To say that Ella came as a surprise, one week early, wouldn't be quite accurate since I'd been expecting her to come every day for weeks. All those practice contractions were getting so tiresome and uncomfortable, but they must have been doing some good. When this little girlie decided to come, she was ready for a quick exit.
Early that Monday morning, around 5am, I felt my first really painful contraction and knew that something was different this time. I waited around upstairs with Levi for a bit, finding that they were coming about 10 minutes apart and not getting any easier. After only a few like that we met my Mom downstairs to start gathering the last minute things we hadn't yet packed. In that short amount of time, the pain felt like it wasn't easing up between contractions and, as far as I could tell, the actual contractions were now starting to come only a couple minutes apart. We had been debating whether we'd go to Saskatoon or Kindersley, but by that point it seemed pretty clear that I was quickly moving through labour and shouldn't risk a 2 hour drive. My labour with Avery was 6.5 hours and rumour had it that the second baby comes quicker.
Levi and I hopped in the van and took off. I put on the new Feist album, loud, closed my eyes and braced myself through each contraction. They were changing fast and feeling more and more intense and scary as we drove. Levi made it to the hospital in Kindersley at 7am in a record 25 minutes (usual is 45 min). We were sent straight to the delivery room and I was already at 10 cm and nearly ready to go. I shamelessly begged for the epidural several times, but it was just too late.
My doctor and nurses were super motivating and encouraging, and Levi was the best. It was such an amazing experience, although scary and intense at the time, and I feel so proud of myself for delivering without drugs when I was so terrified at the idea. When Ella was born, just one hour after we pulled up, it felt so surreal to hear "it's a girl" again and to know that it was all over and we had another daughter.
Her name felt just right. We've liked the name Ella since long before we had babies, but felt especially good choosing it because it's a small part of her Great Oma's name, Petrenella. We hope Ella will always feel honored to carry a part of Oma's name. Ella's middle name, Diane, is my middle name.
Our overall experience was so positive and we were able to go home with Ella the next morning. Introducing her to Avery, who was waiting at home with Gramma, was very sweet and she's been very gentle and kind to Ella ever since. She makes the cutest comments about her baby sister, like "Ella's my best friend". We feel pretty lucky to have these two precious girlies in our lives.
