Hi everyone! SORRY for not updating this anymore...I truly thought no one was looking because we're on Facebook so much.
Thank you Lynne and Alissa for telling me so! :)

Ok, so I think to spare me some time because of my ever expanding 'to do' list...I'm just going to post some pictures and let them speak for themselves.

I will at least let you know that Kayla just passed her 6 month birthday...she's rolling over; both ways, eating stage one pureed foods ( I think sweet potatoes are her favorite) - or at least that's what mine would be if I had my choice...peas? not so much.

Anyways...we're having so much fun showing her things, reading to her, and just watching her see new things. Her and Buddy are best buds already..no one gets her to giggle out loud like he does.

Ok, so on to the show, enjoy!

First, before I go into all the delivery details...I have to give a HUGE Thank You to our friend Linda who took care of Buddy for almost two weeks while we were waiting to go into delivery and after. She took him on long walks, and sent pictures to us on our phones so we could see him having a good time. I missed him so much while I was home alone waiting to go into contractions. Two weeks is too long and we're so glad he's back with us now.

So, the whole labor experience didn't go down exactly as planned. I was a week late from the ETA and had gone into my regularly scheduled doctors exam on Monday 2/22. After they did some external tests on the baby and her condition the doctor had some concerns about my blood pressure being slightly elevated. We were sent back home but were told to call the hospital that night to see if it was time to come in...and it was.

We brought our hospital bag not knowing for sure if this was going to be it, or if we were going to be coming back home after they checked me.
Here's our bag, and the bassinet:




My blood pressure wasn't going down, and I was dilated enough for them to admit me so we settled in for the night.

The next day was spent waiting, and inducing. The pain was unbearable and I held out as long as I could before having to take on the epidural. That was really scary too...but it really does help. I am smiling again after getting it and could relax for a little bit



Later on into the night, they brought us Popsicles ... I wasn't supposed to have anything other than something water based and Bob had one just for fun...it helped relax me a little bit too. Buddy's picture was my focal point ... I looked at it during the pain, but then it made me sad because I missed him so much so I couldn't look at him after a while. It gets too intense to look at anything after a while anyways...and I was so exhausted by midnight that my eyes were closed the rest of the time so it didn't matter.



The contractions came on around 11pm on 2/23 and the pushing began around 12:30am 2/24...finally ending at 3:18am when Kayla Rose was born



The umbilical cord was wrapped around her neck twice I heard so Bob wasn't able to cut the cord...they had to get it away from her quickly...so he held her finger...so sweet.







The next day, we had a lot of visitors...as well as a huge snow storm! 2 feet all at once! It was so nice to see everyone; to receive flowers and balloons and lots of love.



Proud and SO happy...grandma Anna and bobs sister Lillian were the first to visit and they couldn't wait to see her. She was in special care for a few days because of an infection that was passed from me to her as she was delivered...I needed monitoring because of it too...we're both completely fine now. Anna has been so excited about the baby and i was so glad she finally got to meet her.



My mom brought a cake to give the nurses which was really really sweet. I had told her how amazing they all were to me so this was a fun way to thank them. It's so nice to see her name on something too!









We stayed in the hospital until Friday morning the 26th and drove home in lots of snow! Our neighbors greeted us outside and helped get a path through the snowbank in the driveway to the door...so sweet! We had a rough night ...never went to sleep and went right to the pediatrician the next morning to have her checked out. Each day gets a little better...but there is nothing like when your baby looks at you as if they're really looking at you ... she is SO beautiful and I love her more and more every day.

































We are incredibly blessed to have a baby...she is the most beautiful thing we have ever seen. Thank you so much to everyone who has shared in our excitement and joy throughout our pregnancy, and now that she has finally arrived. We are SO lucky to have your love and support and we look forward to sharing our stories about her as she grows. Love Bob and Sue