Our Inspired Journey

Well, our little princess has finally decided to arrive. At exactly 41 weeks of pregnancy, Cora Grace made her "inaugural" entrance into the world, and our family on the same day that our 44th president made his inaugural entrance into the White House.

Here is the story of our daughter's birthday for any who are interested...

I had an appointment with my midwife that day. Since I was a week overdue, I was placed on a fetal monitor for 30 minutes while she observed Cora's movements and heart rate, making sure she was still doing well inside. She also monitored any contractions I was having, and I actually did have one while I was there...I thought it was very slight while the monitor said it was a bit stronger. Then a I had an ultrasound where the technician made sure I had enough amniotic fluid left to support her in her "past due" state...we passed every test with flying colors! She was fine :) My whole family, including my mom were in the room for the ultrasound and everyone wanted to see the proof that she was in fact a girl, but Cora was too "balled up" to see anything for sure. We were left to trust the last ultrasound and hope they were still right!

At that appointment I was dilated to 3cm and 90% effaced. It was decided that if Cora didn't come by Thursday, we would come in to discuss some natural options for getting my labor going. Thankfully we didn't have to get that far! She was able to partially sweep my membranes at that point which I didn't want her to do until this point in my pregnancy since there are thought to be risks of infection or accidental breaking of water, but at this point, I was more open to options! This procedure is thought to stir up the natural chemicals in the body that begin labor. It seemed to work! We returned home at 5pm and by 6pm I was starting to experience contractions 10 minutes apart! My contractions progressed pretty regularly from there. I took a shower in anticipation of having my girl that night...still with a bit of doubt that it was really happening since I had thought it was time several times only to have contractions stop! I went to sleep from 11:00 to 3:30 and woke up at that point with contractions still 15 minutes apart but much stronger. I wanted to make sure I made it to the hospital in time before things got much stronger, so we called the hospital at 4:30 and got their okay to come in...we were there by 5:00am. :) On the way there I had my doubts since my contractions were still 10 minutes apart, but strong when they came.

We arrived at 5:00am. Walking through the doors of the Labor and Delivery was like a movie. since you push a button and the door open automatically. We walked down the hallway, and my favorite midwife, Kathy, was on call and waiting to greet us! We went into the labor room, were admitted quickly, and I was still feeling happy and light hearted breathing through occasional contractions that were on a pain level of 7 for me. Kathy broke my water (which I said "yes" to when she asked) and things progressed quickly from there! I labored in the jacuzzi tubs complete with jets! I LOVED that and actually only had about 4 contractions in there before I felt like pushing and had to be moved back to my room! I went through the "transition" stage of labor in about 20 minutes! I actually progressed too quickly for them to fill up the tub I planned on having Cora in which worked out just fine since I had recieved the benefits of laboring in the water and feeling "weightless" through it all which is what I was really looking forward to. It made a HUGE difference! Cora was born after 20 minutes of pushing...she was about to be born and Kathy said, "Come on John! Catch you daughter!" John quickly moved from my side to catch Cora as she was born! He was so surprised and later told me, he felt like he should've been dressed in scrubs or something rather than his University of Illinois jacket!

She was beautiful immediately...Kathy said she couldn't believe she was 7 pounds 15 ounces! "Where did you hide her?" she asked me! She had predicted she was going to be closer to 7 like my boys! So our daughter was officially born on January 20th at 6:59am and measured 19.5 inches long :) Our biggest munchkin yet! The boys were both 7 pounds :) One thing I think is amazing is that she was born one minute before Kathy went off-call and another mid-wife came on call. Amazing timing!!! She was immediately very active and alert! I told John, she's going to give us a run for our money :)

So she's here...we arrived home today at noon, after spending one night in the most beautiful hospital I've ever been in! My mom spent the night with me last night giving John some good time at home with the boys and a good night of sleep before his first day of classes after winter break today! What incredible timing :) So far Cora is eating wonderfully, loves to be held and has captured the hearts of us all, especially her older brothers. They both can't keep kissing her and Ryder asks to hold her every time she's awake. We think it's adorable!!! Another exciting piece of news is that after 3 tries (since she was so active) she passed her hearing test with flying colors...we're so thankful though we felt prepared either way and knew God was giving us the girl he wanted us to raise, just the way she was!

Here are some pictures of us in the hospital, the boys and my mom visiting us, and finally, her homecoming. We are officially a family of 5. It's hard to believe but how thankful we are! More updates and pictures will surely follow, though I don't know how regularly now that I have 3 munchkins to care for! We love you all and thank you for your prayers! Cora Grace is here! Thank you Jesus! Equip us for the task ahead as we parent 3 of your beautiful children...what a gift.