Miss Jane Lauren's Arrival

We went on a family walk Thursday afternoon, hoping to stir up some contractions.

We decided I was having enough to head in to L and D. Which meant Annette needed a date to the annual Sugar Plum Ball which she'd been so anicipating

. Enter Isaac's best man and our neighbor, Ray. 

Huge thanks, uncle ray.

We go to hospital, I'm at 5 cm, so they admit me, WOOO HOOO! 

Beware!

Birth Story here. Feel free to skip this part.

They ask me if I'm ready for an epidural, and I decide I'd like to wait. And I ended up deciding not to have one at all. Which was a shock to Ike, and a bit of a surprise to even me. I'd always wanted to be able to compare labor with an epidural to labor without an epidural. Figured this was my chance :)

They broke my water (this did not feel good) and gave me pitocin ab 3:30 am when my natural contractions weren't picking up. 

I was at a 6.5 when they checked me around 7am. The pain was still manageable, so I decided I'd go for no epidural. My other 3 deliveries I'd had an epidural right off the bat. But I'd felt some pain even then. With Annette I had really strong pain at the end, right before pushing. With Charlie, I had to have an epidural put in twice. And then it was turned off at the end bc I wasn't able to push well enough. So, I felt a lot of the pushing part. And with Set, I ended up having to get a Spinal after the epidural didn't work. SOO, I was ready to try going without it. 

At about 9:00am, I started feeling LOTS and LOTS of pain. A 10 on the pain scale.

 By 9:30, I said Give Me The Epidural.

They checked me first, and I was at 9 cm. So, I sucked it up for another couple of painful contractions. And then a few minutes later, I pushed my baby girl out. Most pain ever for like 30 minutes. But, I still thought it was a better experience than a less-than-effective epidural. 

I loved being able to get up to walk around, not having a needle in my back, and not having a catheter and all that glorious stuff. 

Plus, I have experienced something very special. 

She had a true knot in her cord. Which is pretty rare. Plus the cord was wrapped around her neck twice. Doctor Wendel said we were very blessed she was here. How TRUE.

7.3 ounces. 20 inches long. Bruises on face from a super fast transition stage. And the sweetest head of hair.

I love these pics I took of her way up close. Not bc they're pretty to anyone else maybe, but bc I so appreciate the newness and handiwork I see in every single detail of her little being.

 We headed home on Saturday morning, arriving home just in time for the razorback game:)

 My mom and dad brought kids home. They were so fun to watch as they met her for the first time.
Set seemed most excited, which surprised us. Kept saying "baby!" "Mine!"

We've had some major precious moments. And are definitely in survival mode, where I expect we will be for quite a while. Thankfully, we have lots of helpful friends and family.

Sister Showers

My sister, Lauren, is getting married in about 4 weeks! So excited for her. You can read more about this lovely sister of mine here and here.

Annette gets to be the flower girl, which is super special. 

She's been showered by family and friends the last couple months. 

Andrew, the lucky man;)

We will be a new crazy Smith crew of 6 at the wedding, but I'm so looking forward to it. Although, I'll still look pregnant in every picture, I'm sure ;)

In other Smatterings,

Isaac went on a work trip to New York last week. And we gained that delightful extra hour. Perfect timing, right?  To pass the time we went to All Aboard and  The Wonder Place. And we got haircuts. Set's first real one. Stirred up quite a few contractions during those days, which was partly the goal. 

See, kids, mom can still be the 'fun parent' every once in awhile.

And then Ike comes home bringing goodies for each kiddo, and he's back in the Most Likable Parent role. 

It's hard to imagine adding another life to this mix, but I'm as ready and excited  as ever. 

They Surprised Me!

Charlie had his last soccer game of the season on Saturday, and when we returned home from lunch after the game, there was this pretty little pink bow on the door. I thought Isaac had planned something, or someone had left us a gift for our number four baby.

 

Walked up the stairs to follow the string, wondering the whole time what in the world Isaac had gotten for me/new baby.

Annette got to the nursery first and made the classic surprised noise. So cute. And then I walk in and it takes me about 10 minutes to figure out what has been done for me and my sweet baby girl on the way. 

My friends, Amy, Sarah and Courtney had the nursery (currently Set's nursery) all pinked up and filled with goodies from lots of friends. I was in such sweet shock that they would do all that for me! Best surprise ever!!!! I feel like having a fourth baby, you don't always go to all the same lengths to get things ready.... but now Jane Lauren (yes! we decided on a name! Jane after my mom's mom and Lauren after my sis:) has everything she could ever need. And lots of things that were given in love JUST for her. So blessed. 

I still have some pink curtains being made and some lamps and pictures I need to hang to girl up the room, but this little 'drop-n-dash' shower was the perfect perfect thing to get me all excited about her arrival.

Thank you sweet friends for this wonderful surprise!!!! Can't wait for Jane Lauren to get here now! I've still got 3-4 weeks, but I'm ready now :)

I'll enjoy these pretty tulips all week long and be thinking about how VERY VERY blessed our little family has been.