Happy BIRTHday, Baby Girl!

Well, hello there! The last time we left off we were all set to be induced in the early morning hours of Monday, December 12. We used the time between our first scheduled induction (12/7) and our new date to finish up last minute things on our pre-baby and Christmas lists.

Our plans for our final day as a family of three included Sunday School, a Mexican lunch, a pedicure and Rural King. I dropped Austin off at Sunday School (9:15 am) and realized I had an odd stomach ache that was coming and going every few minutes. We picked him up (10:15 am) and rode around town until the Hentis' were ready to meet for lunch. I downloaded a contraction app and quickly realized this "belly ache" was coming every 4 1/2 - 5 minutes. We enjoyed lunch and headed to Waterloo for a pedicure for me and a trip to Rural King for the boys. Our next stop was Wal-Mart where we bought shaving cream, clementines, Diet Coke and Little Debbie Christmas tree cakes. The "belly ache" was coming about 2 1/2 minutes a part on our way home from Waterloo. Things slowed down to 4 - 6 minutes once I laid down at home. Finally, around 3:30 we decided it was time to head to the hospital even though I still wasn't convinced I was in labor.

One last picture with our baby boy...

The ride to STL was relatively fast considering I was contracting every 2 minutes at this point. We checked in at Labor & Delivery (4:30 pm) and discovered we were already dilated to a five...which meant we were having a baby that night! We made the call to the grandparents and big bro, but we told them it would most likely still be awhile. The nurses told us that they didn't think it would be long once they broke my water. Just a short time later (5:30 pm) he gave the resident the go ahead to break my water. The epidural arrived a few minutes later and my contractions slowed to five minutes apart. We called home again and told everyone to start heading our way because baby girl was coming in the next few hours!

The doctor decided (6:30 pm) to give my a bit of pitocin to help speed things up. The nurse told me they'd check me at 8:00 and then every two hours after that. About an hour later (7:30 pm) I started feeling tons of pressure but never dreamed we were already dilated to a ten. The nurses quickly called the doctor to see when he'd be there. They didn't want me to push before they called the doctor just in case the baby was "right there." He told them he was putting in Frosty for his kids and he'd be there between 8:12 and 8:15 (I guess he's made the trip a few times!). We were instructed to start "practice pushing" at 8:10. The doctor showed up right when he said he would and less than 20 minutes later.....

Our baby girl, Aubrey Marie, was here!

 

And she was really a girl! I honestly wasn't convinced up until the very end!

She came out looking like a spitting image of her big brother!

Right down to her weight and length - 8 lbs 7 oz and 21 inches long - EXACTLY like her big brother!

Jay went to tell everyone that she was here and that we'd call them back as soon as everyone was ready. Seeing Austin walk in with a pink teddy bear swelled my heart right out of my chest. I couldn't have been more excited to introduce Aubrey to her big brother.

Everyone else - Nana, Pa, Grandma FerFer, Grandpa FerFer, Aunt B and Johnny - were also itching to get their hands on the newest member of our family.

 

 

Austin played photographer all night. He actually got some really good shots that I'll have to blog about at some point.

Then it was time for JP to head to the nursery and for me to wait for transport to our room...

I couldn't believe my eyes when they finally brought her back to our room. I mean, I knew she was beautiful the second I saw her...but get a load of this.....

JP might as well stand for JUST PERFECT!

The Hentis' happened to be near by and stopped in for a quick snuggle

Before we knew it, it was time for everyone to head home and for us to try to get some sleep...but who can sleep when you've just witnessed a miracle?!?

Dad and the first poopy diaper!

All-in-all everything has been a bit smoother this time around. I think it's a combination of an easier delivery and knowing (from the first time) that the pain DOES go away and it IS all worth it! Jay was excellent through the entire delivery and recovery process. Seeing him with his baby girl is the cutest thing ever.

I think we all went to sleep that night with smiles on our faces! We were excited to start showing our baby girl off to the world! JP (now know as Aubrey Marie) is here!!