Mattie Mae is here!

We have a new addition to our family! On March 30, we welcomed our sweet Mattie Mae! 

These are the maternity pictures that my friend, Cristina Annis took for us! She is amazing!

At this point of the pregnancy, I was very tired and sore. I felt crazy trying to get everything done before she got here, but also feeling like I couldn't move. My feet and ankles were terribly swollen.  At our last doctor's appointment, we decided to go ahead and be induced on the only day available that week (even though it would be a Wednesday!) because the sonographer said she was measuring to be 9 pounds 12 ounces already. What?! So, here is the story of her birth! 

Adam went ahead and took off work on Tuesday to help me get things finished at home. He'd already done all the important things on his list, you know, like redo the flower beds and get new pinestraw down. Important stuff. ha! He did still have to cut the grass and I was doing all I could to get our bags packed, finish cleaning the house, make sure everything was done for my Mama and sisters to take care of the kids while we were away, etc. We left for the hospital about 5 and stopped on the way to get me a new cell phone. I know, crazy, but our contract was not up until the 28th so we didn't have much choice and I wanted the new camera and storage so I could take lots of pictures of the baby! (It was totally worth it!) We got to the hospital about 7 and had to wait a little bit for our room /nurse to be ready. 

It was a tiny room with no window. We did all the paperwork, changed, and started with the cervidil by about 10 I think. Audra and Alicia came to the hospital to bring me a few things from WalMart that I forgot and to paint my toe nails. :) Adam went and got supper and we ate in the room. After 12, I could only have liquids. That night was extremely uncomfortable because of the cervidil and also the baby kept moving off the monitor so I had to try to be very still. Also I had to get up a lot to go to the bathroom so I had to take the IV with me and unplug everything. My back was killing me from the bed. Not a fun time. Adam didn't sleep at all and watched movies on his phone. The next morning, they removed the cervidil, I took a shower and Dr. Joseph came by and broke my water. We had a wonderful delivery nurse, who used to go to church with us, Tammy Newsome. She was great! We didn't think it would be too long since the past two deliveries were so fast, so we told our family to come on to the hospital and we thought we'd have a baby by lunch. Not so much. I got the epidural so I was comfortable most of the time, but it was just a steady but slow process. She was very high, and it just took a long time for her to come down. (We did have a little scare when my blood pressure dropped after I got the epidural.) When she finally was in position, and I got my makeup on to get ready! Dr. Jospeh came back about 5 and said we were ready to push. I pushed through 4 contractions and she was here! She was born at 5:47 pm. I got to hold her after Adam cut the cord. 

Then they cleaned her up and checked her and weighed her. She weighed 8 pounds 5 ounces. Not 9 12. She was 20.5 in long and she was perfect and beautiful! Lots of dark hair like  her sister and brothers. I got to nurse her (she did great!!!) and then Adam got to hold her and I ate a donut while we waited to take her to the nursery. He took her down the hall and rang the bell and everyone got to see her. Those poor babies had waited all day long to meet their sister. I felt so bad that they had to wait so long. They did go have lunch in the cafeteria, go jewelry shopping, have snacks, take a car ride, go on a scavenger hunt, open their gifts, etc., but it was a long day. That night, Ashley and the kids, Leslie and her Mom, Gwen, Nana and Ralph, Georgia, Morgan, and Ethan, all came by. Earlier in the day, my bible study leader from BSF, Mrs. Kaye came by and brought me a blanket she made. It was so sweet. 

The bad part was, her temperature was low, so they kept her under the warming lights a long time before they would give her a bath. We eventually moved to our new room and the kids came in but had to leave and go home. Alabama was heartbroken that she didn't get to hold her that night. I was, too. But, they came back the next day and had the perfect first meeting! They were so sweet and gentle and all wanted to hold her over and over.

Our other visitors of the day included: Bryan and Rachel and Jadyn and Brooklyn, Nate and Mindy, Margaux, Chris, Jerry, Maxine, and Aunt Nancy, Aunt Judy, and Mrs. Lisa. Margaux brought snacks and magazines, Mrs. Lisa brought a crocheted blanket and burp cloth, Alicia brought a soft blanket she'd made, and Leslie brought balloons. We were thankful to have friends and family who wanted to meet our sweet girl! While we were at the hospital, we gave away pink M&M's we had made with Mattie Mae's name on them to our visitors! Mattie Mae went to the nursery both nights but came back to the room with me to nurse. I think it's a great idea to be able to get some rest while you are in the hospital. She was eating well, and having enough diapers. When they did the jaundice test, her bilirubin count was a little high. They let us go home after talking to Dr. Renew, but said we could come to the clinic that weekend if we needed to.  Friday, was April 1st and it had rained all night.  We packed up to leave and were discharged after lunch. We were so happy to get home to our other kids! This is us waiting to leave

and this is Mattie Mae in her going home dress.

 Alabama wore the same design Feltman Brother's dress. I found a matching one, so they both have the same one! She is just beautiful and so sweet and I am so so blessed, honored, and proud to be the Mama to these four precious babies! We are all so happy to have you in our family sweet girl and you are so very loved!