Baby Kate

Here is the not-really-so-long awaited, but very much asked for, blog about our baby Kate! She is only 5 days old today, but I have been harassed by everyone to put pictures up of her. I decided that I would send an email with pictures to my family memebers who did NOT bug me about it, and as everyone called and bugged me, I checked them off the list. ha ha ha The prize goes to Chris and Nicole, who are the siblings that did NOT pester me about the blog--so they can check their email for an exclusive peek at the baby! My dad (Papi) even started asking me "Aren't you proud of your daughter? Is something wrong with her that you don't want to show us?" ha ha ha Funny, dad. Of course I want to show you all the baby, but HELLO! I do have 3 children now, she's only 5 days old, we've been a little busy taking care of her, and I'm trying to do what I can to get by with the help of Mom-O. Mom-O has been a HUGE lifesaver as I try to heal my body and care for Kate all night, as well as take care of "normal life" with the boys. Thanks Mom-O for coming to take care of us all!

Ok, now what you're all waiting for...Kate's story.

I was in and out of labor for 2 1/2 weeks, which started to be too hard on my body and the family as a whole. So, on October 10th I was induced. It was time for baby to finally come! It was such an odd feeling, knowing that today was the day. I woke up, showered, did my hair, had time to take pictures before we went, and got the kids to the neighbors peacefully and calmly. Labor is much better if it comes naturally, but it was nice knowing when time was finally going to be up. So, despite having mixed feelings about being induced, but in this case it was just time. Here is the "before" picture:Here is the "after" picture. Baby Kate, officially named Katherine Nicole. The pitocin was started at 8:30 am, contractions were 2 minutes apart and I was at almost a 4 by 1pm, so the Dr. decided we could finally break my water to help things along. The Dr. was going into surgery and would be back to check on me around 1:45. By the time she got back I was ready to push baby out. The only problem was that the anestesiologist was busy too, and didn't make it until we were ready to push...no epidural for me! This was NOT the plan, but things moved along so quickly that I didn't have a choice. I do not recommend "going natural" to anyone, it hurts! But, here she is! Born 10/10/08, 6 lbs 9 oz, 2:03 pm, 13 1/4 head. Her first "bath" - as close as she will get until her cord falls off.How cute she is! I haven't decided who she looks like. She has long eyelashes, and I think her hands look like Mom-O's hands. But, other than that we have yet to determine the rest of her characteristics. I'm sure we'll figure them out as she grows and we have more time to study her! Cute Kate!Meeting her brothers for the first time! "She's cute" is what Michael thinks.What a good, experienced, big brother Eric is!
Kate and I had most of the day on Saturday without anyone around. It got a little lonely! But, we had a little photo shoot while we were "hanging out". Here are a couple pictures:

A full-body, almost naked picture.
Here we are, ready to go home on Sunday the 12th.Her first car ride, going home. She is such a small baby in a huge chair!
When Jim and I got home with Kate, the boys were at church with Mom-O. This is our first family picture, when they got home (they both fell asleep on the way home, so they look a little tired).
Before we left the hospital Kate looked a little jaundiced, and her levels were a little high, so we had to take her to the lab for another test on Monday. By Monday at 5 she was in the bili light, being "cooked". Poor baby. She came out of one oven to go into another! We had to do this with Eric, but it doesn't make it any easier to see your baby under the lights instead of in your arms! Here she is in her "suitcase oven"
We were also brought another kind of light to use while we hold her, so she can (theoretically) be under the light 24 hrs a day. It is a little box, with a tube similar to a vacuum tube, that has a little paddle on the end that we put up against her back. It makes her seem like she's glowing...notice the blue ET-like glow under the blanket as Jim holds her.Michael wanted to play with Kate, showing her some of the baby toys we have. This is as close as he could get to real interaction with her for a while...cute kid.

We'll go to the Dr. tomorrow to see how she is doing, get her weight, and hopefully be told that she is not jaundice anymore. Other than her being jaundiced, things are going pretty smoothly with Mom-O here to help. I'm worried about when Mom-O leaves, but I'm sure we'll adjust to life eventually. At least my body is healing and feeling better after Kate than it did with the boys, which has been a blessing. Thanks to everyone for all of your well-wishes and prayers for us as we went, and go, through this! We'll post more updates and pictures, sometime!