Well, here you have it! Pictures of our newest little princess. Sophia Anna Rawlins has arrived and we feel so incredibly blessed!

So last Wednesday I started having contractions. They were regular but not super strong, so I ignored it and went to bed. I didn't sleep that well and when I woke up on Thursday they were still there. Since they still weren't that strong I figured they weren't labor contractions and I'd better find something to do to stay busy and keep my mind off of it. So we packed up the boys and headed to Ikea. I made mom drive because my contractions were still there and starting to hurt a little. While we were on the way I was talking to mom about them and she said, "You're probably in labor and you just don't know it yet." That was around 11 am. By 12:30 we had eaten lunch and were letting the kids play in the toy section of the store when I realized she was right. I was in labor! I was hurting SO BAD but I was so excited. I called Chase and told him that I might need to go into the hospital and to arrange his day so that he could leave if I needed him. We played a little longer but an hour later I was having contractions so close together and so painfully that it was embarrassing to be in public so we left and called Chase to meet us at home. We arrived at the hospital at 3 and were admitted right away. My doc saw me and we agreed that it was true labor and I wasn't going home without a baby. When they checked me I hadn't made any progress so we decided that we could break my water that night if we needed to. My doctor had a part in his church Christmas program that he couldn't get out of, so he said he'd check back in at 10:30, but he said I'd probably be close to delivery by the looks of my contractions. He wished me well and headed out.

At about 7 I asked to be checked again so I could find out how much progress I had made. I hadn't made any. Not even a little! But I tried to be optimistic. By 9 I got sick of the pain and asked for some Nubain which made me super loopy, but allowed me to rest a little between contractions. My doc arrived back at the hospital (dressed as a shepherd, no less...) at 10:30 and checked me again and still no progress. We decided to try breaking the water and did so. That's when we discovered that Sophie had passed meconium, which is a sign of distress in the baby. Dr. Rost said with the baby in distress he didn't feel comfortable pushing pitocin to help my labor, and that technically I shouldn't need it since I was in active labor already. The pitocin would have just increased the stress on baby. But he wasn't trying to rush me into the OR for a c-section since she still looked good. We decided to give it another hour. That was easily the WORST hour of my life. Contractions were super strong, long and close together. I couldn't get more pain medicine because we weren't sure if we would be needing the epidural or a spinal, so I just had to muscle through it. I was panting, moaning and groaning for a solid hour and I was so sure that it HAD to be doing something! Of course, it wasn't. When the doc checked again I was barely a 2. So, we knew what we had to do and prepared for the c-section. I wasn't happy about it, but we knew that we needed to do what was best for Sophia.

Sorry, this is getting long...

Anyway, they gave me the whole host of medicines to get ready for the surgery, which included a medicine called turbutaline which was supposed to slow down the contractions. But I kept having them. I was so happy when they finally got me on the table and put in the spinal block. Dave Digioranno will forever be a saint in my book. Right there with Paul, the anesthesiologist who gave me the epidural with Cam...

So the surgery started right at 1am and Sophie arrived at 1:12. By 1:45 we were all back in the recovery room and Sophie was having an early breakfast. Mom K and Mom R were already there waiting for us when we got to our room and they stayed until about 3:30 to admire their new granddaughter! We tried to sleep until about 7:30 when we just had to get up and look at her some more. That's when Chase surprised me by suggesting that Sophie have a middle name. He'd been the one who really didn't want a middle name (I didn't care one way or the other since I couldn't find one I loved), so I was a little confused. When he said he thought her middle name should be Anna he got all teary-eyed. It was so sweet. He said that he thinks all of our girls, should we be blessed with any more, should have Anna as their middle name. It was a sweet moment for me.

The last 3 days have been long, rough, tiring, exciting, miserable, fantastic, breath-taking and awe-inspiring. The Lord has been good and generous, as always. Sophia has been met with love and many kisses (and pokes) from her brothers, aunts, uncles, cousins and grandparents. And most of all her parents. We love her so much and are so grateful for her! I hope you'll enjoy the pics. There will be many more in the days to come!

Oh, before I end I have to tell a funny story. I know you're all sick of reading, so come back later to finish if you want, but it's a good story. So most of you know that it's really difficult to sleep when you're at the hospital. The whole system is DESIGNED to keep you from sleeping! Nurses, doctors, lab techs, cleaning people, food service staff, lactation consultants, visitors...they're all coming and going 24 hours a day! So by Friday night/Saturday morning I was exhausted. i hadn't slept a wink since Wednesday night and I was worn out and sore from the labor and following c-section. And Sophie was exceptionally angry and cranky that night and cried non-stop for hours on end. So by Saturday morning I still hadn't gotten ANY sleep and I was on the verge of a mental breakdown. Every time I would finally get to sleep someone would walk into my room! So when Doc. Rost showed up that morning to check on me and he said, "How are we doing this morning?" He got me, a crying mess saying how I hadn't slept since Wednesday night and the nursery people wouldn't take the baby the night before because she was crying so much and yada yada yada... So of course he said he would make sure that I was going to get sleep so I could recover. He wrote orders for Ambien and informed the nursery staff that they WOULD be taking Sophie, crying or not. Anyway, the best part of the story is Chase. He decided that I needed sleep immediately, so he took Sophie after I fed her and literally sat in the hallway outside of my room for 2.5 hours while I slept. He was so mad that he recorded every single person who tried to come into my room during that time (he's such an accountant). Every time someone would start to come near my door he would cut them off and inform them that whatever they needed they could get it later. I was astonished when he told me that in that short time I was sleeping 9 people had tried to see me! NINE! And that's AFTER Dr. Rost had put the word out that I was to be left alone! Crazy, crazy, crazy...So I owe a big thank you to my sweet and loving husband. Thank you, Chase! You are, as always, the best. I love you! And if you're wondering, yes, that 2.5 hours changed my life. It's amazing how good it feels to get sleep after so long!

OH, and another thing...so I have this sister-in-law, Kathleen. The whole time I was pregnant she kept asking what she could do to help. I kept putting her off and not letting her help me when I had a good idea. Kathleen is a fabulous hair stylist so I decided that she could help me by coming and styling my hair while I was in the hospital. After a c-section it's hard enough just to get in and out of the shower, let alone blow-dry your hair! So she did and I felt so good afterward! Thanks, Kathleen!

Okay, that's it. Sorry for the book...I'm sure the next posts you'll read from me will be VERY short. I don't see any free time in my immediate future...