Elsie’s Birth Part 2

Elsie’s birth was really an amazing experience, and if you haven’t had a chance to read the first part of her story, here’s the link. But I wanted to write Elsie’s birth part 2.

I got pretty lucky having three of my closest friends there for Elsie’s grand entrance to the world! I wasn’t sure it was going to work for all three of them to drop everything last minute and come to the hospital for however long it would take! They left their kids and responsibilities just to come help me. (Insert crying emoji and giant heart here!)

It was amazing having my first child, Kiera. The delivery went very well and she was completely healthy. My second child, Leila, was delivered via C-section, so that was a whole new experience. We had waited longer than we wanted for child number 2 to join our family. I was so excited for Kiera to meet Leila. My husband excitedly brought her to the hospital so she could hold her baby sister. But the hospital wouldn’t let Kiera in to hold her. It was flu season. I was more than upset. Isn’t it ALWAYS flu season? Aren’t there always germs around? Besides, this little baby was coming home to her sister anyway, what was the big deal? So we never got that experience of having the older child meet her new baby sibling.

I delivered my third child, Ryder, in a city in California that was 45 minutes away from home, depending on traffic. As badly as I wanted the older kids to meet their brother, I didn’t feel like it would work to bring the kids that far. I settled with them meeting Ryder at home a day or two later.

My Silly Dream

This is probably very silly for many people. But when I was pregnant with Elsie, all I could dream about was having all three kids there after her birth to hold her and love her. I desperately wanted them to come to the hospital to meet her! But this time, the hospital wasn’t 45 minutes away. It was an hour and a half! What was I to do? Beg. Yep. I begged my mom. She’s pretty amazing so it didn’t take more than just asking her to come. So she came before Elsie was born and then she brought the kids to meet Elsie. My mom is the one who made this dream come true. As soon as Elsie was born, she packed up all the kids, snacks, jackets, diapers, dinner, toys and iPads to make the trek to the hospital.

My kids travel fairly well, but this wasn’t an ideal time of day. There was a potty break on the drive and spilled food all over her car. My mom really rocked it, though, and made everything fall into place, just for Brandon and me.

The Hospital

The hospital pictures aren’t going to win any awards. The lighting is terrible. There’s no great posing going on. My kids’ clothes aren’t even clean. But these pictures bring me so much joy!

When Leila held Elsie for the first time she said, “Mommy, can we keep her? She’s beautiful!”

Talk about my heart melting! Kiera and Ryder were so gentle. You couldn’t wipe smiles off their faces! It felt like Christmas! Everyone was so excited to meet Elsie. The love in that room was palpable. There was an instant instinct to want to protect their little sister. Each child wanted to hold Elsie again and again.

When it came time for the kids and my mom to leave, they all wanted Elsie to go too.

My dream had come true to have the older siblings come to the hospital, and I locked every moment of it into my heart.

Thank You Mom

So thank you, Mom, for your incredible sacrifice. Thank you for staying with us before Elsie came. Thank you for dropping everything to come help me clean and organize before this baby came. Words cannot express my appreciation for driving three hours that night just so Kiera, Leila, and Ryder could meet Elsie for thirty minutes. It meant the world and more to me. These are memories I will have for forever. I love you Mom!!!

Elsie's birthElsie's birth Selfie at Elsie's birth

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