Ella's Story

So our 9 month wait is FINALLY over! Ella Sophia Miller joined our family on Sunday, April 17th at 6:40am, weighing 7lb, measuring 19in long. It all started for me on Saturday morning. I had decided that there was just NO WAY I was going back to work on Monday. I was tired, in pain, and just exhausted in every sense of the word. I was going to do everything I could to get Ella here ASAP! So Saturday morning I put on my walking shoes (which were a little tight due to my swollen feet and ankles) and went for a walk around our apartment complex. We have beautiful grounds here at Cobble Creek and it was a great day to take a walk with my unborn daughter. I gave her an official eviction notice, telling her that mommy was worn out and didn't think she could handle one more day of caring her around in her tummy. After I got back to the apartment, I looked up how to do accupressure to induce labor. There's a spot on your leg that you are supposed to press, so I did this for a while. Then that night, Adam and I went to Z'Tejas at the Gateway to celebrate his Grandmother's birthday. I ordered a nice spicy pasta dish :)
When we got home, we decided to watch a movie. About 3/4 of the way through, I was sitting on the LaZ Boy chair when a felt a "POP" and then a gush of water. I told Adam to pause the movie and ran to the bathroom. Sure enough, my water had broke!!!!!!! I told Adam and he literally jumped about 5 feet in the air off the couch and started getting our bags together that we had packed. In the middle of hurrying around, he pulled me into our bedroom and asked that we have a prayer together before we left. After that I felt much more calm. We got in the car and continued on to the University of Utah Hospital. We were both in such a daze and were so happy and in shock that the moment was finally here!
We got checked in to the Hospital around 10pm. The nurse asked if my contractions were painful. I told her they were not, and she suggested we take a walk around the Hospital to get things going faster. Well, it didn't take long for those contractions to become painful once I was up and moving!!! We booked it back to the room and they checked me out. I was dialted to a 4 and fully effaced. I still did not get the epidural at this point, and the reason is kinda gross, but I'll share in the most tactful way possible. I really wanted to be able to use the lady's room BEFORE I became numb from the waste down, in order to avoid an embarrasing incident during the pushing part of labor, if ya know what I mean!!! So, I waited until 2:30am to get the darn thing! Once I got it, it only worked on my right side. They turned me over and asked me to try and sleep (yeah right) and hope that the medicine would work it's way over to my left side. It did a little, but for the most part I was feeling a lot of labor on my left, which would end up being a blessing later on.
At 5am, they checked me again. They said they were going to have me start pushing in 1 hour. So we called our family and told them to get to the Hospital ASAP!! My mom and brother Randy arrived first, and I had Randy and Adam give me a blessing. Then Adam's parents and sister Amanda arrived. After a few minutes, we cleared the room and waited for my doctor. Unfortunately, she is the mother of twin boys, and the wife of a surgeon, who was operating that morning. So that left her stranded at home with her sons. BUMMER!!! I had really wanted her to be part of my birthing experience, but it just wasn't happening. I got over it quick, because the anticipation of meeting my daughter was really kicking in. A very nice resident Dr. Yi was there, along with my wonderful nurse Melanie.
We started pushing at 6:15am. They kept telling me what an amazing job I was doing, and that it would not take long for me to get the baby out. Once her head was close to being out, they realized that the cord was wrapped around her neck. I didn't know this right away, they didn't want to alarm me too much, but they just said that I had one more chance to push her out or they would have to use the vacuum. Well, I was not about to let them stick a vacuum hose to MY daughters head, so push I did! I felt this total relief and I looked down and saw my baby!! They took her aside to check her vitals, then brought her to me and laid her on my chest. She just started at me and I stared at her. It was such a beautiful moment between me and her. Then Adam got her bathed and dressed. He was so happy (and tired), as was I. It all went by so fast, I still can't believe it's all over. It's like that Christmas morning feeling, but on steroids!!
I'm so grateful for everyone who came and visited in the Hospital, it was so special to share that time with you!!! We are loving parenthood and learning and growing together everyday!!!