Labor of Love

We'll admit that we weren't all that optimistic as we headed to the doctor AGAIN on Monday afternoon. We knew that there was a chance they would schedule an induction, but who knew when that would really be. After an ultrasound though, the doctor determined that Melody's fluid level was too low and they told us to go get our bags and head to the hospital for an induction.

The first 12 hours were spent "getting ready" for the induction since Mel was still only at 1 centimeter. At 7:30 am Tuesday morning, the doctor broke her water. The progress was slow going at first, but after the epidural and an afternoon nap, Melody was at 9 centimeters by 5 pm and ready to push around 7:30. She pushed for a little over an hour and with a little extra help from the doctor (since Cate was looking up when she should have been looking down), our beautiful baby girl was born. She weighed 8 pounds, 5 ounces and was 20.5 inches long. Below is a picture of her getting checked out by the nurses right after she was born.



And here is a picture of her safe in Daddy's arms. Of course the doctor and the nurses let Mel hold her first, but it was a rough delivery, so while they stitched mom up, Daddy and daughter got to bond for a little bit.
We moved up to the recovery room around 11:30 that night (after Cate's grandparents, great-grandmothers, and aunt Kristin and great Uncle Ed got to meet her). We were all exhausted, Cate included.

We've taken a lot of pictures of Cate already and can't seem to get enough of her. This is one of our favorite pictures, captured by Eric in a moment when Cate was surprised.

After being in the hospital since Monday evening, we were discharged yesterday around 3:00. Here is a picture of Cate in her hat and sweater, all ready to go home.

We love our little girl and God has truly blessed us with a miracle. She was worth the wait, even the extra 9 days. We are excited to be at home with her (although our first night was a little rough...but we're getting there). We appreciate all of your prayers and support throughout this entire pregnancy and hope that you'll continue to pray for us as we take on the awesome responsibility of raising Cate. We'll put up more pictures soon.

~Eric and Melody