Introducing My Newest Niece

I have so much to write about, but I'm going to start by introducing my newest niece.  This last week and through the weekend was SUPER busy.  I have spent the last few days recovering and I still feel so exhausted.  Whoever said the second trimester was the honeymoon trimester.... was lying.  At least I haven't felt any energy returning.  I am always tired and can barely make it through the day without a nap.  That is why the weekend was incredibly tough for me, I didn't get much sleep and missed my daily naps, although I loved just about every minute.

Last Thursday, I got home early enough to do some last minute picking up around the house before my Aunt and my friend arrived to start cleaning.  Yes, I had to clean before we started cleaning :)

Once they arrived, we got busy.  The garage:  I wish I had taken a picture.  Basically, it had a pathway through the garage, but otherwise it was full of stuff (shit) that we had to sort through, making a decision between garage sale, keep, or throw away/recycle.  We also had a lot to do in the house.  Windows and blinds were cleaned, furniture was dusted and moved.  We had new furniture being delivered Friday morning, so we had to make room for it.

While we were working, my sister was preparing to head to the hospital for induction.  She was scheduled to check in at 6:30pm.  I stayed home and was waiting for her phone call to let me know when it was time for me to head to the hospital myself.  I had been there for her last two births (I missed the first one because I was out of state and my niece decided to come early) and I wasn't going to miss this one!  By about 9:30pm, I decided that I would probably get more sleep at the hospital curled up on the couch in her room, than I would at home waiting for her phone call.  I took a shower and headed out the door.  I arrived at the hospital about 10:30pm.

We took our selfie pic.  We've had one before each birth so this couldn't be the exception!

Her husband, Sis, and me

And then I settled in on the couch and tried to sleep.  Then I got up and had to pee.  And I tried to sleep some more.  And then I peed.  Tried to sleep, got up to pee. And so it went for a little over three hours.  It was quite annoying to have to pee pretty much every half hour!

Then it was go time!  The doctor came in and broke Sis's water, but I can't remember what time.  After that, things progressed fairly quickly.  I continued to lay on the couch until we got closer, which didn't take long.  My sister sets a very high bar for giving birth.  She's never had an epidural and things progress quickly.

The nurse came in to check her and she was dilated to an 8.  By this point, Steve was on one side of the bed and I was on the other giving our support and helping her breathe through the contractions.  The nurse left the room, but less than three minutes later, Sis was saying adamantly that the baby was coming!  She was at an 8 and then Bam!  Baby is coming.  The doctor was called and after just 7 minutes of pushing, miss Adilyn Belle was born at 2:19am.  From the nurse checking her at an 8 to baby entering the world took all of 10 minutes.

My beautiful niece, Adilyn Belle weighed 7 lbs, 3.5 ounces.  I can't remember how long she was, either 19 or 20 inches.

My sister, the rock star at giving birth

Holding my new niece for the very first time