And so it begins...

On Wednesday, June 11th I headed off to my weekly MD visit with my bags packed. I had a hunch - could have something to do with the gazillion contractions I had the night before. When I got there, I was only three cms dilated. Nothing too major, considering I walked around at 3 cms with Lily for weeks. The doctor decided to check my fluid levels and they were a little low, so she decided it was time for baby girl to come and sent me straight to the hospital. I have to admit I didn't really head straight there. It was lunch time. I know from too much experience that once you are admitted into the hospital, they won't let you eat. So I made a little detour to McDonald's for some last minute french fries. It's rather odd standing in line at McDonald's knowing you are getting ready to go through labor.



I waited for James in the parking lot of the hospital while I munched on my yummy fries, trying to block out what was to come. We took our last shot of baby girl in my tummy before heading in.



For fun I found the shot of me before having Lily (on the right). Yep, looks like girl number two is much bigger (as well as Mommy number two).







Here we are anxiously waiting. I think I had already had my epidural in this shot. This was the part I was dreading the most. I had a bad experience the first time, but I must say that this went much better. My contractions had started to kick in pretty strong too, so I was glad to have the relief. We were greeted by Karen, the same nurse who helped deliver Lily. I was so excited to have her again.


Kami was the first to make it down, soon followed by my parents. Donna was already with Lily for my MD visit, so she managed to stay with Lily through nap time, then dropped her off at Cekine's house. Donna arrived right as I was beginning to push. Lily went to church with Cekine, Allan, MA, and Abigail that night. Thank you guys for taking such good care of my girl and allowing our family to be with us.


As we were all chatting, I started to feel a little funny. I asked James to get the nurse and sure enough, baby was ready - very ready. Everyone cleared out and four pushes later, our sweet girl was with us. This little girl came out screaming!



I was very fortunate to have one of my dear friends, Charlene, be the baby's nurse. She is in charge of the nursery at St. Francis - talk about inside connection.


So all that worry about having a small baby and she came out weighing 7 pounds, 3 ounces. The first thing the doctor said was, "she's not small." Then, "she has a dimple." Where did that come from?


One of the best gifts I've ever received was being asked to be with my sister during the birth of her second son. I wanted to return this gift back Kami. She helped James coach me along, and I was very glad to have her with me.


Family watching as they clean up Sarah Ellen (she still didn't have a name at this point).


After giving birth I had a very special visitor. Mary Ashley, Charlene's daughter, came to check on me and our new baby.


First bath.


Doncie with Sarah Ellen. My parents and sister had already left to go pick up Lily and get her to bed. Can you believe, my mom left before holding the baby? For those of you that know her, that is so not Betsy. Thank you Mom for taking care of the Bean.

Poppy and Sarah Ellen

Aunt Nette and Sarah Ellen

Aunt Nette, Snookie and Sarah Ellen

Daddy and his sweet baby girl. James is still smiling in this picture because he has yet to spend the night on the 5 foot window seat they call a bed.


This concludes our first day with our sweet little girl. It took us the whole night to figure out her name, but once we did, we knew it was right for her. I'm afraid we have cursed her with a double name, but she can always shorten it one day if she wants.

My heart grew this afternoon. I wasn't sure how I could love another baby as much as Lily, but as everyone said, my heart just grew. This perfect little being is a true gift from God, and I will do my best to raise her according to His will.