At last. . .Elizabeth!

At 11:34 am, weighing 6 lbs. 8 oz. and 19 inches long, Elizabeth joined our family.

We arrived at the hospital around 6:00 am and got checked in and settled in, and after a few more minutes got the pitocin going. It doesn't take much for Jennifer to start once the pitocin is in, so we weren't surprised when the contractions started coming fairly quickly. However, unlike previous labors, the baby didn't really appreciate the "squeeze play", and the heart rate kept dropping after the contraction was done. The nurse didn't like what she was seeing, so we shut the pitocin off about 8:10 and everything went back to normal.

Around 9:20 the attending broken Jennifer's water, attached a fetal probe, and turned her on her side to see if the baby would tolerate the labor better. With the pitocin on a little while later and things looking better (but not perfect), the nurse recommended an epidural just in case a C-section became necessary. Jennifer really wanted to go naturally if possible (she had an epidural with Nathan, but not Benjamin or Joshua), so with the nurses sending updates to the doctor and me watching the monitor and chart, we waited and watched as the baby did fairly well for about an hour.

About 10:40 Jennifer decided to go ahead with the epidural, and it turned out to be a very good thing. By 11:20 she was mostly numb and had gone from 4 cm to complete, and basically ready to push. Only catch was that the doctor hadn't yet arrived. In fact, the nurse told us that if it hadn't been for the epidural, the baby would have been born before he had a chance to get here. As it was, they nearly had her go without him anyway!

We were very blessed today that everything ended up so well, and we have Elizabeth here with us happy and healthy. I brought the boys and Irene up to visit in the afternoon, and Nathan and Joshua were very excited to hold their new little sister. Benjamin refused to wash his hands, so he was only allowed to watch. He may have been nervous to hold her, and that's why he refused, but he'll warm up to her. :)

Things are about to get very exciting at our house, and we're looking forward to every minute of it!