Our Maci is Here!!

Well,
The 5 of us are madly in love with our new baby girl. She is precious and we are so blessed that God has given us this sweet little splash of pink! Her daddy is in TROUBLE! We have anxiously waited for her to arrive and she finally did on September 9th at 3:08am. She weighed 6lbs 11oz and was 19 inches long.
Interesting note: All 4 of my kids have arrived at some point in the 3:00 hour. Caleb and Micah at 3pm and Eli and Maci at 3am.

I had been having contractions forever and was dilated to 3cm so when I went for my appt. on Wednesday my midwife went ahead and stripped my membranes. She said if Maci was ready we'd probably meet her in the next few days. The second I left the office I started having some intense pain in the upper back of my legs. It was strange, but Maci was posterior so I knew that back labor was in my future. I started contracting a little more regularly so I went for a few walks to see if I could get things going. They weren't really strong or consistent but my mom was on her way back into town and my sis wasn't busy so I told them to come on just in case. Around 11:30 I was getting sooo sleepy. So I made the announcement that we are either going to the hospital to see if anything has changed or I'm going to bed. At midnight, we decided to head to the hospital. The second we walked into the hospital my water broke. Off we went to labor and delivery. I have had all of my kids naturally (no drugs) and was excited about the hospital I delivered in because they just opened their birthing center and the rooms had birthing tubs. I was interested in a water birth. I was hooked up to the fetal monitors at first and Maci's heart rate was dipping with contractions so I had to stay in the bed for a little while and get some fluids. Her heart rate evened out and I was at 7 cm when I got to get in the tub around 2:30am. It was WONDERFUL! It took the edge of my contractions and I was able to relax a little more and she immediately dropped and turned to an anterior position. It was only a few contractions after that and I was ready to push. I actually got to catch her and hold her in the tub with me for about 20 minutes or so right after she was born (cord still attached and all). The water helps regulate their temperature and we got some good immediate snuggle time. It was a great birth experience!
During a contraction...

Got her...

Perfect and looking a lot like Micah right at first.

Daddy's girl!

Meeting the brothers. One of the sweetest things I've ever seen. They have been counting down the days for a VERY long time. It was finally time for them to meet their baby sister.




Sweet Girl!

Going home in my cute bonnet..

...and pretty dress!