Grace's Birth

It's hard to believe nearly 2 weeks have passed since the birth of our precious baby Grace. With visitors, baby feedings, paying attention to our firstborn, and just trying to keep up with the household chores I haven't found time to sit down and document her birth story.....until now.

After several weeks of on again/off again contractions (otherwise known as a lot of false labor) I was determined to get things moving on June 9th. Having been to the doctor on the 8th I learned that I was dialated to almost a 3 and he didn't think he'd see me next week...so the marathon walking began! Kevin had already requested some vacation days to be used Thursday, Friday and Monday in hopes that baby Grace would come one of those days so that was extra incentive. On Wednesday evening I started having consistent, intensifying contractions so at 9 PM my parents came over to get Dylan to spend the night and Kevin and I prepared for a trip to the hospital. By 11:30 the pains were pretty intense so we hopped in the car and headed downtown to Sacred Heart where we were put in triage to monitor my contractions. I was able to walk the floor for part of the time and the contractions were getting stronger and stronger. I knew this was definitely it! By 1:00 am I was in my delivery room sitting very happily with an epidural. We were both able to get some "rest" despite our anticipation for the delivery and by 5:30 am I was already 9 cm. My sister came to the hospital around 5:45 and was thrilled to find out that she had made it just in time for the birth. The doctor came and broke my water a little after 6:00 and I started pushing almost immediately. After only a couple of pushes she was crowning and they weren't quite ready for the delivery so I actually had to wait through a couple of contractions before I could start pushing again. Three pushes later little Grace Evelyn arrived. I was shocked it was that easy (in comparison to pushing for over 2 hours with Dylan) and amazed by how tiny she was! She of course demonstrated a loud and fiesty cry but was quickly soothed by my voice.....so AMAZING! She already looked like a smaller more petite version of her big brother- same nose, lips, forehead and eyes. Perfection.
Shortly after she was born Kevin called Dylan to share the news that his baby sister had arrived. Already he seemed so calm and mature about it all. We decided to have my parents take him to his last day of preschool in the morning and then they brought him to the hospital afterward. I'm pretty sure that was the most emotional moment for me, watching my "big boy" climb up on the bed with me and take in his new sibling. His first words about her were a calm statement of "She's really here mommy" followed by several kisses. Precious.
The next day we came home and started our life as a family of 4. We've had our bumps (seriously breastfeeding is sooooo hard for me) but in all Grace has just added one more link in our family chain....bringing all of us closer and truly "gracing" us with her sweet and beautiful presence.