Eliza Cate Allen

I'm trying to document on the events of Eliza's birth before I forget the little details. Luckily, most of the pregnancy was uneventful. I felt contractions more with Eliza (Braxton Hicks and real? ones) than I did with Ben, like everyone says, you feel things more intensely with your second child. My hips were very achy most of the pregnancy, but I didn't gain as much weight with her as I did with Ben (I gained 34lbs with Ben, 26lbs with Eliza) so I knew she'd be smaller than he was. Overall, it was an easy pregnancy!
When I was almost 38 weeks pregnant, I started having contractions that were very strong and 3-4 minutes apart. I had gotten home and laid on our bed because I thought it was just gas with Braxton Hicks on top of it. Chris came home around 6pm. He convinced me to call the on-call doctor and the doctor said I should go to the hospital just in case. So we dropped Ben off with Tiffany and showed up at labor and delivery at around 7:30pm. They gave put me on an IV and gave me three shots to stop contractions, and eventually my contractions stopped. We left the hospital at around midnight and I was too tired to go to work the next day. That was the most eventful thing that happened before Eliza was born.
I was scheduled for a C-section (due to the...damage? I sustained giving birth to Ben) on October 3rd at 11:30am. A few days before she was due, my mom came into town and stayed until the day after she was born. Ben loved spending time with his memaw. My last day of work was Friday September 31st and I left work right at 3pm because I had a sinus infection that I got put on antibiotics for because I couldn't breathe out of my nose (Chris said I snored) and was afraid that I wouldn't be able to breathe while getting my C-Section. I'm very glad I decided to go to the doctor because coughing after a C-section is miserable. And it really did suck. You have to hold a pillow to your stomach while coughing or else you feel like your stitches are going to open.
The morning of our C-section, we took our time getting ready. Tiffany had taken Ben over night and we had already packed most of our stuff. We got to the hospital about 45 minutes early just in case we got caught in traffic or something unexpected happened. We met up with Diane and she led us to labor and delivery, where I got into this sexy number (pic below) and set up in our room that would become our recovery room after surgery.


After the third IV was put in (the first one didn't take and the second one backed up), my epidural was put in. I HATE that feeling and still cringe when I think about it because it's such a distinct feeling it's hard to forget no matter how hard you try. Chris didn't almost pass out this time, but we had the same nurse (Charla-one of Diane's best friends) who was present in prepping me for Ben's birth, and she probably remembered how Chris almost passed out the first time and she made him sit down before they even started this time. I guess a needle going into your wife's back is pretty disturbing. We were informed around this time that our scheduled surgery time was bumped from 11:30am to noon due to an emergency C-section that needed to be done.
Noon came around and Dr. Simmons came in to talk with us before I was wheeled back to the operating room. I had so much anxiety (even while I type this I get anxiety just thinking about the whole situation) going into the room. Chris had to stay outside the operating room while I was being prepped. Diane was in there taking pictures. The little screen went up to block my view of my belly and the anesthesiologist administered stuff into my epidural. Then I could feel them poking my belly with tools, which made me cringe. I guess they saw my face and asked if I could feel that. I told them "yes" a little panicky. Then the anesthesiologist administered more stuff through my epidural. We waited about a minute and I could still feel them poking my belly with tools, which freaked me out. When I told them I could still feel it, the anesthesiologist said "Okay, Plan B" and leaned over my face to tell me that since Ben was a 'traumatic' birthing experience, we didn't want this one to be traumatic, so he was going to put me to sleep. I just shook my head okay and the little mask thing went over my nose and mouth. I wanted to ask about Chris (who was still out in the hallway), but I was asleep before I could say anything. I woke up as they were resetting up my stretcher in the recovery room. I remember I couldn't talk without sounding drugged, but I sure did try. I asked Chris if she was okay, and he told me she was, then he told me how much she weighed, how tall she was, she had dark hair, etc. Then he re-told me all of those things multiple times afterward because I'm sure I kept asking the same questions and not remembering the answers.

Eliza Cate Allen

7lbs 13oz

21" tall

Brown hair

Dr. Simmons agreed it was a good thing we performed a C-section. According to Diane, the cord was wrapped around her neck when she was born, which would have tightened during contractions if I'd had her the other way. She also had pooped while she was in me, which is very dangerous because if she had swallowed any of it (meconium aspiration syndrome), it could have caused mental retardation. They managed to suck the fluid out of her before she cried (don't want her to inhale) and it was clear, so we are VERY fortunate. Having taken many special education classes, I knew that there was a lot that could have gone wrong during birth, but the cord being wrapped around her neck and meconium aspiration syndrome were my biggest fears. Dr. Simmons also told me later that Eliza's head size would have caused problems again this time around. So a C-section was pretty much the best thing ever for me and my little girl.

Eliza and Ben newborn pictures Tiffany took

Tiffany brought Ben to the hospital at around 5pm where he got to meet his sister for the first time. This was his face. Actually, when he came into the hospital room, he yelled "No baby!" and literally ran out of the room. Pretty much what we expected would happen. :)
Ben has been doing much better with her. He kisses her and brings her blanket and bottle when it's not necessary. Yesterday she was crying so he went in her crib and found her dolly and brought it to her. So sweet! He has no agression toward her at all. He's been throwing more fits about random things, like nap-time and bed-time. He cries for a LONG time when he's put to bed. I hate it for him, but we can't let him stay up past midnight just because he's upset about going to bed. A lot of other things that he's done are hard to differentiate between the fact that he's a turdy 2 1/2 year old or if he's going through jealousy issues. But Ben is pretty easy and manageable, so even the worst of it isn't intollerable. It's just tiring. Luckily Tiffany and Diane help out a lot by watching Ben for us. It helps us keep our sanity.

This was our first family picture. Not the cutest picture of us, drrrrr. It's crazy to think we're a family of FOUR now! It's also weird to say 'kids' plural. I've never been happier!