She's Here!!

Our little peanut arrived on Thursday, April 5, 2012 at 11:37 AM. She weighed 7 lbs. 2 oz and was 21 inches long. She has a ton of black hair and looks a lot like DD#1 with DD#2 color and complexion.

Wednesday I didn't feel well. I planned on taking the kids to Trafalga, but got really sick as the day went on. I called and bowed out of Activity Days and relaxed the rest of the day.

Thursday morning I woke up to DH getting ready for work. I really needed to use the restroom. When I got up I felt a small gush. I didn't think much of it and thought maybe I went a little too long. As I was getting ready to go back to bed, DH asked what was wrong. I told him what happened and waved it off. He said that maybe it was my water breaking. I have had awful experiences with trying to figure out if my water really does break. I waited to see if it would happen again. A few minutes later it happened again. I told him that maybe it might be time. I just wanted to make sure though. The kids started waking up. We didn't have it planned as to where they would go if I was early. We just had everything set up for Monday. We called our neighbors downstairs and she had an appointment. We called our moms but said to wait to come if it actually had broken. So we decided to get our kids ready and take them with us. We gave them their "Big Sister" and "Big Brother" shirts. I was planning on putting them in their Easter baskets.

I took a shower and got myself and the kids ready. We finally headed out pretty sure that this was the real deal and that this little girl was coming today.

We got to L&D and they put us back in a triage room and checked me. Sure enough, water had ruptured. They were keeping me and a Csection was in the making.

They started prepping me and I was having contractions consistently. I had had contractions for the week leading up to this. It was very different than any of my other births. So waiting for the anesthesiologist became uncomfortable. The kids did really well. Dad had a ton of nerves and wasn't so patient. I, surprisingly, was very calm. It was probably the blessing that I got the Sunday before.

My doctor was there and wanted to get back soon. We had to wait for the anesthesiologist. I guess there were a lot of women in labor. The nurse came back after about and hour and said that there were two girls crying so they needed their epidurals and I would wait some more. I asked the nurse if I should start crying so that he would come and get our show on the road. :)

Both Grandmas showed up and the kids were thrilled. Grandma O was so very excited! It was her 61st birthday and she was more than happy to share her wonderful day with this new little grandbaby.

We finally got to see the anesthesiologist and I told him about my concerns. He was willing to do what I needed to make it as comfortable as possible. Dad got ready and we were off to the operating room to meet this new little girl of ours.

The spinal was okay. It seemed to be more painful than I remember. I think he had to start over because I wasn't quite numb from the lidocaine. The surgery started and I wasn't nearly as tired as I had been before. I was quite alert. DH kept asking if I was okay. I was fine and calm. I watched through the little light at the top to see if I could see anything. My dr. and his partner chatted about names and we laughed about some of the names that I have had as a teacher. It was nice to interact with them. It made it seem like I was part of this and not just another surgery for them. Just before they pulled her out they asked DH if he wanted to stand up and watch. The nurse then looked at me and asked if I wanted to watch. I was shocked! I had never been able to see any of my children born. They put up a mirror and I watched as they pulled out sweet little girl out of my tummy. It was AMAZING!! When they did pull her out, I made a huge sighing noise. It was like she was finally pulled out of my ribs and I could breathe again. A very strange feeling. They whisked her away and DH went over to take pictures and to be with her. I finished watching them stitch me up. Very interesting to me.

When the nurse called out 7 lbs. 2 oz. I was so shocked. She was our littlest. DD#1 was our littlest at that point weighing in at 7 lbs. 15 oz. I thought maybe they had made a mistake. DH took a picture of the scale, so I guess I can't argue that. :)

We got back to the room and all was well. Little Miss swallowed some amniotic fluid and was having a tough time. They kept watching her to see if they needed to take her to the NICU, but she slowly started to breathe better. She sure was spitty though the next few days. You could tell that she didn't feel well and cried when someone touched or moved her. It was a rough two days with a pretty fussy baby. Eventually, she felt better and began to be calm. We spent 4 days in the hospital loving this little girl all day long. My mom took our kids to Delta to enjoy the Easter festivities.

We are so in love with this little girl. The kids are in love as well. DS comes up all the time and tells me that she is so beautiful and that she is the cutest baby ever.

We came home on Monday and have loved having her with us. She sleeps a lot and eats a lot more. If you ask DS what his baby sister does, he replies, "eats, sleeps, poops and cries"! He wanted his job to be taking out her diapers to the garbage can. Well...this little girl poops a TON!

She has gone through 3 packages of diapers in 10 days. That is 96 diapers. A few days after being excited to take out diapers, DS asked if he could have another job. :)

I am in awe about this whole pregnancy and birth. Remember my dream? I was so worried I would go too early and it wouldn't happen in April. I sighed a huge sigh of relief when it hit midnight on April 1st. It was my April baby. Then she came on my mom's birthday. My mom made the comment that my dad must have sent her as a birthday present to my mom. I believe that as well. When we were in our room, one of the hospital workers came in and wanted us to fill out her birth certificate. She said there were some questions they ask, that possibly we couldn't remember, one being the day of my first prenatal visit. I definitely could remember that as it was my dad's birthday. So many special things have happened that helps me realize my dad did have a hand in getting this little girl to our family. I am sure he had a hand in getting all of our children here for us.

Elder Scott at this last General Conference talked about receiving personal revelation. What an special experience it was for me to hear that we can receive revelation in our dreams. How appropriate that it was discussed a week and a half before my "April baby" entered this world. I am grateful to a loving Heavenly Father that allowed me to find peace 10 1/2 years ago when we were struggling so hard to get a family here. I needed the assurance that our children awaited coming down to be with us. Growing up, whatever my dad said, I listened to and obeyed. What a fitting person to come and help me realize that our children were on their way.

You can read Elder Scott's talk here. But let me share with you the part that touched my heart and let me know that Heavenly Father was listening to our prayers when our hearts ached so bad to start a family.

"Revelation can also be given in a dream when there is an almost imperceptible transition from sleep to wakefulness. If you strive to capture the content immediately, you can record great detail, but otherwise it fades rapidly. Inspired communication in the night is generally accompanied by a sacred feeling for the entire experience. The Lord uses individuals for whom we have great respect to teach us truths in a dream because we trust them and will listen to their counsel. It is the Lord doing the teaching through the Holy Ghost. However, He may in a dream make it both easier to understand and more likely to touch our hearts by teaching us through someone we love and respect."

We are so in love with this little girl and can't imagine life without her. She has brought a lot of joy to our family and will continue, I am sure.