the details

the short version:
we were induced Saturday night, May 8th, by 7:40am on Mother's Day, Lucy was here.

the long version of the eviction, I mean the induction, of labor:
Since I was DONE with being pregnant I begged my doctor to schedule an induction and we agreed on Sunday, May 9th. (We had to be NOT having a baby on Wednesday so Mike could take an essential test --if he missed that he'd be unable to take his clinical boards 2 weeks later). I called labor and delivery the day before to make sure I was still on the list and how it would work, they said it was pretty slow and asked if I wanted to come in earlier if they we slow. I said OF COURSE! So Saturday night at 8pm I we arrived at the hospital and by 10pm we were underway with a foley bulb and by midnight I was dilated enough for pitocin. Around 5 am my water broke, so we walked around for about 45 minutes and by then I was in plenty of pain and ready of the epidural. This part did not go smoothly. They came in immediately, but it took another 45 minutes of poking my spine during very painful contractions coming every 1-2 minutes. It was very bloody, apparently (Mike got pretty queasy), but when they finally got it, it worked and I was out of pain, see how relieved I looked?

ahh. now that's better. so glad it worked.
It turns out I was 9 cm dilated right after the epidural finally got in and so it was almost time to push! I was excited to get her into this world and meet her.
A little bit of pushing and she was here! straight into my arms.
proof of weight:
9 lbs 6 oz

all wiped off
you can see her face is a little bruised from her quick descent into the world, but they faded pretty fast. We are in love with this beautiful child and so grateful our induction, labor and delivery went so smoothly. Heathly baby and mom recovering well--we were thrilled!

in love

Lucy is 2 weeks old! Sorry for the lack of photos and updates, this will have to do for now. She is darling, healthy and fabulous!

She's HERE!

Lucy
9 lbs. 6 oz. 21 inches

What a wonderful Mother's Day!

major progress

To follow up on an old post, the girls are sleeping better (most of the time)! Every now and then Emma throws a huge fit at bedtime, but it usually doesn't last very long. But between a special clock, a lock on the door (which we probably don't even need anymore) and sticker charts, we have a great bedtime routine and a darling little girls room. I am so proud of them. We had them earn almost everything through filling up sticker charts.
But first, the conditions: go to bed good and quiet and STAY in bed until a set time.
How did we get them to stay in bed? We got this fabulous clock, which I can't rave about enough.
But it is a clock that turns green when it is OK to wake up! Sounds simple, but there are a few other versions I found online, but this appeared the most parent/user-friendly. We slowly made the wake time later and later until now they sleep in until at least 7:15am. Emma even sleeps later (like 8:30am some mornings), because it is not an alarm that wakes them up, but after they wake up they can see the clock and if it's green, Great! get up, otherwise they know to stay in bed, it's not 'morning' yet. So if you have children waking you up at the crack of dawn, I'd give this a try. Yeah it's $30, but my sleep is worth it! They caught on pretty quick and now we are all getting the sleep we need.
Riley got the first 2 goals down fast so we added another step for her: make your bed each morning. She really got into it!
I wasn't sure she was old enough, but she does great! Once we had the bunk beds, I really wanted to finally decorate the girl's room a little bit and get them cute bedding, etc. Found a cute set at Target and the girls got so excited over one decorative pillow we decided to have them earn piece through their sticker charts. When it's something you want to give them anyways and you have them earn it, is it still a bribe? Everytime they earned something they couldn't wait to tell dad and grandparents and show their pretty room (with beds made) to their friends.
So Riley & Emma earned the bunk beds, quilts, decorative pillows, lamp and mushroom nightlight. I threw in the hedgehog bean bag and rug because I couldn't resist. I'm so pleased about how cute the space is, even in our tiny student apartment. It really fulfilled some of my nesting instincts through the pregnancy. Now their room is all cute for now and the next place. After we move in June, I'll have fun making Lucy's nursery super cute.