Our birth story

Many have requested our birth story. So we are gonna share our amazing experience. On early Tuesday morning (5/26) Mama woke up with some contractions about 15 minutes apart. They lasted long enough for her to not see her patients scheduled that morning, but then fizzled out around noon much to Mama's disappointment. Then nothing for the rest of the day. She tried everything--walking, playing with another baby, drinking water, eating pineapple, but nothing. At least until Wednesday morning around 3:00 am when contractions began again at about 15 minutes apart and much different in sensation. Mama was very excited and again tried to keep things going. So Mama took a few laps in the neighborhood which helped bring the contractions closer together. However then they lasted for about 6-9 minutes apart and were manageable for most of the day. She could cook dinner, talk on the phone, watched the Champions League Final (go Barcelona!) and So You Think You Can Dance until about midnight.

By midnight a thunderstorm rolled in while Daddy helped Mama through her contractions. By 2:00 am they were 4-5 minutes apart and off to the hospital they went! At the hospital-hotel, they checked in and got us our room. Unfortunately the natural childbirth room was not available, so we were not able to get our tub. Our doula arrived and helped Mama and Daddy with their labor. We are so very thankful for our doula. She was a Godsend. Well worth the money and much cheaper than an anesthesiologist! She helped Daddy by giving him breaks and Mama with techniques to progress labor and to make her more comfortable. Active labor lasted about 15 hours with an included 1 1/2 hours of pushing. Mama did the entire process naturally (without an epidural or pain medications). We are fully advocates of natural child birth in that it was a beautiful and positive experience. Mama felt great within hours and needed no more than a couple of Tylenol pills over the next few days. Elias also did really well during the whole process and never distressed once. The OB doctor was impressed by Elias status throughout. He was born on Thursday May 28th at 5:16 pm.

Soon after he was sent up to the NICU for a 4 hour observation to assess if he experienced any birth trauma since we did not know his hemophilia status. Mama is a carrier of Hemophilia, so there was a 50/50 chance Elias would have the blood disorder. Diagnosis is made by a sample of his cord blood. The results were not available until the next day (which we found out he does have hemophilia.) Gram, Granddad, and Daddy went with Elias up to the NICU while Mama finished recovering and eating some food--boy was she hungry after not eating and giving birth! Those cheese and crackers with OJ were the best that her doula brought her! We only had to stay in the hospital for two days and were waiting mainly on Elias' metabolic screen. But we were able to leave and head home only to another thunderstorm. We picked up Oma on the way home and started our adventure of having a baby with no manual.

Week One

Hello Everyone! I am officially one week old today and it's been a busy week so far. I have become a master eater and pooper, as well as sleep from 1-4 hours at a time. (Mommy wishes it were more, but hey...I'm a growing boy with a tiny tummy!)

I am spending sometime getting to know Page the cat.

I met the nice pediatrician earlier on Tuesday and gained 8 ounces from my discharge from the hospital-hotel. And today at the specialist I broke the 7 pound mark, weighing in at 7 lbs and 2 oz. You might be wondering why I went to a specialist. Well like my uncle T, I have severe Hemophilia A, so Mama, Daddy, Oma, Granddad, Gram and I went to meet everyone at the Indiana Hemophilia Center. They were all very nice people even though I slept through most of the meeting.

Today I also got to meet two new friends, Asaiah and Sage. I know we are gonna be the best of friends and spend lots of time with our Dads.

Thanks for checking in! Doing well in the barrel.

Here I am!

My birthday

Meeting Daddy

My coming home outfit. Thanks to Summer and Jackson downunder, Gram, and Oma.



Yeah, I'm a ham. Actually, I'm dreaming of boobies...

He's here!

Quick update with pictures to follow. Our little Monkey, formerly known as Barack has made it.
Born May 28th, 2009 at 5:19 pm, and weighing in at 6 lbs 9 oz with the length of 20 1/2 inches, Elias Emerson Flora has made his way into the world. Mama, Daddy, and little monkey boy are doing well. We will head home from the fancy hospital this weekend and will sort through some pictures for all to see as well as our birth story.

A final bump shot

Barack is expected any day now. Bags are packed and we are all ready to go--except for the baby that is. We don't blame him. It's warm, dark, and snug in there. You don't have to work for your food, get rocked to sleep frequently, and you always have your Mama near. But Mama has passed the energetic "nesting" and has hit total exhaustion. Rushes are growing stronger and more frequent every day. She can finally breathe again and eat full meals. She's hoping that this may be one of the last bump shots. Please keep us in our prayers as we hope for a good delivery day :)

We'll let you know when he arrives!

Graduation Day

Yesterday, Daddy graduated from the Indiana University School of Law-Indianapolis. He will officially be earning his Juris Doctorate (JD) and a Masters of Business Administration (MBA) this August once he completes a couple of more MBA classes. But we got to celebrate and honor Daddy for four years of hard work and dedication as a “night student” or part-time student. He has worked very hard clerking at a law office by day and doing a dual degree at night, not to mention also participating in the International Law Review and Moot Court. It’s no wonder that some of his classmates bestowed the honor of representing his class in giving a speech for graduation. All of us in the barrel think he did a great job. See for yourself: Graduation Speech.

Prost Daddy!

B-Day Check List

Here's our Birth Day Check List:

1. Nursery: DONE. The crib is now put together and Barack's room is fully operational. Thanks to C and Gram for the hardware and software of the sleeping quarters.

2. Thank you Cards: DONE. Thank you to all who have helped us out with purchased gifts and lovely hand-me-downs. We appreciate all your kind gestures.

3. Sign up for Daycare: DONE. Once Mama goes back to work, Barack will be hangin' out during the day at a nice daycare right up the street so she can visit whenever she wants.

4. Pack for the Hospital: DONE. Well, MOSTLY done. The last minute items don't get packed until the end as it is. Plus Mama is still on the fence about the final coming home outfit. Not quite sure why that is such a hard decision...

5. Game plan for the hospital (birth plan): DONE. We get to meet our doula in a couple of weeks to go over our plan of a positive and healthy natural child birth.

6. Install car seats: Plan on doing over the weekend.

Now we just wait. This weekend we get to salute Daddy in his graduation for 4 long years of hard work and diligence as he will be earning a Juris Doctorate (law degree) and MBA. We also get to celebrate Mother's Day with the Flora clan. After that we just wait for Barack to make his appearance.