Happy Birthday Miss E- and a birth story!

Since we found out that my due date was right around Miss E's birthday she has been faithfully praying that this new baby would be sharing a birthday with her. It was no surprise then when I started having mild contractions while I was making her birthday breakfast! I could tell things were going to move slowly though, so we didn't rush around too much. I took Miss C out for a walk to help things move along a bit, then we started getting everyone ready to go to the sitter's house. Now Miss E is a very easy going young woman and she had some very simple requests for her birthday one was that she get to make her own cake, and some easy meal ideas and then.... That I have her new baby brother ON her birthday and that she be at the delivery. Yea, those last two were a bit harder to arrange, but we managed! LOL!

Before heading into the hospital we went to the mall and walked around a bit. Miss E was enjoying her time with just Mom and Dad then we headed into the hospital around noon after a light snack.

Things were obviously not moving quickly, though I was having regular contractions. Even when the doctor broke my water around 2:00 nothing really started happening. Miss E enjoyed some undivided attention with Rob learning to make a graph by graphing baby's heart beat. Then she played on Rob's iphone and watched the new Duggar DVD she got for her birthday. Rob worked on his PhD work. Then they headed out to get some dinner. It was a rather boring afternoon, but she seemed very pleased with it.

While this labor was a SLOW moving one, it was not uncomfortable. My contractions were barely noticeable until about 5:00, but even then not too bad (this is how many of my labors have gone, nothing much and then BAM! its time to have the baby!). By 5:45 though, Rob was needing to rub my back through the contractions. Miss E was sweet and helpful as well. Then the contractions really started to pick up and all of a sudden the doctor was there and it was time to have a baby!

That last little bit of labor is always the part where I remember why it is that women get epidurals, but I'm always comforted by the fact that I'm nearly done and I can handle 20 more minutes. This time was no different.

Mr. K was such a mellow guy right from the start. We could hardly get him to cry, not because anything was wrong with him, but he just didn't seem to think there was any reason to cry. He just snuggled in and enjoyed being with his mama on the outside now.

Miss E cut the cord and helped with his bath. She did a great job and after she left the nurse commented on how mature she seemed and that she had been surprised to find that she was only 11!

Miss E made it very clear that this was exactly how she had hoped she would be spending her birthday, and it was the best one so far. I'm so glad she enjoyed her day, and that she is so excited to be sharing her birthday with her baby brother. She also enjoyed getting to share the news with grandparents! Since she also shares her birthday with her Grandad she had fun calling him and singing "happy birthday dear Grandad, Miss E and Mr. K!" to tell him about the new baby.

Even though it was getting late into the evening and past their bedtimes we figured the other big brothers and sisters would really like to at least come say a quick hello to their new little brother. He had kisses waiting for them. Everyone was happy to meet him, and he seemed happy enough to meet the clan!