This morning as our "last night" to get a good sleep was miserable. My back was hurting terribly and could not get comfortable and then the lightening and thunderstorms hit at 1am. The lightening was lighting up our whole house. Then in nervous about Nonni driving in this storm to be at our house at 4am to watch the boys. The storms finally ended and we slept about an hour before showering and packing the car. It is still so surreal waking up to just get in your car and head to the hospital for your life to change forever!
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| 4am - Last picture with a sign |
So we get in the car and head to Centennial Women's Hospital and Garrick and I just keep taking big breaths and laughing. We have been so busy just "living" with the boys that it truly has not hit us we are going in to the hospital and coming home with a baby girl! We get to the hospital at 5:30am, check in, and get to our room. The part I dread the most is getting the IV just as she is bragging on my veins it is not working while she is fishing that needle all through my arm! The second try, she got me in a great spot on the backside of my arm. The nurse said I was having contractions about 7 minutes a part which means nothing basically. Anesesia came in and I talked to them about being stuck 7 times with Will. Mom sent Dad to be there since she had the boys. Poor Dad had to just wait with us.
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| Texting before Ella Jo joins us. |
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| Poppy can hardly contain his excitement |
During this time I am just having a pep talk in my head saying, "I can do this, if I am still they will get me the first time, I can do this I can do this" and fighting the screams saying I don't want to do this!!!! They had Garrick sit outside operating room until I was prepped. My team was great. The spinal really hurt but I did do it! I stayed so still and breathed and it worked the first time! I could fill it instantly running through my body- numb as could be but also I totally had lost control of my body. Such a weird feeling as you are laid on the table with your everything exposed. Garrick comes in and I can start to see him panic. I know it is just as hard on him to see me on that operating table and then the nerves about baby girl. I started feeling really nauseas which was a first but they have me something for that. I could gear Dr. Oldfield say she was really big and there was a lot of amniotic fluid. Not sure what that meant but come to find out later supposedly my stomach would go down a lot since baby girl was Huge and I had so much fluid. Ella Jo was finally out and Dr. Oldfield handed her off to Dani (one of mommy's oldest friends) and they started working on her fluid in her lungs. This was our next worry with our experience with Will getting pneumonia. They worked on her for a bit but then felt good about it. During this time I'm started to panic on the table because I can't breathe and I feel like someone is laying on my chest. I finally found my voice to tell the nurse and she said no worries I'll fix that it is what they are working on right now putting you back together - gross! They finally weighed her in at 8 pounds 13 ounces - almost 9 pounds!!!! Biggest Odom child yet!
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| Nurse Dani working on her lungs. First arms to ever be placed in was Dani's arms. Love! |
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| Ellen Jo Odom April 3, 2014 7:52am 8 pounds 12 ounces 20 inches |
I have never been so thankful for a c-section and not a vaginal delivery! They brought her over and laid her on my chest.
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| Mommy and Ella Jo |
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| Our baby girl! Now our family is complete. |
I was really nervous because the pain meds had made me so shaky and I could not feel my hands at all. I kept telling Garrick not to move. The rest is a little hazy. I remember being wheeled back into the recovery room and Garrick brought Ella Jo up with us. The nurse had me try and breast feed immediately and that really made me anxious my pain meds were making me really unsure of my control to hold her let alone maneuver her to feed.
Nonni and Poppy were in the room to greet us and meet their first granddaughter.
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| Nurse Dan came back to the room with us to do her footprints and help with baths. |
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| She has some lungs like her older brother Will. Lord help us if she cries like he does. |
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| Just a few hours old. Looks like Will Odom! |
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| The first to meet Ella Jo - Nonni and Poppy |
Then LeeAnn drove in from Rockwood to see us. Her first US hospital experience! Ella Jo is one lucky girl already and in August LeeAnn will give birth to Begs! I loved having LeeAnn there.
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| LeeAnn drove in from Knoxville to visit Ella Jo before heading back to Spain. LeeAnn's first American hospital experience. We cannot wait for Ella Jo's bestie Begs to arrive in August. |
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| Ella Jo |
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| So excited and maybe a little out of it. |
Nonni brought the boys after school to meet their little sister. Gaines hopped right into bed with me and posed for pictures. Will could not get past the IV in my arm.
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| Meet the Odom Family Party of 5! |
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| The boys drew Ella Jo some Welcome signs |
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| Checking things out. Will did not like the IV. Gaines wanted right up in the middle probably for the pictures. |
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| Our new expanded family. |
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| First sibling picture |
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| Gaines was very comfortable with his baby sister |
After they left I finally "passed gas" yes you have to do that before eating after a c-section. The boys thought that was hysterical! So I got to eat and hospital food never tasted so good. The rest of the night was pretty low key EJ nursed and slept and was pretty content.
