A new chapter begins . . . Hailey has arrived!!!

On March 11, 2009 our sweet new addition, Hailey Alyssa, joined the world. She was born at 5:50 pm weighing a whooping 8 lbs. 15 oz (1 oz from 9 lbs!!!) and was 20 inches long. This labor was much easier, as it only lasted 9 hours! I got the epidural about 1:00 and it was smooth sailing from that point forward! I was on the phone about an hour before she was delivered! This time too we were in such a more intimate setting in the room, instead of the operating room. So it was just my doctor, nurse, and Pete. That was so nice!!

When Hailey was born, we just couldn't believe it. She seemed so heavy when they gave her to me. When they called out her weight, Pete and I just starting laughing and everyone in the room couldn't get over how big she was! I was able to see from where I was as they cleaned her up which was really neat. She started crying alot, and as soon as Pete went over there and stared talking to her, she got really quiet and just listened. It truly was one of the best memories I have.

I guess there is always that point when you kinda of realize that things might be going a little bit differently than they should, though. With the twins I lost alot of blood and had to recuperate for a long time afterward. Everyone's opinion, though, was that it was because of the twins and their big size and that it wouldn't happen again. Not so . . .

It seems that with the size of Hailey, my blood just couldn't clot fast enough and I started having the same problem. I began to realize something was wrong as my doctor stared to look concerned and they began calling all the other people into the room to help. Losing blood is a very surreal experience because you think "I'm ok, I'm ok" but then the next second you are out!

All in all, I'm fine, I just have a longer recovery time than most. I was lucky that I didn't have to be given blood because I really didn't want to do that. I feel SOOOO much better than I did after the twins and I don't think I lost as much as last time. I have to not lift/drive/do much of anything for 2 weeks. Then after that I'm not supposed to do anything strenuous for 6 weeks.

It's one of those things, though. You look at that sweet, sleeping little face and you think "I could do that again, it wasn't that bad." The funny thing is that Pete always jokes that maybe we should have more, but after Hailey's birth, he has been saying that our family is DEFINITELY complete! I agree whole heartedly with him and I am ready to say "Party of five, please!"