Adelaide Alice Arrives in August

How's that for alliteration!

I'm thinking that at this point in our little blog's life I now count as a guest blogger on here...so in that case, I'm honored that Kent has asked me to post this month. Although he did have to give me a stern lecture that it MUST be posted before August 31st.

Anyway, it figures that I'm only asked to guest blog when the post could be characterized as a "mommy post", but whatever. I'll take my opportunities where I can. Fair warning: this post is all about the new baby...

While we accomplish awesome things every single day, our greatest achievement of late was the successful arrival of our little girl, Adelaide Alice. For the name game, we selected Adelaide simply because we both liked it and it hasn't been one of the top 100 most popular names, EVER. Kent did start to have reservations when we found out that Katherine Heigl just named her new baby Adalaide, but I assured him it still wouldn't become that popular. So when she goes to Kindergarten and there are five other Adelaide's in her class I'll have to eat some serious crow. Anyway, Adelaide is a german name that means "of noble kin" which seems like it will suit her just fine. We chose Alice as her middle name in honor of her Aunt Alice who passed away in May. We are really honored that Kurt was willing to let us do that. We're really hoping that Adelaide will feel some connection to her aunt and adopt some of her exemplary traits - any or all of them will do!

The official due date was August 23rd, but since Hendrik came a week early I was figuring that she would be a bit early as well. The labor and delivery with Hendrik was a drawn out event - contractions for two days before and almost 3 hours of pushing - so we were planning for another long haul. I decided I wasn't even going to pack a bag beforehand this time because that way it would give me a distraction while I was waiting out contractions. So naturally it didn't go at all like we thought it would.

I woke up at my normal time of 5:30am on August 14th to get ready for work. I had sort of felt a contraction just before I got out of bed, but it wasn't very strong so I didn't think much of it. I got in the shower and felt a few more contractions there, so I started debating whether or not I should take my regular train. I decided I could just wait it out a bit and take the later train or drive in with Kent. I put on some sweats and went downstairs to send out a few emails. The contractions continued to come about every 5 minutes, slowly increasing in intensity. Kent came down around 6:30 and was surprised to see me not at all ready for work. Eventually the contractions were feeling strong and frequent enough that we decided to call my doctor's office. The midwife called us back around 8:10 and told us we could head over to the hospital. We dropped Hendrik off at daycare on the way and made it to the hospital around 8:30. My midwife checked me and found that I was already at 6cm, which was a relief to me considering the amount of pain I was in. I walked over to the labor and delivery room, only having to pause once in the hallway for a contraction. They were in the process of ordering the epidural when the nurse noticed I might be progressing faster than we thought. Sure enough, the midwife returned, checked me, and I was fully dilated. She broke my water and asked if I still wanted to wait for the epidural. Part of me wanted to, but I knew I'd probably have to wait at least another half hour, so I opted out. I don't think I really had much choice anyway because about 10 minutes later Adelaide made her grand debut.

That's right, I'm not afraid of an unflattering picture. I'm more proud of the fact that I'm not swollen, puffy, or bruised this time!

So far Hendrik seems pretty enamored with his baby sister. He often asks where she is and grows concerned when she cries. When we place her in the swing he's always right by her side, making sure the swing is rocking her correctly and handing her toys to "play" with. Hopefully he continues to show an interest in being the loving, protective, older brother.

First time meeting each other - Hendrik immediately wanted to hold her.

Naptime with Daddy

Heading home!

Snuggle time!

Becoming a pro!