Welcome to the World, Ezri!

Saturday, August 11, 2007



Ezri Mae made her triumphant appearance Saturday, August 11th at 6:51pm. She weighed 4 lbs. 2 oz. and measured 17 1/2 inches long - not bad considering she is about 6 1/2 weeks early. She is going to be spending some time in the NICU due to her premie status - anywhere from 2 to 4 weeks or longer if necessary. So far she seems to be doing well so hopefully we'll have her home sooner rather than later.

As for the whole "birth story", I started contracting last Friday but it never was painful or regular enough to go into the hospital. On Tuesday I lost my mucous plug, but again, nothing significant enough to take me in. On Thursday at my weekly appointment they gave me an FFN test that can determine whether you definitely WILL NOT go into labor within the next two weeks. Mine came back postive which meant that I could potentially go into labor soon, but in general a postive result doesn't mean labor is on its way.

Well, apparently the test was more accurate than we thought. Friday morning I thought my water had broken - it hadn't - and I started having very regular, mildly painful contractions. I went into the doctor's office to get checked but they couldn't really determine that anything was happening so they sent me home and told me to go to my regular weekly ultrasound that afternoon. The ultraound also showed that nothing was really happening so again we were sent home and told to call if contractions started occuring more than 4 or 5 times an hour. Since that had already been going on all day, we grabbed some lunch, started timing the contractions and went home. After about 2 hours of progressively more painful contractions, we called the doctor and were told to go the hospital. At that point, he assured us that nothing was happening and that I should just go in to get rehydrated and get a shot to stop the contractions. We headed back into the hospital, where I was checked and found that I was not dialating or progressing, but I was indeed contracting regularly. The doctor determined that they just needed to keep me overnight to get the contractions to stop and I would be sent home Saturday morning. After being given 3 shots of Terbutaline, several oral doses of Procardia, and an IV infusion of Magnesium Sulfate, I was STILL having conractions regularly and even more painfully on Saturday morning. The on-call midwife decided to check me and see what was going on. She discovered that I had progressed a whole 2 cm. They determined today was the day and got us ready for the Big Show.

As the contractions were getting quite painful, I opted for the epideral around 3:00 Saturay afternoon. The pain was actually pretty manageable, but we had also been given a textbook's worth of information regarding all possible outcomes for the day since Lili was actually blocking Ezri's passage out and would be delivered first - not to mention the fact that Ezri would be arriving 6 1/2 weeks early. Having the epideral gave me one less thing to worry about and actually made the whole experience quite pleasant. Even though I had wanted to go au naturale, it ended up being a much better experience all around being able to focus on the labor and delivery instead of the pain. By about 5:30, I was ready to roll so we were taken to the Operating Room to deliver.

Lili was born around 6:40. She weighed about 1 lb. and was 14 1/2 inches long. The wonderful nurses there dressed her and took photos and hand and foot prints for us. Later in the evening, once everything quieted down, we were able to hold her for a while before saying good bye.

Ezri arrived a bit after Lili, sometime before 7:00. She started crying and turned pink right away which was quite reassuring. We got to hold her for a while and show her off to the family before she was wisked away to the NICU to be looked over and put under observation. Before being moved to our post-partum room, we got a chance to go back to the NICU and hold her and talk to the nurse, who again assured us that she was doing very well.

Overall, we were both shocked at how easy the labor and delivery were. The hard part was saying good bye to Lili and now facing several weeks of having to leave our baby laying in a NICU incubator when we go home. As we've been saying the last several weeks, life isn't fair and there is nothing we can do about it but get through it.

That's all for now. Enjoy some photos of our little early bird. Those who have seen Zach's baby pictures will quickly recognize whose nose she got - poor thing!



















8 comments:

Anonymous said...

How are you blogging mere hours after giving birth?!!! But more importantly - CONGRATULATIONS! I can't wait to meet Ezri. I wish with all my heart Lili could have grown up in our family too; there are some things we just don't get to understand in this lifetime, I guess... All my love to all of you, take good care and I hope to see you soon! Love, Aunt Laurie

Megan@SortaCrunchy said...

Many, many congrats on Ezri's arrival. She was determined to be here, wasn't she?
I am glad you were able to spend some quiet moments with Lili.
Many prayers that Ezri is home with you all very soon!

Anonymous said...

Hi BRAT; Congradulation!!!!!!!

Glad everything went well for you and Zack under the troubled times. I'll be glad to hear your home with Erzi and all is well.

Boy you guys are in for a change of live style, right!!

Love ya

Guess who??

Anonymous said...

Ezri is even more beautiful in person, she is just amazing and perfect. You need to post some more pictures of her.


I was also so glad that you had time with Lili to hold her and say goodbye. She will be forever missed.

I can not wait until you can bring Ezri home. I know that you would like to get your family back to some sort of normal and settle in to get to know each other.

Anonymous said...

Woo Hoo, I'm FINALLY an aunt! What a bittersweet day it was. She is absolutely gorgeous and very loved. Hopefully things continue to go well and she can be home in time for the Melon Festival!!! (Kidding) Congratulations and We Love You all Very Much!

~Aunt Erica, Uncle Adam, Eva, Adyson, and Gracie

Anonymous said...

Stephanie,
I am so proud of you. Congratulations to your family on their new addition. If there is anything we can do at school, please let us know. You are such a strong person! Take your time in recovery. Mike will do a great job for you!
Amy Kramer

Anonymous said...

Stephanie you are a very strong woman. I am happy to see your beautiful daughter. You an your husband will do a fantatstic job! I miss you, but please take your time getting back. I need you healthy for our kids and your new kid.

Love always,

Tamika Draper

Anonymous said...

congratulation...