Hope Isabelle Lynn made her appearance on May 10, 2010 at 9:16 PM. I should not have waited until she was 9 days old to post this!After four trips to the hospital for false labor, the doctor finally sent me over since they didn't dare let me go home. I was dilated to 7 cm after sitting at 5 cm for over two weeks. Being Group B Strep positive, I needed antibiotics during delivery. They'd kept telling me to "wait for something different" before I came in and I said that would be transition or my water breaking, which generally is pretty much on top of each other. That was proven when they finally induced my labor. Nurses couldn't believe I'd walked in at 7 cm and was still able to talk without any pain. I guess that's what happens with a sixth child. Especially after contracting for a month, you learn to ignore the contractions and quit timing them. You're just convinced that the baby will NEVER show up. She did though. Once the doctor broke my water, I delivered quite fast - about an hour later.
Hope arrived weighing in at 8 lbs 3 oz and was 20 inches long. She'd had the cord around her neck, so didn't cry at first, which was a bit disconcerting.
The doctor encouraged her to cry, which she finally did.Joe picked the kids up and brought them to the hospital since Heather had "waited over a decade" for a sister. They were so excited to see Hope. I don't know how the boys did it, but they actually made it to school the next morning. I thought they would sleep. I'm kind of glad they did go because when they came to the hospital the next evening, they drove me nuts. The boys were stir crazy and wouldn't sit still. I was exhausted since I kept getting awakened by nurses taking my blood pressure, bringing Hope to eat, paperwork, or medications. Thank goodness the next night was better.
I was released from the hospital Wednesday afternoon which was good because my mom was driving in on Thursday, May 13th - the day I'd originally scheduled the induction for. (Can I say how GLAD I am that they moved that up three days?) Mom and her friend Shaaron Seaich came for Thursday afternoon and Friday morning then headed on to Nauvoo, IL. It was good to see them, even if the visit was short.
Hope has been a wonderful baby thus far. She sleeps well and even slept for five hours one night. I actually woke up before her wondering if she would please EAT.
The other kids like to hold and cuddle her. Jacob even went so far as to pick her up out of her crib today which scared me. I'm glad he didn't drop her. Sam likes showing her off, as does Heather.
Now I need to figure out when Mom can come out for a baby blessing. We'll probably bless her in July. I'd wanted to drive to Utah and have all of Joe's family there, too, but it's cost prohibitive right now. Especially since we went out in September. Now, if Joe could get a job out that direction...
