One day old...

These pictures were taken the day after Eleanor was born. We were able to get a little rest and I was able to shower. Leaving for the hospital in the middle of the night without getting to shower to go into labor wasn't how I had hoped to go and I felt pretty gross. I was glad that our photographer was able to come take some photos for us the next day. Eleanor has already grown so much and changes every time I turn my head. I already miss how tiny she was. She no longer fits in her newborn diapers and some of her first outfits are getting too tight. She has started to really focus on our faces and once in a while decides to show us her adorable smile. I am so grateful that we have these memories to look back on and treasure.

All photos by Camilia Lund.

Eleanor Blake Allen: Birth Story

On Wednesday, May 13th I started having contractions around 4 in the evening. Brandon and I met up with Steph and Spencer and Stewart and Mariah to have dinner at Kneaders. That is when I really started to feel like they were actual contractions and that I may be starting the long process of going into labor. We all went back to mine and Brandon's house after dinner and took a walk together with Thor to see if we could speed up the process. They all left after that and Brandon and I went to bed. I never actually fell asleep though. My contractions were getting worse and I just laid there tossing and turning. Around 2:30 in the morning Brandon decided to get up and sit with me because he kept hearing me moan. We started timing the contractions and they seemed to be pretty consistent. Around 4 in the morning I decided that these weren't going to stop and they were starting to get really uncomfortable. We got in the car and drove up to my parents and dropped off Thor so that he wouldn't be alone. We stayed up there for about half an hour until my dad convinced me that if I went to the hospital now, they probably wouldn't turn me away. Especially because my due date had already come and gone. So Brandon and I made the drive to Utah Valley hospital and checked in. When the nurse checked me I was only dilated to a 2.5 and so they decided to keep me an hour and see if anything changed. When nothing had, they decided to keep me just one more hour. My contractions were pretty consistent but I still wasn't dilating. I had only made it to a 3 and the nurse told us that we were going to have to go home and wait it out a little longer. At that point, my spirits were deflated. I didn't know when I should decide to go back to the hospital because the pain I was in was pretty bad and going home sounded awful. I wasn't going to be able to sleep through it and I just wanted to meet our baby girl. A couple minutes later, the nurse came back in and said, "Well I have some news that might make you pretty happy. I just talked to Dr. Rees and he wants to keep you and get you started on oxytocin." I got a little teary eyed right then. This was it. We were going to finally meet our baby.
The time felt like it really sped up after that. They gave me an IV, then soon after that I was given an epidural. Although trying to scrunch into a ball with my huge tummy in the middle of contractions was extremely uncomfortable and the needle wasn't pleasant, I was in heaven pretty soon after that. I could still feel when the contractions would start and end, but they no longer hurt. The nurse started me on oxytocin and told me that she would come and check on me in an hour. Brandon and I started texting our families and letting them know that baby girl would be joining us soon. The nurse came back in and I had dilated to a 4. She told me that it was probably going to be a few hours til I was fully dilated and to try and get some sleep. I sat there for a while and closed my eyes and maybe drifted off for a second while Brandon went to meet his parents downstairs because they had brought him some food. While he was gone, it had been another hour and the nurse came to check on me. She went to lift my left leg and it fell off of the bed. I was so numb that I didn't even know it had fallen off. As we were laughing about it and she was trying to pull it back up, she got very straight faced. I asked her what was wrong and she said, "Uum, girl you're at a 10 and we need to start pushing like right now." I couldn't believe it! My body went into this nervous, excited panic as I called Brandon on his cell phone to tell him to come back. I called him a couple of times and he didn't answer. I figured he would be back shortly and so I hurried and texted my birth photographer. Cam told me to call her when I was dilated to a 6 or 7 so that she could come a little early and be prepared. Obviously that didn't happen. She texted me back saying she was on her way. Brandon came into the room and my brother Joseph was with him. He had a job washing windows and was in the area and stopped to say hi. As soon as they walked in I told them I was already at a 10 and that it was time to push, so back out the door Joseph went.
My nurse came in and started telling me to push as the contractions came and went. The very first few pushes Brandon looked at me and said, "She's got lots of hair and it's dark." I couldn't believe he could already see her! A few minutes in he got really lightheaded and had to sit down. A nurse brought him some juice and after that, he was fine and back up next to me again. In between this time, I got a new nurse and carried on like I had been doing. After just half an hour, she told me to stop pushing and to maybe put my legs together. Ha! The baby was going to come out before the doctor even got to my room. Shortly after that Dr. Rees came in and was amazed at how far I already was. He took a seat and called to a nurse, "Hand me some lube. Let's grease this runway!" After just one push he told me to stop. She was out. The nurse told me to lift my head and look down and there she was. Head and shoulders already out. I was pretty speechless after that point. All I could do was cry and wonder how this perfect little girl came from inside of me. They laid her down on my tummy as Brandon cut the umbilical cord and they wiped her down. Then she got to come straight up to my chest. The nurses took her away for just a moment to weigh and measure her. Our doctor joked with us that she came out so fast, he didn't even have time to style her hair. Eleanor Blake Allen was born Thursday, May 14th at 1:59pm. She was 19 inches long and weighed exactly 7 lbs. 
Visitors came soon after that. They were all waiting outside the door anxious for the nurse to tell them that they could come in. My parents, Steph, Spencer and Joseph came. Brandon's family came as well, along with my grandparents. As they wheeled me and Eleanor down to the nursery and Brandon and I sat in there with her, I was so touched by all the faces that came to stare at us through the window. Our family filled the entire wall of glass, peering in at us. Eleanor, you are so loved.
People kept telling me to prepare myself because life would never be the same. Of course it won't. Because on May 14th, I was handed the most perfect little gift. 

All photos taken by Camilia Lund.