My due date for my second pregnancy was Monday, April 22nd, the day after Easter Sunday and the first Monday after April vacation. Clara was born four days early, so I was hopeful that our second baby, who I was sure was a boy, would arrive sometime before the 22nd as well. In fact, I had been coaching the baby to be born on the 12th for several weeks. I joked with everyone who asked that I thought the 12th would be a lovely day- it was the Friday before vacation and therefore would guarantee me an extra week of maternity leave. In the back of my head though, I knew ten days early was a lot to ask for, so it just added another level of comedy when Eloise arrived according on her mama’s plan: 8:17am on April 12th. Getting there, however, is a fun story to tell…
I had my weekly check-in with my OB on Thursday of that week. I brought Clara along since my mom had an appointment of her own as the plan was to go see the Easter Bunny after seeing my doctor. Those of you who have been following my writing may recall that our plan to see the bunny had been foiled the previous week by varying heart rates and an extended visit to monitor the baby. This time, I was sure to eat a hearty lunch to guarantee the best possible bunny experience for my sweet Clara. As my doctor listened to the baby’s heart rate, she shared with me that she was picking up on a similar issue and needed to monitor me again. Clara and I headed across the hall to get hooked up as I came to realize that my unborn baby really had something about his or her sister visiting the Easter Bunny! Clara was a rockstar, by the way, reading her highlights magazine and eating all the snacks she could find in her bag.
Ironically and fortuitously, Matthew was also in the city having just finished with his own appointment, so he headed my way to pick up Clara before going getting his haircut. (Little did he know that it would be several days before he got that haircut.) It was just before he arrived that my doctor started to mention the word induce. By the time he arrived to join in the fun, we were basically being told that because I was considered full term, there was no reason not to induce in case these spiking heart rates were indicative of some kind of issue with the baby. The nurses called for a wheelchair and off we went- all THREE of us- to labor and delivery. This, by the way, became one of my favorite memories of the entirety of my parenting experience. Clara sat on my lap as we headed toward the maternity ward, I changed into the hospital gown, Matthew hopped on the phone with registration, and Clara watched cartoons on the tiny TV. I knew that this was our last moment as a family of three and I feel like I was really able to soak it all in. We documented the memory with a series of hilarious selfies which will be forever cherished.
My mom showed up about thirty minutes later to pick up Clara, and after several long hugs goodbye, I was off to the races! At 3pm, I was dilated two centimeters and contracting on my own so they decided not to induce right away. Fast forward to 10pm… I was dilated, wait for it, two centimeters. Clearly the contractions weren’t doing their job despite the party in my uterus for going on seven hours. The doctor put me on Pitocin to move things along, and I was told to rest. Resting, for those of you who have never been in labor, is quite impossible at that point, especially when being induced. I got an epidural somewhere in the middle of the night because, you know, contractions. I didn’t sleep a wink and I don’t think Matthew did either. Side note of commentary: Women who are able to wake up after a full night’s sleep and go into labor, please for the love of God, tell me your secret. For the second time in my life, I was headed for delivery without having slept at all, and that’s just not cool. But I digress. The doctor broke my water sometime around 6am and before I knew it, another shift change of amazing nurses came at 7am and I was officially dilated two (insert several forms of profanity here) centimeters. Now my dear readers, at this time I ask you to pause and do a tiny bit of math. At this point in the process, I had been in labor for about sixteen hours and had not dilated at all. Eloise was born at 8:17am. So in one hour and seventeen minutes, I went from zero (two) to sixty (ten) as they say, but as you know, I digress.
With Clara, I had received a “booster” of my epidural before pushing, so I literally felt nothing. With Ellie, there was no booster. I definitely felt more pain than I had with Clara, but I also felt like I was able to be more present in the moment and I was able to listen to my body. The baby inside of me had had enough by 8am and things moved quite quickly at that point. When all was said and done, I ended up pushing for only seven minutes before the announcement was made straight from my husband’s lips: It’s a little… girl! Both of us had been so hopeful for and expectant of a boy that I don’t think either of us truly believed it. As Matthew cut the cord, they put my sweet new baby on my chest, again something I wasn’t able to do with Clara due to the meconium in her fluids. I held my new daughter in my arms as tears streamed down both our faces, a truly beautiful moment for our family. Eloise went unnamed for around an hour (because clearly she was going to be Harrison Oscar) before we finally decided and Matthew stepped out to make the news official to our families.
Eloise began nursing well right away and my recovery has been an easy one right from the start. Clara visited us in the hospital each day until all four of us drove home together two days later. Our transition to a family of four was nearly flawless and now, nearly one month later, it seems like this is how it was always meant to be. Clara helps put the binkie back in Ellie’s mouth when it falls out and tells me when she loses a sock. This morning, she even helped feed the baby as I ran upstairs for a moment. The best moments are typical ones; playing on the living room floor with Clara while Eloise snoozes on her playmat or sharing a family dinner at our favorite restaurant with both of our girls. The worst moments are when they both need something from me or when Clara acts jealous in some way, but I try to be good about reminding myself that we have just introduced them to their best friend. My biggest dream for each of them is happiness and I hope that they’re able to grow up and find true meaning in their relationship with one another. I never had a sibling, and I’m so grateful that I was able to give such a beautiful gift to both of my daughters.
