Welcome, Amelia Nicole!

She's here. She's perfect. We have been enjoying her, which is why it's taken me so long to get around to this.

Here is the story of Amelia's birth:

We checked into the hospital at 8:00 am on Wednesday, October 24th, ready to meet our little girl. It was a little disappointing to find out that on the initial assessment, Amelia wasn't as ready to meet us. My body wasn't cooperating this time, like it had for Jackson's birth. With him when I went in to be induced, I was already 4 centimeters and 80% effaced.

So this time they started me with Misoprostol, a medication that softens the cervix. They started me with that at about 11:00 am and let it do it's job for the next four hours. Luckily, I had plenty of people to keep me company. Parents, Grandparents, friends, siblings, and of course my favorite little guy, Jackson. He spent most of the day up at the hospital with us and boy, was he a champ!

So when they checked me at 3:00 pm, I was about a 2.5 and they decided we could start Pitocin, which is what starts contractions. And from there things progressed very slooooowly :( By 8:00 pm I had only made it to about a 4 and so I decided I would get my Epidural and then let the doc break my water. I wanted to make sure and get the Epidural BEFORE they broke my water, if this was going to be anything like Jackson's birth, breaking my water meant labor would pick up and be much more painful.

I wasn't so sure this little girl was going to come on the 24th. I thought she was going to take her time and we probably wouldn't meet her until sometime in the morning on the 25th. But, just like with Jackson, after they broke my water, it took me about 2 hours to go from a 4 to complete and ready to push.

Having an Epidural that actually took effect before I began pushing made a huge difference in my experience. I feel like I don't remember too much of Jackson's birth because I was in so much pain, that was really all I could focus on, but with the Epidural I was much more focused on pushing and doing what I needed to, to meet my little girl.

And after about 30 minutes of pushing, Amelia Nicole was born. And there really are no words to describe meeting your baby for the first time. I was excited, overwhelmed, thankful, exhausted, but most of all, amazed at the wave of love and adoration that washed over me as soon as I saw her. She was a perfect 6 lbs. 15.5 ounces, 19 inches long.

She waited a good 20 to 30 minutes to let us hear her, which was a little nerve racking for Mom. But now she's found her voice and she definitely uses it when she needs to!

We are all doing good, adjusting to life as a family of four. I would say Jackson is transitioning like we thought he would. He's definitely testing a little more than normal and looking for some extra attention from Mommy. But he's been such a loving big brother to Amelia, giving her kisses, patting her head and holding her hand. He's also been a great help to Mom and Dad.

We are savoring every moment and enjoying being a family of four!