Welcome, Paige Anne!

I'm sure most of you know by now that our baby girl was born last Saturday and we are so happy to have her here. I am still in a little bit of denial that she came on her own and so quickly, because that just doesn't happen for me. Until now. :) Enjoy the pictures...this entry is for my memory!
My niece's 1st birthday party was planned for Saturday and my boys really wanted to go. I was having those annoying little contractions all morning, but I was still able to get in a small 20-minute nap. Around 2:30 we got to my sister's house and I started thinking maybe it was a bad idea that I drove all that way. Ben was back in the neighborhood helping a family with their roof. I really, really didn't want to have a baby that night. I wanted to go to dinner with my in-laws and visit a little more with my family. Also, I would've tried so much harder to fit in a longer nap had I known she would come that day. I was so tired! Around 4 I decided I needed to get home because I was really having to breathe through some and wanted to make it home. I was hoping I could take a shower or a quick nap and they would go away! I got home at 5pm just as Ben arrived home and he quickly showered. I told him to give me a few more minutes to decide and after about 10 I was so torn between going in and just trying to wait a little longer. Ben got in a five-minute nap before I told him I thought we had better go...just in case. :) When Ben saw how I was having to breathe through them and how close they were he asked why I had waited so long.
Anyhow, my mom had been up at my sister's as well, but was just driving my sister-in-law back past our house. I asked if she would just go over there and that Ben's parents would bring the kids back to our house. So, we took the boys with us and Ben's parents met us at the hospital. We gave them the car seats and said good bye and I breathed through several more on the way in.
You know the fun part where they see if you really are in actual labor or just not handling the pain well? They didn't want me to wait long in there, but it was a little over an hour just because there were four other women who came in in labor just before/just after me. Ben said it was the storm that moved in that night. I hadn't changed except 10% more from my last appointment on Wednesday, so they weren't that worried about me. And when they called the doctor he said that after talking with me all these months he was ready for a 2am baby and a long night.
I was so surprised at how intense things were getting so quickly. Minutes after I got in the delivery room I was getting an epidural...that didn't work. The nurse very quickly called the guy back and later she told me he is usually kind of a stinker and she was surprised that he came right back. I was so glad because by that time I was having flash backs of being in labor for days with Trenton.
Just as I could start to feel things kicking in I was checked again and in about 3 seconds and a half a contraction the doctor said I was an 8+ and then almost a ten. He said he'd be right back and I was glad he stepped out for a bit because I really didn't believe him at first and also I wanted that epidural to kick in a little more. By the time it did however, I was sure he was kidding me and I really wanted to sleep. It took so much for me to have the desire to push a baby out, especially because I never have that urge. The doctor was back in just about two minutes and everyone was in for the most exciting part, while I just wanted to sleep. However, being a pro at this now I dug down somewhere inside me and our baby girl was born after about 35 minutes of me trying to convince myself and the doctor that I should sleep and that there was no way that I could have gotten to a 10 without pitocin. All done by 9:36pm...Maybe my body is catching on? We can hope! Ben says she's trying to convince us to have more kids.... Here she is. She is my biggest baby at 8lbs 10oz, but the same length at 19 inches. Paige is so sweet and such a great baby thus far. She really is very patient and her upset 'feed me now' cry is more like a hopeful whimper and an occasional outburst. Only a week later I am feeling less demanded of her compared to either of the boys. I sure hope she keeps that up because it's great to be woken up by little squeaks rather than full-blast wailing! I ended up staying in the hospital until Monday morning. I've never stayed two nights before, but I loved having a little more time getting to know Paige. I decided I really like her! Hey, it's been a week! What grief could she cause? :)
Paige is so loved by her brothers. They spend a good chunk of the day asking to hold her. I guess when she's awake a total of an hour in the hours they are awake, it's sometimes slim time with baby sister. Paige decided she wanted to tan for about four days. And of course you want to take your newborn to the hospital every morning to get pricked. And you're obviously dying to put on some actual clothes and venture out daily as well. So, we did it all until her body decided to kick it up a notch and allow us to stay home for once! It's nice when you can actually dress your baby and not have to monitor their body temperature every moment of the day...I'm just saying, it's nice! I'm pretty sure I'm not mad here, but just in the middle of trying to remember my name or something. :) But, her eyes are open...and she's just so sweet! It was weird how perfect timing both our parents had...both being up here and able to help us out. The boys loved having my Mom here and made sure she would be able to sleep really well every night. It doesn't surprise me when people tell me my kids wear them out - they wear me out too - but it does make me not feel quite so whimpy when I'm just done at the end of the day! Thanks for entertaining the boys and making great food, Mom! Somehow this is the only picture I have of my haircut. Tuesday night my cousin was sweet enough to stop by and cut my hair. It gave me a few seconds for me and it was so great to talk about other stuff. I felt much better after she came...now I should just style it as cute as she did for me! Anyway, at least we caught the Paige drool on my shirt! Ben's boss always sends me flowers after I have a baby. I like it...flowers are good for the tired-mommy soul. Here's Paige's first dollie from Grandma Bradley. She can hold it already. Wow! Slow down, Paige!! Sadly, Tyler feels suddenly so solid and heavy to me now. I guess that means he's growing up and holding Paige helped me realize it. I cannot believe how many full sentences he has said since I came home from the hospital. Maybe I'm still the only one who can understand him, but he's so proud of himself when I know what he's saying. He feels like I'm getting the whole story!
My sweet friend came and picked up the boys yesterday for her son's birthday party. It was great to have them off having fun for a few hours. They were so excited to go play! Of course I ended up spending that time waiting for a guy to come look at something on the house, another guy to come hook up cable (seriously so nice while nursing), and of course a third guy to come pick up the fun minuature tanning bed. Of course they would all come at the same time. Thank you so much Martha for picking up the boys!!
And then there are only ten days until my oldest baby turns 5! I can hardly believe it. Most days I just don't know where he got those questions or how he figured out some of the things he says to us. I have three kids...it's starting to sink in!