Baby #3: Little Ella

I have to begin this long overdue post by saying that I have been phenomenally blessed to have had 3 amazing pregnancies resulting in 3 miraculous, gorgeous, beautiful, incredible children... This brings me to little baby Ella, my sweet, smiley new little miracle!  Here is her birth story:

My pregnancy was incredible.  No problems, everything went according to plan, she measured perfectly for her dates and in a nutshell, it was yet another phenomenal experience of butterflies, kicks and movements, enjoying falling in love with the idea of another precious little girl.  However, on Saturday 28th November, we had a maternity shoot scheduled to capture our little family along with my growing belly.  I was 2 days away from 34 weeks pregnant.  After the photo shoot on the beach that evening, my stomach started to feel a little strange.  It felt uncomfortable and a little tender to the touch.  I didn't say anything but took it easy that evening and went to bed.  The next morning it was even more tender to the touch and I told hubby that something felt "off".  It was a beautiful summers' day so we spent time in and out of the swimming pool until I eventually thought I better go to the maternity ward at the hospital just to ensure all was still okay.

Maternity Shoot: Who knew baby Ella was ready to make her appearance!

Little did I know that I wasn't going to be coming home! Dressed in just a summer dress, with wet washed hair, my car keys and wallet, I was placed on monitors and told that I was having contractions and was in the early stages of preterm labour!  I was relatively calm throughout it all, believing that I would be given the anti-contraction mediation and that I would then be sent home.  I asked my ever reliable mom (thank the heavens above for her!) to pack my hospital things and to get the baby's bag ready just in case.  I was given steroid injections for the development of baby's lungs should she decide to come early and I had to wait for 48 hours...

After the 48 hours, my doctor stopped my anti-contraction meds and said we were to wait until the evening.  I was now exactly 34 weeks pregnant on 1st December.  I then knew what was coming... Contractions started again and the monitor was registering spikes up to 80 out of 100!  Baby was on her way.  We were told at 5:30pm that she was coming NOW!  Hubby had to get the kids out of the hospital, I had to put on my scrubs and we got ready to head down to theater.  What a rush!

In our hospital scrubs, waiting...

Everything seemed to follow the same protocol as my other 2 pregnancies except there was no pediatrician in the theater, but a Neonatologist from the NICU (Neonatal ICU) due to baby being premature. He was lovely and reassured us that all things going as planned, our baby would be absolutely fine apart from a few bubbles as she breathed and a slight indentation in her chest due to her lungs not being fully developed.  Being a girl she was given a much more positive outlook as well.  So although the circumstances weren't as ideal as with Lily and Zac's births, I was calm and had complete faith in my doctors.

The whole c-section experience prior to the baby being born is quite barbaric and it felt far more extreme than my other two deliveries.  Injections, feelings of nausea, extreme chest pains from the air entering my open stomach and tremendous tugging and pulling.  But as per Lily and Zac, I felt tremendous relief when little precious Ella was pulled out crying and looking absolutely perfect in every single way at 19h10 on Tuesday, 1st December 2016 weighing a tiny 2.4kg and measuring 45cm long.  Unfortunately I couldn't hold her but was given a quick glimpse of her beautiful face before they whisked her away to the ICU with daddy. Goodness but she had loads of hair!  Far more hair than any of my babies!

After I was sewn up, I was wheeled back to my room, but this experience was different as my baby wasn't waiting in the maternity ward or in my room for me.  I had to spend the evening without her which was quite a strange experience.  I was told I needed to start expressing collostrum so that they could tube feed her and this the nurses did for me and my baby got the liquid gold she needed to grow.  Daddy was lucky enough to see and spend time with her and he showed me plenty of videos and photographs.  He said she is beautiful and was doing really well.  It was sad to see that my precious, tiny newborn baby had already experienced drips in her arms and tubes down her nose, but it was reassuring to know that it was all for her benefit and that she was doing well.  We were told that she would be spending 2 weeks in the ICU.

Our little fighter!

The next morning around 4:30am I was helped out of my bed, all tubes and catheters were removed and I was wheeled down to the NICU to meet my darling baby at 5am.  It was incredible.  I couldn't believe how tiny she was and with so much hair!  She looked so much bigger in the photographs daddy had shown me.  It was hard not to be able to hold her and to only touch her slightly.  The whole initial NICU experience was rather daunting as you have to sterilise your hands and lower arms a couple of times before coming near the babies, but the staff were incredible and reassured us how wonderfully Ella was doing.  They even referred to her as the "big baby" in NICU!

2 days later I was finally allowed to hold her and have skin on skin contact.  It was incredible!  I loved every single second of that hour I had her on my bare chest.  The following day I was told that they would like to try breastfeeding for the first time.  I was anxious and excited at the same time.  The nurses warned me that it was highly possible that she wouldn't latch with her being so small and that their brains sometimes haven't quite "switched on" at 34 weeks yet.  But, my precious, strong little fighter was a super star and latched perfectly!  I was elated and loved it!  She was an absolute star and a very strong sucker!

In absolute heaven! So in love!

That day I was discharged from hospital.  A very bittersweet experience.  Happy to be going home to Lily, Zac and daddy but so desperately sad to be leaving Ella behind.  I recall with Lily and Zac being so elated at going home with my newborn babies, but this time I was leaving without my small, helpless little baby girl...

I spent the next few days expressing milk and delivering it to the hospital.  Hospital hours were very strict in NICU and I was only allowed to see her between 12h00-18h00 and then again from 20h00-22h00.  The mornings were strictly not allowed due to doctor's rounds.  Grandparents are only allowed at certain times on the weekends and I was so pleased that my parents got to meet her too - a very special moment for them both.

Proud Granny

On the Monday I went to my gynae to check my wound which looked incredibly bruised and bloodied.  I was told that I had developed a heamatoma and that I had to be readmitted, reopened, cleaned out and restitched.  I went into theater that evening and spent the Monday night back in the maternity ward.  That operation was one of the most excruciating experiences!  I hadn't been given much in terms of pain relief and I was in incredible pain.  Thankfully the nurses finally gave me some hardcore pain relief and I felt a million times better.  Before being discharged on the Tuesday, the NICU nurse told me to hang around as he felt that Ella was fine to be released even though she had only spent one week in ICU.  I was hopeful!  Maybe this time when leaving the hospital I could leave with my baby!  And true to his word, the doctor felt that she was doing well and could be discharged!  Weighing a tiny 2.2kg, little Ella left the hospital and came home with me!  It was amazing!

My world!

And as I type, she is definitely over 5kg (still have to have her weighed to check this estimation), is 3.5 months old and is doing incredibly well.  She is such an amazing little baby, sleeping through the night, is mostly content and always full of wide-mouthed smiles.  We are so truly blessed to have this little miracle in our lives and are truly thankful to my doctor who made the decision to deliver her at 34 weeks.  My placenta was dying and Ella had the chord wrapped around her neck 3 times!  It was definitely time for her to enter this world a full 6 weeks early! We all love you so much precious baby girl Ella xxx