Eleanor Grace's Zeroth Birthday

At ten o’clock last night, Erin said she would soak in the tub, and warned Rosemarie and I to get what sleep we could. She knew what she was talking about. After tossing and turning, I managed to get about an hour’s sleep before Erin reported that her contractions were strong, regular, and about three minutes apart.

We called the midwife, who came over and watched over us while we laboured at home a while, and then we headed over to the hospital about 2 a.m. What followed was a long night. The labour itself went much better than Vivian’s birth, but it was still quite an ordeal for Erin. We got to the pushing stage at around 7 a.m., and Erin gave it three hours of her best. Unfortunately, her pelvic bone was just too small for the baby to get out on her own, and we had to turn over care to the resident obstetrician, who intervened with forceps. What followed was a relatively normal birth through the birth canal, and little Eleanor Grace came into the world at 10:50 a.m. weighing seven pounds, fifteen ounces.

Like Vivian, Eleanor aspirated a little meconium during the birthing process, which had to be sucked out by attending doctors with a tube, but she was moving well and breathing on her own within minutes of the delivery. Mother and child are being kept overnight for observation, but we expect both to be home tomorrow afternoon.

This has all been a mind-blowing experience and I’m wiped. I’m typing this from home now after having managed about an hour’s nap. I’m still tired, but not sleepy. My parents came over to watch over Vivian while she slept last night, and take care of her through the day. She’s still with them now, and Rosemarie and I will pick her up when we go for dinner with them. We’ll then trek on over to see Erin during the hospital’s visitors’ hours. She’s been in good spirits, though I expect she may have a little trouble with the fact that her mother won’t be home tonight. I’ll keep my fingers crossed. And cross them again when little Nora comes home.

Here are a couple more pictures:

	Eleanor just minutes old
	Child and mother
	Presenting the baby in swaddling clothes