A Flashback: Ellie's Arrival!

I am going to make an attempt to re-create a little of Ellie's arrival through some of the pictures my family and friends took that Saturday and Sunday. And Monday. And Tuesday. :) I have several pictures that I may add later on here when I get them on the computer...so if I do...I will let you know in another post! I will try to keep all the "Arrival" stuff together. I also want to say that some of these may be a little blurry...so forgive me!

Although I had said all along that I thought she was going to come early, it was still a bit of a surprise when I realized I was actually going to HAVE her! Six days before my due date (April 20th), I began having contractions and went to the hospital. Below is a picture of the Emergency Room I entered through at Baylor Medical Center Southwest in Fort Worth. I have to say that I had the most WONDERFUL delivery room and the most INCREDIBLE nurses. I am a huge advocate for two things: epidurals and Baylor Southwest. I recommend both!

I was admitted to the hospital at some point later on Saturday evening...they waited a while (HOURS) to tell me if they were actually going to keep me...and if I was actually going to have Ellie or not! My contractions were right on with timing, but not much was changing physically. Fortunately I had an AWESOME nurse who talked my doctor into keeping me overnight. When Toni (my first nurse) came to tell me I was going to stay overnight...she also told me that I would definitely be having Ellie one way or another the next day! Dr. McAlpine decided he would induce me the next morning if I still had not progressed enough. I was SO excited and SO nervous! And in SO much pain!

Below is a picture of my two besties! Coach Candice is on the left and Hootie (Alexis) is on the right. This picture was taken post-epidural on Sunday morning. They made me lay on my side a lot!

Everyone was so tired on Sunday - Mom and Candice stayed up with me all night before I got the epidural. It was exhausting for everyone...and I have to say they both were amazing! They literally stood up with me and swayed back and forth all night during EVERY SINGLE contraction! As you can tell from the previous picture, they also had me on oxygen to help Ellie. I got in a lot of trouble from my second nurse, Kim (pictured below), for taking these pictures without my mask on!

At 12:30 p.m. on Sunday, my nurse Kim told me it was time to start pushing! With the help of Mom, Candice and Kim...it only took about 45 minutes of pushing before Ellie arrived (1:11 p.m.)! Dr. McAlpine showed up just in time to take care of a few things and deliver Ellie quickly and safely. He was such a blessing to have throughout my entire pregnancy...and I have one thing to say..."pushpushpushpushpushpush" (He is South African and VERY soft-spoken! I had to get Candice to interpret some of what he was saying to me during labor!). So below are some of the first pictures of Ellie and Dr. McAlpine, me and Ellie, Ellie, and the Sherrell family!

This is Papa, Uncle Travis, Nana, Ellie and Mom!

This is Ellie and her Uncle Travis. I think they like each other!

And finally here's one of Ellie in the nursery. She looks so long! She was 5 pounds 13 ounces and was 18 1/2 inches long.

That's it for the Arrival...be looking for the Arrival Part 2...Coming Soon!