Wednesday, December 12, 2012

Happy due date Ellis!


Happy due date to Ellis!  It’s so weird to think that his due date was 12/12/12 but he was born on 9/21/12!  I was a little bummed that I wouldn’t be having him today because I just thought the date was cool.  I can’t even imagine having him now.  He would have been HUGE!

I’ve never been a baby person.  I honestly wondered if I would even have kids for a while.  After becoming pregnant and having Ellis I now have a great respect for mothers.  First off, pregnant women have to deal with morning sickness, random weird pregnancy stuff, and weight gain (and to think they intentionally do this to themselves!)  Then after delivery they go insane for a few weeks/months as the hormones level out (Believe me, I KNEW I was crazy and there was nothing I could do to stop it).  On top of that, they (hopefully along with the dads) are subjected to lack of sleep, possible insanity due to crying, and being thrown up on.  I had no clue.

Let me take some time to share a little bit about my little man.  Most of you know that Ellis was a planned preemie.  It’s funny because the NICU is generally not a part of someone’s birth plan, but for Todd and me it was.  After finding out that my cancer had returned for the 3rd time I consulted with my doctors and we decided that it would be best if I went ahead and had Ellis early.  I went in and had my steroid shots to boost Ellis’s lung development and the following week at only 28 weeks I had Ellis.

Ellis’s birth was not what I would consider a “normal” delivery.  I actually had him in an OR in the hospital part of Northside instead of a delivery room in the Women’s Center.  My OB had to get special permission for Todd to be in the room.  It was interesting because the delivery had people from labor and delivery, surgical staff, and people from the NICU to take care of Ellis.  I honestly have never seen so many people in an OR before. My guesstimate would be 30 people.  The c-section went well and nothing needed to be done regarding my tumors.  Ellis apparently “squeeked” when he was born, but I couldn’t hear anything because Todd was doing his “almost pass out” performance.  Now, this is just me, but do you also find it odd that I had to have 2 IV’s, have plenty of blood drawn, and have an epidural put in and Todd was the one who almost passed out?!  Come on!  Man up, babe!

Ellis stayed in the NICU for exactly 2 months.  Northside NICU was awesome and all the nurses, doctors, and hospital staff were impeccable.  There were a lot of ups and downs but we met a lot of great people along the way.  The day Ellis was released I took him and ran!  I actually neglected to take pictures because I was so excited to liberate him from the hospital.  I was so glad to have my little man coming home and my daily drive to Northside ending.

Now that Ellis is home I’ve learned a lot about him and men in general.

1. Men, or at least Bamberg men are ingrained to put their hands down their pants.  I have actually diapered Ellis’s hand!  It’s not going anywhere, why constantly check that it hasn’t moved?!

2. There is something about changing a diaper that really ticks Ellis off.  I don’t know how he does it since he doesn’t have a butt but he squeezes those cheeks together so tight there are probably things hiding down there that have never seen the light of day!

3. Men are addicted to food from birth.  He actually gets mad at himself that he isn’t eating fast enough during his feeding.

4. Men love to have their head rubbed from birth.  Ellis hates baths.  I swear he would rather stay smelly than take a bath.  He kicks and screams.  But, as soon as the warm water and soap hit his head he instantly relaxes.  My mother-in-law actually asked if he was ok because he went from screaming to totally relaxed in 2 seconds.

There are so many things that I have learned to appreciate after becoming pregnant.  I love having a baby but I swear there are many times when Ellis is crying that I think, “I should be the one crying not you!”  Babies are cute and cuddly but they are a lot of work.  I would like to just say to all the moms out there – I had no clue.  All of you are awesome and should have gold medals!

Happy due date Ellis!  You’ve changed my life, but I wouldn’t change that for the world!

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