2 weeks ago we had a little angel come into our lives. I don't know if it was her or my body that didn't want to cooperate and come out, but with a little coaxing we were finally able to get our precious little girl here.
It was really frustrating when I had gone 6 days early with my last 2 kids and then this one didn't want to come out despite everything that I tried. We had 2 big storms, a blue moon, ate spicy food, went on SEVERAL walks, stripped my membranes twice, tried stimulating things & pressure points and NOTHING worked. But on the night of Sept 18th I went in to to the hospital with concerns of my feet swelling. The doctors office couldn't get me into the office that day and had just told me to go down to the hospital. So after Josh was home and we ate dinner we headed in to the hospital for them to monitor me for an hour. After the hour was up they told me that everything was fine, but that they were going to keep me overnight and then induce me in the morning. I was excited to know that I was going to be induced 2 days sooner then they were going to do it, but that night was not a good night rest. I started having small contractions all night and my blood pressure would get checked every 30 min (I think it was, if not, it sure seemed like it). So there wasn't much sleep. Josh went home to sleep in a comfortable bed and get the kids off to school, they were going to start the pitocin at 7am but didn't end up starting it till 8:45am, by then Josh had arrived too. We had a wonderful nurse, Carrie, who was great. Here is the last picture of me pregnant that morning.
At around 11am they broke my water when I was at a 5 and shortly after I received an epidural. At 2:00pm the nurse checked me and I was at an 8, but I was starting to have a lot of pressure and I was feeling like I needed to push. I shot another dose of the epidural, which I have never done, and after about 5 minutes we called for the nurse to come back in and check me. She was a little shocked since she had just left our room but when she checked me again I was at a 9. I told her that I was having a lot of pressure and I felt like I needed to push. So she called for the doctor and started prepping the room. This was the first delivery that I actually had to breath through the contractions, and they hurt. I wonder if my epidural wore off or something cause it was not comfortable.
Before the doctor arrived the nurse had me start pushing and once the doctor walked in the room, he got his scrubs on and had me push once and out came our little girl at
2:27pm. They had us do "Kangaroo Care" where the baby is laid on you right when she comes out. They let Josh cut the cord which was very short and thick, wiped her off and laid her on me. There the nurses gave her her shots and got her cleaned up more. It was a nice bonding moment and I enjoyed doing it. And Kaitlynn didn't cry much either.
They kept me in the delivery room for quite a while, they wanted to wait till the epidural wore off enough that I could walk. Josh went home to get the kids ready to come meet their new little sister. Here are a few pictures of our time with her in the delivery room.
Her official name is
Kaitlynn Kelly. We named her in part after my late Grandma, Marilynn Stevenson. When we were looking for a name I really wanted lynn to be a part of her name, so that is where we got her name and why it is spelled the way it is.
The Family Visits
The kids came and all fought over holding her, which hasn't changed since. Bryson had the best expression of surprise when he walked in the room to see her it was really cute. We caught it on video, but still trying to figure out our new camera so I can't share it.
Connor had so many questions about what everything was. He asked about her umbilical cord, my IV in my hand, the buttons on the bed & the clothes I was wearing. He also wanted to take his new sister home with him right then and didn't like that she had to stay at the hospital.
I was SO GRATEFUL that my sister, Jessica, was able to be here to help out and to meet Kaitlynn. She was a great help during the time I was in the hospital, and I'm sure my kids would sometimes rather have their aunt Jessie here then me. It was also nice to have Kylie here too since her and Connor had a fun time playing with each other while the others were in school.
We didn't find out for a little while what her weight and height was and when we did find out her height I was told one thing and Josh was told something else. But the actual was:
Weight: 8 lbs 14 oz
Height: 20 1/2 inches
Going Home
I was very anxious to be going home. I loved the peace and quiet at the hospital, besides the nurses coming in throughout the day to check vitals, give me pills and make sure we were doing alright. I was ready to get home to start recovering and trying to get back into routine (which still hasn't come)
This was our welcome committee! My sister is so sweet and gave us a grand welcome home with a sign and everything.
The kids wrote on the sidewalk
And she decorated inside. It made me cry. I really appreciated it, it made me feel loved. Even though I know they were more excited to have their baby sister home more than me. But we can pretend.
And of course they all wanted to hold her and trying to get everyone to smile in this picture was really hard cause the boys were really mad that Megan got to hold her and not them. But we can pretend that everyone is happy.
I am so grateful that Kaitlynn has joined our family. I love holding her, as does everyone else. She is a great eater and for the most part sleeper. She left the hospital weighing 8 lbs 3 oz and by her 1 weeks appointment she was already back to her birth weight. She is a very loved little girl. I was really nervous how Connor was going to react to his sister, but he is so sweet with her. He loves to lay next to her and look at her and will always tell me "I love my sister". There are many fights over who gets to lay next to her to see her eyes, and who gets to hold her. Right now Megan & Bryson get their turns when they come home from school and they can tell me all about their day. They have never talked so much about school. So it has been great! I use to get the one word responses, now I get more details. They are all very sweet with her, I just wish that they would have the same sweetness toward each other.
