She's Here!

Gabriella Ray Crane made her entrance into the world on Tuesday, 4/14/2009. She weighed 6 lbs, 4 oz, and was 19 inches long. She has her mommy's fair skin and blonde hair and her daddy's facial features. She has 10 fingers and 10 toes and we are so in love with her!

At 10:30 on Monday night, I started having irregular contractions and by 12:30 am, they were then regular, intense, and 5 minutes a part. Todd was so excited the entire time everything was progressing that he got up, showered, put our suit case in the car, and watched me as I was lying on the floor, withering in pain. Since my contractions were regular and not too long a part, we headed up to Alta View Hospital. I was dilated to a 4 1/2 and was immediately admitted and everything went underway.

I had to wait about 1 1/2 hours for my epidural and I tell you, I have a new appreciation and respect for those women who do natural birth. What troopers! During my contractions, I wanted to die and there is no way a big whimp like me could handle the process of natural birth. Holy crap! Once I got the epidural, the process was smooth. My doctor had to break my water because I wasn't dilating very quickly and once he did, I dilated to a 10 in an hour and after pushing for 45 minutes, Gabbie came into this world. Todd and I were both crying and we are so thankful for this opportunity to be a mom and a dad.

I'm healing well and I don't have any pain. Gabbie is eating well and she is such a mellow, sweet baby. She scored an 8 on her Apgar test and she passed her hearing test. We get to come home tomorrow and I am excited to be in the comforts of our home, with our little one.

Here are some pictures of her big arrival, ENJOY!