Meet Ella Rose....

Our little Ella Rose was born last night at 8:32 p.m. She weighed 7 lb 11 1/2 oz and is 19 inches long. She has some hair which is brown with a reddish tint like Lauren's.

Now that we have the most important info out of the way...here is how it happened. I woke up yesterday morning at 4:30 having contractions, they were really inconsistent as far as strength and timing so I knew it wasn't real labor, but was hoping it would at least turn into that. At about 8:00, right when they were getting to be about 5 minutes apart, they stopped. I was scheduled at my doctor's office for a non-stress test (where they monitor the baby for a while to make sure everything is OK) at 10:30. I had to see another doctor since Dr. Nye had the day off. She came in and told me everything was looking great and asked if Dr. Nye had talked about induction. I told her we hadn't really talked about it at that point. She asked if I'd be open to the idea since she had just spoken to the hospital and they were asking if she had any patients wanting to be induced since they were really slow. She told me she'd try to contact Dr. Nye and have him call me to let me know what to do. On the way home I stopped for a few things at Walmart and there was Dr. Nye! I caught up to him and told him what Dr. Thompson had said so he got on the phone to call the hospital. He couldn't get through to anyone, but it sounded like he didn't really want to do it that day anyway. As I was leaving Walmart he called me and told me he'd gotten through to the hospital and they couldn't induce me until Thursday. I was heartbroken to say the least. I cried the whole way home. Part of me thought that Dr. Nye just didn't want to do it that day (and I'm pretty sure I was right). I found out later that they had gotten really busy after they'd talked to Dr. Thompson and they really couldn't schedule it that day.

That afternoon at about 3:00 I started having contractions again, only this time they were every ten minutes and definitely stronger than before. The only problem was, three hours later they were still ten minutes apart. They finally got to seven minutes apart and Todd talked me into heading to the hospital (after I called them to find out if that was in fact what we should do). We dropped the kids off at his parent's house and headed over. By the time we got to Labor and Delivery it was 7:45. They checked me and I was at 8 cm and almost fully effaced!!! I've never been past a 4 once I got to the hospital so I was shocked. Then they asked me if I had planned on having an epidural and LAUGHED when I said yes! There was no time and THANK GOODNESS for that because I was freaking out knowing I was going to have to push this baby out with NO PAIN MEDS! Dr. Nye arrived quickly and broke my water, then I started pushing and Ella Rose was born at 8:32. I am still in shock over how quickly it all went once we got to the hospital and how great I already feel. My mom was able to make it just before I started pushing and I was so glad to have her there. I just have to tease her though. As the doctor was finishing up with me after the baby was born, Mom was standing at the bed side and said she was about to pass out. Dr. Nye started yelling for someone to help her to the floor. They sat her on the floor with some pillows and after a few minutes she was fine. I'm so glad she didn't go down before someone could get to her!

We headed home late this afternoon and stopped to pick up the kids and introduce them and Grandma and Grandpa to Ella. Garrett was so excited, but Lauren was a little apprehensive (she'd just woken up from a nap) at first. They have both been watching her every move since we got home and I can already tell I'm going to have to keep a close eye on them. :)