Elleana Eden Gons

Getting Close

According to our doctor, Shanna’s “due date” was November 7. In our birthing class, we learned to think in terms of a “due month” instead, so October 24 through November 21 was when our baby girl could arrive. We also learned that most first-time moms are up to a week late. So we knew that our baby could come before or after the due date, but we’d been thinking all along that she’d probably arrive somewhere between November 7 and 14. (We’d also been hoping that she’d be on time or a little late, since Phil was in charge of launching a big project at work that he’s been overseeing for several months. Logos 4 was scheduled to ship on Monday November 2.)

On Friday October 16, when we went in for Shanna’s weekly checkup, we found out that she was already dilated to 2 cm and 50% effaced. Her doctor told us that she was pretty sure Shanna wasn’t going to be late. We were a bit surprised at how far along she was, so that weekend we started nervously packing and preparing, thinking that we could have the baby at any time. We read in some of the literature from our birthing class that being dilated to 2 cm typically means that you’re in early labor, which can last up to 12 hours or more. So we thought we’d probably have the baby that weekend! After a little more research, we realized that probably wasn’t the case. But at least we were pretty much packed and ready to go!

At Shanna’s next appointment the following Friday, October 23, not much had changed. She was still dilated to 2 cm and 50% effaced. The next Wednesday, October 28, we had what would turn out to be the final checkup. Shanna was dilated to 3 cm, but the doctor gave no indication that it would be very soon. Shanna’s mom, however, was convinced otherwise. Little did we know, just two days later we’d be heading to the hospital.

It’s Time!

On Friday October 30 around 9:30 PM, Shanna’s water broke when she was walking on the treadmill at our community center. She hurried back to our condo and let me know. She was surprisingly very calm, and I was almost in shock. (I was planning a full day of work on Saturday, and then an 18 hour day on Monday, the launch day for Logos 4.) We called the after-hours line for our doctor, but couldn’t get through. We Googled “my water just broke,” and the consensus was that it was time to go to the hospital. A few minutes later, we heard from the doctor on call, and she told us to be making our way to the hospital soon.

We went through all of our checklists and packed up everything we thought we might need. (Apparently we brought too much. The nurses were laughing at us. :)) We left for the hospital around 11:30 PM and arrived in our room around midnight. Shanna was dilated to 5 cm and having regular contractions, but they weren’t painful. Since Shanna had tested positive for Group B Strep, they put her on penicillin to reduce baby’s chance of picking up the infection as she passed through the birth canal. That meant that Shanna would spend most of labor on her back, which caused things to progress slowly. After a few hours had passed, Shanna had dilated to 6 cm. We tried to get some sleep as her contractions continued.

Around 5 AM the doctor said that Shanna hadn’t progressed as much as they would like, so she recommended giving her some pitocin to speed up and strengthen her contractions. We decided that since Shanna wanted to get an epidural, we’d go ahead and have that done first. Getting the epidural was much more painful than it was supposed to be. The anesthesiologist assured Shanna that she wouldn’t feel a thing except for the stinging sensation from the lidocaine used to numb the area. However, Shanna felt the entire thing even after repeated attempts to numb the area.

After the pitocin kicked in, the contractions become stronger and more frequent. However, after several hours, Shanna had progressed only to 6 1/2 or 7 cm. The doctor was concerned that things weren’t moving fast enough, especially since Shanna’s water had broken more than 12 hours earlier and baby’s safe environment was quickly becoming susceptible to germs from the outside world. In order to speed things up, they wanted to turn up the pitocin levels. But in order to do so safely, they wanted to evaluate the strength of the current contractions, which required the insertion of an intrauterine catheter tube. But after several failed attempts, the doctor decided to proceed with an increase in pitocin and just monitor Shanna and the baby closely.

Contractions started to get even more intense to the point that Shanna was now having to breathe through them for the first time. This went on for a couple of hours until shortly after noon when Shanna was fully dilated and baby was pretty low. It was 12:45 when the doctor told Shanna she could start pushing with her contractions, and this is where things got very difficult. Shanna’s epidural had numbed her stomach, but she had complete feeling below her waist. The last 15–20 minutes of pushing was the worst of it.

She’s Here!

At 2:30 PM our precious little girl emerged and was quickly ushered into her mommy’s arms.

I saw firsthand the truth of Jesus’ words from John 16:21: “When a woman is giving birth, she has sorrow because her hour has come, but when she has delivered the baby, she no longer remembers the anguish, for joy that a human being has been born into the world.” In less than 30 seconds, Shanna went from the worst pain she’d ever experienced or even imagined to immense joy and forgotten pain.

Seeing our little girl emerge from her mommy’s body was one of the most amazing things I’ve ever experienced. It’s a memory I’ll never forget. My only regret is that I didn’t capture the moment on video.

Our little Elleana was born with a slight temperature, so to be on the safe side since mommy was GBS positive, they decided to take Elleana to the special care nursery, get her some antibiotics, and do some tests. That meant that mommy wouldn’t get to be with her daughter very much and wouldn’t even get to see her for several hours. This was perhaps the hardest part.

After blacking out a couple of hours after delivery, Shanna eventually got to go in a wheel chair to see her baby. Our favorite nurse was back that evening and was working in the special care nursery. She made sure that Shanna got to come in every three hours when they checked for vitals, etc. This gave Shanna the opportunity to begin feeding. Even though Elleana was connected to an IV and was not supposed to have much of an appetite, she did a great job latching on and feeding. What a huge blessing it was for Shanna to be able to be with her baby every few hours.

On Monday they decided to bring Elleana in to our room to be with us. What a fun day that was to finally have her with us. On Monday afternoon, Shanna was discharged from the hosptial as a patient, but they wanted us to stay with Elleana overnight just to make sure that everything was okay with her outside of the special care nursery.

Going Home!

On Tuesday morning Elleana was discharged from the hospital, and we could finally go home after three-and-a-half days. All of the tests came back negative. She was a healthy and happy baby girl. It turns out that there was no real need to take her to the special care nursery, but we’re glad they took the extra precautions to make sure she was healthy. The doctors and hospital staff were wonderful (with the exception of one nurse), and being in the hospital longer than we planned or wanted gave Shanna many opportunities to ask questions and learn about caring for a newborn. It all worked out beautifully in God’s wise and kind providence.

Sleepless in Bellingham

Our first couple of days at home were pretty tiresome. We were so excited to have our little girl with us that we didn’t take the time to sleep during the day. The interrupted sleep at night just wasn’t cutting it, so we’ve starting taking more naps during the day. Even though we’re a bit tired, we’re loving every moment of being parents to our precious Elleana Eden. We never imagined how much joy she’d bring and how deep our love for her would be in such a short time! God the Father’s love for His children has an even deeper meaning to us now than it did before. We love to just hold her and watch her as she sleeps. We praise the Lord for His kindness in giving us this precious girl to raise for His glory.

First Doctor’s Visit

At her first doctor’s appointment this morning, Elleana weighed in at 6 lbs. 14 oz., already passing her birth weight. The doctor said everything looked great and that we could even stop waking her every 2 1/2 to 3 hours to feed her throughout the night. We have a healthy, growing, sweet, adorable baby girl. What a precious blessing from the Lord!

How Do You Say Her Name?

Elleana is pronounced ell as in bell, e as in grey or e as in red (but not e as in me), and ana as in Ghana. Elleana is based on the Greek word for mercy: ἔλεος or eleos. We chose Elleana because of how much we value God’s mercy to us, and because we thought it was very pretty. Her middle name, Eden, is pronounced just like it is in “Garden of Eden.”

Grandparents Coming!

Shanna’s mom is coming out for two weeks on November 12–26. It’ll be her first time out to Bellingham, and we’re really looking forward to seeing her. Phil’s mom and dad are coming for a week on December 3–12. They were out once before for two weeks, but it will be great to see them again. Elleana is so blessed to have such wonderful grandparents!

Pictures

Here are some pictures of our little girl while we were in the hospital. Click on the image below to view them at Picasa. If you don’t seem them, click here.

Here are some pictures from the first few days at home. Click on the image below to view them at Picasa. If you don’t seem them, click here.

Videos

Coming soon! Check back later to see our little girl in action.

Phil and I really enjoyed our ultrasound appointment—it is so incredible to see our little baby already! The nurse had a hard time getting all the measurements because baby girl was pretty squirmy. (I do feel her moving around quite often, and I love it!) We are praising the Lord that her development is normal. We are so eager to meet her, and are rejoicing that even now she is being “fearfully and wonderfully made” by our great God (Ps 139:14)!

Here are the pictures from our ultrasound. (If you don’t see the slideshow below, click here to see it.)

There are so many beautiful places to see near our home. With work and Phil’s dissertation, we have not taken much time to explore the area. Having visitors gave us the perfect opportunity to get out and enjoy God’s beautiful creation that is all around us!

The first Saturday we drove down to Deception Pass, near Antacortes, WA, which is about 45 minutes south of Bellingham. Although the skies were grey, it was still very beautiful. We enjoyed walking along the shore, and Dad Gons found many beautiful rocks!

After church on Sunday, we drove up Mt. Baker Highway. (Mt. Baker is the beautiful snow-capped mountain that we are blessed to see outside our home everyday—at least the day’s it’s clear.) The drive was very beautiful, and there were many spots to pull off and take pictures. After we a couple of hours, we finally made it to the top. As we made our last stop before heading back down, we got back in the car—and the car wouldn’t start. The engine wouldn’t even turn over. We hadn’t seen too many other vehicles on the trip, so we knew we were in quite a predicament. It was early evening, starting to get dark and cool on the top of this mountain. The couple of cars that we did see, tried to jump us, but they didn’t have enough power.

Dad and Mom have AAA, so we gave them a jingle. They would be at least a couple of hours, but our options were pretty limited. Not too much longer after we placed our distressed call, a couple from Canada pulled up in their minivan and offered their assistance. This man “happened” to be a part-time mechanic and had tools in his car. After a few moments, we were on our way back down.

God was taking care of us. Not only did he send a well-qualified helper our way, the location that our car died was a blessing. We were stranded in a big parking lot of a chalet, but the previous stop we made, just a minute earlier, was right on the edge of the mountain. It was a massive drop-off with no guard rails, and the pull-off was only big enough for 1 vehicle!! We were so thankful for God’s kindness and protection.

During the week, we visited different parks around Bellingham (Sehome Hill Arboretum, Whatcom Falls Park, Boulevard Park, Maritime Heritage Park). We had such a fun, relaxing time of fellowship together.

We spent the next weekend in British Columbia. On Friday we went up to Grouse Mountain (right outside Vancouver). We had planned to spent some time in Vancouver afterward, but we ran out of time. That night we stayed at Uncle Mike and Aunt Kathy’s in Ladner. On Saturday we took a ferry to Victoria on Vancouver Island. This was the first time Phil and I had taken a ferry. The view on the way there and back was gorgeous. We enjoyed our time in the city and at the Butchart Gardens—a world renowned flower garden. It was beautiful!

Our time together went by so quickly, but we were thankful that they took time out of their busy schedules to visit us at our new home. We look forward to seeing the rest of the Gons family at Christmas.

See more pictures at our Picasa album.

On Saturday, we played tennis together in the afternoon. It was a beautiful day, and we really enjoyed ourselves. Unfortunately, we felt pretty exhausted when we finished. I had made dinner reservations to a nice restaurant for the evening. The restaurant was on the marina, and the view was beautiful. After dinner, we walked around for a bit on the boardwalk outside the restaurant. We just enjoyed a nice romantic date together. (We should have brought our cameras!) I am so thankful for my sweet, sweet husband. With each day the Lord gives us together, my love and adoration for Phil grows deeper and deeper. The Lord has blessed me more abundantly than I could imagine, and I pray the Lord graciously gives Phil many, many more years to serve Him!

See some pictures at our Picasa site.

SAN JUAN COUNTY-WESTERN WHATCOM COUNTY- SOUTHWEST INTERIOR- EAST PUGET SOUND LOWLANDS-WESTERN SKAGIT COUNTY-EVERETT AND VICINITY- SEATTLE/BREMERTON AREA- TACOMA AREA-ADMIRALTY INLET AREA- HOOD CANAL AREA-LOWER CHEHALIS VALLEY AREA- OLYMPICS- EASTERN STRAIT OF JUAN DE FUCA-WESTERN STRAIT OF JUAN DE FUCA- NORTH COAST-CENTRAL COAST-WEST SLOPES NORTHERN CASCADES AND PASSES- WEST SLOPES CENTRAL CASCADES AND PASSES- 527 AM PDT FRI MAY 16 2008

…RECORD OR NEAR RECORD HIGH TEMPERATURES ARE EXPECTED ACROSS MUCH OF WESTERN WASHINGTON THROUGH SATURDAY…

STRONG…HIGH PRESSURE ALOFT COMBINED WITH LOW LEVEL OFFSHORE FLOW WILL RESULT IN MUCH ABOVE NORMAL TEMPERATURES ACROSS WESTERN WASHINGTON THROUGH SATURDAY. HIGHS TODAY WILL GENERALLY BE IN THE UPPER 70S TO UPPER 80S…WITH SOME INLAND VALLEYS LIKELY CLIMBING INTO THE LOW 90S. THE FORECAST TEMPERATURE FOR QUILLAYUTE TODAY WAS 89 DEGREES. THIS WOULD BREAK THE OLD RECORD OF 86 DEGREES SET BACK IN 1985.

THE HOTTEST DAY ON THE PACIFIC COAST WILL BE TODAY…WHEREAS THE INTERIOR WILL WARM SEVERAL MORE DEGREES ON SATURDAY. EXPECT HIGHS ON THE COAST TO BE IN THE 70S ON SATURDAY WHILE THE INTERIOR WILL BE MAINLY IN THE LOWER 80S TO LOWER 90S. SOME LOCALES HOWEVER IN THE EAST PUGET SOUND LOWLANDS AND CASCADE VALLEYS WILL HAVE TEMPERATURES IN THE MID TO UPPER 90S. THE PREDICTED HIGHS FOR SEA-TAC TODAY AND SATURDAY WERE 85 AND 88 DEGREES…RESPECTIVELY. THE RECORDS FOR TODAY AND SATURDAY ARE 84 AND 85 DEGREES… RESPECTIVELY.

ALTHOUGH IT WILL BE VERY TEMPTING TO JUMP INTO AREA LAKES AND RIVERS TO COOL OFF…IT WOULD NOT BE A WISE IDEA. WATER TEMPERATURES WERE STILL QUITE COLD OR IN THE 30S AND 40S. ALSO… RIVERS WERE RUNNING HIGH AND SWIFT DUE TO SPRING SNOW MELT. THUS JUMPING INTO AN AREA LAKE OR RIVER COULD LEAD TO DEATH BY HYPOTHERMIA OR DROWNING AS MUSCLES CRAMP UP FROM THE COLD.

DURING HOT SPELLS…DRINK PLENTY OF WATER…AVOID OVEREXERTION… LIMIT TIME SPENT IN DIRECT SUNLIGHT…AND CHECK UP ON ELDERLY RELATIVES OR NEIGHBORS. ALSO…PROTECT PETS FROM THE DANGERS OF HOT WEATHER. NEVER LEAVE THEM IN A PARKED CAR ON A HOT DAY.

FOR THOSE PLANNING ON TAKING ADVANTAGE OF THE WEATHER BY HIKING IN THE MOUNTAINS…PLEASE BE AWARE THAT THERE IS AN AVALANCHE WARNING IN EFFECT FOR THE OLYMPICS AND CASCADES THROUGH SATURDAY. FOR MORE DETAILS…VISIT THE NORTHWEST WEATHER AND AVALANCHE CENTER WEB SITE AT WWW.NWAC.US.

EXPECT MUCH COOLER WEATHER ACROSS THE AREA ON SUNDAY DUE TO INCREASED ONSHORE FLOW.

Wow! Sounds severe, doesn’t it? It probably is worse than it sounds since most homes don’t have AC out here, and that includes us. We chose the condo that gets the most sunlight so we could survive the gloomy winters, but that means we get a lot of sun exposure in the summers. Yesterday it hit low 70s outside, but our condo really got warm—probably closer to 80. It made for an uncomfortable evening until the cool air from outside came in.

Anyway, I don’t do particularly well when I’m hot, so please pray for my wife.

As you’ve probably heard, it “rains” a good bit here. It’s not really rain though. It’s more like mist. It’s so light that you almost never need to use your windshield wipers or an umbrella. In fact, I don’t know that I’ve ever seen anyone using an umbrella in the “rain.” I have seen people using umbrellas, but just on days like today when the sky is clear and blue and there’s no “rain” in sight—yes, we do have days like that, occasionally.

O.k., Jon and Val—your turn!

Doesn’t Amy look great for just giving birth?!

Lyndsey Grace Greenawalt

Mark, the proud father

Clay and Makenna are happy to have a new sister!

The proud big brother

Makenna and her new baby sister

You can see more pictures at the Our 365 website.