that Sam was able to stay with me through the nights. It was pretty tough to get any sleep those first few nights (actually...it still is). She is so beautiful though. It's strange to go from just the two of us to having a baby. At times it still feels like a dream or that I'm just taking care of someone elses baby. I'm definitely still adjusting to having my own child. I was so happy that she had lots of dark hair :) Most importantly she is healthy, but there was a part of me that was hoping she would have dark hair. She looks so much like a Hosier baby. Everyone we see says that she looks like Sam and she really does, especially across the eyes, but she looks alot like my baby pictures too. We think we see little dimples on each cheek too. It's so precious when she smiles. I know at this age it's just a reflex, but it's a promise of what's to come.

Granted she is only 17 days old, but we've had a hard time getting her to sleep in her own bed. She is happiest laying on someone's chest (can you blame her?), so for the first 10 days I held her while trying to sleep at night. Around her 11th day Mom started staying up with Ellyanna at night and sleeping in the rocking chair so I could get some solid sleep. You forget how wonderful it is to be able to just go to bed and not have the responsibility of a baby. One night with Mom she actually slept in her crib for 3 hours at a time. That was a real milestone. I had to get up a couple times through the night to feed her, but I was getting a couple hours of solid sleep in between which was a real blessing. The following two nights she was very fussy. I think she was having some tummy problems. I have gas drops that we were giving her, but she just cried non-stop for those two evenings. I'm still getting to know this new little addition and seeing what works with her. Then, last night, was the first night she slept in our room. She was in bed with me more than in the co-sleeper, but we're making strides in the right direction.

It took quite awhile for Ellyanna's umbilical cord to fall off. Last Thursday we were scheduled for newborn photos, but because her umbilical cord was still on and it was a very rainy day the photographer rescheduled us for tomorrow. Finally, last Saturday(23 May) when we went to change her diaper we saw that her umbilical cord had fallen off through the night. It's so nice not having that on her belly anymore. The last couple of days before it came off it was just hanging by a thread and was bleeding a little. It's so nice to just have that sweet little baby belly under her clothes and to not have to be careful of the cord anymore.

There is so much more I could write about our baby girl, but my mind is still a bit of a mush and I can't really put all my thoughts together coherently right now. Even this post took me about a week to get together. I started it when she was 10 days old then kept trying to update it. Today I just decided to get it done, but even that has taken all day. I'll try to start posting more regularly, especially for the grandparents who can't see her everyday. I'm going to quit rambling now and just post some pictures of the last couple weeks with our precious baby girl.

Saturday morning at Dr. Van de Castel's office. I was having contractions here and was on the fetal monitor.

The first time I saw and held Ellyanna - she was just minutes old. My first thought was that she looked like my Grandma Hosier.

Getting to know my little girl. She was still so white from birth and her little hands and feet were so cold.

Sam holding his little girl

Ellyanna all bundled up. We were still in the labor room. She was probably just 30 minutes old in this picture.

It's hard to believe I'd just given birth to this little bundle.

Getting her hair rinsed.

While still in the labor room the midwife weighed and measured Ellyanna

I so wanted to be up and seeing what they were doing with Ellyanna, but it was during that first hour after giving birth and I kept feeling like I was going to pass out, so I had to resign myself to watching from the bed.

In the German hospital they dress them in the hospital clothes. Here she was getting clothes on for the first time.

Getting to know our baby girl

Several hours after birth we were finally in our room

Me with my baby girl

Grandma with her newest grandchild

Grandma and Ellyanna Grace

Since I was giving birth on my actual birthday, Mom and Sam brought the cake and presents to the hospital the following day (Mother's Day) so we could celebrate.

Getting weighed on day two. She dropped to 7lbs 6oz

Daddy and Ellyanna

Our little cherub

Precious!

Getting ready to head home on 12 May 2009

Leaving the hospital on our way home

Finally home! That's when exhaustion hit me.

Sleeping peacefully her first night at home.

Going on our first outing

Getting her hair combed

Sam having some one on one with Ellyanna

So cute!

Ready to head out. First time she was wearing a little dress.

The midwife weighing Ellyanna (23 May). She was up to 8 lbs, 5 oz.

Walking around Feuersee

Enjoying an ice cream cone in downtown Stuttgart.

Getting ready for our first time going to church with Ellyanna (24 May).

These past 2 1/2 weeks have just flown by. It's been so great having Mom here and I'm already dreading the time when she leaves. She's been such a great help, but besides that it's just been nice having her around. I so miss being near my family.

Sam's been able to be off work since Ellyanna was born. Today was his first day back, but it was nice having him around so much. We've been getting to know our little girl and just getting through the days. We're still trying to get her days and nights switched around. Hopefully I can get better at posting updates. Until next time.

Just waiting...

Wow! We're down to only 5 days until the baby's due, unbelievable as that may be! Of course, she might not (probably won't) show up on that day, but it's still the date we're counting down to. I still feel really great. Mom told me this morning that hopefully I'm not still saying that next week or I may end up needing to be induced. I'm not necessarily eager to have the pain of childbirth, but I don't want her to get too comfortable because she needs to come out at some point.

Today I have a full day at home to get some things finished up. Tomorrow I have another doctor's appointment and hopefully, the doctor will see some signs of labor progression. Then on Wednesday I have my final pregnancy support group and Thursday Mom's gets here. It's just amazing to me how quickly time has flown by. I can hardly believe this pregnancy is almost to an end. I'm still so thankful not to have kidney pain. I have felt so good since that stent was taken out 2 months ago and literally thank God every day that I've not had any setbacks with it.

Sam and I had a nice weekend. I love spending time with my husband. It's so nice not working outside of the home. The time we have together is much more relaxed. With the baby's arrival so close it seems we have a list of things that need to get done on the weekends. We keep wondering if this is our last weekend without her.

Saturday we were finally able to pick up the correct stroller at Baby-Walz. They had to order one in from Hamburg and there were a few frustrations with that, but I'm happy that we finally have the color we originally wanted. We tried to get the material for curtains at Obi, but that didn't work out once again. I found a material, but then they said it wasn't the right size to make curtains....AARRRHH!!!! I really wanted to get them ordered so I don't have to deal with it after the baby arrives, but it looks like that won't happen. Part of the problem is Obi doesn't make curtains, but they have the biggest selection of material. Toom has the curtains made, but they have very little material to choose from. So....we have to find a material at Obi to buy (and figure out how much we need - the width of the windows multiplied by 2.2) then take it to Toom for the curtains. It would be so much easier if it was all in the same store. The nursery curtains were so simple because Toom had the material that we liked. Oh well!!! I guess I won't have curtains as soon as I was hoping.

Yesterday we had a potluck after church and enjoyed visiting with people there. After the shower I feel like I know some of them better than I did, which is nice. It takes me awhile to get to know people, so it needs to be forced on me sometimes :) I keep wondering if this will be our last time in church without a little baby. Our lives are on the verge of such a huge change, but we can't even really comprehend the extent of what it all means. I don't think any new parents have any idea how their lives are going to change until it happens. Some days our lives seems so peaceful with just the two of us and I actually find myself thinking "I hope the baby's worth it". I know that doesn't sound nice, but it's honest. On this side of having her it's hard to imagine what our lives will be like. I guess it's just new parent jitters and not knowing what to expect.

Last evening we went to the PX to check on our furniture order. AAFES has a reputation for not calling when your order arrives or even selling it to another customer, so I've tried to stay on top of it and keep going in to actually see if there is any new information. I didn't expect any other pieces to be in, but one of the girls said she had seen something in the back room, so she went to check and came back with the dresser that we had ordered. It was the same name brand and color, but the customer order number didn't match. We could have just taken it, but we pointed out that the number was different because I didn't want to take someone else's furniture if they had been waiting on it. So, they were going to check on it and give us a call.

Just a few minutes ago the phone rang and it was AAFES. They said that dresser is actually ours!!! Yeah!!! I'm so happy to have another piece of the nursery furniture. We're only waiting on the changing table now. I'm so happy to get this so I can empty some of the overflow in the closet out into the drawers. Things are coming together!!

Sam had to go to work extra early today to cover for someone who's out sick, so we didn't get to the gym this morning. Thankfully he was able to get off a couple of hours early, so he should be home earlier than normal. He has to run to Hornbach though, so I've already called and given him something else to pick up there and asked him to get milk on the way home. Then, after AAFES called I asked him if he could stop and get the dresser. Poor guy, he probably won't get home that much earlier. I hate giving him things to do after work, but it's either tonight or tomorrow when he gets off even later. I have a good husband and he doesn't really mind doing things for me, but I still feel bad asking him after he's had a long day.

We are having a gorgeous day here. The sun is shining so brightly in through the windows letting me know how badly they need cleaned. Sam is going to call a window washing service to price them coming out and doing all the windows in the next couple of weeks. We have so many windows in this house that it literally takes all day to clean them, so it would be worth the money to have someone come and do that job.

Our Macintosh apple tree in bloom

This is the 3rd summer we've had this tree and the first time we've seen it with this many blooms.

Gabby enjoying the sunshine

Well, here are yesterday's pregnancy photos. If you can't tell by the picture I was not having a good morning. Sorry...no smiles this time.



These are just some pictures from the nursery. I had some little dresses that I'd just ironed and were waiting to be hung in the closet. Hanging there, they just looked so "little girlish" that it tickled my heart and I wanted to capture that. It's going to be so fun having a little girl to dress up :)

Our photographer sent us the previews of our pictures from last weekend. Unfortunately I can't copy them from the website and post here. I will be buying the CD of pictures once we get the newborn shots, but I won't have them until that time. Of course, we didn't like all of them but we didn't expect to. There are several that we liked though, so I think it was worth it.

That's what's going on here. Most likely we have an eventful week ahead of us. If the baby takes her time coming I'll probably do another update, but if you don't hear from me before then I'll be posting pictures of our sweet little bundle as soon as I can. The hospital does not have Internet and I'll be in there for 3 days at least, so it could take a little while. Until next time...

Baby shower, pictures, etc....

I've started feeling very pregnant lately. I think I've definitely slowed down in the last couple of days. Walking through a store on Saturday I had to ask Sam to walk even slower. He wasn't going fast, but I just couldn't keep up with him. I've been having some pre-labor pains. I wouldn't call them contractions, but just some pain that I'm pretty sure is my body getting ready for the big day. I hope she holds out until Mom gets here, but she'll come in her own time I'm sure.

Friday evening I went to the baby shower that was given by the ladies in the church. It was very nice and I felt honored that people I really don't know that well would put that much time into a shower to celebrate our baby. As much as I appreciated their kindness it was hard to be the center of attention. I usually try to steer away from being the focus of a group.

Christa and Beth were the two ladies who really put the shower together. The shower was at Christa's home and when she sent out the invitations she asked everyone to bring their favorite child's book. So, I came home with a great start for the baby's library. I thought that was a really nice idea. We got some other nice gifts, but I was really excited about all the baby books. We're pretty set with clothes and necessities for the baby, but had no books or toys so that was really a great gift idea.

Beth, Me and Christa

The shower cake

Opening gifts

Sitting has become pretty uncomfortable. I don't think the baby's dropped at all and when I'm sitting it feels like she's pushed into my ribs. I'm always pushing on her to try and make room to breath. Sam tells me to quit pushing her because I'll give her a bully complex :)

The collection of books and other gifts from the shower.

I got home at 10:00 that evening exhausted. Being around people drains me, but I really did appreciate the ladies giving a shower to celebrate our baby.

CYS at Patch was having a Spring Fling on Saturday and one of the services they were offering was child car seat inspections. We took the baby's infant seat out to have them help with the installation. It was great to have professionals help to show us the proper installation because when I originally took it out of the box and started reading the manual it was pretty confusing. So, the baby's seat is all set for her arrival. We left it installed in the car, so it's ready whenever she decides to come.

That day we also tried to exchange the stroller, but they didn't have the color we wanted in stock, so we're waiting to hear back from them on how long it's going to take to get that.

Yesterday afternoon we had a photo session scheduled out at an old monastery called Kloster Beben Hausen. I really wanted to get maternity photos, but have been nervous about getting them too. My poor, sweet husband had to put up with me fretting over it for several weeks, so I'm sure he's very glad it's over with. It actually turned out much better than I thought it would. I don't like to have my picture taken, but love to have the pictures....if that makes any sense at all. The photographer made it much easier by putting us at ease. After the baby's born we'll go to her place to have newborn photos taken. It was important to me to capture this time in our lives with pictures, so I'm really happy that we went through with it even though I was tempted to call them off several times. We were fortunate that the weather held out for us. It was looking pretty cloudy by the time we were heading out to the monastery, but cleared up as we got nearer.

Before I go, here are this week's photo updates.

38 weeks pregnant!

Two more weeks to go!

Off the subject of baby for a minute....last summer I wondered what all the fuss was about Facebook, so I signed up for an account but never really did anything with it until I started getting friend requests. So, just a couple of months ago I finished my page and started gathering friends. I have to say I think I'll always be more of a blogger, but I've really enjoyed touching base with some old friends again. It's been fun reconnecting.

I haven't been sleeping very well and last night was an especially poor night's sleep. I'm not much of a napper, but did take a nap this morning after getting back from the gym and Sam left for work. I figure I better try to get what sleep I can now because after the baby comes I already know I'll be sleep deprived. Anyhow....so, now I need to get busy. Time goes so fast and I can end up wasting a lot of time if I don't watch it.

37 weeks down....3 more to go!

Every week when I get ready to do an update for this blog I get nervous all over again realizing how close the birth of our baby girl is. It's so unreal to me. It feels like a dream to think that we'll be bringing a baby home in just a couple of short weeks. As of today we only have 17 more days until she's due! AAHHH!!!! It's so strange to get to this stage of pregnancy and still feel this much anxiaty about becoming parents. I guess I thought I would feel ready by the time she was due, but I SO don't. I feel like the same exact person (with a much bigger belly, mind you :) and I just don't feel like a Mom. But then, I guess that comes with the experience and not just because I'm carrying a child.

This week is jam packed with appointments. Monday I had my full doctor's appointment and everything still looks good. Dr. Van de Castel didn't see any sign of progression to labor, so maybe our little girl will stay put until Mom gets here. She flies in just two days before the due date, so it could be close.

Of course I had another ultrasound to check everything. Dr. Van de Castel was able to capture a couple of pictures of the baby, but these weren't quite as clear as the others we have. Her cheek actually looks mashed, like it's getting a little tight in there :) Very briefly I actually saw her blink and open her mouth! That was very cool! It's just unreal how much detail you can see with an ultrasound. Like I said, these aren't the best ultrasound pictures, but I'll post them anyhow. You can see how her little cheek looks pretty smashed.

Baby Thompson at 37 weeks

My hands have been hurting alot through the joints and wrists. Most of the night they ache and go numb. I think it's just from the water retention, but it's a bit of a nuisance. Anyhow, I mentioned this to the doctor, so she had me go back yesterday for some more screenings. I still have to go back again on Friday for another fetal monitoring. That will make 3 doctor's appointments this week along with two birthing classes and a baby shower Friday evening. Makes for a full week for sure.

Yesterday morning we went to our second birthing class. That one was called Stages of Labor and was very interesting. A midwife from Boblingen hospital was there to answer a lot of the questions we had about the German system. It really was a great class with lots of good information.

Throughout the entire pregnancy I've avoided dwelling too long on the actual birth of this baby because there's just no getting around it. I don't think any woman wants to go through that pain, but I figure lots of women have gone through it and have even gone through it numerous times, so I'll deal with it when it happens. I just haven't seen any reason to get too scared about something that I have no control over. Well, thanks to yesterday's class, I had to look it straight on and came to the conclusion that watching a movie of someone else giving birth does nothing to set my mind at ease. Actually, it probably just made it seem that much worse. So, I'm still ignoring the fact that I'm going to have to go through that very same process in the next few weeks. I'm back to playing ignorant about the whole thing and planning to just deal with it when it happens. Of course, I'll do what I can to be prepared, but I'm just not letting myself think too much about the pain of childbirth.

Speaking of doing what I can to be prepared...this morning we had another birthing class to attend. This one was called Comfort Measures and dealt with the different non-medical things we can do throughout labor to help deal with the pain. They told us to wear comfortable clothes today because we would be practicing with our "coaches". That's what they're calling the Dads, which seems a little funny to me since he's expected to "coach" me through something neither of us have been through before. Should be interesting :) I'm not sure how well I'll take the "coaching" in the midst of pain, but I've told Sam to please just not take anything personal during labor. I've never been through it and have no idea what I'll want or how I'll be. That's my disclaimer before we even get to the hospital :)

I mentioned that we had bought a stoller a couple of weeks ago, but until now it's just been sitting in the box because we've had other things going on and didn't figure there was a real rush to get it together. So, Sunday afternoon Sam pulled the box into the living room to start pulling all the pieces out and realized it wasn't the same color that we had wanted. We asked for the charcoal grey and pink stroller, but the one in the box is green and tan. Granted, it's not a bad looking stroller, just not the one we wanted. We already had to go back to the store last Saturday because we were not given the sale price on the stroller...something I didn't realize until I was going through our receipts. The difference was about $50, so certainly worth the trip back to the store. It's just too bad we hadn't bothered to put the stroller together at that point so we could have exchanged it at the same time. Anyhow, that's another thing to add to our "to do" list

This Friday evening I'll be going to the baby shower being given by the ladies at church. It's such a nice gesture on their behalf and I certainly appreciate their thoughtfulness. I am a little nervous though because I just don't like being the center of attention.....UGH!

Well, here are the weekly photo updates. This is from Sunday. I was 37 weeks and 1 day.

3 more weeks!!

One more thing before I sign off...I just got a phone call from the PX at Panzer saying that the baby's crib is in!!!!! Yeah!!!! I'm so happy about that! The other pieces have not arrived yet, but this gives me hope that they may not be far behind.

Well, I better get busy on cleaning the house. I haven't been home hardly at all this week, so it's in need of some help.