Introducing...Miss Elle McCaslin!

Elle McCaslin Newman


February 5, 2009
8:27 am
6 lbs 11 oz
19 1/2 inches


I obviously did not make it to my 39 week appointment on Thursday! On Wednesday night, BJ and I worked until 10 pm then went to bed. I woke up about an hour later with what I thought was a contraction. About 5 minutes later I felt it again, so I woke BJ up. He started timing them and sure enough, they were lasting about 45 seconds and coming about every 3-5 minutes. We started getting our bags together (wanted to be sure this time since we had several false alarms the previous week!). The contractions were getting stronger, so we headed off to the hospital. We arrived about 1 am and I had already dilated to 7 cm. The nurses told me we would definitely have a baby within a few hours - I could not believe it! I was in so much pain at this point, but I had immediate relief once the epidural was started :) My water broke shortly thereafter. Over the next few hours I had not dilated any further, so I was given a dose of Pitocin. Then, just a couple of hours later I was fully dilated to 10 cm! After only a few pushes, Elle arrived at 8:27 am. Our lives have not been the same since! She is absolutely perfect and we are so in love with her!
























































GETTING READY TO GO HOME!




















Elle wore this ring that has been passed down 3 generations!

It's Wrap Up Time!

We have been so busy these last several weeks trying to prepare for Baby Elle's arrival!! I don't even know where to start! First of all, I am definitely "nesting" like crazy! I have tried to organize our entire house, including the garage! (I really don't know what I was thinking, getting myself into all of this!) One mess leads to another mess!! We completed our childbirth and breastfeeding classes last weekend at Williamson Medical. During this time, we got to take a tour of the L&D floor - I was very excited to see that the new LDRP rooms are very nice and big! I have also been trying to take care of my short-term disability things at work. We pretty much finished the nursery (see pics below!) - we just have a few finishing touches to make! We bought a new camcorder and camera in preparation for the Big Debut (if anyone has any tips on using a Nikon D80 - please let us know!) In between all of this, I have been going to the MD weekly. At 36 weeks, I had dilated to 1 cm and was 50% effaced - I was so excited that I had somewhat progressed. The MD said that if I ended up having to be induced, this should really help out that things had started, at least. At 38 weeks, to my disappointment, I had not progressed any further. Over the past week, I have had 2 seperate episodes of painful contractions that have gone on for over 12 hours. The only problem is they never grew with intensity or got closer together - so, I knew this was not real labor (all of that for nothing!) I guess Baby Elle changed her mind about when she wants to arrive! I go back this Thursday for my 39 week appointment, so keep your fingers crossed!