Well, I had been hoping all weekend long that I would have the baby before Monday so that I wouldn't have to go to work. Not that I don't love teaching middle schoolers, but by 39 weeks, I was feeling done. So when Monday morning rolled around and I still hadn't had the baby, I will admit, I wasn't in the greatest mood! But I went to school, did my cafeteria/breakfast duty from 7-7:20 and then headed to my classroom for my planning period before my 8th graders were supposed to arrive. Now, coincidentally, Luke was substituting that day for a teacher who has the same planning periods as me. So he stopped by just to see how I was doing. Well, he sat down in my office and about 2 minutes later I just looked at him and said, "Luke, my water just broke." So we jumped into action! I called my substitute to come and take over and Luke and I headed to the hospital.
We arrived at the hospital around 9am (after fighting some rush hour traffic!) and they said that I was dilated to almost 5 cm. They said that my water had definitely broken, but not quite all the way, so unless contractions started up on their own, they would finish breaking the water in a little while. Around 11am, the doctor came in and did that, and then the contractions started! It took about 4 hours to get to 10 cm and then began the most difficult 2 hours of my life! But at 5:02pm, Anna Kate Tolbert was born into the world. As Luke already told you, she weighed 10 lbs. 1 oz. and is 22 inches long. And all without an epidural! She is an absolute miracle and the most precious blessing we could have ever hoped for. We love you so much, Anna Kate, and thank God for you every day!
Anna Kate had many visitors come to see her in the hospital - Rusty and Jessica, Josh and Lacey, Christy, Randy, and then her grandparents Papa and Mimi (Luke's parents). Lots of people love her already! Luke's mom and dad were able to stay Tuesday and Wednesday to spend time enjoying their first grandchild! It was so special to have them here for her homecoming.
Here we are getting Anna Kate dressed in the first of her own clothes (thanks Caitlin for the outfit)! We got her all buckled in her carseat and headed home.
My mom just arrived from Bolivia last night and Anna Kate loves spending time with her grandma. Mom has been so helpful not only with Anna Kate, but also with helping out around the house and organizing all of Anna Kate's clothes (we might have to exchange some of her newborn clothes for bigger sizes since she's already 10 lbs!). Here are a couple of pictures of Anna Kate with Grandma.
Today was Anna Kate's first visit with the pediatrician. He said that she is doing very well and everything looks great! She was a very good girl all through the visit, but she doesn't really like getting undressed and dressed. She would much rather be snuggled in warm clothes and blankets - especially when it's so cold!
We have spent the afternoon just relaxing around the house with our baby girl. She has started to be in more of an eat/play/sleep routine today, which has been great! Here we are spending some "tummy" time on the floor (on a blanket that we just received from Luke's Uncle Terry).
Wow! I know that was a long post, but now you are up-to-date on Anna Kate's first 72 hours of life and I will try to keep the blog updated more regularly. We sure love our little girl!
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