Thursday, April 05, 2012

Cait Elizabeth

Well, I did it! I decided to have another baby!! We welcomed Cait Elizabeth into this world on March 29th at 7:30 PM. It was an interesting labour...and a little bit too fast for my liking, but we're glad it's all done with and that she's here! She came a day before her due date, which was honestly just a small bit of torture. I had my other girls earlier, so with each day that Cait didn't arrive, I got more and more impatient. But she eventually made her debut!

The morning Cait was born I was woken by contractions at 6:00 am. They weren't anything special, difficult or worth calling in our support system for. So I just hung around in bed...timed a few and slept. Around 8:00 am I called my parents and told them I thought the baby would be here today...but that it wasn't going to be anytime soon. So they loaded their bags into the car and arrived at my home a few hours later. We spent the day hanging out, going for walks etc. The contractions were still inconsistent and not painful. So I let Ben stay at work a little longer.

We took one last picture of my belly:



Around 3:30 my contractions started to regulate a bit more...still not "real" labour, but at least it was a sign that things were moving in the right direction. So I called Ben home from work and we headed to the hospital. When I had Paige I had about 6 hours of this slow inconsistent labour and less than 2 of real labour before she was born...so I wanted to make sure I was IN the hospital when the real labour started.

We arrived at the hospital about 4pm and were sent home at 4:30 PM because I wasn't in 'labour' yet and was only 3cm!! Let me tell you...I was pretty annoyed because I KNEW that it would go FAST once things started. BUT, we left. We drove home, picked up a few things, picked up McDonald's from the drivethru and headed back to the hospital. I didn't want to go INTO the hospital but wanted to be near by. So we drove around town for a bit, took the truck on a few dirt roads etc. The bouncy truck sure got things moving! At 6:45 I decided that I needed to pee really really bad, so we headed to a gas station. At this point I KNEW I had about 2 or 3 minutes between contractions, so I ran in quickly, asked to use the bathroom and when they refused me, I just broke down crying and then a brutal contraction hit. I crawled back to the truck and Ben decided it was time to head into the hospital. So I agreed...but only to use that washroom. I did NOT want to go back in and get sent home again!! When we got there I quickly ran to the bathroom and when I came out the nurse was there and she quickly ushered me into a delivery room. I still thought they'd send me home. But I was wrong.


It was 6:56 when we arrived at the hospital. I was 7 cm. It took about 20 minutes to get settled in and get things ready for my real labour to start. Then at 7:20 the doctor came in and I begged for an epidural...and was refused, so I begged for something else and was once again declined because there wasn't time! At 7:27pm the doctor broke my water and at 7:30pm little Cait arrived!! I was definitely in shock! I had expected to labour for at least a few hours in the hospital...and was totally unprepared for her to arrive when she did. In fact, our camera and EVERYTHING was still in the truck! It was quick, it was nice, but it was definitely intense!

My parents brought the girls up an hour later to meet their new little sister and everyone was soooo happy!


Paige did a lot of looking at my tummy and then staring at the baby...and looking at my tummy and staring at the baby:


Hailey was in HEAVEN!! She was made to be a big sister!


We were all a little surprised...but VERY happy to have another girl!


Cait wasn't such a fan of her first bath:


But, when we came home she snuggled right into the arms of her big sister:


A family shot...I guess with each child you have it gets harder and harder to get a decent shot hey?


And finally...the sleeping baby. She's a bit colicky so we cherish every sweet quiet moment like this.


Anyway, it's been a whirlwind of a week. I think everyone is adjusting pretty well. I'm exhausted, but functioning and overjoyed to have another sweet girl to cuddle with. The girls are as happy as can be. And Ben's yet again smitten by another daughter!

7 comments:

Anona Adams Photography said...

Love your story! I feel so bad that I didn't ask her name while we were at the park, geez how arrogant of me. Love the name, she is adorable!!

Unknown said...

Yay, so cute. Hailey the little nurturer. I hope you're getting some sleep!

They sent you away at 3 cm? You'd think they'd at least leave you a triage bed to come back to. I bet the next one will come even faster.

Lahni said...

Congrats again! I can't wait to get home and see that little baby again! She'll be so much bigger by then!

Anonymous said...

Darling sweet Cait and beautiful happy big sisters. And a competent, capable and serene mother and a joyful father of girls. We loved being there for this special time and are missing all the hugs and cuddles and questions.
Love, G-Ma

The Harker Family said...

Congratulations!!! So happy for you! Loved how you spelled her name! What a wonderful birth story!

Anonymous said...

Crazy! All of it! And a girl! She is so sweet. Very happy for all of you:)

Anonymous said...

I just have to check these pictures out regularly to get my new baby fix.
Missing the hugs,
Love, G-Ma