Introducing Aubrey

This week we welcomed our precious little girl into the world.  She was 7 lbs and 7 ounces, and 19.5 inches long.  We arrived at the hospital at 6:30 am for our scheduled c-section, and the nurse confirmed that she would have arrived that day regardless of it being scheduled or not.  I was having strong, consistent contractions about 4-5 minutes apart for the 2 hours before she was born.  Our health insurance changed after we had Tyson, so this was our first time delivering at this hospital.  It was very interesting to see how different hospitals handle things differently.  One of the first differences I noticed was that instead of being wheeled in my bed to the surgical room, they just came and got me and I walked to the room and hopped onto a bed where they started the anesthesia.  A big bonus for me was that they didn't strap my arms down like they did with my first two boys.  A thumbs down was that the baby bed wasn't to the side of me where I could observe her right after she was born, but it was on the other side of the curtain.  Which meant Jared got a glimpse of me in the middle of surgery, something he is very careful to avoid.  He didn't pass out though!  Instead of pulling her out and bringing her to her bed right away they brought her right to me in all her messy glory and showed me her.  And then once she was checked out Jared got to bring her to me and let me see her for a good five minutes or so before heading off to the nursery.  At the other hospital it was less than a minute, and they didn't even show me the baby after they came out.  One thing I was disappointed about was that they bring the baby to the Mother/Baby unit after delivering, and then the mom has to go back to the recovery room (on a different floor) for one hour before she can be brought down to Mother/Baby to see her newborn.  An hour seems like an eternity when you have waited so long to meet your baby and they are finally here and you can't even see them!  But, I was so loopy from the drugs that it wasn't that bad, and Jared was keeping me updated with picture texts so I could see what was going on with them.  Turns out, it wouldn't have mattered either way because the nurse noticed her making some noises and was concerned she had fluid in her lungs.  They wanted to keep her in the nursery to observe her, and run some tests to make sure everything was alright.  Even though she was born about 8:30 in the morning, they didn't bring her in to me until after noon, and that was when I held her for the first time.  She was just fine.  The nurses and staff were wonderful, and I had a great experience there.  The first couple days at the hospital were exhausting, since we were showered with lots of love and visitors.  I think I only counted two hours of waking time during those first couple days that there wasn't visitors there.  The nights were divine, they kept the baby in the nursery and each 3 hour stretch between feedings felt like the best nights rest ever.  The third day I really rested well, and bonded with my sweet little girl since it was just her and I all day long.  We came home that night.  The recovery from this baby has been a lot harder than the first two.  I have been in more pain and it has taken longer for me to gain strength.  But each day I am getting stronger, and feeling better.  Every day with this little girl is such a treat.  Aubrey has such a wonderful, content temperament, and is such a great baby.  She has been a champ at nursing from the start, she is so calm and has such a sweet little presence about her.  Having a good baby makes all the difference in the world, and I am just crossing my fingers and praying that it will stay like this.  The entire family is head over heels for this little girl, it seems like everyone has adjusted pretty well to the addition, and we just can't imagine not having her here.  I am just blown away at the incredible love I feel for her.  I feel so grateful and so blessed that she was sent to our family!  She is our perfect little gift from our Heavenly Father!  We love you Aubrey, and are so excited to have you here!

All prepped and ready to go!

Meeting our little angel.

The boys meet Aubrey for the first time.  Tyson's reaction was priceless- ear to ear grin for at least ten minutes!

Aubrey meets her grandparents!

Aubrey's first bath at home.  I can't say she was very impressed, I think she prefers being snuggled in her warm clothes and a cozy blanket.