The Birth of Baby Laura

Ok, I'm finally getting a little caught up and over being overwhelmed with all the pictures and not knowing where to start so I'm doing a little at a time. Before you know it between christmas and the birth of Laura you've got 100's of pictures and don't even know where to begin.

These are just some firsts at the hospital. I'll post some more precious moments at home with Laura as I get more time. I had to at least catch up on Christmas and the birth.

Mommy before being wheeled to the OR..A little nervous? HELLO...YES!!but excited at the same time!

Craig and I before the moment

Mom and I before I go in

Daddy getting the first look at his new baby girl

Our first real time together other than when they let me hold her for two minutes after...Unreal feeling holding you new baby for the first time!!

The grammas first peak at their new grandbaby

Proud new daddy....again

One of the first awake times

First time as a family of 5!! This is the best!!

First nap together

First picture of mommy and her 3 babies

First visit to see their new baby sister

First time with big sister. She loves her!First time with big brother. I think it was love a first sight!

First time of my three kids

First time Laura had with mommy & daddy

What a whirlwind of events before the birth of Baby Laura. My original due date was January 15th a date that hasn't even arrived yet. I had a routine checkup and ultrasound on December 18th where the doctor said my amnioitc fluid was a little low and she'd do a recheck on the following Tuesday December 23rd. Not a major cause for concern at this point however, my mind started to wander and I was quite nervous for the rest of the day until I got it under control. I went Tuesday feeling like all would be ok and possibly stay on track for the 2nd but the fluids still weren't where she'd like to see them be to wait another week and she didn't want to take a chance so we rescheudled to have the baby December 26th which was 3 days later. My my.....that rattled my perfectly scheduled little world. I started making all the phone calls and kicked into high gear to start preparing. Quite honestly I didn't even know where to start so I just started pulling sheets of beds like a mad women thinking that would never get done again and randomly cleaning. The next few days were spent mentally preparing for the big day and staying focused on what was really important and getting time in with Bradley and Alayna before my hospital stay. My mom wasn't suppose to come until the 1st so her perfectly scheduled world was rattled too, but she didn't miss a beat to get her flight changed and actually had to pay for a whole new ticket to do so, as only a mom would do she made it happen to leave her Christmas plans behind at home with the rest of the family and fly out very early Christmas morning and be here before noon to celebrate the rest of that day with us and be here for the birth of Laura the next day. How cool is that!!!!

Christmas Eve was very casual and simple. We made a stop at the Hewitts for an open house Christmas Eve Party and then got the kids to bed so we could quick play Santa Claus and try to get some sort of sleep. We had a wonderful quaint Christmas morning of ripping open presents and having our favorite tradition of egg bacon casserole and cinnamon rolls. We got everything cleaned up and got ourselves quickly ready to head to the airport to greet gramma who we hadn't seen in 9 months so that was very fun and exciting. We then came home to prepare Christmas dinner where Dave, Sue and the kids and gramma Dennice would join us for dinner. We had a great wild chaotic time as usual with all the kids and excitement. After dinner Craig and his mom brought the kids out to Micheles just in time to pop them into bed. That was a huge help for us so we could just get up the next day and calming head to the hospital without alot of fussing around since we had to be there so early. It gave both grammas a chance to be in on all the excitement of the birth of Laura.

That brings me to the 26th. We were up and out of here by 7am and the surgery was scheduled for 9am. My nerves kicked into gear as they wheeled me in the room, but all couldn't have went more smooth. Lauras entrance into the world went perfectly. She was 3weeks early and still a very healthy 7 lbs 14oz 19 3/4 in long. It doesn't matter how many children you have, when they put that new little face into yours it's the most amazing emotional feeling. It's the same little one that thrived, kicked, punched and hiccuped inside you and there she was to greet us for the first time. Our hospital stay was top notch as usual. We always have the best nurses and care one could ask for. We call it our little cocoon for 3 days. Craig always stays with me the whole time and insists on doing so. I love my honey for always being so hands on in every moment of this. We get the 3 first special days of our babies life with just us with our new baby. On the homefront we had 2 amazing grammas holding down the fort for us watching Bradley and Alayna for us which allowed us to have that time at the hospital. We are so thankful for them for all the hard work of reliving their days of having to care for 2 little ones that are a bundle of energy. They cooked, they cleaned, they gave baths, they dressed, they fed and all the other countless things. My mom is still here finding cobwebs and dirt I didn't know I had to get my house back up to sanity. We will be forever grateful for all the hardwork and hours they put in so we can function on a somewhat normal level after having a baby. We are starting week 3 and so far so food. Laura is still predicatable at this point and still feeds every 3-4 hours and still goes back to sleep after each feeding. (knock on wood) Her fussing is so mild she just sounds like a little kitten. I know she is still so new to the world, but we are all amazed at her mildness. It just still seems so unreal to me that I now have 3 children, but the best feeling in the world. Other than being sleep deprived and still a little sore, I can honestly say I'm feeling pretty good and loving my new baby to pieces!!!! We are just so thankful that the Lord has once again blessed us with a perfectly healthy baby to love forever. It just doesn't get better than this!!!