Introducing Maggie

So, Maggie Elizabeth joined our family in the early morning hours of Thursday, June 16th, 2011. My due date was the 15th, and on that day I scheduled an induction for the 17th, but then went into labor naturally that evening. (Same thing happened with Jack when he was born. Guess I should have scheduled the induction for a week earlier!) We sent Jack and Kate over to their grandparents' house and then labored at home for almost eight hours before heading to the hospital in the middle of the night. Got there at 2:15, checked in, and found out I was dialated to eight cm. She was born at 3:14, before they could do all the pre-labor stuff they usually do. So, no IV, no drugs, again. Pretty proud of myself, and yes, it is painful, but it's also temporary. I've compared it before to running a marathon. We didn't know her gender, and so I remember craning my neck right after they pulled her out. Never been so relieved to see... well, you know, that she was a GIRL! From the beginning she was super quiet and content. She latched on easily and nursed for an hour after we were both cleaned up a little. We stayed in the hospital for 36 hours. She had a few problems with getting rid of some mucous in her tummy, and had to have a tube inserted down her throat to suction it out, but other than that, she was perfectly healthy.

8 pounds, 7.7 ounces, and 21 inches long:

Brian was, again, a wonderful labor coach:

Getting cleaned up:

Scrubbed dry, footprinted, and swaddled:

Big sister Kate making "funny faces" when she came to visit:

Sisters meeting for the first time:

Sure enough, those luscious lips that I'd seen in a sonogram:

At home, a perfect resting baby: