Eli's Birth Story: 3 Years Late

I wrote this in my journal for Eli shortly after he was born and have planned to blog it for over a year.  :)  Enjoy!

Eli Andrew Zsiga was born at 2:09 pm on Tuesday, July 9, 2007.  He was over 2 weeks past my due date, but can never use that as an excuse!  My pregnancy was pretty good.  I didn't get too sick and I wasn't miserable.

I was schedule for an induction on the morning of the 24th (my 2nd since I had gone in a week earlier and decided I wanted to wait for Eli to come on his own.).  I started bleeding about midnight and called the hospital at 3:15am when I was still bleeding.  They said to come on in a few hours early.  I was having mild contractions and was given Cytotec and hooked up to some fluids and antibiotics (for strep b) on the IV.  About 10:30am I got Pitocin to speed up labor,  I was dilated to 3cm all morning until noon when the doctor decided to break my water.  At 12:45 I was dilated to a 7.  I got up just before 2pm to go to the bathroom and when I came back I felt like I had to push.  The nurse had said to let her know if I did.

The doctor came back in, said I was ready and everyone rushed around getting things ready. (The rapid progression was not expected after it had taken hours to get past 3cm.) I tried to push during the first contraction and I had some trouble.  I couldn't figure out how to push.  I did some panicking and decided I was done.  :)  The nurses coached me and I did better on the second contraction.  On the third contraction I was told to push until the baby came (Eli's heart rate was dropping and they wanted him out.).  I pushed and pushed and pushed.

Then Eli came out in one swift motion and was skinny and not breathing.  His throat was stuff with birth stuff (you don't want to know ;).  The nurses took Eli and put a tube down his throat to suck the gunk out.  Then he was better and breathing!  Andy did not get to cut the umbilical cord because Eli was not breathing, which was sad, but it was more important to have a healthy baby!

weeks old

3 years old

You can read Carmody's birth story here!

Carmody's Birth Story

My due date was August 26, which came and went with no baby. This was expected because Eli was 2 and 1/2 weeks late. I was a bit more anxious to have this baby, maybe because I was chasing a crazy 2 y/o around!

On Thursday, September 3, I was having lots of contraction in the evening. Not painful, but consistently 7-10 minutes apart. These lasted til about 5am on Friday. Then they stopped. I was very disappointed! I had an appointment with my OB that morning followed by a non-stress test because I was past my due date. They wanted to make sure Carmody was still doing well. All was normal and nothing was happening.

I was stressed out however because I wanted to have a baby. It seemed everyone else got to have their babies! There were announcements posted on signs in town and on facebook. I cried when I read them! On Friday evening I reluctantly went to Panera Bread with the women from church and was asked numerous times why I was there! Apparently I should have had a baby! While driving there I began to once again have consistent, but unpainful contractions. These continued for hours. I ate delicious food and chatted with some wonderful ladies, then drove home to go to bed, still pregnant!

At 2 am on Saturday, I woke up still having contractions. I could not sleep through these anymore, so I got up. I flipped through TV channels, checked facebook, and read about pregnancy, labor, and birth. At 5:30 I woke Andy up and told him we needed a plan because I was pretty sure I was having a baby. He got up, dressed, and put our stuff in the car. When Eli woke up about 6:30 we got him ready and decided to go to Branson Landing and walk.

My contractions were still 7 or 8 minutes apart and we didn't want to call anyone so early in the morning on Saturday. The Landing is right next to the hospital, so it was a great place to be. Upon arrival at the Landing we discovered a 5K about to begin and we saw many people we knew. I don't think most of the people believed that I was in labor because I was so happy. I was excited to be having a baby! After walking down and back my contractions were 3 or 4 minutes apart.

Andy decided we had to leave. It was about 8:15 am and we call our friends Ryan and Adrian to ask if they would pick up Eli at the hospital. At 8:45 we were upstairs in Labor and Delivery. It was a busy morning and the three labor/delivery/recovery rooms were occupied. We waited in an NST room for some moving and cleaning to take place.

Once again, I don't think the L&D staff believed I was really in labor, because I was so happy, but when the nurse check me I was dilated to a 6, almost 7 centimeters. We moved rooms and settled in to have a baby. Both Andy and I thought it would be fast, because when I got to that point with Eli it was only an hour or so till I had a baby. It took longer this time! This was probably good because the staff was busy delivering another baby and performing an emergency c-section on a preterm baby. I hadn't progressed much and the doctor tried to break my water, but Carmody's head was blocking the way and just a bit of the waters leaked out.

My parents got in to town about 1:30 pm and that is when I stopped being happy. During "transition", going from 8 to 10 centimeters, I was in horrendous pain. I used the birthing ball some. I was also given oxygen because I was hyperventilating. I wanted to quit, but that is not possible! This birth was 'all natural' with no pitocin or pain medication. At 2:45 I was able to push and I did, but not effectivly at first. I was given instructions and tried again.

At 2:59 pm on September 5, 2009, Carmody Lynn Zsiga was born. She weighed 7 pounds 12 ounces and was 20 inches long. She was beautiful and crying! Andy was able to cut the cord, which he wasn't able to with Eli because Eli wasn't breathing right away.

Announcing...

Carmody Lynn Zsiga

She was born Saturday, September 5, 2009 at 2:59 pm. She was 7 lbs 12 oz and 20 inches long.

I plan to write her birth story soon and will post it!

This is a very fine thing! To see more visit Amy's Finer Things.

A New Kid By Friday

Andy and I were browsing a bookstore at the Landing when I saw this book and just had to have it because it could be life changing for me! A new kid- that is just what I want! The changing attitude, behavior and character, I could do without.

So maybe this book is not about labor and delivery... too bad!

The last Hurrah!

My mom came to visit this past weekend to finish all baby stuff! I had a rather long to do list and just about everything got marked off. I am due August 26, but I am over 38 weeks pregnant now. She could come anytime in the next few weeks!

These are some pictures of the wall decorations in Carmody's room.

Work Weekend

My mom came to Branson last weekend to help me get the room ready for the baby. We planned to paint, organize, go through clothing, etc. On Friday evening I noticed that the base boards and the carpet in the baby's room were wet. Just a small section that shared a wall with the bathroom. Saturday morning came with much more work than anticipated! Andy called his dad for advice on locating and fixing the leak. We also discovered mold growing. My mom and I took Eli to buy paint and Andy began tearing out the bathroom vanity. Andy's dad, Mike, drove to Branson from Tulsa to help with the bathroom project that also turned into a bedroom project. Here is what had to be done...

-remove vanity (was molding) and sink
-remove affected baseboards in both rooms
-clean and bleach baseboards to remove mold
-tear up laminate tile in bathroom
-tear up carpet in bedroom to check extent of damage and mold
-cut into the bottom of wall to check structure and insulation for damage and mold
-remove 2x4 from bottom of the wall, replace
-replace drywall
-install new vanity and sink
-tear up all the old carpet and part of the old pad
-install new carpet and pad
-paint
-move a TON of furniture everywhere

I think that is it, but there could be more. We still have to lay the ceramic tile in the bathroom. We have a concrete floor for the time being.

Here are some photos of all the hard work. We should be a remodel team on HGTV. All this was completed on Saturday!


Eli helping. He is standing in the bedroom. The dresser is in the hallway.

Eli and I painting the room for his little sister! Color is hard to see in there pics. It is a shade of yellow!

Andy and Mike working in the bathroom.

A small, slow leak can cause lots of problems!

The end result!

We painted 2 walls the yellow we had bought from Lowe's and used the rest of the paint to mix with white for the other 2 walls. They are a lighter shade of the same yellow. The new carpet was a remant from Lowe's called mocha. It is darker that I had envisioned, but I love it.

Carmody will love her new room too!

Baby Girl

We are having a baby girl. Andy has thought this for a while, but it took more to convince me. We had an ultrasound and the tech said the baby was a girl, however I still wasn't sure. I had another ultrasound a few days later. (To check for possible complications- all looks well!) Megan went with me because Andy was in Washington D.C. Both of us, as well as the technician, thought girl! She weighed 1 lb 1 ounce on April 24. I am sure she is growing everyday. I know I am!

I have often been asked about what we will name her. We plan on, but of course it is not set in stone, naming our daughter Carmody. My Grandma Boddy's maiden name was Carmody. It grows on me more and more, so if you don't like it, keep thinking about it!

The Before Baby To Do List

(This is Eli when he was just a week old! Isn't he precious? I thought he would be good on the baby list!)

1. Make and Freeze meals and snacks so we can eat after the baby is born. I will post this list later.

2. Paint baby room. I cannot do this until we know if we are having a boy or girl, next month hopefully!

3. Go through guest room, that is to become baby room, and clean out JUNK! Get rid of junk.

4. Figure out a place to put the piles of maternity clothes I have, which I am very thankful to my cousin and sister for their contributions!

5. Go through all of the baby clothes, toys, and accessories that are in storage, so I can see what I have and if anything is needed.

6. Rearrange furniture between Eli's room and the baby's. We need to move the crib and switch dressers and transition Eli to a big bed this summer.

7. Basically go through each room in the house and clean it out. I should have a garage sale, but I don't think I can do that. Instead we will be making numerous thrift store trips or posting on FreeCycle or Craigslist.

8. Deep cleaning of things like base boards, ceiling fans, walls, etc.

I will amend this as needed, which I think will be often as I realize more that needs to be done!

Pregnancy Update

As you may know, I am expecting our second child in late August (or early September, I was 2 weeks late with Eli!). I have been feeling the baby move a lot the last couple days, which is so exciting, because I didn't feel Eli move this early. I am 15 weeks right now. I am looking forward to the next 5 or 6 months.

I am in my second trimester now and have so much more energy. I have been working on my Before Baby To Do List. I will post that later. It gives me accountability to have someone else knowing what I plan to do. Then I am obligated to work harder!