She's here! (And has been...it's Mama who has not!)

As I look over the blogs and pictures of my friends who also had babies the same day that I did (over a week ago!), I realize how out of it I must be to ignore this lovely blog for an entire week. This blog would fall under the same category as "I really don't care" - kinda like when my mom asked me how I want my towels folded or if it matters that Katelyn's pajamas don't match. "I really don't care" - and for those of you who know me well, you know that I usually do care about such silly details. I have to say that not only with towels and pajamas, but also in many other ways, my 2 little children have already made me relax about things that don't matter anyway, and focus on what really does. I am extremely grateful to have 2 beautiful, healthy girls and to have a husband who cares about and loves this family just as much as I do. He has spent loads of time with Katelyn over the past week, and I know that her sweet attitude towards Addison is a direct reflection of the reassurance and love she's been getting from her wonderful Daddy.

As far as Addison's delivery goes, I am now a believer that somehow in our "motherly love" brains, we erase the rough parts of our first delivery and recovery, so that we will go on and do it again. It's that common phrase of "It's all worth it in the end" (which of course I agree with) that allows us to keep on going and subject ourselves to such pain over and over. I must add that as I sit here and type this, I'm looking at my squirmy little bundle of joy and I can assure you that I'd go through it all again in a heartbeat to have her here with me. She is nothing but a gift and a joy to us.

On the day of our scheduled c-section, we arrived at the hospital at 12:40, you know, to be a few minutes ahead of our 1:00 appointment time. We were immediately sent to a room and ran into our doctor in the hallway who said, "Let's get this party started!" - and that is when we learned that there was an opening in the OR and we were going to jump in line. As 3 nurses quickly prepped me for surgery, I suddenly felt like I was on a fast train as I watched them rush around and prepare me faster than I ever thought possible. As we entered the OR within just a few minutes, the nurse said to me, "Well, I think that was a record!" - which somehow was not helpful in easing my anxiety at the time. I'll spare the details, but the worst part of the surgery was the numerous epidural attempts and the lovely anesthesiologist - with a horrible attitude - that we all had to endure for too long. After 3 epidurals, and several different injection sites with horrific poking and prodding, I was told to choose either a spinal or general anesthesia. The last thing I wanted was to be asleep for the birth of my daughter, so I opted for the spinal, hardly remembering what that even meant. Once I lost it on this doctor (nice, I know...) and the drugs finally took, Kevin was finally allowed to come in and sit by my side. The clock seemed to slow down drastically, and it was another 40 minutes before Addison entered the world. At 2:12, I heard the best sound on earth - my second little girl was here and she was screaming her tiny little head off. When Katelyn was born, she was not breathing and definitely not screaming, so this scream meant even more to us and it was nothing but a precious, precious moment. Addison Grace weighed in at 7 lbs, 7 oz, and is 20 1/2 inches long.

We have since been adjusting as a family of four, which feels surreal at times, yet perfect. I have been trying to take my time with recovery, as I have had intense pain in my spine and lying down feels the best to me. I am cherishing this time that we are all home together and am so thankful that Kevin has the ability to take off work so he can help me get back on my feet. My mom has also been my on-call nurse, and we all know that no one can take care of you like your mom does. I am so thankful for her and all that she's done for me.

Most of the pictures posted here were taken by our good friend Nathan. For a few more pics, go to http://www.holritzphotography.com/ and scroll down to the "Baby Addison" post. Once I graduate from the laptop in my bed to our desktop in the office, I'll post some more that we've taken since we've been home. Wow, this is a much longer post than I meant to write...time for another feeding...and diaper changes...and sweet baby noises and loads of lovin' and kisses...