A New Day!

So, today (August 25, 2011) our little Elai Guy was born at 12:06pm MDT at Utah Valley Regional Medical Center in Provo, Utah. At birth, he weighed 8lbs 5oz and was 20 inches long with a full head of dark brown hair. However, he did come earlier than expected. So here is the full story and a few pictures.

August 24, 2011-

3:00pm:

Julie and I went to the hospital for Julie's Non-Stress Test. We arrived ahead of our scheduled appointment and were lucky enough to get in early. While in the NST, Julie had a contraction which lasted 5 minutes. During the contraction, Elai's heart rate dropped from the low 150's to the low 120's for the duration of the contraction, and for a short time after the contraction ended. This made the nurse worried so she called Julie's doctor, Dr. Grover, to see what she wanted to do.

4:00pm:

Dr. Grover decided to go ahead and induce Julie today rather than on Monday. Julie and I started calling everyone to let them know what was going on. We head over to Labor and Delivery to register and get started.

5:30pm:

The nurse started Julie on Pitocin through her IV and we settled in for the long haul. At this point Julie was at 3cm and 70%.

11:00pm:

Julie decided to get the epidural. The anesthesiologist came in and gave her the epidural. Between 5:30pm and 11:00pm there were no changes with Julie. Elai wasn't enjoying the contractions, either.

August 25, 2011-

1:00am:

Dr. Grover decided to break Julie's water and see if that would speed up the process. Julie and I continue to rest. Julie was at about 4cm and 70% at this point.

6:00am:

The nurse came in to check on Julie. She was at 4.5cm and 90%. Elai was not liking the contractions still, so they added water to the amniotic sac. Once this was done, Elai started calming down.

8:30 to 9:00am:

Elai was finally cooperating so they increased the Pitocin to 18mL (20mL being the maximum). At this time, they checked Julie's progress as well. She reached 5cm and 100%.

10:00am:

Elai continued to do well. Julie finally reached 10cm!!! However, Elai's head wasn't yet engaged so they had us wait an hour.

11:15am:

The nurse came in to check and see how things were going. Elai's head was engaged and so we had Julie do some preliminary pushing. By 11:30 it was go time! Dr. Grover and Dr. Sullivan came in and we got everything ready for the delivery. At 11:40, we were well into the delivery process.

12:03- 12:06pm:

Elai Guy Thompson was born! The nurses come in and start taking care of Elai while the doctor's finish taking care of Julie. During this process, Elai is grunting a little when crying. They decided to take him up to the Newborn ICU to put him on a C-Pat machine to help him open up his lungs. While up there they tested his blood sugar and it was at 20. So they decided to keep him and help him get it up to normal and stable.

As of right now, both mother and baby are doing great! Elai is still in the NICU but he is doing a lot better. They are hoping to have him ready to go home by mid-day on Saturday. We will keep you posted.

Now for what you all were waiting for, pictures!