Eleanor is Here!

I was done being pregnant.  Everyone is done at the end but I was feeling desperate.  So, on Monday January 10th, Family Home Evening was about fitness and we went walking.  It was too cold to walk outside so we ended up at the Home Depot (that way I wasn't tempted to buy ANYTHING.)  We walked and walked for about and hour and after every employee had asked if they could help me find anything, we headed home.  At home we had scripture study around the elliptical  while Mom walked until she didn't think she could walk any more.  After that the contractions were going pretty hard and we tried to lie down.  I didn't think I could do it anymore but I was nervous that I would go into the hospital thinking I was in labor when I was on my 5th baby.  I could handle that but I couldn't handle everyone knowing about it so I told Peter that instead of calling the Gordon's over to watch the kids, I would go in on my own and call him if they told me I could stay.  He agreed and went to sleep while I went in. 
Once I was there the contractions kept coming more and more.  I called Peter and told him they would decide shortly if I could stay and I would call him back.  Once it was determined I could stay and they put me in a room, I called Peter to tell him to come on up.  Then I called again.   Then I called again.   And again.  But there was no answer so I finally called the Gordon's, told them I was having a baby and asked them to go wake up Peter so he could come over.  Peter woke up about the time they got over there and made it to the hospital right before I got the epidural.  I was so glad to see him.  Especially since the epidural was so rough.  The lady was pushing around back there for about 10 minutes before I finally asked if she was almost done.  She said she was trying but she just kept hitting the bone.  Can I tell you how scary that is when you know someone is putting a needle in your spine?  Then I got the shock of a lifetime that made my body jump off the bed.  She explained that she hit a nerve and that it would go away.  It took quite a while to go away but I didn't dare tell her as she said that if it didn't go away, she would have to start all over. 

But once it was in, it was great.  I just relaxed until the morning and delivered her just before 8am.  She weighed 7lbs. 11ounces and beautiful.  She had dark hair and it was long (in comparison to my other babies) and she did great.  She nursed right off and was perfect.  Everyone was excited to come see her. 
Well, Porter actually walked right by and when we asked him if he wanted to come see her he said, "I already did."  But other than that, everyone wanted to be near her.  And nobody loved her more that Martie.  Martie had been attached to me beyond belief for quite a while but once she saw Eleanor, she just wanted to be by whoever was holding her baby sister.  I was convinced then, and still am, that they wanted to come to earth together but knew I wouldn't make it.  :) 

When we were ready bless her, LeShel came out to visit (more on that later).  We had her blessing dress made by Sister Jessee in my ward.  She took the dress that I was sealed to my parents in when I was 5 and modified it to fit Eleanor as a blessing dress.  It turned out beautiful and was so happy to see her blessed in the dress that sealed me to my original family while Julia was blessed in the dress that sealed me to my current family and to Peter.  Such neat things.  It was a beautiful blessing and we had so much family there to show their love and support for her.  Afterwards everyone came over for Peter's pancakes and we changed her into her dress I made that matched Julia and Martie.

She was such a doted on little baby.  Especially by her older cousins Brad and Easton.  I have never seen teenagers so enamoured by something so small.  The loved holding her and it was neat to get a glimpse of what great dad's they will be someday. 

A few weeks after the blessing, Peter tried taking pictures of Martie like we had seen all of the professional photographers do.  We aren't professionals.  But we had fun trying and some are pretty fun to look at.  If nothing else, we have pictures to remember how small she was.