Elliot's Birth Story - Part 2

Missed part 1? Catch up here

Kain came in as soon as B was cleaned up and decent.  And I handed Elliot to him.  Elliot was so alert and just stared at him.  I could hardly handle this moment!  My dreams were being realized.  My hubby had our baby in his arms! After so many long years of waiting and praying and hoping, I just couldn't believe it was real.

After a few minutes of staring at his baby face and baby features and wiping our big big tears we handed him to B.  I snapped a few pictures of them together.  She said that he looked like her older son.  She held him for a few minutes, then handed him to her boyfriend, still hanging out by her side.

A nurse came in and asked if we (meaning Kain and I and the baby) were ready to go to our recovery room.  I didn't know what to say.  We asked B if that was ok with her and she said yes.  We wheeled Elliot in a plastic crib to an empty room and there we were - just the three of us.  Our family.  Finally.

We held him and stared at him and laughed and cried and invited our anxiously waiting families to come in and meet him.  He was so perfect.  And the whole moment felt like I was imagining it.  It wasn't exactly what I had always envisioned, it was so much better.

Our families came in and we got to introduce Elliot to his Grandma and Aunt Nan (my mom and sister) and his Grammy and Uncle Rhett (Kain's mom and little brother).  We had kept his name a secret from everyone so getting to announce "this is Elliot Rhys" was so much fun!!  Everyone held him and ooed and ahed over him.  He was already so loved.  He was born on his Uncle Rhett's birthday so it was extra special that he was there and was among the first people to hold him.  What a great bond to share forever!

Kain's mom placed a necklace around my neck, a small cross given to her by her husband and boys on Mother's Day after Rhett was born.  I'm a sentimental sap so that meant so much to me.  It is a gift I will always treasure.

My favorite moment was while Kain was holding Elliot.  He stared at him for a few minutes, and then broke - and sobbed a big sob and hugged the baby tight to his chest.  I think it was the moment he realized - this is his baby.  And I love it when my hubby melts into the big softie I know he is inside.  And I love that he already loved our little one so much.

After a few minutes and a thousand pictures, everyone left.  It was getting late and we were way out of town, everyone had a long drive home.  We were alone again.

Rosie came back in to let us know that there was a room for us on the postpartum floor and that B had agreed to let Elliot stay in our room with us.  We all took the elevator together.  B and her boyfriend, Kain and me, baby Elliot, and Rosie.  When we got to the 5th floor, we were welcomed into a huge room, the nurses brought us a light dinner since we hadn't eaten for hours.  And we told B we would see her soon.

A new nurse came in and checked on Elliot.  She gave him a bath in the sink and I was finally able to do something I've dreamed of for years and years.  I changed into a hospital gown, settled into the bed and held my son skin to skin against my chest.  Our bonding was beginning.  He was learning my smell, and the sound of my heart.  I was helping him to regulate his temperature and breathing, and comforting his tiny traumatized self.  It was magic.

B came in while I was snuggled up with Elliot.  She sat at a chair at the end of the bed and just chatted and laughed.  She said that when she saw me start to cry after he was born, she knew she was doing the right thing because she was making us so happy.  The truth is she had no idea how happy she was making us.  She stayed for a few minutes and then returned to her room for the night.

We were exhausted and so we settled in for the night.  Kain on a pull out cot, and me still holding that bundle of pure joy nuzzled into my neck.  His temperature hadn't recovered since his bath, so his nurse encouraged me to keep him skin to skin for a while.  No objection there!

The next few days were a bit of a roller coaster - make sure you check back in to see what happened next!