It's a girl!

After having two babies during the 37th week of pregnancy, I was definitely anticipating another early birth. I started having what I thought might be contractions on the morning of Monday, April 28, so I started keeping track of them. By lunchtime, they were about 4-6 minutes apart. After I got the boys down for their naps, I called the doctor's office. The nurse said I should head to the hospital so they could check things out. Unfortunately, Dr. W was out that day. I called Steve and Grandma Rose. Then I finished packing and cleaned up around the house a bit. Steve got home around 2:00 and Grandma Rose got here around 2:30. We arrived at the hospital at about 3:00 and got checked in. Finally, after all the usual pre-delivery questions and checks, at 5:00 Dr. L said we would be having a baby that evening. I walked into the operating room at 5:20. Steve had the privilege of standing up and announcing, "It's a girl!" Theresa Rose was born at 5:51 pm. I got to see her before she was cleaned up.

Our first look at our baby girl

Steve went over with her to watch her get cleaned up and weighed. He also got to finish cutting the umbilical cord. Then he brought her over to me before heading to the recovery room.

Daddy cuts the umbilical cord.

I joined them at 6:27 pm. After getting situated, I was able to nurse her right away, and she ate like a champ. We started making our phone calls to announce her birth. Steve headed out to pick up the boys and Grandma Rose. I was wheeled to my room around 8:00 and the boys got there shortly after that. Stephen and Paul were both a little confused by Mommy being in bed and weren't too sure what to think of their baby sister.

Grandma and Grandpa G arrived Tuesday afternoon and were very eager to meet their new granddaughter.

Steve brought the boys over after naptime. They were much more excited to see their little sister.

We also did FaceTime with Megan and her kids. They were very excited to see their new cousin. I used some of the down time in the hospital to take some pictures.

We were able to leave Wednesday afternoon. Theresa wasn't overly thrilled about her car seat. We are ready to begin our transition to a family of 5.