Baby Sara is here!

Towards the end of June, I was getting really anxious for the baby to come.  Gabe and the kids left for a week to Mexico, and I was secretly sort of hoping I'd go into labor (I felt sick one day that week), but alas it didn't happen.  My parents stayed with me during that time, and it was great having them here.  

The next week Gabe's two sisters came to town, the kids got lots of cousin time, and it was good to have them here cuz it kept my mind off it somewhat but I was still anxious.  

June 30th I had an induction scheduled, but I secretly prayed and hoped the baby would come early and on her own.  And she did!  It was an answer to my prayer!

On June 29th, one giant contraction woke me up and got me out of bed.  I got hopeful that today was the day!  I noticed I was getting regular contractions, spaced 10-15 minutes apart, so I told Gabe, showered, and packed my last minute things for the hospital.  But then they started slowing down, so I thought maybe it was a false alarm.  I decided to go on a walk to the park to see if I could speed things along.  

Well it worked!  By the time I got to the park, the contractions were coming every 10 minutes again and getting painful.  It was time to go to the hospital!  

We got checked in and admitted, and everything went pretty smoothly.  The biggest problem was getting an IV in my arm.  They had to poke me a couple different places because they told me my vein was "rolling."  Finally they got it, and I was relieved.  The doctor came in to check me, said I was dilated to a 6.  Then they moved me into a delivery room, and they started working on getting me an epidural.  I had to hold really still with my head tucked down for what seemed a very long time (contractions making it even more difficult), but I finally got that too.  It was a nice relief from those painful contractions.  I could feel it more numb on my right side than my left, but even any numbness at all was a relief.  Not too long after, the doctor came in and was ready to break my water!  This baby was coming!  The next thing I knew, the doctor was getting me ready to push!  I didn't feel quite ready (due to the numbness of the epidural-- I didn't feel the need to push), but I pushed anyway when they told me to during two contractions.  The baby's head was turned side ways, so the doctor had to turn her head as she came out.  And out came baby Sara!!! What a miracle! 

When they first put baby Sara on me, both Gabe and I were very emotional.  We both were crying like babies.  3 babies in the room.  :)

We were both just so happy she was here.

Getting ready to go home!

Meeting all her brothers and sisters for the first time. 

All the kids were so excited to meet  her.  They even made some signs to welcome her home.