Little Miss E turns 1!

Breaking News!

As of 2:25am this morning Miss E officially turned into a 1-year-old!

Her due date was October 10th and one of my fears was that she would come a few days early and that she and A would end up sharing a birthday. But, who was I kidding. R arrived 6 days late and A arrived 5 days late. E was not about to be outdone by either of her big sisters and she hung out in utero for a full 9 days past her due date! She would've stayed in even longer but I decided it was time to get the show on the road and asked to be induced. I went in the morning of the 18th and my midwife was confident that I would be having the baby that day. Ha! The joke was on both of us. I had thought my third would come early, I hoped that the labor would be quick in comparison to my first and second, and my midwife felt that I was a "prime candidate" for induction at that point and things would go quickly once we kick started the process. We started off with a minimally invasive induction method and she told me to walk the halls and let the nurse know when the contractions started.

So, we walked. And walked. And walked.

I napped some. Rick and I played cards. We spent a boring day waiting for something - anything - to happen. Nothing happened.

I had been admitted at 10am and by 4pm it was obvious that the minimally invasive approach was not working. E was happy to be where she was and my body was not anxious to evict her - although my mind was in overdrive. My midwife had been in to check on me throughout the day and when she came by at 4pm she gave me the option of going home (uh. NO! Not happening!) or going to the next level which was to break my waters. After a short deliberation I went for Plan B which actually kick started things very quickly. And I was hopeful that I would soon have my baby girl in my arms.

Ha.

My body just don't work that way! I started contractions at about 4:45 and by midnight I was not even half-way dilated and I was SCREAMING for an epidural. They had to call Mr. Epi-man in from someplace not too far away but every minute felt like an hour. Finally at about 12:30 I got my relief and then I slept. Miss E continued to take her own sweet time. She came out into my midwife's arms at 2:25am.
Nine and a half pounds of perfection!

Proud midwife.

The girls were able to come in to meet their sister the next afternoon. Our family was complete and we were all together for the first time:


E fit right in to the family right away. She was a very content and calm newborn and the girls loved her to pieces from the very beginning. Although there had been a time when we had thought we were done having babies after A was born, it is now impossible to consider our family without our sweet baby E. She is such a blessing!


She has the best and most contagious laugh. She is clever, observant (see clever link!), opinionated, funny, and so very lovable.


She loves her big sisters! They are a constant source of inspiration, amusement, and delight for her. And the feelings are mutual.


She is quite the mama's girl. She is still nursing multiple times a day (and at least once most nights - yawn) and she does not like it when she is around strangers and mommy is not in her direct line of sight.


Today she is the Princess of the Day!


We love you, E! You are an amazing little person and we are honored to be the ones to watch you grow, learn, laugh, love, and become the person you are meant to be!

Happy Birthday, lil pun'kin!

(Mom's 1st birthday cake creations)