All we ever wanted...

The last few weeks have been more and more exciting and filled with anxious waiting as we approached December 7th. On the 7th, I went for my scheduled OB appointment, met with my physician, Dr. Starr, and I was sure it would be another week until we got to meet the little lady....

Imagine my surprise when Dr. Starr asked, "So, how do you feel about having this baby tomorrow?" She was confident that my progress was strong and that I would react well to an induction. Plus, it was her day on the delivery floor at the hospital, and she really wanted to meet our baby with us!

Mark and I left for Advocate Illinois Masonic Medical center Thursday morning before 6am. We had tried to take Wednesday evening to ourselves to relax and get prepared, but we ended up hardly sleeping at all we were so excited and scared for Thursday.

Looking awake and excited. Early morning!

We checked into Labor and Delivery about 6:30am and were in our room by 8:30am.

Our room. (Thank goodness I brought my own pillows! They were a lifesaver.)

My family, Barry and Donna and Meg, arrived the evening of the 7th late and came to the hospital to visit for the morning. Marcia and Colleen both arrived before lunch on the 8th, and we had a nice morning visiting with both families. My brother Alex and his girlfriend Carly drove up in the evening after classes and work.

The rest of the day is a bit of a blur to me. After breaking my water around 2:30pm, the afternoon and evening were a struggle in managing pain medication without an epidural and progressing at a good pace. Mark was my strength through the entire process. I also can't say enough wonderful things about Dr. Starr or the staff on the Labor and Delivery floor at Advocate Masonic.

After a long day, baby Cynthia Grace Cairns arrived at 11:25 pm. Even though every nurse and doctor guessed she would be less than 8 lbs, Grace was 21 inches and 9.3 lbs! She came into the world with a strong set of lungs- music to our ears =)

Grace, only an hour old. 

The new mama and daddy! It was after 1 in the morning, but we were all smiles and energy.
Best. Day. Ever.

    

The new family of three!

So in love.

I wasn't even tired at this point, just so thankful and relieved to finally meet her!

After the most delicious apple juice and turkey sandwich, mama and baby girl were all smiles. 

Meeting Auntie Colleen and Oma (Grandma Cairns) for the first time!

Donna and Barry (Nona and Papa T) couldn't get enough of Gracie. 

Daddy snuggling his little Gracie on Friday.

Baby Grace with Oma on her first day home.  

Daddy and Gracie relaxing on the couch. Mark has been looking forward to this for 9 months.

We are settling into our new "routine" and loving every little noise, facial expression, and hiccup she makes. There will be as many more pictures and stories as we can post. 

Our hospital offers complimentary newborn photo sessions in the hospital, which we think turned out great! You can view the photos here: www.bellababyphotography.com and the password is: fmer1208cairns. Mark and I will be ordering the entire session on a DVD, so please let us know if you would like access to the photo files once we have them.

Thank you all for your support and outpouring of love for baby Grace in her first few days. She is already the best thing to ever happen to us. Stay tuned!