Introducing the Little Miss

here she is...

Elaina Noelle Harris

born April 8, 2011

2:29 p.m.

7 lbs 0 oz

20 1/2 in. long

I've had a few requests for the "story" so here it is.

My doctor said he would induce me on the 8th so we went to the hospital at 12:15 Thursday night/Friday morning to check in. I saw the same nurse that was there when Mckayla was born and got really nervous because she was not the nicest (that's putting it mildly) and I didn't want her to be my nurse! But, we got put in a room (the same room Mckayla was born in!) and Darlene walked in; thank goodness it wasn't Rosetta! Darlene was very sweet and kinda weird ;) She was from Canada and said the weirdest sayings/phrases; but as far as nurses go she was great! They started pitocin around 3:30 and we attempted to sleep a little bit. Houston slept great! I, still being pregnant, had to pee like 50 times and couldn't sleep a bit. I would just lie there wondering if it was worth it to try and go to the restroom because I had to unhook the monitors, unstrap the blood pressure cuff, and wheel the IV stand with me into the bathroom. Houston was dead asleep and wouldn't wake up for anything! So, it was pretty much a sleepless night for me!

I was told by many friends to make sure I got my epidural before the doctor came in to break my water. Dr. Le told me he would probably be in around 7:30 to break my water so come 7:15 I was getting kind of nervous. I didn't feel like my contractions were bad enough yet to justify an epidural but I didn't want to regret not getting it in time. I finally decided to just go ahead and do it and by the time the anesthesiologist came in the contractions started to hurt more so it was perfect timing. All the stress didn't really matter in the end, because 5 minutes after I got the epidural my water broke on its own, and Dr. Le didn't show up until around 9! My mom warned me that I might not like the epidural. She tried to convince me to try and do it naturally because she had a natural childbirth with me but with my sister and my brother she had an epidural and didn't like it. Well I should have known my mommy would be right! The epidural made me jittery and nauseous and I pretty much felt like crap for a few hours. The only thing that made the shaking stop was if Houston held my hand. And, my nurse (Darlene went home at 7 so my new nurse was Rosario) gave me a bowl and said it was ok if I threw up, it would help the baby come down. I was like...awesome! Exactly what I wanted to hear!

I was dilated to a 9 by 1:30 or so and I was starting to get super uncomfortable. My epidural was great though. It was perfect. I could move my legs the whole time, and I felt everything, it just wasn't necessarily painful. But, when people say you feel "pressure" it doesn't begin to describe what it feels like! Like so much pressure that it probably could be considered painful and you feel like you have to take the biggest, most uncomfortable poop of your life! I probably started pushing around 2:10, Dr. Le came in around 2:20, and she was born around 2:30!

It was the most incredible experience of my life. I told people, labor was a thousand times better than being pregnant! It was such an amazing feeling when they put her little body on my chest. And, Houston was awesome! I just wanted it to be the two of us in the room and he was the best! He was there with me the whole time and he was a great counter! He wanted to be by my side the whole time; so much so that when Elaina was born I had to reassure him it was ok if he left me, I wanted him to go take pictures of my baby!!

I felt bad for all of our family waiting outside of the room. I kicked everyone out of the room around 1:30 when things started to not be so fun anymore ;) and I don't think they came back in the room until around 3:30. I know they started to get worried and wonder if everything was ok. The nurses kept walking in and out but they wouldn't say anything about what was going on and Houston didn't go out there to tell them anything for a long time! The reason it took absolutely forever was because Dr. Le took a lifetime stitching me up! It was taking so long I cracked a joke about how "I get the feeling it's not going to be very fun to poop tomorrow" and all of a sudden he got very serious and started explaining to me what was really going on. I had a "3rd degree laceration" and I tore my sphincter. (sorry if that's TMI) So, he gives me this whole shpeal about the minor possibility of surgery, etc. After his little conversation I got all serious and told the nurse I guess I wasn't really joking earlier! But, recovery has been great. Well, as great as it can be. I feel pretty good, going number 2 still isn't the funnest, but popping stool softeners like candy helps!

I just love my baby girl. I can't get enough of her. It's hard to go to sleep at night because we just stare at her and think she is just the most precious thing. I already can't imagine life without her and I love spending my day taking care of her. We were all surprised when she came out because I think everyone expected her to look like me! But, she definitely got a lot of the harris genes! She has Houston's coloring, long Harris "french fry" toes, and she's long and skinny like her Aunt Julie. But, when we look at Houston's baby pictures the two of us don't really think she looks like his baby pictures so maybe there is a little bit of me in there somewhere! We shall see as she gets a little bit bigger.

Elaina and her daddy

Elaina and her mommy

meeting her new BFF Mckayla for the first time!

me and Charlene with our babies, Cooper and Elaina! Yay, for not being pregnant anymore! :)

our sweet princess at 3 days old

I love her little hands. She always wants to have them next to her face. It makes me smile because in all the ultrasounds we had, her hands were always up close by her face!