Elijah Keith Baker

The past few days have been a blur. We hardly know what day it is! But I know one thing for sure – we are totally and utterly in love with our little boy. It doesn’t seem to matter that there is no time for us to sleep, eat, or do anything for ourselves. All I want to do is stare into his eyes and thank heavenly father for the blessing he has given us. It is awe-inspiring to me to hold a spirit that just left our heavenly father. His spirit is so strong; it overwhelms me as I look into his eyes. It reminds me of a poem by Carol Lynn Pearson that I have always loved:

Day-old Child

My day-old child lay in my arms.

With my lips against his ear

I whispered strongly, “How I wish –

I wish that you could hear;

“I’ve a hundred wonderful things to say

(A tiny cough and a nod),

Hurry, hurry, hurry and grow

So I can tell you about God.”

My day-old baby’s mouth was still

And my words only tickled his ear.

But a kind of a light passed through his eyes,

And I saw this thought appear:

“How I wish I had a voice and words;

I’ve a hundred things to say,

Before I forget I’d tell you of God –

I left Him yesterday.”

I definitely should not have worried that I would feel awkward and not know what to do with him when he came. It feels completely natural to hold him in my arms and love him.

Baby's Birth

Wow - what a whirlwind! I went to the doctor's office for my checkup on Tuesday morning. I had been having back pain and mild cramping for several days, but I knew I was nowhere near in labor. But after the doctor checked my blood pressure, protein levels and swelling, he decided that I had pre-eclampsia. Since, I was so close to my due date, he told us it was time to get this baby out. He said "Go directly to the hospital. Do not pass go. Do not collect $100."

So we arrived at the hospital, where they checked me out and started me on some medication to dilate my cervix. I was not allowed to move or get out of bed for over 8 hours, while they gave me several doses. By then, I had dilated to about 2-3 centimeters and was starting to get have more contractions. They started giving me pitocin, and by that night I was having such contractions and back labor, that I got some morphine until I was dilated enough for an epidural. Around 3am, I finally got the epidural and it was wonderful. It took away the severe contractions in my back so that I could rest. I was still not dilating very far and the baby had not dropped by morning, so we discussed the possibility of a c section by that afternoon if I did not progress. However, by about 11am they checked me again, and I was 9 centimeters dilated.

Then came about the hardest part for me - I could not push! It was horrible to have the overwhelming urge to push and not be able to do anything about it. Even when they said I was fully dilated, the nurse said not to push because the baby was still too high. I kept asking and finally the doctor said to go ahead and push. I pushed for almost two hours, and then the doctor came in to "catch" him. The head was delivered alright, but the shoulders would just not come out. Brian said the he was pulling and twisting the head, and the baby was turning blue! I had no idea what was going on - I only saw about 5 nurses around me, pushing on my stomach and trying to get the baby out. I could hear the doctor yell for NICU and resuscitation team STAT! I was terrified!

Finally, the baby was born! And he is totally healthy except for some ligament damage to the shoulder that was stuck, but the doctor says that will heal in a couple of weeks. What a huge sense of relief to have him here - safe and sound.

Merkley Family Reunion

Last week we were on our Merkley Family Reunion in Newport. It was a perfect last pre-baby vacation. We got to relax on the beach, shop on Balboa Island, take a harbor cruise, and play games with the family. Though, being 9 months prego I definitely had to rest a lot.