Welcome! So Happi You're Here!

This blog shares the latest news about {So Happi Together}, an event design and planning firm, along with my personal inspirations, ideas and love musings.

My hope is that it can serve as a resource to anyone who loves weddings as much as I do. If you're looking for more or just want to chat, please do not hesitate to contact me or simply leave a comment! I am always thrilled to meet new people and hear new love stories!

Happi Planning!

xo,
nancy

Baby Elle

Friday, November 4, 2011

Oh my Lord. I cannot believe how long it has been since I last blogged. So much has happened since then, but the most important of all being - our baby Elle was born on October 6, 2011! She was a beautiful 7lbs, 2oz and 19 inches long! She came after 34 hours of non-(pain)medicated labor that ended with an emergency cesarean and 6 days in the hospital. We are both healthy and happy and our family is transitioning to a life filled with nursing, dirty diapers, spit-up, non-stop laundry and LOTS of love. We couldn't be happier. :)

To get my husband's take on Elle's birth, and some amazing images that document our whole experience, please check out his blog. He is not a man of many words, so I was surprised when he told me he had blogged about our baby Elle's birth. It is really touching to read about it from his perspective and I can't share how amazing the whole pregnancy and birth was.

Many of you who follow me on facebook or twitter (and of course, my brides and grooms) may know that I was on mandatory bed rest for the last two months of my pregnancy. I developed pregnancy induced hypertension, preeclampsia and PUPPPS. Basically, my doctor told me that I needed to be stress-free and stay in bed until Elle was ready to come out. Against his orders, I still managed to work on 3 weddings during my "bedrest" because I found that I would be more stressed to NOT work on them, than to be working on them. :) However, I do have to thank my bride and grooms, truly from the bottom of my heart, for their patience, love and support during this time. Due to the complications listed above, I swelled up like a balloon (you can see some of that in the pictures of our birth and also in our amazing maternity photos shot by our dear friend, Amelia Lyon, and styled by another lovely friend, Jeni Maus from Found Vintage Rentals) and I broke out in a painful and itchy rash all over my entire body (minus my face). I had many emergency trips to the hospital and had three regular appointments per week in the prenatal center to monitor my own body but also the well-being of our baby.

 some of my fave images from our maternity session, shot by Amelia and styled by Jeni

During one of these routine visits, we discovered that Elle was under abnormal fetal distress with low vital signs of activity and we had to get her out right away. I was immediately admitted into the hospital for an induction, but nothing seemed to work. We were really hoping for a completely natural, drug-free labor, so being induced was already bumming me out. I still opted for no pain-meds, at the very least, and prayed that we would be able to give birth naturally. However, at about 30 hours into the labor I began to run a fever and simply felt an overwhelming sense of anxiety. I broke down to my husband saying that I didn't think Elle would be able to handle a natural birth and I think we would have to go with the cesarean - which, of course, meant I would need to be administered pain medication. He was so supportive of any decision I wanted to make and in the end, I don't know why I felt so emotional about it. Once the nurses alerted our doctor that I was opting for a cesarean and he saw Elle's vitals, he rushed us into surgery saying that he wished we had gone into it at least 5 hours earlier. It turned out that Elle's head was not completely facing downwards and she was "oblique" meaning her head was in my hip. The fetal distress caused her to expel and ingest some meconium while in my tummy - which freaked us out and led her to be monitored in NICU for a while before we finally received her in our arms. If we had been able to try for a natural birth, it would have ended in an emergency cesarean so I guess it was all just meant to be! Even with all of these complications, I wouldn't change a thing about Elle or her birth, and would do it all again in a heartbeat! We are so in love and I can't even imagine our life before her arrival.

I promise to be back to regular wedding blogging again, very soon! But for this post, I just wanted to share a bit about why I have been so MIA and how excited I am to be a mom! :) So, please indulge me a bit, as I share these images of our baby Elle.All images shot by my husband, Eddie of Up Imagery. :)

2 days old. In the arms of her daddy, in deep thought.

The first "babies" in our lives - Taylor and Benny, my niece and nephew - are so excited to have a little cousin. They pray for her every day and consider her their little sister.

Elle at just 4 days old! I love how her eyes sparkle when she smiles and she has a small dimple!
She was born in the year of the rabbit - our impromptu shoot before leaving the hospital.

Thank you for reading and checking back in after my long hiatus from blogging. I am excited to share all about the weddings we have worked on this year and the many we have in store for next! I can already tell that 2012 is going to be amazing and baby Elle is just the start! :) Happy Friday!

15 comments:

Serena said...

congrats nancy! she is so beautiful!

Jane said...

I'm SO glad that you and Elle are healthy! She's a beautiful little girl and I know that you and Eddie are great parents already. Can't wait to see her grow up and be the little girl that you always dreamed of! love you guys!! xoxo

The Choes AhnLine said...

awww nancy, your & eddie's posts made me tear up. so happy you and baby are both safe & healthy! brought back memories from my labor & deliv. thanks for sharing! loved the post :) congrats again on a beautiful baby elle!! sending lots of love.

Mai said...

CONGRATULATIONS you guys!! What a beautiful baby. And I have to say, Nancy, you were definitely SO graceful during the end of your pregnancy term that i never would have guessed all of the above! You are amazing!!!

Randy said...

congrats you two! she's so cute :)

My Sweet & Saucy said...

LOVED reading every word! Little Elle is simply gorgeous and so lucky to have you both as parents!

Lydia said...

Wow Nancy Unni. You and Ed Oppa went through so much and in the end, God blessed you guys with a BEAUTIFUL baby girl. I am so happy for you guys! I've been checking every day to see a photo of Elle and finally it is here! =D You're a beautiful mommy inside and out. CONGRATS UNNI!!!

nancy {So Happi Together} said...

Thank you, everyone!! So happy that I still have some readers here after such a long break! :) It feels great to share our love and the story of Elle. It also feels great to be back to work and surrounded by such amazing people, like yourselves!

Dina Dalziel said...

This brough tears to my eyes!! So beautiful Nancy! I love you and your beautiful little family and think of you often! Please send her my love.

nancy {So Happi Together} said...

Thank you, Dina! Miss you and Tai terribly! Hope you are both doing well! love you much!!

Unknown said...

congratulations nancy! baby elle is so precious! and what gorg maternity photos! so glad to hear you and your beautiful little family is happy and healthy! :)

Lissa (The Wedding Bistro at Bellenza) said...

Just found your blog...and am wishing you all the best with your new bundle of joy! Looking forward to future wedding posts!

iris +++ said...

Congratulations nancy!!! Did not realize why you were so MIA but so glad to hear that you and your baby are in good health. And she's as cute as a button! xo -Iris

baby rashes said...

Congratulations! Your baby is so cute and I love the bunny bonnet she's wearing.

-admin

Adri said...

nancy. elle's smile made me smile. i am so happy for you and eddie and sorry to hear about all the stress! she was totally worth it though! cant wait to see what you come up with this upcoming year!