The stats are:
Erin Elizabeth
Born Friday, May 16 at 9:08pm
8lb, 11oz
20-1/2 inches
Erin Elizabeth
Born Friday, May 16 at 9:08pm
8lb, 11oz
20-1/2 inches
As readers of this blog know, Erin began to make hints about a month ago, so I was ready to welcome her. The story of her actual arrival began with more contractions Thursday night (the third night of them that week!) that continued on most of the night. After stopping for a couple hours, they started back up again and I dropped Kyle off with my sister before heading to my 11:30am OB appointment. I also took the bags we’d already packed.
Even though I was contracting through my appointment, I was dilated and effaced the same as I was the previous week, so the doctor said to head home and he scheduled induction for May 21. I was so disappointed because I was certain that it was truly Erin’s arrival day. I got back out to the car and called Mike in tears before turning the car back toward home.
Only ten minutes into the drive home I realized I had already had three contractions that were stronger than they had been. I pulled over and called my OB office. The nurse told me not to go all the way back to South Haven (an hour drive), but to come in so they could hook me up and monitor my contractions for a bit.
I spent the better part of the afternoon on the machines, watching the contractions come and go. They had become more regular than they had been for the previous two weeks, and were becoming stronger. When the OB on duty was able to get there about 4:30, I was ready to head up to labor and delivery. I quickly called Mike and told him to get to Kalamazoo… he’d been on standby until then since I didn’t yet know if they would keep me or not.
By the time I was upstairs at 5:00 the contractions had become so strong and frequent that I was really worried that Mike would not make it in time, or that I would miss my epidural window. I was able to get the epidural at 6:00pm. As with Kyle, it started out working great, then wore off on one side. While more painful, this actually worked out okay because I knew when to push for both Kyle and Erin.
We were ready to go just after eight, and after an hour of pushing Erin entered the world at 9:08pm. We were overjoyed to see that we had a beautiful little girl to complete our family! She surprised us all by topping Kyle’s weight by more than two pounds and his length by more than an inch. She did stay in the warm, cozy womb a week longer than him, though.
The hospital gives new babies and moms skin-to-skin time for about an hour before they even bathe the baby. It was wonderful bonding time as we snuggled close during our first moments together.
During the rest of Erin’s hospital stay we learned that she is a sleeper! She never stops sleeping, and we barely get to see her with her eyes open! Her little squawks, though, and her mom’s constant need to keep gazing at her, did mean that it was still a weekend light on sleep for her parents.
Since her arrival home she has continued to be a sleeper, I struggle to get her to wake up enough to eat. She is beginning to have better spurts of alertness, however.
Kyle has proven to be a top-notch older brother. He loves to gaze at Erin and give her kisses. If she makes any noise Kyle wants me pick her up and “help” her. He asks where she is the minute he comes down from a nap or in the morning, or if he spies her without asking he immediately gets excited to see her.
We could not be more blessed to have Erin Elizabeth join our family. She is perfect in every way and we can’t wait to share our lives with her.
Even though I was contracting through my appointment, I was dilated and effaced the same as I was the previous week, so the doctor said to head home and he scheduled induction for May 21. I was so disappointed because I was certain that it was truly Erin’s arrival day. I got back out to the car and called Mike in tears before turning the car back toward home.
Only ten minutes into the drive home I realized I had already had three contractions that were stronger than they had been. I pulled over and called my OB office. The nurse told me not to go all the way back to South Haven (an hour drive), but to come in so they could hook me up and monitor my contractions for a bit.
I spent the better part of the afternoon on the machines, watching the contractions come and go. They had become more regular than they had been for the previous two weeks, and were becoming stronger. When the OB on duty was able to get there about 4:30, I was ready to head up to labor and delivery. I quickly called Mike and told him to get to Kalamazoo… he’d been on standby until then since I didn’t yet know if they would keep me or not.
By the time I was upstairs at 5:00 the contractions had become so strong and frequent that I was really worried that Mike would not make it in time, or that I would miss my epidural window. I was able to get the epidural at 6:00pm. As with Kyle, it started out working great, then wore off on one side. While more painful, this actually worked out okay because I knew when to push for both Kyle and Erin.
We were ready to go just after eight, and after an hour of pushing Erin entered the world at 9:08pm. We were overjoyed to see that we had a beautiful little girl to complete our family! She surprised us all by topping Kyle’s weight by more than two pounds and his length by more than an inch. She did stay in the warm, cozy womb a week longer than him, though.
The hospital gives new babies and moms skin-to-skin time for about an hour before they even bathe the baby. It was wonderful bonding time as we snuggled close during our first moments together.
During the rest of Erin’s hospital stay we learned that she is a sleeper! She never stops sleeping, and we barely get to see her with her eyes open! Her little squawks, though, and her mom’s constant need to keep gazing at her, did mean that it was still a weekend light on sleep for her parents.
Since her arrival home she has continued to be a sleeper, I struggle to get her to wake up enough to eat. She is beginning to have better spurts of alertness, however.
Kyle has proven to be a top-notch older brother. He loves to gaze at Erin and give her kisses. If she makes any noise Kyle wants me pick her up and “help” her. He asks where she is the minute he comes down from a nap or in the morning, or if he spies her without asking he immediately gets excited to see her.
We could not be more blessed to have Erin Elizabeth join our family. She is perfect in every way and we can’t wait to share our lives with her.
7 comments:
Welcome to the world Erin Elizabeth! Congratulations Laura, Mike and big brother Kyle.
Charlene
Congrats! I was so thrilled for you guys to hear. I could have sworn it was going to be another lil boy though. Erin is beautiful!
Laura- Congrats. She just precious!!
Just wanted to read the story one more time! Welcome Erin Elizabeth! You are so beautiful!
She is absolutely beautiful. Congratulations! We are so thrilled for all of you!
Congratulations to the Bos Crew!!! We couldn't be happier for you. A beautiful baby girl to go with your already beautiful family. We can't wait to meet her.
Laura... Welcome to the world of blogging. I've had my blog for over 2 years now and I love it. It's a great way to combine my love of photography, writing and my family all together. It's fun. I'll be back to visit often...
Congrats again! I'm so excited for you! It's so fun (and dangerous!) to shop for little girls! :)
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