The Bailey Family: Ella is 8 Years Old

I can't believe my baby is 8 years old!!

I can remember the day of her birth so clearly!

Her due date was June 19th

The night of the 19th was Lisa's bridal shower.

At the time Ryan and I were living in Park City, so on the long drive home that night up the canyon I started having contractions.

The next morning, the 20th my Mom and I went walking... All day long!

By that evening my contractions had become pretty regular and so my Mom and I decided we better call Ryan and have him come home from work.

But we couldn't get a hold of him!!

I started getting worried..... about a half an hour later he showed up at home!

He had decided to come home early.

We got in the car and started the drive down the canyon to the hospital!

Ryan was so sad that he couldn't speed the whole way, since my Mom had to follow in her car behind us.

We got to the hospital around 5pm and I got checked out. Only at 2 centimeters. Not enough to be admitted.

But by now the pain had really started hitting me hard.

We walked around the hospital for two hours, then checked again. Still not ready!

AH! Walked around the hospital for another hour before being checked again. Still no change!

I thought I was going to die!

My sweet Midwife came and talked to me and finally admitted me around 8pm.

I was so committed to having natural childbirth! My Mom had done it 10 times, so could I!

As soon as I sat down the on the bed my water broke!

I told a nurse, who didn't believe me. 10 minuets later she checked and sure enough, my water had broken!

Then the pain REALLY started hitting me!

Honestly, it was quite the shock to me! I thought I would be like my Mom!

NOPE!

Finally after trying many, many different things to get me comfortable and several more hours with still not one bit of change, my midwife came to me and said we needed to get the baby out.

She suggested that I get an epidural to help me feel less pain and therefore relax and maybe then I would be able to progress.

Sure enough within a couple of hours of getting an epidural I started making some progress.

Everyone was so tired, we all took a nap.

I woke up about 8:30 Sunday morning the 21st. After sleeping for three hours.

I felt so much better.

Quietly a nurse came in and checked me.

I was a 10!

We woke everyone up, but where was Ryan? My sister Sarah rushed to go find him!

He was in one of the waiting rooms, asleep, under a table.

At that point it all happened so fast!!

Ella was born on June 21st 2003 and 9:09am

In Salt Lake City, Utah

She weighed 7 pounds 9oz and 21 1/2 inches long!

She was long and skinny with lots of dark hair.

I will never forget the feeling I had when she was born.

I think it's the best feeling in the whole world!

And now it's 8 years later.

It makes me so sad.

Don't get me wrong, I am so proud of Ella and the sweet, kind, loving little girl that she has become. But at the same time it makes me so sad to think how fast time has gone by.

She's growing up!

She's my special buddy, my best friend and my first child.

Ella will always have a very special place in my heart!