Happy Birth Day, Eli!

Eli finally decided to enter this world on Tuesday, December 20 at 5:02 am. He was 6 lbs 13 oz and 18 1/2 inches long. I went in on Monday evening to start the cervidil medicine. My doctor warned me that it probably wouldn't put me into labor but we would start pitosin the next morning and hopefully meet our little guy on Tuesday. Well, the cervidil worked and I started having regular contractions that kept getting longer, stronger, and closer together. (In birth class they tell you that means you are in labor.) At about 2:00 am I finally was far enough along to get an epidural. It was amazing! The whole time I was in the birth room, they had a monitor on Eli to listen to his heart beat. He kept moving around so the nurse would have to adjust my monitor so we could hear his heart beat. When the new nurses came in at 3:00 am, Eli's heart beat started dropping for seconds at a time. It would get as low as 60. So the nurse called in the on-call doctor and she thought maybe it was because Eli was coming faster than expected. I was dilated to a 7, so she decided to just keep a close eye on him but to hold off on the c-section. After a little while longer she told me that she was going to call in the c-section team just in case. She checked me again and I hadn't dilated any more, so she told me that we were going to go in for the c-section. The on-call doctor told me that the doctor I had been seeing was also going to come in. That was a relief to me. I was really scared that there was something seriously wrong with Eli- which I guess there could have been- but they got me in and 10ish minutes later he was there. He was such a beautiful baby. Brent thought he looked like a Wertenberger boy. I was just so glad he was finally here and doing fine. The doctor told us that his heart rate had been dropping because his umbilical cord was above his head. So every time he tried to be born, it would cut off his umbilical cord causing his heart rate to drop. I was shocked that his birth weight was in the 6 lbs. It's a normal weight, but I was just assuming he would at least be 7 lbs. Anyway, we finally got to go to a room and I got to hold Eli for the first time. He was and continues to be a wonderful baby. He is a good sleeper and eater. On Monday of this week (when he was 6 days old) his weight was 7lbs 1.6oz. So he is getting bigger by the day! God has blessed us beyond anything we could have imagined. We both love parenthood so much and pray that we will take care of Eli the way God has called us to. 

Eli's name is just one Brent and I have liked for a long time- even before we were pregnant. Every time one of our close friends or family were pregnant we held our breath for the name because we wanted to use Eli so bad. Eli's middle name is Marion. This is after Brent's grandpa Wichert. Brent grew up just down the road from Grandpa Wichert and he passed away this Spring.

C-section time.

Getting checked out right after being born.

All bundled up!

First bath.

Koerner Heights Church Shower

Brent and I have been going to Koerner Heights Mennonite Brethren Church in Newton since August. So when they came to me and told me they wanted to have a shower for us- I was completely overwhelmed. What a huge blessing and ministry they have been to us and we haven't even been a part of the church that long. I think it speaks a lot to their ministry mentality that they were willing to have a shower for relative strangers. So thanks to all the ladies that made it happen (especially Amy, Chandelle, Shonna, Mashele, and Ashley) and to all the others that have made us feel so welcomed. 

Opening gifts

Me and my mom-in-law, Bonnie.

Family Shower in Buhler

My amazing sis-in-law, Estey, threw a shower for me a her baby nephew in November. It was a great time with both sides of Brent's family- the Willems and Wicherts. Estey had a really sweet devotional accompanied by gifts to remember important Truths, a game that involved music, and she had all the people in attendance write me some suggestions/advice/encouragement and put them all in a frame for me to reference in the future. It was so much fun to have so many of Brent's relatives there. My personal favorite moment was the game. Estey put together a play list of songs that either had the word baby or boy in the title. When she pushed play for Just Bieber's "Baby" song, grandma Willems said, "Oh, I know this one". It was so funny! Also she was a little miffed when she found out the actual title was "Baby" and not "Baby, Baby" as she had written down. Ha! Anyway, it was such a great time and I again feel so incredibly blessed by the love Estey and Brent's mom put into such a special event. 

Refreshment Table

Grandma Wichert, Aunt Faye, Aunt Shirley

Grandma Willems, Amy, Amy, Aunt Teri, Aunt Gina

Megan and Aunt Dorothy

April and me holding JJ

Lindsay, Addilyn, Chloe, Aunt Lori, Julie, Ashlyn and Shelby

Estey holding the blankie Brent's mom made for baby.

Me holding the frame holding all the wisdom from the Wichert and Willems ladies. 

Happy 40 weeks, Baby!

Hi baby. Today you have been in mommy's tummy for 40 weeks. I know you don't know what that means- but to most people that means you are supposed to come out today. Mommy and Daddy are SO ready to meet you! I guess if you want to stay in that's okay for now, but next week you are going to come out whether you're ready or not! We love you, baby. 

This was actually taken today (Saturday) which is a day after my due date. But I didn't go to work yesterday and thus did not look very picture-worthy. Still not great, but it's better than it was yesterday. Just trust me on this one. :)

Grace Baptist Shower (Tahlequah)

Also in October, my friend Jamie threw me a shower in Tahlequah. Many of the Grace Baptist ladies that were so influential in my life while Brent and I lived in Tahlequah were in attendance. The shower was at the Iguana Cafe and over lunch time. It was such a nice and relaxing time. We took a group picture at the shower but I haven't gotten my hands on a copy yet, so if you are reading this and have one, e-mail it my way. :) 

Cassy, Shawna holding Naomi, Jamie, Jessica, and Dara

Jessica, Dara, Lori, Courtnie, and Keisha

Courtnie, Keisha, Becky, and Shelly

"Take a picture of JUST ME." -Cassy

And this is baby Naomi- daughter to Matt and Cassy. This picture doesn't do her justice, but I'm sure you can still tell that she is just a precious/sweet/beautiful little girl. 

Thanks to Jamie for throwing me the wonderful shower but more importantly for being such a great friend. I don't think I will ever have a friend just like you. I miss you everyday and thank God that our lives got to cross for 4 short years. You will always be a part of my family. I love you!

Hometown Baby Shower

This is the shower that Riley (my best friend since like 3rd grade) and Rachelle (my sister-in-law since...well she's been a part of our family for forever) threw for me. Here comes the kicker- Riley and Rachelle are sisters. It's always a little confusing for people when we go somewhere together because Rachelle will say- these are my sisters- but really they're not sisters but they are best friends so they're like sisters. You see where the confusion comes in. Anyway, love both of these girls SO much and they will always be an important part of my life. This was a shower they threw for me and baby in October. They had it at the community building in Morrill and people in attendance were people that have been a part of my life since I can remember. I forgot to have someone take a picture of the people in attendance- wish I would have- but they were all people that have known me most if not all of my life. So it was a special day. 

This was the food line. There were details and decorations that were so thoughtful. You may recognize some of the decorations because they are now up in the nursery. 

I can't go without mentioning the cake pops. They were delicious, but according to Riley she is "never making them again". :)

And the gift table. That diaper cake had to have taken forever because I was the one that took it down and EACH individual diaper had a rubber band around it. I think Rach can be thanked for that. Oh, and the clothes line...so cute. Everything was just so perfect. 

And last but not least, me and the girls that made it all possible. Thank you both. I had such a great time and it meant a lot to me to have you be such a wonderful part of it all. 

Nesting

Yesterday I had my first feeling of what I think is a contraction. Maybe they would more likely be considered braxton hicks. I don't really know what it was- I'm new at this whole giving birth thing. Anyway, I had a vision (not a literal one of course) of Brent and I heading to the hospital in the middle of the night to meet our little guy. I was so excited and then I realized... my house looks like a wreck! I thought, "I can't welcome our baby home to a train wreck of a house". So today, I am doing what people call 'nesting'. Getting all the Christmas presents wrapped and finished up, doing dishes, cleaning bathrooms, etc. Thought you all could get a little laugh picturing this large pregnant woman trying to get things spotless. Now if he waits another 3 weeks to get here, then my new challenge will be keeping the place clean. Oh dear. Happy Friday!