A Birth Story

In some ways, this pregnancy was so much easier than Addy's, and in some ways much harder. With Addy I gained almost 60 pounds. With this one I only gained 20 (though I never lost all of Addy's). With this one, I wasn't sick during the first trimester. With Addy I had less back and hip pain, but more heartburn. This pregnancy I was tired a lot more. And one thing is for sure; with this baby I was READY to be done. 

Tuesday morning, I called the hospital. They were full. They told me to call back at eight. Then noon. Then one. Then two. Then four. And FINALLY at about 4:45 we were admitted. There is no question about this delivery vs. Addy's. This one was SO much easier and more enjoyable! For one thing, it lasted 7 hours instead of 12. I pushed for 20 minutes vs 2 hours. I still had to have my epidural twice. From the time I got it to the time I got the second one was only two hours. With Addy...well, it never worked! This time, the first one only did half my body. Weirdest feeling ever. Addy had to have her lungs sucked out, and Elise didn't. So I got to hold Elise right away. I got to dry her off and calm her down and study every feature before they ever weighed her or anything. It was an incredible experience. I was so calm and happy. It was nice compared to being shaky and worn out like I was with Adelaide. 

Elise Michelle Carter was born at 12:51 AM on March 6. She weighed 7 pounds and was 18.5 inches long. We love every piece of her.

 Because we stayed up most the night, we spent much more time sleeping this hospital stay than we did with Addy. Elise is so snuggly and LOVES to be held while she sleeps. I love it now, but hopefully she'll adjust nicely to sleeping in a bed later...

Grandma and Grandpa got to meet Ellie before they ran off with Adelaide. They loved her instantly :)

Ready to go home to our empty house :( It was so sad walking in and not having Addy with us. We are still trying to get over it...

 Helping Daddy watch Ebay (he sold a console that he bought and fixed).

 The ONLY advantage to not having Addy is the naps! We can sleep whenever we need or want to. Though I would gladly trade that in for a rambunctious, perfect little girl.

 Got some fun pictures while she was sleeping. It just always amazes me how many faces those little ones make when they're out!

We. Miss. Addy. We were planning on her coming home on Monday. Well, the doctor thought Friday might be a better idea. And now, she still has a runny nose (so she's still contagious) and the doctor thinks that Monday might be even better. It's so hard for me to realize that we won't have any pictures of the girls together until Elise is at least two weeks old. It's so hard to be away from my baby girl who my world revolves around. It's hard to set the table with only two plates and to say family prayer instead of helping Addy to. It's hard to watch her be so happy without us when we skype her. But it's sad when we have to go and she cries. It sucks that I'm so hormonal all the time and cry every time I think about it. But we know that we have to protect Elise from RSV. I am so thankful for the several blessings my husband has given me to help me realize that it's okay and that Addy will still like us better than Grandma and that she'll want to come home with us. I am so thankful that my parents are willing to take care of my baby. But I am SO ready for this trial to be over and done with. Send prayers our way, I know I need them!

All that being said, we really are enjoying Elise and getting to know her. She is so sweet and snuggly (which Addy never was from day one). She loves to sleep in our arms. She is also such a good eater. Still waiting for my body to realize I am only feeding one baby and not a whole hospital of them, but Ellie handles it like a champ. I am loving our middle of the night mommy-daughter dates. She gets cuter every day, and we fall more and more in love each day as well. In the midst of our greatest trials come our greatest blessings.