Welcome Caroline Marie!!

Well considering the fact that on January 6th Caroline will be three months old, I'm falling a little behind on the updating! We've been pretty busy around here and I think that Caroline and I are finally getting into a routine. Although, I did sit down to start writing this with her asleep and now by the fourth line she's awake and starting to fuss. Here's hoping she goes back to sleep and lets me finish updating the world on her! :) (**I started this on her one month birthday and am just now finishing it. The joys of motherhood!**)

Here are the main details on Caroline's birth. I went to the hospital on Tuesday, October 5th at 6:00 to be induced. I got there and the doctor put me on Pitocin and we began the long wait for Caroline to make her appearance! Needless to say that labor was much, MUCH harder than I thought it would be. I ended up taking some pain medicine to help and that did help me get through a good bit of the pain and helped me to sleep for a while. I finally made it to about 7 cm dilated and the pain got to where I just couldn't take it anymore, so I asked for the epidural. Oh it was so gloriously wonderful and I wish I'd asked for it earlier! :) I labored for another couple of hours after the epidural and they kept increasing my dosage of Pitocin because she wasn't progressing like they wanted her to. Finally after 14 hours of labor my doctor came in and told me that, unfortunately, Caroline's head just wasn't dropping like it was supposed to. He said that we could keep going but he didn't think it was going to happen and more than likely I was going to need to have a c-section. By this point I was getting such a high dosage of Pitocin that I was starting to be able to feel the contractions through the epidural and so I was agreeable to just move forward with the c-section. I was exhausted and ready for Caroline to be here!

So Joe and I went into the OR and within about 20 minutes Caroline was here! She arrived at 9:37 a.m. and weighed in at 8 pounds, 1 ounce. She was 20 inches long and she was absolutely beautiful!!


The doctor and all of the nurses that were in the OR with us repeatedly told us how gorgeous she was and we were all just so excited and glowing. Joe got to go over and take pictures of her as they cleaned her up and weighed her. I just got to lay on the table and wait. :) It was excruciating waiting to see her and even when Joe got to bring her over, I still had to wait until I was in recovery before I could hold her! But it was worth the wait!!

My very first moment of holding her. She was just so breathtaking!

Happy Mommy and Baby Caroline!

Because I had the c-section, I had to stay in the hospital from when she was born (Wednesday morning, 10/6/10) until Saturday morning. I have never hated being in a hospital more than that. You never get any sleep because the nurses are always in there and because the bed is so awful. I was so happy to come home!

We finally got to leave on Saturday morning. Joe had to work, but my mom came and brought us girls home. Caroline absolutely loved her first car ride ever!!

I am so glad that she is finally home and we can enjoy this journey together. She is so stinking fabulous!!

Nugget Day!! Well, hopefully...

Today is the day that I go to the hospital to be induced. Apparently this child is really developing this stubborn streak and she is holding on for dear life. They have been checking me every week for the last 4 weeks and each week I've progressed very slightly from the week before. Finally last week (on my due date) the doctor just decided that it wasn't happening on my own and we were going to have to give her a push. :) I've told Joe that I honestly believe she's lost. She is really pushing on my stomach a lot and so I think she thinks she's supposed to head out that way. Joe said, well it is dark in there. HA!

I am very glad and thankful that up until the last week and a half I have still felt super. It's only since I stopped working that I've started feeling rundown and easily worn out. Just taking a shower usually tires me out. So even though I really wanted to avoid being induced, I'm so ready to have her out in the real world and my body can go back to somewhat being my own. :)

So essentially this is the rundown of what's going to happen today. I'm going to go to the hospital this afternoon at 5:30 and they will start off with using this balloon device that is supposed to inflate and try to force my cervix to begin dilating. After we get that going, I'm supposedly going to get started on Pitocin (a drug that is supposed to help move labor along). Now I've heard numerous horror stories about Pitocin and how it can make your contractions much harder and much more painful. So I really had wanted to avoid Pitocin, but it looks like it's inevitable since this little girl won't come on out. So if anyone wants to tell me about their experiences with Pitocin and how great it was, I will gladly welcome those stories. :-D

So with going in at 5:30, there's always the chance that this will take a while and she won't be born until tomorrow, so we'll see about what her actual birthday will end up being. Joe is currently on his way home from south Georgia as we speak. He got on the road at about 12:30 and it's about a 5 hour drive give or take. So he has to go by our house first to drop off our dog and then he'll be on to the hospital. So he should be to the hospital by about 6 or so. So we could use prayers that he has a safe journey and doesn't encounter any obstacles in arriving here on time.

I am so very nervous and excited and scared all at the same time. Like I said, I've heard some horror stories about being induced and so that has me kind of freaked out. Also, because we're inducing that still leaves a chance that if it doesn't work that I'll end up with a c-section and I honestly don't want that either. So there are just so many unknowns out there! But I am so very glad that she'll be here by tomorrow at the latest! I have waited for this day for SO LONG and to know that she'll be here in less than 24 hours is SO EXCITING!!! I can NOT wait to meet her and start getting to know her! I can't wait for all of y'all to meet her too! I will update as soon as she's here and I physically can. :) Thank you so much for all of your thoughts and prayers as we enter this whole new phase of our lives.