Our Baby Story

Brad and I are now the proud parents of Ella Jeanne ("Jean"- Jeanne is the spelling of my mother's name). I am so sorry it has taken me so long to update this blog but here it is! Ella was due on September 29, but she didn't join us until October 3. When I went in for a brief appointment on October 2, my Dr. finally said that I had a "favorable cervix" so I was able to be induced on Friday the 3rd instead of waiting until the following Monday to do the induction. Brad and I were thrilled - I felt like I was going to explode I felt so big and I really wanted my Dad to be able to see her before he left to go to Vegas for work for a few days. We could barely sleep on Thursday night and ended up just staying awake at 3am. I went into Zeeland Hospital at 6:00am and by 7:00am they had given me some potossin to jump start my labor. Not much was going on after that point and around 9:00am my Dr. came in and broke my water - at that point, I was at 3cm dilated. From there my Doctor and nurse proceeded to leave the room for the next hour. That next hour basically encompassed my entire labor. Within 5 minutes of them leaving the room, I began to have contractions 1 minute apart - I was in really hard labor and didn't even realize it. The contractions were really intense, but I didn't know what to compare it to - I was totally freaked out because I figured I would be having contractions for like the next several hours (they tell you when you are induced that labor can last all day). When the nurse finally came in and checked on my at 10:00am, I was at 9cm. She was totally shocked and immediately asked if I wanted an epidural - umm....yes!!! I had no idea that labor could go so fast - I was thrilled but in a ton of pain. Thankfully the anesthesiologist was nearby and was able to give me the epidural within 20 minutes - I am so glad that it wasn't too late to give me one! I was so nervous previously about getting an epidural almost more than anything else, but I barely even felt a thing - boy are they worth every penny! The epidural slowed things up, and after a bout of nausea and vomiting, the contractions calmed down and I was able to rest until 1:30pm. At that point I began pushing and did so until 3:45pm (boy I don't recommend that - 2 hrs of pushing is rough...and if I heard the Dr. say - "only about 10 more minutes" one more time, I would have lost it:) Ella Jeanne came into the world kicking and screaming and the moment the laid her on my lap, my life was forever changed. There is nothing so precious and awesome as carrying a child for 9 months in our belly and then in a split second have her in your arms all fragile and perfect staring right at you with wide eyes - I will never forget it as long as I live. She was 9lbs 4 oz (hello! - that is huge to push out by the way:) and 22 inches long. Not only was her mommy captivated by her, but her daddy was in love as well. Brad was amazing through my labor and was immediately taken by her. All his preconceived notions about parenthood went out the window - he turned to mush at the first sight of her:) Aside from the miracle of her birth, seeing my husband become a father and the love in his eyes when he holds her is one of the most precious things I have ever experienced. Pregnancy was quite a journey and now we are pumped to start a new adventure as a family of 3! Here are some more pictures from the hospital...

The Koning family - Brad, Jill and baby Ella

Ella Jeanne Koning
Visitors on Day #1 -
Grandma and Grandpa Koning

Auntie Betsy
Grandpa and Grandma Rotman Uncle Ross, cousin Carley and Grandma Rotman

Auntie Chris

Uncle Bryan and Auntie Daysha Kennedy and her little cousin Ella:)Visitors Day #2 -
Great Grandma and Grandpa Essenburg
Jim and Julie Thrower
Mere and Joe Geurink Curt and Jamie Lucas Mere and Layla, Jill and Ella, Jamie and Alden, and Julie (we missed you Lindsey and Jonathan)

Kathy Muoio
Brad changing his first diaper...ever:) The Koning family headed for home!!!