Happy 1 Week Cate!

Most of you already know...and I've said it before...that I'm an impatient person at times. Once Cate was considered full term, I wanted her here. I was jealous and upset when my due date passed and still no Cate while it seemed like every other pregnant woman around me was giving birth.

This time last week I was in my impatient mode. I had been at the hospital for almost 24 hours, had had my water broken 8 hours earlier, had been on pitocin (the labor inducing drug for 6 and a half hours), and had had an epidural 3 hours earlier...and was still only 3 cm dilated. The doctor upped my dosage of pitocin to the maximum amount and had said we'd be discussing a c-section if I didn't begin making progress. I was so frustrated and tired, I took a nap. When I woke up 2 hours later, I was at 9 centimeters and time just seemed to speed up from there. The nurse began preparing the room for delivery and before I knew it, it was time to push. And then Cate was here. The picture above is one of the first pictures we took of Cate. Eric took it on his cell phone to send to anxious family members in the waiting room and anxious friends across the country.

Now that she's here, I just want time to slow down (except for the recovery part...I'd be happy to get it over with quickly but am willing to be patient and do the things I need to do in order to recover...I know it will be a weeks-long process). I can't believe my baby girl is already a week old! Where did the last week go? I know time is going to fly and the words of Kenny Chesney's song, "Don't Blink" couldn't be truer right now. Eric and I are soaking in every little moment with her.

While Cate can't really control smiles yet, every once in a while, her facial muscles cooperate and she does smile. I tried to capture one of these smiles today (though it was kind of hard to hold her and the camera).
And in the spirit of soaking up every minute, Eric took a little video of Cate with the hiccups. The TV only seems loud...I promise it really wasn't. Her little hiccups are adorable though. :-)