As I lay in the hospital bed holding my beautiful new baby girl, it is amazing to think that just a few hours ago she was cozy inside my belly. This was my 4th baby, so I was really surprised when my due date of July 22nd came and went followed by a whole week of prodromal ("false") labor where I was having real contractions every 15 minutes for hours but no progression. It was incredibly frustrating and depressing to have my hopes let down night after night - especially since I had measured 4 cm at my last ob appointment! My doc had said that he would induce on Monday, July 30th if I hadn't delivered by then. I had been induced with my last two babies, so I was really hoping to not go that route again.

BUT on the night of July 28th, after going through the usual routine of contracting while watching TV, my contractions got noticeably stronger and they started to get closer than 10 mins apart. Once I started bleeding I knew this was the real deal and told my husband to get ready. We called his sister to come over to our house to stay with our children, and off we went to the hospital!

At midnight in triage I measured 5-6cm, and then was moved to an L&D; room where I got my epidural and spent the next 6 hours napping and turning sides with a peanut between my knees. At 6am, I measured 10cm and my nurse broke my bag of waters. My Ob was called and by 6:30am I was starting to push. Only 5 minutes of pushing, and out came our little angel! She measured 9 lb 3 oz and 22 inches long, with a full head of dark hair. She has been nursing like a champ so far. I hope my milk comes in sooner than the usual 4-5 days because she is going to be a hungry girl!

She just happened to be born on her oldest sister's 15th birthday - so the two of them will share their birthdays.

Welcome to the world, Alice! You were worth the wait, my love, and now our family is complete. ❤