Welcome To The World!

After a long and difficult journey, Miss Journee Rose decided to enter the world on May 26, 2011. We are so happy that she did decide to wait to make her arrival, but we were also beginning to get worried that she was becoming a little TOO comfy in there and was never going to make her way out!
A little recap of my labor is as follows.... My water broke at about 1:30 in the morning so I called Billy at work to let him know but told him to go back to sleep and I'd call in a couple hours to let him know when he should head home... I recalled reading that if you are full term and your water breaks, you don't need to rush to the hospital until contractions begin so I thought I'd go along with that so I would not have to spend extra unnecessary hours in the hospital..... oh and by the way, as I'm sure anyone can guess, Billy did not go back to sleep!
My contractions started shortly after so I called Billy back and told him to head home. We got to the hospital around 6:30 and by then my contractions were in full swing. I always imagined contractions to be painful but never in my wildest dreams did I ever think they'd be that unbearable! I promptly requested my epidural (although it took about an hour to actually get it) and within the first couple hours we were there, I was told that I was ready to push and they anticipated an easy labor with probably only about 3 pushes as the nurse repeatedly told us.
I wish that were the case but I think she confused 3 "pushes" with 3 "hours"!!!!
By the end of the 3 hours, the doctor gave us the option of either trying the vacuum (which he urged us to do) or to do a C-section. We opted for the vacuum and that did the trick. Miss Journee finally came out at 2:56 P.M. and we could not be more thrilled (and exhausted)!
We are so happy to have her here and it was worth the early bedrest, all the trips to the hospital and doctor's offices, etc. in order to get her here safely. I am amazed at how in love we are with this little thing... we can literally just stare at her and hold her all day long.
We look forward to our "journey" ahead with little Miss Journee!

A couple hours after she was born

1 day old and going home!

3 days old

She loves spending time with her daddy

Daddy's little girl!

Got one with the eyes open

Hunter and Jade are very protective of their little sis

So in love with my little girl!

The Final Countdown....

Friday marked the beginning of my 36th week of pregnancy. We never thought we'd make it this far with all the scares Miss Journee has given us along the way. So we are now on the downhill slide and just wondering when she'll make her debut.
We got a taste of what it will be like when the real deal happens... after completing my weekly non stress test last Wednesday, the nurses excitedly told me I needed to head over to labor and delivery because I was not only having crazy contractions, but I was told I was dilated to a 3 as well (although honestly I really did not know what that meant). I was filled with some anxiety because Billy was at a busier station that particular day and he happened to be on a fire as well. But I was ready for her if that was going to be her special day.
When I arrived at labor and delivery, they hooked me up to the same machines but also hydrated me with IV fluids to see if my contractions would slow down a bit (since I was still considered pre term). After spending several hours there, I was then released by the midwife but she also said she wouldn't be surprised if she saw me back later that night. Well that prompted some further nervousness for Billy and me and he decided it was best to leave work so he would be home in the event it was the "real thing".
Well, 4 days later, here we are.... still waiting! I suppose we can chalk that day up as a "practice run" for the real thing. Although my hospital bag has been packed for weeks, there are a few items that would need to be added at the last moment so we made sure everything was ready to go and then went to sleep. Actually it was attempted sleep... not sure why I thought I would be able to sleep when in the back of my head I was wondering when we'd be heading back to the hospital! So it was in fact a sleepless night for both Billy and me.
We are on the final countdown...26 days left until the original due date, but we sure are hoping it will happen sooner rather than later. We think May would be a great month for her birthday!

Showered with Love

I was showered with love two times this month, first with my Lawe family baby shower and then my Nelson / Kinnon family and friends baby shower. I feel so blessed to have such wonderful family and friends in my life and Miss Journee was certainly spoiled! Thank you to everyone who helped make these days so special for us.
Here are just a few pictures of the festivities.

Excited Grandma & Grandpa

Yummy homemade pizza for lunch

The Lawe Girls... Journee's Grandma and Aunties

Journee's Grandma and Auntie

Beautiful cake made by Cheryl and 2 diaper cakes made by Amber and Michelle

Lots of wonderful friends and family came to celebrate

The overwhelming pile of gifts to open!

Pregnancy Pictures

Since I've only had a few pictures taken of me pregnant, we decided it might be a good idea to have my sister take some so we'll remember this time of our life. Here are just some of the many pictures she took to mark 30 weeks pregnant with our baby girl.