Due Date Schmue Date

Well here we are on March 17th, which was my "official due date." I told my doctors all along that my due date was actually March 8th, and they smiled nodded and finally agreed to induce me on the 11th. As soon as this was set, I told Tim that this little girl was not going to wait until the 11th. Never before have I been so stuck on a gut feeling. I guess there is something to mother's intuition. On Tuesday the 10th, I was just puttering along, folding and putting away laundry,packing up some eBay packages to be mailed, doing some light cleaning and hanging out with Carter, Fin and Trace who was home from school with a fever. I started to take notice of some contractions that were a bit more painful than normal. About 1 pm I called Tim to tell him he might want to cut out early in case they turned into something. He made it home about 3 o'clock to find me still working on eBay stuff, with no hospital bags packed and not really sure if we should go or not. For me, the next 20 minutes were definitely the most amusing time of the entire labor process. Lets just say my sweet husband is not cool, calm and collected under pressure. He was sweating and pacing and finally told me to put down the hairspray and blush brush, put anything at all in my damn hospital bag and WE WERE LEAVING! I think part of this nervous fear when I'm in labor has been projected onto him by my dad, who watched my birth take place on his own kitchen floor because my mom "primped" too long and was unable to make it to the hospital, or even out the front door for that matter. Anyhow, long story short we made it to the hospital shortly before 5, dilated to 5, and rearing to go. Once my doc finished a c-section on another patient, got me an epi and broke my water it didn't take long for our sweet little Scout Virginia to make her grand entrance. My mom and Dad along with my sister-in-law and close friend Paula (and also Scout's godmother) were there for moral support during labor and were able to meet her shortly after she arrived. We are all adjusting well, though her arrival has coincided with a fun virus making its way through the older kids (and Nana.) High fevers and nasty coughs have had Piper and Trace out of school for a few days and it is hitting Carter and Finley now too. Ahh, the life of a big family. And to think my mother-in-law had 7, six of whom were like stair steps in age. There's definitely a place in heaven for her!

It was so nice to have Tim off work for a few days, and he's working a shortened schedule this week to ease us back into things. Scout is such a good baby, she's happy to nurse and sleep, and we usually get at least one good stretch in the middle of the night. She had her check-up yesterday and has regained her birth weight, she's now 7 lbs. 3 oz. (one ounce more than at birth.) To answer the most asked question - the name Scout came from the book To Kill a Mockingbird. You may remember me mentioning that Tim has a true aversion to reading. That is one of the only books he has ever read, mush less liked and he remembered the name Scout and loved it. Virginia is in honor of Grandma Johnson who I like to think looks down on little Scout :-)

I apologize for my tardiness in blogging this big event, my mom said she's actually received threatening emails about me updating the blog. Cut me some slack people, I did just give birth!! I will continue to post lots of pictures, Lord knows I've got a ton. 

On a final note, Happy St. Patty's day!