Ellie Christine Schulze
born July 12, 2014 at 4:00pm
7 pounds, 5 ounces ~ 19.5 inches long
Our sweet Ellie arrived on July 12th and we could not be more in love!! We are so grateful to God for a perfect, healthy baby girl and for a smooth, albeit painful, delivery :)
Considering her sister came 2.5 weeks early we were ready to go at 37 weeks! Bags were packed, everything was washed, car seat was ready to go, etc. I can't tell you how many times we said, "this could be our last day as a family of 3!" Ha. Little did we know Ellie would be in no rush and would wait until just a few days before her due date to make her debut.
The week leading up to her arrival I had definitely been having contractions but they would only last a little while and then fade out. At my 39 week appointment that Tuesday I was dilated to 2cm, but of course that doesn't mean much. Then that Saturday morning I woke up and started making muffins. My high school friend Brittany was in town so I was having her and our other best friend, Liz, and their baby boys over for breakfast. (No sense in clearing the calendar when there's no baby yet!) As I was making muffins I noticed that I was starting to have contractions. But I honestly didn't think much of it since that had been happening all week. About an hour later Britt and Liz arrived and we sat down to eat and visit. After a bit, Britt asked if I was having contractions and I told her yes but that they were mild and I figured they would stop soon. But I decided to start timing them just in case :) Well it's a good thing I did because once I started tracking them I realized that they were about 8-10 minutes apart!! I called the doctor and he said that this was probably the real deal but to keep monitoring and to call back when they got a bit closer.
At that point I called John Paul, who was playing basketball, and told him he should probably head home. I proceeded to put on some make up and get dressed while Liz and Britt entertained Libby and got her dressed - thank goodness they were there! But in my mind we still had tons of time because I'd only been having contractions for less than 2 hours and with Libby I labored at home for like 8 hours before my contractions became 5 minutes apart. Well people are not kidding when they say the 2nd one comes faster! John Paul got home and asked if he had enough time to hop in the shower to which I replied...sure, we're good! Well literally in the span of time that he was in the shower, things took a turn! All of a sudden my contractions went from 8 minutes apart to 5 minutes apart and they hurt...BAD!! They were so much more intense and it freaked me out how they were so much closer together. I called the doctor back and said I was coming in and told John Paul we needed to leave, NOW. We dropped Libby off at my mom's house and made our way to Presby! The contractions I was feeling were no joke and that car ride felt forever long. Sweet John Paul was so calm and reassuring but I'm sure I was freaking him out.
We got to the hospital and they sent me to triage first...after the nurse saw how bad my contractions were she gave me a fast pass to my own room :) Bless her. Here's where it got fun. They checked me once I was in the delivery room at 1:00pm and I was already dilated to 6cm! I was shocked. When I got to the hospital with Libby, after having labored for 10 hours, I was only at 1cm! No wonder my contractions were so strong. So I promptly asked for my epidural. They started my IV's and fluid and I waited. And waited. And waited. No anesthesiologist. Our sweet nurse was so apologetic but she informed us that the anesthesiologist was in a surgery that had a complication and he wasn't legally allowed to leave.... Noooooo. Thanks for coming on a Saturday, Ellie ;) An hour and a half after I got to the hospital, I got my epidural. It wasn't a pretty hour and a half. There were tears. Contractions every 3 minutes. Major props to the mamas who go natural. I feel like I got a little taste. Anyway, I ended up getting my epidural and then found out I was already 9cm dilated. Thank goodness it kicked in just in time for me to push. After 20 minutes of pushing, our Ellie girl was born! She was beautiful! We couldn't get over her FULL head of hair and how much she looked like her sister. We got to have some precious family time, just the 3 of us, and then the rest of the family came in to meet her!
Such special moments that we'll never forget.
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| Finally got my epidural...now I can smile :) |
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| the waiting room! |
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| Here she is!! |
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| Sweet daddy getting a good look at his daughter. |
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| Not too happy to be exposed. |
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| That face... |
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| So in love! |
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| Bright eyes. |
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| YiaYia Libby! |
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| Papa K and YiaYia with their newest granddaughter. |
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| Aunt Nicki and Uncle Peter too! |
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| Uncle Nick, Melissa and Mikey getting a good look. |
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| Uncle Chris getting a video of her first moments. |
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| We have 2 kids :) |
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| Uncle Michael was in town...yay! |
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| Ellie with her YiaYia who she's named after! |
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| Aunt Nicki |
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| Sleepy girl. |
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| Uncle Chris. |
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| Papou and YiaYia Tina arrived from Shreveport! |
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| Papou Bobby |
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| Cici made in from Corpus, hooray! |
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| My girl. |
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| YiaYia Tina. |
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| Such a blessing that the Carby's just happened to be in town! |
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| First bath...in our room. |
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| Uncle Peter! |
Finally, to our Ellie girl ~
I want to make sure you know where your name came from and what it means to me and Daddy!
We loved the name Ellie and also loved the fact that it means "light".
This verse sums up our prayer for you, baby girl.
"In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your
good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven." Matthew 5:16
We pray that you will be a light in this world by knowing Jesus, the One
who IS the light of the world. That the way you live and love your God and
others will make a mark on this world.
“I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will not walk in
darkness, but will have the light of life.” John 8:12
YiaYia is such a special part of our lives and we love her so much! It was a no brainer for us to want to give you her name. You will find out soon enough but there are so many great qualities about YiaYia that make her so wonderful! Here are a few things about her that I hope and pray you possess:
-Her thoughtfulness, generous heart and willingness to serve. Your YiaYia is always thinking of and serving others...especially those of us who are her family! Whether it's cooking a delicious meal for everyone, babysitting, helping me pack boxes to move or organize closets (she says she actually enjoys this!), hosting gatherings and events in her home, printing recipes that she thinks I'll like, picking up a date night gift card for mommy and daddy, etc. In fact, last week she came to family dinner with a gift bag for all the girls that had her favorite spray from Bath & Body works! Just an example of a little treat that makes people feel thought of and special. She is constantly giving away her time and energy and love. She loves us so well!
-Her desire to keep learning and growing as a person. Some people shy away from this or don't take the time for it but not your YiaYia. YiaYia loves to read as one way that she keeps learning...about God, about being a mom and a wife, about lots of things. She wants to grow and that takes humility and discipline.
-Her goofiness and ability to laugh at herself! After being a mom to 4 kids for so long, poor YiaYia has endured her fair share of being made fun of - often times for her dance moves :) However, she is the first one to laugh and not take herself too seriously. Being able to not take yourself too seriously is so important! I also love that YiaYia is silly and goofy and will soon do WHATEVER it takes to make you smile or laugh! Just ask your sister :) We have so much fun with YiaYia and don't know what we'd do without her!
I know that you and YiaYia will have a special relationship soon enough and I hope you always know how blessed you are to have her!
So there you have it, Miss Ellie Christine! Your name means a lot to us and we are so excited to see you grow into the little lady that God has created you to be. Just don't grow too fast :) Daddy and I are so glad that you're finally here and we love you more than you know.
Oh my, this makes me want another baby!! So sweet! - Kasey Gilliam
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