Elise Claire Hudkins was born on July 7th at 5:10pm. She came in at 6lbs, 10oz, and 20 inches long. 7/7 was a crazy day. Okay, let me back up. First of all, sorry I'm so behind on this blog. But needless to say, it's been busy. But let me take this opportunity (while the kids are asleep (finally)) to tell you the story of Elise. Her due date was July 15, so when I attended my doctor's appointment at the end of June, sans Matt since we thought this was going to be a quickie listen and measure day, I was in a bit of shock when I was at 4cm and my doctor suggested that we schedule a day to induce. "Oh God," I thought, "I wish Matt was here!" So, with several phone calls back and forth, and a little time to think about it, we settled on July 7th. It felt funny to be able to pick her birthday...so Elise, I hope you like it! With a week less than we thought we had, it was a scramble to get things ready. But the day arrived, and I checked into the hospital at 7am. When I walked up to the nurse's station I said, "Hi, I'm Coleen and I'm here to have a baby today!"
This picture was obviously taken before the drugs kicked in, cause I'm smiling. I don't think I smiled too much after this. Anyway, the pitocin was given and then the waiting game began. Matt passed the time by finishing The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet's Nest and watching World Cup soccer. I mainly zoned off and played Bejeweled on Matt's iPhone. Not too exciting. But then it happened. I like to think of it as The Chaos. It was around 3pm and contractions were increasing, but I think at that point I was still at 4cm. I started to worry about Mateo. Boy it's different having a baby when kid #1 exists. We had taken him to day care that morning. The plan was that we'd have the baby in the early afternoon and Matt would then go pick up Mateo and bring him to the hospital. But after 3pm I was getting nervous about the time. So, since things seemed to be at a stand still, we agreed for Matt to go get Mateo, drop him off at home, and my aunt would meet him there to watch him until the baby was born. That was a bad plan, let me tell you. After he left things really started to move fast. Contractions began to come right on top of one another. I finally sought out a nurse to request an epidural. They paged the anesthesiologist and my doctor. Both arrived around 4:30 and I got a little pain relief by 4:45. Matt still wasn't back. I wasn't panicking because I was in too much pain to panic, but I knew a baby being born was imminent when my doctor asked, "so how long before Matt gets here?" Matt rushed in the room at 4:50 and all I can remember thinking was everything would be okay...soon. People were scurrying around the room getting things ready. Tools were laid out, scrubs were on, I was trying to stay calm but the pain meds were causing me to shake. Then for some reason I noticed we were in the room alone as people had been coming and going but at the present time were all gone. I distinctly remember feeling panicked then. I told Matt I didn't want to be alone because I knew the baby was coming! He rushed out to get help and before I knew it everyone was there. Then I heard my doctor ask if I was ready to push. At that point I think I was ready an hour ago, so I said I was. I closed my eyes and took hold of Matt's hand. I think on the 3rd push, it was done. I remember hearing silence. And then I heard Elise. I couldn't say anything for the longest time. They put her on my chest and I just looked at her and the tears were flowing. It was a long time coming to have this tiny little girl in my arms. Elise Claire, named in honor of our baby who came before her, was here at last. It's probably the only time when the sound of a baby's cry is the most wonderful thing your ears could ever here. And it was.
Proud papa.
My aunt brought Mateo to the hospital shortly after she was born to meet his new sister. Mateo took to her from the very start and to this day is a very helpful and caring big brother!
A big and special thank you to my aunt Betty. She moved from California early just to be here in time for Elise's birth. She took care of Mateo for 2 nights while we were in the hospital. We can't thank you enough and we're so happy you are here to see (and help!) Elise grow up!
Thanks Alicia and Nick for visiting us in the hospital...in the middle of selling your house, moving, wedding plans, a heat wave (the list goes on and on). I think you meet the definition of good friends.
Mateo mourns his days as an only child.
All better!
Welcome to our family, Elise. We love you!
August started off really well. As you can see above, Mateo earned his first big boy underwear by using the potty (finally!). That was an exciting time for us, and we rejoiced as the clouds parted, sun shined through, and we heard a choir of "hallelujahs" in the background. In all seriousness, it was a big feat for our little guy and we are very proud of him. But then it started getting tough. It seemed like Elise woke up, so to speak, and made up for her first month of slumber and quiet. And it hit us like a rock! She cried. A lot. I mean, a lot. For all you nursing moms out there, you probably know how feeding your baby is the one magic trick in your bag that always works, right? Well, you know you're in trouble when AS SOON as you're done feeding your baby starts wailing. It was like, "hmm, now what can I do...besides hope a couple of hours goes by quickly so I can feed her again." Well, 2 hours seems like an eternity when you have a crying baby in the house. And, our fears were confirmed with our pediatrician gave her that dreaded title...colic. Oh gosh. Help me. No, seriously. Help me. The bright side is we had family come visit us. First came Matt's mom, step dad, sister, and her 1 year old daughter Mia. They got lucky as Elise was not quite the fussy one just yet. We had a nice visit with them.
Then my mom came to visit at the end of the month. Unfortunately that was right in the thick of colicky behavior. But, it was still very nice to have her here, and Mateo had a grand ol' time with grandma.
Awww...brotherly love!
The silver lining to this story is that I'm writing this is retrospect. Two months later we are doing much better, but she still has her moments. If I were writing about August in August there would probably be expletives and tears (both mine and Elise's) involved. Well, the real silver lining is our doctor said colic babies often grow up to be creative and artistic, and have strong character as adults. And, even better, we do have a beautiful, healthy little girl. So, there's nothing to complain about. And she's an angel when she sleeps! :)
