Introducing Baby Isabelle!!

Finally!! Our cute little Isabelle was born on January 27th at 12:31 PM. She was 9 pounds 1 oz and 21 inches long. When I went in for my non-stress test on Monday the 26th my amniotic fluid level had dropped to 3.8 (between 14 and 15 is normal), so they said that I needed to be induced. They had tried to induce me the week before because my fluid level was at 5.1, and they let me go home after 21 hours of labor where I was having contractions every 2 minutes because I only dilated to a 3. They let me go home because Isabelle was fine the whole time, no signs of stress during that long night. However, since the fluid level dropped even more & she was 2 1/2 weeks overdue, they said that no matter what I would be delivering the baby this time. So again, we were checked in to the hospital around 11:00 am and they had me hooked up to the pitocin by 12:00. I started having contractions every 2 to 2 1/2 minutes, so then we were just waiting....again. My water broke around 7:00 that night, and things started getting harder after that because they kept turning the pitocin up. By 10:00 I was on the highest dosage and there was no space in between contractions. I was still doing ok, using my hypnosis cd's, but by midnight, I was so exhausted & with no time to recover between contractions I was done. I had an epidural soon thereafter & tried to rest. By that time I was only dilated to a 4. I finally was fully dilated by 7:00 the next morning and started pushing around 9:00. Poor Isabelle just didn't want to come out, so the doctor came in and used the forceps to get her out. Luckily she didn't have any bruising or anything from that, just a small mark on her neck that went away within a day. It is such a surreal feeling to see your baby for the first time, knowing that's what has been moving around inside you for so long. She was doing just fine as soon as she was born. I don't really remember much about when she was first born, I lost a lot of blood and was pretty out of it for a while. Anyway, I was so happy when I could finally see her again, it was quite a while because they had to do blood tests on me to make sure I didn't need a transfusion & it took a while to get the results back. She was so cute, the nurses in the nursery had fixed her hair & put little bows in her hair. This picture is from soon after they gave her back to me.

Needless to say I absolutely love her, she is the cutest baby ever!! I know everyone says that about their own babies, but I really think she is the cutest. :) We had to stay in the hospital until Thursday, but it was kind of nice being waited on by the nurses. All the juice I wanted. Ha ha. Their cranberry/grape juice was my favorite. Anyway, then we took our cute little girl home. It was very strange to be by ourselves, but it was so nice just having our little family together at home for the first time.

We had her 2 week check up yesterday, and she has gained 1/2 a pound and grown 1 1/2 inches, which puts her in the 98th percentile. I think she'll be taller than me by the time she's 12. :( She has been a pretty good baby so far. She gets fussy in the evening, but we're trying to figure out how to help her. We switched formulas & bottles, which helped some, and the doctor said we can get some gas drops, so hopefully that will help even more. She has been a little calmer the last couple of days, so hopefully it will keep getting better. Matt's mom is staying with us to help out. It's nice that Matt doesn't have to worry about cooking dinner every night. I've been back at work since the 4th. Everyone thinks I'm crazy, but it's nice being back at work. I miss Isabelle like crazy while I'm at work, but it's only a short while before I get to go home & see her. I usually go home for lunch too just so I can see her.

Kae's friend Kelli took pictures of Isabelle on Wednesday, and here are some of them. She did such a great job, I can't wait to see the rest.