It's a Girl!

Our precious miracle has finally arrived!Grace Elizabeth Bilbo
November 24, 2009 at 6:57pm
6 pounds, 5 ounces
19 inches long

I know alot of you are wondering about her birth, so here's a brief summary of the 24 hours it took to get her here.

Gracie was due on November 23, so I went in for my regular weekly visit and my blood pressure was high. That combined with the fact that I had felt the baby's movements decrease over the weekend and a bad headache I'd had for days left Dr. Hudson concerned. She recommended that we go ahead and with an induction overnight and see how things went. We went immediately to the hospital to get checked in and overnight I was monitored with a medication designed to soften things up in prep for the pitocin. At 6am Tuesday morning after a rough night with little sleep, they started me on pitocin and things were progressing nicely. David & my mom were with me as I labored through the first 6 hours on the meds until I was 3cm and Dr. Hudson broke my water. At that point I had an epidural and I was able to sleep much of the next few hours.

At 5pm, she came and checked me and I had completely stopped progressing, no change at all since they broke my water. So, she gave me another hour to labor while they messed with the levels of pitocin in hopes we could get things jump started. Unfortunately, that didn't happen. So, sometime after 6 they started prepping me for the c-section. It was really hard for me especially when I had to be apart from David, but we made it through. I don't remember much about the actual procedure, but I do remember Dr. Hudson asking David if he wanted to call it. She counted to 3 and pulled the baby out and he said "It's a Girl!". It was the most special moment ever!! I also remember Dr. Hudson bringing her around fresh from my belly for me to see and she was unbelievably beautiful looking at me with her eyes wide open.

It took a while to get everything wrapped up in surgery so David went with Grace for all her newborn stuff. After what seemed like an eternity, I finally got to hold my baby girl. We had a few moments just us, our new little family of 3, that were simply wonderful and it's a time neither of us will ever forget. Words cannot express the overwhelming joy in our hearts as we looked at this precious gift from above. We are so grateful to have her here safely, and even though nothing went according to our plan, we know that the Lord designed her to come in her own way and He prepared us for that and the recovery ahead. As of today, a week later, I'm feeling pretty good. Still really sore and tired, but the joy in my heart every time I hold my precious baby outweighs any of the pain and struggle of my recovery. Thankfully my mom was able to stay with us this week too and she has been such a huge help, we are truly blessed.

Anyway, here are some pictures from the hospital and our first few days at home...

Look at those long, beautiful fingers!
Meeting Grandma for the first timeDaddy & his girlI absolutely love this picture of us. David always knows how to take amazing photos that capture exactly what I'm feeling in the momentCarol and David's folks drove down just to say hello to our sweet girl in the hospital. Here's Aunt Carol holding Gracie for the first time. Mama & Papa (David's folks)Our good friends (and pastor) Jim & Elizabeth came by to meet Gracie and pray for our new family.  They had been praying for us long before she was even conceived, so it was a special to share her with them.All bundled up and ready to leave the hospitalShe's so tiny in her carseat!Not a moment after I sat down (after we came home from the hospital) Scotty was in my lap looking at "his baby" To cute!Look at those big blue eyes!First sponge bathDavid loves Tigger, so it was only fitting that Gracie have a Tigger towelI love this picture of us too!Kisses!!

I'll post more pictures soon. :)