Welcome Mary Belle!

For those of you who have been following my pregnancy drama know that our baby girl was breech and that I was trying to figure out ways to get her to turn. After all my attempts with different methods recommended to me by websites and others (including a try at external version by the doctor this past Thursday morning), she still didn't want to turn around, and we had a c-section scheduled for Thurs. the 26th of March. Well, our baby girl decided that she didn't want to wait that long and made her grand appearance Saturday morning!!! I'll write the details here for my sake, but feel free to skip to the pictures...

Saturday morning I started noticing some contractions at around 4:15, about 10-15 minutes apart. The only way I was even sure they were contractions was if I would put my hand on my belly so I could feel that it was all hard. This was similar to what happened when I went into labor with Josh, and when we did go to the hospital I was already dilated to 7 cm, so thinking of that made me start to take notice of if they were actually contractions and made me start getting nervous and excited and wondering if this was "it".

At around 5:30 or so I woke David up to tell him about the contractions and to tell him he might not get to go play frisbee golf that morning after all. A little after 6:00 we called the doctor's call service line and when the doctor on call called back she told me to go ahead and go on into the hospital, since they didn't want me to labor with my previous c-section scar and also since I was going to be having a c-section this time as well.

David and I were fortunate that his parents were in town for his cousin's wedding the previous day, so we were able to go and drop Josh off with them on our way to the hospital. The whole way to the hospital I was just hoping that I really was having contractions, because I really did feel perfectly normal (as much as a pregnant woman can anyway) other than the tightness every now and again...they weren't painful at all. I really didn't want to be causing a lot of drama for nothing!

When we got to the hospital and into triage we were talking to the nurses and telling them how we came in because of our scheduled c-section and of our experience when I went into labor with Josh and I was telling them how I hoped I really was in labor and not just making it up. I told the nurse I was dilated to 3 cm at my last doctors appointment (a week and a couple of days before) then when she checked me she said I was just like last time. I was thinking that she meant I was still dilated to 3, like at my last appointment, and starting to be embarrassed, but she said, "No, you're at a 7 or an 8" (like when I went into labor with Josh). They then called my doctor (who was nice enough to come in even though it was a weekend and he wasn't on call) and they started the mad rush to get me ready for surgery. We arrived at the hospital at around 7:10, and baby Mary Belle was born at 8:12 a.m. on Saturday, March 21st! She weighed in at 8 lbs., 7 oz. and was 20 inches long. She's got a little bit of dark hair and some chubby, chubby cheeks and is as cute as can be!!!

Mary Bell Orr, just a few minutes after being born. Aren't those chubby cheeks the best?

All bundled up. She's already scratched herself a few times, poor thing.

Happy Mother

Proud Papa

Our little family. Don't you love how Mary is covering up her face and Josh looks mad?

I'm feeling okay, as much as I can be after being sliced open, anyway. We were initially planning on going home from the hospital today (Monday), but it'll be tomorrow instead. Getting around today is much better than it was yesterday and the day before, and it's nice to not be hooked up to a million different machines now, but I am still pretty sore.

David's parents took Josh back to Thatcher with them for a few days, which is nice, especially since we're not going home from the hospital today after all. I miss him already, but I know he'll have a lot of fun there getting to play with his uncles and Grandma & Grandpa Orr. When he came to visit at the hospital he wasn't too interested in Mary, and won't try to say "Mary", just calls her "Baby" instead. He looked at her and poked her once, held her for a tiny bit but then was done. Hopefully he'll adjust well.

Mary has been doing well. She has lost a little bit of weight, was down to 7 lbs. 14.6 oz. last night, but she is a WAY better nurser (at least so far) than Josh was at the beginning. Hopefully that'll keep up. Last night she slept fairly well, which was wonderful, because David and I were both exhausted. She loves to be swaddled really tight.

I am SOOOO thankful for David. I feel bad because I'm pretty much helpless, but David is so patient with me and does everything for me. Thank you Babe, I love you so much!!!