Natalee Lynn decided to grace us with her presence exactly 12 days early! She is so incredibly tiny, absolutely beautiful and wonderful and everything perfect!!! So, you want to hear about the birth story huh? Ok then....
One week ago today, our little family of 3 went to watch a some football at a friend's house and by the end of the night we had become a family of 4. During the game, Ed and I sat on the couch watching the Patriots and the Ravens duel it out, while every 5 minutes I poked my husband to indicate I was having yet another contraction. Now these contractions, although pretty close, were not painful, just very slightly uncomfortable so we were not too worried. We headed home after the game, but thankfully stopped to fill up the car with gas and check the air in the tires. The next couple of hours I spent sitting on the bed organizing pictures. A little before 8:00 pm, I stood up to go get Nico ready for bed, and oops...my water broke! Still not convinced that I was going into labor, I called Dr. Tabor just to see what he would say. Surprisingly he said to head on over to the hospital and we would probably need to have this baby! What a shocker...
With Nico safe and sound at his aunt Lisa's house for the night, and Gigi on the road, Ed and I arrived at the hospital at about 9:30 pm and by the time I was checked in, I was in quite a bit of pain. Ed was a wonderful coach, helping me breath and focus until the anthesteiologist arrived. I was 3 cm dilated and only an hour and a half later I was 9.5 cm! Labor moved quickly and thanks to the sweet relief of the epidural, I was able to deliver Natalee with very little stress.
Natalee Lynn was born exactly at 12:00 am on January 23, 2012; weighing 7 lbs, 6 oz, 19.25 in long and is so beautiful, and I am amazed every time I look at her that she is ours. Natalee is another incredible miracle and gift from God. Unlike Nico's birth, there were absolutely no complications, which is such a blessing. The hospital stay, with exception of the food, was a good experience. We started out on the right foot, by getting the best labor and delivery nurse! She was really amazing and stepped right in another labor coach when needed. Before leaving the hospital, Natalee was diagnosed with slight jaundice and after four consecutive days of blood tests for bili rubin levels, her risk level dropped.
Nico has been such a joy in all of this change and comotion. He is a very proud big brother, and wants to always know "Where's the baby" and "what's Natalee doing?" His teachers tell me that he has been talking nonstop about his baby/little sister, and one of the managers took a couple of picture of him standing tall and proud in front of the "Congratulations Nico" sign that was posted on his classroom door. He also has been insisting on wearing his "big brother" shirts every day! Nico may be a proud big brother, but I am most certainly a proud mamma.
Stay tuned because there will be many, many more pictures to come...
