Shelby Caroline

Shelby Caroline made her debut 7/20/09 @ 2:40 pm. She weighed 7 lbs. 10 oz., and is 19 3/4 inches long. My parents were so awsome and watched Payton while Mike and I stayed in the hospital. We were admitted Sunday night. I was only dilated about 2 cm. They started to get my cervix ripened with some gel, and left me alone till morning. At 8:30 I was only dilated 3 cm and they started the Pitosin to get the ctx's started. I started feeling them pretty strongly around 9:30, so asked for the epidural before they got too bad. Got the epidural at 10:00. I had such awsome staff there. I LOVED my nurse! The epidural was everything I dreamed, and I slept on and off for the next several hours. My nurse mentioned she got off at 3:00, and I really wanted her to be there for the delivery, so Shelby and I had a talk. At 2:20 the nurse noticed some decelerations on the fetal monitor. She was in the process of calling my Dr. and had me roll onto my side. As I did this I hear Mike shout, "Her head is out!". The nurse had me roll back onto my back and Shelby fell out the rest of the way onto the bed! I didn't push, I had only some mild cramping, what in the world just happened? She had a loose nuchal cord, everything else looked great. She delivered at 2:40 and my nurse was able to get out on time. Shelby is so obedient already! I didn't tear, I was back on my feet as soon as the epidural wore off, and I have the quietest, sweetest little baby girl ever. She eats well, sleeps well, and poops way too well. haha. She only fusses when she is hungry or needs a diaper change. I swear to you she is spoiling me. There has got to be a catch somewhere! Her bilirubin levels are mildly elevated, so she will be going to the pediatrician tomorrow, but we had this with Payton also. She is just making the transition from one kid to two, entirely too easy. This is only our first night home together as a family though. eeek.

Payton seems to be making a little bit of progress moving her bad leg. She is still very guarded. She will be fitted for her brace tomorrow, meets with the new pediatrician for the first time on Monday, and meets for follow up with the Surgeon next Thursday. I'm thinking Physical Therapy is definitely in her future. She doesn't have the confidence yet to experiment on her own. She loves her baby sister. Talks to her as if she's been around forever.

We are so excited about this new phase in our lives. We are thankful for all the blessings we have been given, and can only hope for continued good news with everything.

Payton is wearing the bracelets that baby Shelby gave her.