Julie Marie

After weeks of feeling like I was going to be pregnant forever our sweet baby girl has finally arrived! I had my last doctor's appointment on January 31 which was 2 days past my due date. I was still only dilated to a 1, so Doctor Barton tried to strip my membranes to see if that would get things started. We decided that if baby girl didn't come on her own then I would be induced on Tuesday February 5th. The end was finally in sight! After my appointment I kept feeling like I was having menstrual cramps, due to the fact that my membranes had been stripped. So I kept hoping that baby girl would come before the 5th so I wouldn't have to be induced. With my first pregnancy I had to have a c-section because Eli was breech and my water broke 3 1/2 weeks early. So with this pregnancy I really wanted to had a vbac. I was worried that if I had to be induced my chances of having another c-section would be increased.

Luckily baby girl decided to come on her own. Contractions started at 11 pm on Sunday night and got more consistent and stronger from 4-6 am on Monday. We went to the hospital at 8 am  and I was dilated to a 3, but we got sent home at 9:30 because my contractions had stopped. As soon as we got home they started again, go figure. By 1 o'clock they were coming 3-10 minutes apart so back to the hospital we went. This time I was at a 4 and the contractions kept coming so I was admitted to the hospital. By 3 o'clock the contractions hurt too bad so I got an epidural. I felt SO much better!

After pushing through 6 contractions, with a few breaks here and there, our beautiful baby girl was born at 6:25 pm on February 4th! She weighed 8 lbs and measured 20 inches long. A big difference from Eli at birth who weighed 5 lbs 15 oz and was 17 inches long. But he was 3 1/2 weeks early and she was 1 week overdue.

A few minutes old

One day old

First family picture

Bella Baby Photography - One day old