Our sweet Audrey

She's here!!!! I started having contractions at 3AM on Thursday. By 4:30AM, they were 3-5 minutes apart. We reached the hospital right before 5AM. I received my epidural around 7:30. From then until midafternoon, dilation was steady but then slowed. I pushed for less than an hour, she made her first appearance at 4:58PM, Thursday, April 24th. She sure is a beauty! I still can't believe she's actually ours to keep! Tonight is our last night in the hospital. Since the last 2 nights I've only gotten around 4 hours of sleep, I may call it quits very shortly. We head home sometime tomorrow. We are at CMC University if anyone would like to stop by and say hi or just give us a call at home over the weekend, we'd love to have visitors. Thanks again for everyone's care and prayers, God made this whole experience absolutely amazing and perfect. Audrey is such a sweet little girl. I can't wait for you all to meet her! Steve calls her mini Dena but he knows she looks just like him!!

My two favorite people. I'm one proud mama!

ALMOST 2 CENTIMETERS!!!!!!!

I just got home from the doctor and I'm almost 2 centimeters already! That's a huge improvement from last week, which they said was nothing really, just the cervix thinning a bit. She compared where I was at last week to as small as the hole in a cheerio! Today, it was big enough for the dr. to touch her head!!! Weird! My next appointment is scheduled for next Wednesday, if we make it. I asked about an induction and she said they will wait at least 7-10 days past my due date to induce. Let's hope she comes before that's necessary! My prayer is that she will come out all on her own, in her own timing.
Husband's orders this morning were to walk around the mall, I'm sure he's convinced that is the reason for the progression :) I'll continue with the walks, but I'm going to try and get extra rest as well. Audrey will be here very very soon!!! Yipeeeeeee!

10 days???!!!!

I remember seeing Jeanie's ticker when it hit the single digits and I thought, "wow, I wonder what that is like!" I was close to 100 days then. It's just so crazy that the time has gone by so fast and Audrey's arrival is so near! We have done everything we can think of to get ready. I've read all I think I can read without becoming too fearful of the whole experience.
I went to another appointment yesterday, no dilation yet. I'm planning on taking lots of walks this weekend in hopes that will help move things along. I'm not in any pain, but I've reached some level of discomfort. I can't sit for super long periods of time, my legs get restless and my feet start to swell. Thankfully, I have been sleeping well except for the 3-5 trips to the bathroom each night :) But this is all part of a wonderful process and the end result I know will be so much better than I could ever imagine! Please continue to pray that Steve and I both will continue to be at peace about the whole process, that she will come at the perfect time, no sooner or later, and that the delivery and recovery will go smoothly. I am delivering at the University hospital. We are going to try and borrow a laptop to upload pictures as soon as we can! I'll keep you all posted if an induction date is giving after next week's appointment. Thank you to all who have given us much support, love, care and encouragement! We will be better parents because of your wise words!

And we wait...

Everything's ready, and now we wait. I will be 38 weeks this Saturday! Unbelievable! As far as we know, things are going smoothly. When I was checked last week, there wasn't any dilation yet, just some thinning of the cervix, but a little progress! I wasn't checked this week but next week until the end I will. The Dr. said I'm measuring normal. Hope they'll let me know more next week like how big they think she is. I am SO excited to see her little face! Please pray for a smooth delivery and strength for Steve and I both. I'm a little anxious about him losing his lunch during delivery :) But I know the whole experience will make us even closer, I can't wait to see him hold his little girl, it brings tears to my eyes as I type that. God has been so kind to us!

Little Miss...Close up of the beddingSock Monkey!!!This picture is a little hard to see but there's a metal bucket with toys and her little table and chairs. Can't wait until we can have tea parties! And another little toy basketOur little squirt should be well dressed!

Here's the final product! We still need a rug but haven't had much luck finding the right one. And of course, we still need a little girl to complete the room! 16 days and counting...