Welcome To The World, Penelope Jo

I'm not sure why, but this pregnancy seemed to go by so much quicker than the other two. Maybe because there were no meds or monitoring leading up to it? Maybe because it was only 1 so I didn't get as big towards the end? Whatever the reason, 39 weeks seemed to sneak up on us, and now she's here.

We had another great experience and easy delivery. I opted for a repeat c-section and thankfully little miss was willing to stay in long enough for us to make it to our scheduled delivery. We arrived at the hospital at 5 am on November 1st. I knew I was already in early labor, but the contractions seemed very sporadic to me still. When they got me all hooked up and started monitoring the contractions, I could see they were coming about every 5 minutes. Thankfully none of them were too painful, so I was able to relax while we waited for 7am to roll along.

Right on cue at 7am we started having a continuous rotation of doctors and nurses filing in and out of our room. My OB, the anesthesiologist, all the various nurses that would be helping with delivery and recovery. I seriously can't say enough wonderful things about the medical team we had for delivery. We already knew how great my OB was, but every single person in the operating room did a phenomenal job. The anesthesiologist managed to keep my from getting sick during delivery, a first. The nurses were great about talking to me the whole time and keeping the mood light during delivery prep while we waited for Rob to be able to come into the OR.

When Rob finally got to come in and join us it was just a couple more minutes and then she was born, and she was big! Born at 7:54am, they originally weighed her at 10lbs2oz. She was kind enough to pee on the nurses while she was being weighed and examined. She was also kind enough to scream for pretty much the entire time it took them to get me from the operating table to recovery. It took a little extra time because I opted to get a tubal done along with delivery. (My doctor actually removed my tubes so there is a 0% chance of another surprise pregnancy. There's also a 0% chance of any tubal cancers which is why we decided to remove them instead of just tie them.)

30 minutes later I was finally in recovery, and baby girl was more than ready to have a snack and a snuggle. The only problem with that is that my blood pressure was pretty low, so I had to stay flat on my back while nursing her. Not exactly an easy task, especially when there are wires stuck to you everywhere. With a little help from Rob and our recovery nurse, we were able to get her situated and she finally stopped screaming at all of us. While in recovery they got her official measurements. Our longest and biggest baby by a significant margin. 9lbs13oz and 21.5" long. 2 lbs bigger and over 2" longer than any of our other kids. Its amazing how big a baby can grow when they have some extra room.

By 10am we were back to our room, I could finally wiggle my toes, and I was able to sit up and really enjoy some snuggles with our new baby girl. We do full rooming in while in the hospital and we didn't have any visitors until the evening, so it was a totally quiet morning and afternoon, just the three of us. It was the most relaxing few hours I can recall having for a while. No kids running around, no cleaning to take care of, just Rob and I and a snuggly infant.

I have found that the sooner I get up and moving after a c-section, the easier recovery is. By 2pm I was up and out of bed. It hurt like hell, but I knew getting up and going early would make it easier when the kids came up later in the evening. Thankfully that proved true and by 6pm I was able to walk around with minimal pain.

The kids came up after dinner and stayed for about an hour. Scarlett, Brooke, and Harrison were all in love immediately. Clark wanted nothing to do with her. He was willing to sit on the couch for a few pictures, but that was it. He was more interested in eating the Timbits they picked up in the hospital lobby on the way up and pushing the buttons on the hospital bed. After about an hour, the craziness of 4 kids on a sugar high and stuck in a small room reached its peak, so my parents loaded up our silly crew and took them home.

Our night nurse, Sarah, was fantastic. We had her both nights we stayed in the hospital and she was great about lining up my vitals checks with baby girl's checks and getting my meds incorporated to the same visits. I think we only saw her twice the first night and once the second night. It was so nice to be able to get sleep for more than an hour without someone coming in to check on baby or I. Even with our quiet nights in the hospital room, we were still hoping to get to go home after 2 nights. Thankfully my doctor gave me the ok and our pediatric group gave baby girl the ok too.

On day two we finally decided on a name for baby girl. I've felt a connection between her and the name Penny Pargeon since before we knew for sure if she was a girl or a boy. After spending 24 hours with her, we decided that Penny was a perfect fit for her and Penelope Jo Pargeon made its way onto her birth certificate.

My parents brought the kids up separately on Friday, so we got to see the littles in the morning while the bigs were at school, and the bigs in the afternoon while the littles were napping. It was much less chaotic that way and it gave them a chance to enjoy their sister more and also a chance for them to each get some mom and dad time.

By 9am Saturday  morning we were packed up and ready to go home. We still had to wait for them to process our discharge paperwork and for Penny to get her repeat hearing test. She failed her hearing test on Friday and then failed two more test on Saturday, so we're going to be following up with an audiologist next month. We finally got the ok to leave around 12pm. We came home, watched The Good Place, and then Penny and I snuggled up for a nap while Rob ran out to get my pain meds, which have since sat on the counter unused. The kids had spent the previous evening with my best friend and she brought them back home around 6pm. We ate dinner, watched Madagascar, and put everyone to bed late with the expectation that DST was going to make it a really freaking long Sunday.

It was a blissful few days having Rob home with us and getting to enjoy our completed family. Having a newborn in the house again is such a joy. Seeing our kids welcome a new little person into their tribe and watching them all love her immediately, even Clark who has yet to hold her but likes to wave at her and give her kisses, has been a dream come true. There is so much that led up to her being here. So much waiting, so much heartache, so much excitement. I sometimes feel in shock that she's actually here. When I look at her chunky face and smell her sweet newborn scent as she's snuggled close, I know that she's the perfect final puzzle piece for our family.

Welcome to the world, Penny. Every second of the wait for you was worth it. We can't wait to watch you grow and to see the person you will become.