Whew. I have been trying to update for a while now, but it never seems to work out. Every time I try to make my way over to the office, I get stopped by like ten people and then I get here and have to walk home in five minutes again to feed Charlotte or something.

Anyways, she is home with us and we are so in love. She is the tiniest most beautiful thing ever and did I mention I love her?

You may be wondering how it all happened.

I had been having pretty uncomfortable contractions at home since Monday morning. By Tuesday night they were so unbearable that I didn't sleep at all and took three showers to try to make my back pain go away. I got out of bed and watched tv starting at about 3 a.m. By 5:30-ish I was having contractions regularly every five minutes or so, so we headed to the hospital (I had been having such irregular contractions for so long, I wasn't fully convinced that they would stick and thought we might be on our way home a few hours later). And then we got pulled over in Iron Mountain, 3 minutes from the hospital. Kyle got to tell the officer that his wife was in labor (just like in the movies!) and they let us go.

At the hospital, they put us in triage where we stayed for about five hours. Our doctor wasn't necessarily convinced I was in true labor because my cervix was only dilated a centimeter, even though I was having pretty painful contractions. I told him through tears that if I had to go home in this pain I would be so miserable and that I hadn't slept in two days. When he came back to check on us at 11:30, I had dilated to 2 centimeters, so he decided to admit us. We were taken to a room and I was promptly put on Pitocin and the contractions started gradually getting more and more intense. After a few more hours I had only dilated to 3 centimeters (yet still had SUPER painful contractions), so the nurse gave me some Stadol, which made me soooo nauseous and awful feeling, not to mention the super painful contractions. By the time I had reached 4 centimeters and could finally have an epidural I was having such complete terrible pain and was shaking uncontrollably... not a good situation when a doctor is trying to stick a needle next to your spine. It was so hard to sit still and the shot hurt so bad, but as I was waiting for the needle, I was telling my nurse, Sue, I couldn't stay still and was praying out loud, "Please, God, help me to stay still..." and she leaned forward, touched her forehead to mine and started praying for me out loud as well. Kyle and I were both crying, it was so beautiful. I finally got the epidural and felt super relaxed for the first time in, like, three days, so I tried to lay back and rest.

Our doctor came in and explained that I had been progressing super slow and that she might not fit through the birth canal and that I might have to have a c-section. Let me tell you, after the day of labor, a c-section was sounding pretty good to me then. So, I thought I'd just rest up, wait it out, and have a c-section in a few hours. But, OH. NO. Right after my epidural Kyle ran out to grab some dinner. When he came back he sat next to me and ate and I started feeling very minor contractions, but ones that were just slightly uncomfortable right in my pelvic floor area. I mentioned to my nurse that I was having a little bit of pain, so she brought me some ice. Seriously, within like five minutes I was having constant intense pain in my pelvic floor. The nurse checked me and I had dilated from 4 to 8 centimeters in 30 minutes. She told me I was just about ready to push and I FREAKED. Um, I said, I'm supposed to be having a c-section- I CAN NOT do this. Kyle and my nurse Jane were so reassuring that I could, but I was CONVINCED I did not have what it took to push that little girl out. The doctor came in and started setting up around 8:30. I pushed for 20 minutes and by 9:30 we had little Charlotte Amy. I have never felt so good in my life when that little girl came out. She was such an angel and I realized, also, that I wasn't pregnant anymore! I was instantly smiles and chatting with all the nurses. Kyle said he hadn't seen me so happy and normal in 3 days.

Kyle with Charlotte:

Wearing Auntie Heather's tie-dye onesie:

And we've had a few grandparent visits:

Just barely fitting in her car seat:

First bath at home, compliments of Dad.