Yesterday, we saw a lactation consultant. We learned that Penny is definitely getting enough to eat and that we can make a few small adjustments to make both of us more comfortable. She also had her first tubby bath...she screamed from the second her toes hit the water and didn't stop until we had her dressed in her PJ's. The tubby bath tired her out for sure- she slept like a champ at night.
RC's parents came to visit us this weekend. They arrived on Friday afternoon and stayed until Monday morning. They brought Penny her first baby doll and her first bathing suit. Penny spent many hours sleeping in their arms. They helped us around the house and took a trip to Walmart with Daddy, where they bought Penny her new favorite piece of baby gear- the wipe warmer. Since the wipe warmer arrived, diaper changes have been a little less stressful for Penny.
We were released from the hospital on Saturday, our due date. Penny seemed to love the car ride home. She hardly made a peep the entire trip!
Penny had some family visitors during our time in the hospital. She got to meet Nana Lou and Poppa C, Aunt Missy, Aunt Becky and Adam while we were in the hospital. Of course, they are spoiling her already. 
February 10th- It was snowing again- our second big storm of February. It snowed all night and it was going to snow all day. It snowed so hard they closed the major highways. Something felt different that morning and we thought we might get to meet our baby soon. RC & I both got to work from home :) RC spent half the day shoveling the driveway. At 10pm, after 20 inches fell, the snow finally slowed down and RC went out to shovel the driveway one last time. While he was out, the snowplow finally came through and got stuck in our cul de sac. RC helped shovel him out. As we got ready for bed, I started to feel little waves of pain, but I wasn't sure if they were labor pains because it felt nothing like the Braxton Hicks contractions I'd been having for weeks. By 1:30am I was shivering uncontrollably and we thought it might be labor, but we weren't sure. We called the doctor and he told us to come to the hospital. We left the house at 2am and it was just us and the snowplows. It took us 45 minutes, but we made it to the hospital safe and sound. We went in through emergency and our nurse, Sarah, met us and took us to labor and delivery. I was having major cramps every three to five minutes, but I still wasn't sure if this was what labor was supposed to feel like. Sarah did the first check and got me hooked up to the monitors. Yes, we were in labor. And yes, we were 3cm dilated and fully effaced. Just before Dr. Kolter came in to check things out, around 3:30am, my water broke and we knew we were going to meet our baby soon! There was some miconium in the water, so we learned about how neo-natology would be present for the delivery just to clear the baby's airways. On a pain scale, my contractions at that time were about a 4. I was anxious to get up and start walking, to use the birthing ball, and to practice some of the laboring techniques we had learned. But, our baby wasn't necessarily enjoying labor, so Sarah had me stay in bed to keep monitoring the situation. I alternated between bed and the chair between 4am and 7am. Sarah kept promising that after we got a good read-out from the baby, I could start walking. We waited and waited. We met our day nurses, Bridget and Sharon. The contractions got stronger and stronger and I got nauseous. I tried hands and knees, but the baby didn't like that one bit- we had a big heart rate drop and so back to bed I went. I was starting to get very nervous and the contractions kept getting stronger. Dr. Senzon came in for a check around 7:30am and I was just 4cm. She said that it was time to start Pitocin. She explained to me that the baby's heart rate was causing her some concerns and she wanted to get the baby out. I'd definitely be confined to bed and she recommended an epidural. I thought about it, talked to RC and our nurse Bridget, and gave the OK...a healthy baby is all we want! They checked me at 8:30 am, just before the anesthesiologist administered the epidural and I was 7cm! The epidural was so strong...I went from a pain scale of 6 or 7 to not feeling a thing. We rested up a bit and around 11am, the nurses told me it was time to start pushing. We had to turn the epidural down twice before I was feeling my contractions again. Just before noon, we started to push. Her heart rate continued to drop as we were pushing, but it stabilized after every push. We pushed for a quick hour and Penny was born. The cord was wrapped over her shoulder, which was causing the heart rate drops. RC quickly cut the cord, announced that it was a girl and we heard her first cries. The neo-natologist whisked her away to the warmer and went to work. We have a daughter and her cry is the most beautiful sound! She weighed 7lbs. 11oz., just like her mommy, and was 20.5 inches long. We are so in love with our little Penelope Jeanne Thompson!
