**First—I want to thank the four lovely ladies who helped me out last week by guest blogging.  I know I enjoyed every entry, and had a tear or two in my eyes!  (what else is new??).**

Last week on my DUE DATE, July 26, we welcomed our second daughter Elizabeth “Ellie” Virginia into the world.  I can’t believe she is already 11 days old.  I have so much to update, but I will start first with our birth story:

On Wednesday July 25 I woke up not feeling great.  I was nauseous and just felt “off”.  Charlotte and I went about our day playing outside, setting up the double stroller, and taking walks and playing.  We had the BEST day together.  Around 2pm when she was napping I felt contractions coming on more regularly.  I decided to lay down and time them.  They were about 5-7 minutes apart and lasted about 30 seconds to a minute.  But they didn’t stop.  I texted Andrew and told him I felt like baby was coming.  He thought I was crazy and told me he would see me around 6pm.  By 5pm, the contractions were still there, so I called my mom to see if she could take Charlotte for the night “just in case”.

That night, they didn’t stop.  I was in a FRENZY cleaning and organizing.  I re-packed my suitcase, showered and cleaned out the fridge!  We went to bed and  I woke up after 3 hours of sleep at 2am and felt them coming on stronger.  I walked the halls, drank some water and tried to rest.  By 4am I woke up Andrew and told him I thought we should time them together.  My contractions were more intense, but I could still talk through them.  That changed fast!  By 6am I could no longer talk through them, and we decided to head to the hospital.

Once at the hospital, they put us in a triage room for TWO HOURS because there were no labor and delivery rooms available!  While in triage my water broke and I was starting to really feel the pain.  Andrew tried to encourage me to hold out on the epidural, but at that point I knew I wanted to get it before I couldn’t sit still any longer.  By 10am we were transferred to a L&D room and I got the epidural.  It actually worked this time (it failed with Charlotte!) and I was able to get some rest and “relax” for a few hours.  Around 1pm I could tell my contractions were coming closer and closer together.  The nurse asked if I felt pressure, and if so to let her know.  As she left the room, I shouted: “Um, I think I do feel pressure but I’m not sure!”.  She came and checked me, and said, “WOW, the baby is right there!  Let’s have a baby!”.  I was shocked!!  The nurses paged my doctor, and we got ready to push.  With CG I pushed for 30 minutes, so I was prepared for a longer “push session” this time since I knew this baby was probably bigger.  Well…after  less than five minutes she was HERE! 

Our baby girl arrived into the world weighing 6lbs. 12oz and 20 inches long.

And a little secret?  Andrew and I knew we were having a girl all along :).  A special secret just for us.

Ellie is so precious.  She sleeps a lot, eats well, and is loved by so many people.  Charlotte LOVES her baby sister, and kisses her every chance she can get.

Life is definitely different now.  Andrew headed back to work today after a week off. I’m a little overwhelmed, but a lot in love with our new family.  Blessing upon blessing upon blessing…