gwyneth eloise

My baby girl is here! She's so sweet and I just can't get enough of her. Gwen was born Friday January 13th at 7:53pm. She weighed 6lbs 12oz and measured 19 1/4 inches. Her arrival came quickly! Matt came home from work a little early on Friday and we were both starving so we decided to go to Chipotle with the boys. As we were eating, I was feeling a little weird but didn't want to say anything until I actually felt a strong contraction. I felt one and said something to Matt. He just kept staring at me as I ate, not knowing what to think. We were just talking about how it would be perfect for her to come that day since it was a three day weekend for Matt. Matt said, "Are you going into labor right now in Chipotle?" I just closed my eyes tight as another contraction came with a smile on my face and Matt squeeked out, "Yes?!" We went home and my water broke within minutes. It was about 5:30 pm and I had only had about 3 or 4 strong contractions. I was told to get to the hospital right away if my water broke. I told Matt to call Cheryl because I was pretty sure that it broke. He called and was asking how she was doing and what she was up to. I said, "No small talk, that was my water." I was sure now as more was coming. Cheryl got to our house 20 minutes later to take care of the boys and we were off to the hospital. On the way, Matt said, "You predicted 5 or 6 months ago that she would be born today and I still didn't have a bag packed for the hospital." My contractions were every two to four minutes. I had Matt park so we could walk in together. I didn't want to be separated this time. They were checking me in and I was scribbling my signature on papers during contractions. I was dilated to about a 3 1/2 when we got there. Kristen called ahead for me and found out all the good staff that was on that night. She got there right after me. I sat in triage for almost an hour and was already in transition. I was frustrated wondering what in the world was taking so long to get me upstairs to get an epidural. I finally got an epidural at about 7:30 pm and was at a 10, fully effaced, and ready to push. The doctor got all set up and with about 2 minutes of pushing, Gwen was out. The cord was wrapped around her neck three times. I was surprised that it all went so fast. We were eating dinner less than three hours before. I was so happy that my mom finally got to be there for the birth since Porter and Loch were delivered in the OR. Everything went smoothly. The doctor was great. Kristen requested an awesome nurse for me. The boys came to visit the next morning. Porter was really excited to meet his new baby sister. He couldn't wait to hold her. He was really sweet. Loch was more interested in wearing some purple latex gloves and operating my hospital bed. I had to stay an extra night in the hospital so I didn't get to come home until Sunday. Loch held Gwen for about 3o-40 minutes after we got home and Matt read a bunch of books to them. Both of the boys are excited about her. They come busting into my bedroom in the morning to see where she is and what she's doing. This was Gwen's face after her brothers were through holding her. Loch shared his bunny with Gwen and was so excited when I pulled out a fox that I bought for her a few months ago. I am so grateful for this sweet, beautiful baby girl in our family! I love staring at her with all the expressions she makes. She is so peaceful. I'm enjoying every second with her. They change and grow so fast at this stage, I'm just trying to take it all in. Welcome to our family baby Gwen.