Eleanor's Birth Day

Here is the long awaited, much anticipated story of Eleanor's birth...

(Well, at least for Mrs. Molly Morris I know it is ;)

***

The contractions started at 3:30 AM on March 26th, shortly after Roma left for work. At first, I tried to sleep through them, but they wouldn't let me sleep. As I lay in bed contracting, I slowly got to thinking, you know, this might be the real deal. So I started timing the contractions and then did what any Millennial would do: I googled "true labor pains." You know, just to be sure.

The contractions were consistently between seven and five minutes a part. And, perhaps more telling, their intensity was growing. Around 4:15 AM I closed the computer, finally convince, and figured it was time to get my ladies up. I woke Sarah up first. She'd been been eagerly awaiting this wake up call for weeks. So much so in fact, that she'd practically been sleeping with one eye open. The poor girl was exhausted with expectation. It was only appropriate that I wake her up first. We got my mom up second and then I called Roma at work and told him it was time.

I remember two things vividly about getting out of the house:

Vivid Memory One: I grabbed a large fistful of pretzles & with slight panic, shoved them into my mouth thinking, when will I get to eat again??!! (You should also know that later, after I was admitted, I ordered broth and juice to tide me over. Would have probably also ordered a burger but the nurse said liquids only...)

Vivid Memory Two: My brother Jason, who like my mom, happened to be in town, told me to "have fun." In his defense, he was half asleep; but still, have fun? Have fun?!! Considering the mechanics of what was about to happen, who's pre-delivery send off is have fun??!!

***

I went from pretzel pounding and funny well-wishes to the car.

As we were pulling out of the driveway, my mom prayed. There was something about that prayer that suddenly made it all very real. I can't explain it more than that. You'd think that contractions would make it real, and they did-- in the physical sense of things. But that prayer, that prayer made it emotionally real. I remember blinking back tears and swallowing a lump in my throat and feeling an overwhelming sense of wonderment, thinking: Holy cow, I'm having this baby today. I'm meeting this baby today. Life is about to radically change. I hope I'm ready for this... I hope she's OK in there... I hope we live through this... (OK, I know, I have a bit of a flair for the dramatic.)

***

Once we got to the hospital, I was taken into the maternity ward for observation. They had me change into a gown and they strapped both a fetal heart monitor and a contraction monitor on me. I was 2 cm dialated, which was only a half centimeter more than I'd been dialated at my doctor's visit earlier in the week. The nurse said they would watch me for a couple hours to see if I continued to dialate and if it was indeed, necessary to admit me. When I was finally given the opportunity to walk around and "encourage things along," you best believe I was pacing those halls. The last thing I wanted was to be sent home with no baby.

All the pacing paid off. I was formally admitted to the hospital around 9 AM. I spent much of the morning breathing deeply through intensifying contractions and listening to Eleanor's little beating heart on the monitor. It's funny, for nearly ten months I'd just accepted that that little heart was beating strong inside of me. I'd never worried about it. But once the fetal heart monitor was strapped on me and I could hear her little heart, then suddenly I couldn't not worry.

I didn't really have a birth plan, however, around 5 cm -- and about seven hours into contractions -- I opted for an epidural. And lordy, lordy, I'm glad I did. It would be another four hours before the doctor came in and broke my water and Eleanor finally arrived. Even with the epidural, those four hours were painful and intense-- though not as painful or intense as they could have been.

The epidural was not without it's own drama of course. There was something about the sounds of a hole being drilled into my spine that made me super light-headed. I nearly fainted. I had to lie down...and then I farted, basically on the nurse who was trying to help me. It surprised us both I'm sure, but it didn't phase her. Seasoned vet that she was.

Once I was epiduraled up, I spend the next few hours watching March Madness on TV. Then, as I mentioned earlier, the doctor came in and broke my water. After that, it was game on.

The contractions intensified. Eleanor's heart rate started to drop whenever I the contractions came, which was frequently. The nurse had me rolling from one side to the other trying to keep Ellie's heart rate within the desired range. Turned out the ambilicle cord was wrapped around Ellie's neck. Had I known that, I can only imagine how panicked I would have been. As it was, I was super nervous.

Anyways, the doctor finally came in to check my dilation. I was at ten centimeters and it was time to go. Roma, my mom and Sarah stood on my left side, the nurse stood on my right. Roma was up near my head, swooping down to give me kisses and shove the oxygen mask "firmly" on my nose. (Bless his heart, I think he thought it needed a vacuum seal to work.)

I pushed for a total of ten minutes and then, there she was-- screaming and a bit purple. I cried. Roma cried. My mom and Sarah cried. It was just a beautiful moment.

As I held Eleanor, I was amazed by everything about her, but particularly by her long, skinny fingers with their perfect little nails. Those long fingers, those perfect nails, they reminded me of my late grandma Eleanor, Eleanor's namesake. (Here we are together in December 2004, just hanging out:)

My grandma has these long fingers and these perfect nails and I swear, my little Ellie-Els was born with her great-grandmother's hands. Maybe her hands will dance across the keys of a piano too someday, who knows? Ellie's hands have since plumped up as she's become a bit of a chunkster, but for me, they will always be her great-grandmother's hands.

Anyways, so goes the story of Eleanor's birth. She was born 6 lbs, 8 oz and 20 inches long. At her two month check-up, she weighed in at 12 lbs, 8 oz and was 24 inches long. She went from being in the 76th percentile for height to being in the 92nd percentile. Funny little anecdote there...

We were at the doctor's office and the nurse had just weighed and measured Eleanor. The nurse was sitting down at the computer while I was standing up next to the table where Ellie lay coo-ing at herself in the mirror. The nurse said:

"Wow, she's really grown. She shot up to the 92nd percentile for height."

"Yeah, well, we were kind of expecting that to happen eventually," I replied.

"Oh," said the nurse, "Is her dad really tall?"

"Uh... yeah, I mean, I suppose he's tall"

"Oh, but you're tall too I guess."

You guess? Do you run with a lot of 6+ women little nurse lady??

Too funny.

Anyways, here's my big girl today:

We will be down in California next week saying hello to our friends and family in San Jose. It'll be Eleanor's first trip to the Golden State & her daddy's first time away from her. I'm sure pictures and stories will follow :)

Two Months Today!

Eleanor is two months old today! She is smiling and cooing and squealing and is just so much fun. She looks a ridiculous amount like Roma. More and more so everyday. She even has his hairline-- much to his dismay. (I've assured him her hair will grow in though. And it's already getting "peachfuzzy" there on top, so that's good. She won't be going to first grade with a comb-over.)

Like I said, Eleanor is tons of fun though still a rascal at times. She doesn't really nap during the day for any significant amount of time and that can be exhausting. And, because of her, I'm still off dairy. I never thought I'd give up cheese, but for my little girl I did.

Other things I never thought I'd do:

- Talk in the third person (Guilty)

- Talk in a voice so high-pitched that the dog leaves the room (Guilty)

- Say things like "coochy-coochy-coo" (Yes folks, guilty here too)

I guess what I'm saying is that motherhood has changed me in unexpected ways :)

Isn't she just too cute?? I think so.

In other happy news, Roma got a new job! He accepted a position at a local hospital working in the kitchen. We are so thankful for this new (and full-time!!) employment.

Bloomsday

Last weekend Grandma and Grandpa were in town again. It was great. We participated in Bloomsday, which is a 7.4 mile race here in Spokane. Some 50,000 people come from all over the state to walk & run Bloomsday, so it's quite the affair. Burnsaniuk(affey) walked it this year & it was lovely. We only had to stop once for a feeding & a diaper change and why lie, a honeybucket stop. We finished at the back of the pack but in front of the transvestite walking in stilettos, so that was something to feel good about.

Here are Roma & Eleanor with Grandma & Grandpa waiting for the race to start:

Here is a close up of Ellie-Els. She's not sure what she thinks of Bloomsday but suffice to say, she finds the whole affair suspect...

Here is a Romaniuk family shot:

And a Burns family shot:

You might think that it was Sarah or Steve who put Jackson's ball cap on backwards but you'd be wrong. Backwards is Jackson's preferred way to wear his winney-the-pooh hat. That's just how he rolls.

***

In Eleanor news, she's six weeks now and as you can see, she's really starting to chunk up. I took her to the doctor last week and she weighed 10.3 pounds. That's a three pound gain since our last doctor's visit. The pictures down below don't do justice to her chubby, droopy, jowls; but, they'll have to do for now.

She's on the verge of smiling for real-- not just when she's gassy, which is super exciting. In the meantime however, she remains pretty serious and at times, apparently concerned...

Except, that is, when she's letting me know that I'm number one...

This Week in Bursaniuk

Last weekend we (finally) had some beautiful weather so the Burns/Romaniuk families -- henceforth to be known simply as Burnsaniuk -- decided to picnic at the park. It was Eleanor's first picnic, which she made the most of by sleeping through...

Jackson had a good time at the park though. Here he is with his Mama shortly before they discovered an old stump covered in ladybugs.

He sat and watched the ladybugs for quite some time. When a couple actually landed on him, he could hardly contain his excitement...

For Easter, I dressed Eleanor up like an Easter egg and then I tried to get a picture of how cute she looked. She wasn't so into it.

Later, I tried to sneak a picture of her when she was in the swing. I thought she was asleep, but she was just playing possum. Right as I took the picture, she tried to give me the stink eye.

We enjoyed a lovely Easter dinner at Steve's parents house. Jackson hunted eggs. He was basically all business as he did so. It was funny.

In other news, Eleanor had some tummy-time this week.

Which totally tuckered her out. She fell asleep halfway through her next feeding and couldn't be roused even while being burped. Too precious :)

One Month of Eleanor

Eleanor will be one month tomorrow. Hard to believe that four weeks have gone by. She is doing great and is a true little joy. Last week she enjoyed a visit from Grandma and Grandpa:

Last week also marked a monumental moment in this Mamma's life when Eleanor moved from the bassinet in our bedroom to the crib in the officery. I might have been tempted to keep her in the room with us longer if she weren't an incredibly disruptive sleeper. I'm not talking about hunger cries in the night, that goes without saying; I'm talking about loud grunts and gurgles that made it nearly impossible for me to doze off completely. I'm sleeping much better with her in the other room, though it did make me a little sad to make that transition...

In other Ellie news, I'm really pushing the pacifier on her. I know, I know, controlling mother already; but people, it's for her own good. I come from a family of thumbsuckers. I was a thumbsucker for such an embarrassingly long time -- despite my parents' valiant efforts to stop me -- that I won't even say when the sucking stopped. If I have the choice, and I realize that in reality, it is out of my control-- then I would make Eleanor a pacifier baby. Thus far, we are 50/50 on the pacifier. Sometimes she'll take it and other times she won't. I guess time will tell. Here she is though, cute as button, sleeping with her pacifier...

Daddy gave Eleanor her first bottle this week and she took it without incident. I was worried that she would prefer the bottle to the boobie, but she seems to be an equal opportunity eater, so that's good.

Lastly, Eleanor makes the cutest sad faces. Wouldn't you agree?

Ellie-bits to Share

Just a couple of tidbits to share:

Grandma and Grandpa have arrived from California so Grandpa finally got to hold little Eleanor:

And Eleanor finally got a chance to protest:

Grandpa was unfazed. Of course, he has a lot of experience with gassy, screaming babies as yours truly was quite the handful for the first five months of life. Yours truly apparently also spent the first months of life glaring at my own grandfather and we're good friends now, so this photo must mean those two have lovely times in store for them down the road:)

Speaking of yours truly being a screamy, gassy, colicky baby who couldn't tolerate cow's milk and only let her mother hold her...

Eleanor isn't nearly that bad, but the girl has a delicate stomach and what appears to be a milk sensitivity so I'm off dairy. If you know me, you know that I love cheese. In fact, I once may have stated that if I were to rob a grocery store -- which I assure you, I won't be doing -- I would take the cheese. That's how much I love cheese people. Not being able to eat it is like, a huge lifestyle change. It's also my own baby karma coming back to get me.

However, I love this little girl more than I love cheese. So it's all good.

Because that little smirk is to worth it...

Especially since sometimes, when making that smirk, she gets distracted by her nose...

Snake-Monkey Baby and Other Lessons For This New Mama

Hard to believe but it's been two weeks since my beautiful Eleanor Elisabeth was born. In the two weeks since she's been here, I've learned a few things. Things such as:

1. Accomplishing one task a day is a sufficient goal. Today's task is to blog. So far, partly accomplished but we will see if I can also get it posted. That may be tomorrow's task.

2. Sometimes a newborn will shed all its skin. This I did not know. I have a beautiful snake baby.

3. Sometimes, newborns look like little monkeys-- at least mine does. I call her my beautiful snake-monkey baby. And even though she is less and less of a snake-monkey everyday, it's kind of a fun thing to say so it might stick around for awhile.

4. Four hours of uninterrupted sleep is the most glorious thing in the world. I never thought that four would be such a magic number... heck, three and a half is pretty heavenly too.

5. Lack of sleep + changing hormones + gassy baby = one weepy mother.

6. Sometimes, changing hormones + nothing at all = one weepy mother. For some reason, I am embarrassed to admit it, but it's the truth: there have been some weepy moments and well, one or two weepy days in the past couple weeks. Nothing too dramatic except I for one, could have done without crying to the pediatrician over my snake-monkey's acid reflux & gas issues... We'll have to uh, save face next time and be extra non-weepy.

7. Don't underestimate the power of the swaddle.

8. Breastfeeding is super painful at first, like, who-punched-me-over-and-over-in-the-boobies painful; but, it is so totally worth it.

9. Parental love of a child is an animal all it's own. I can't believe how much I love my little girl and how suddenly, all my anxieties, which were previously self-centered, are now directed solely on her and her well-being. I expected to love her, but the depth and breadth of this love is somewhat overwhelming. I feel so blessed.

Those are the lessons I've learned thus far, but at only two weeks in, no doubt I'll be learning more. My next goal is to share a little narrative of Eleanor's birth, which was, hands down, the most beautiful day of my life. However, that might require a good week's worth of goal setting to get done. Here's hoping I can do it before she turns 12.

Eleanor is doing great. At her aforementioned 10-day doctor's visit she had gained a whole pound. Go snake-monkey baby! (And go mama's aforementioned sore boobies...) She is such a sweet little joy.

That's all for now. I'm off to snuggle my beauty and eagerly anticipate the arrival of Grandma and Grandpa from California later this week :)