She's gaining weight

Catherine had her 2 week check up today. She weighed 8lbs and 6.5 oz. That's 10oz over her birth weight. Thank goodness! Now we can begin letting her sleep through the night. Otherwise, she's doing great. "Average" the doctor says. Jonathan and I are also looking forward to sleeping more, especially since he goes back to work next week.

Napping with daddy



Napping with mommy

Friends from church. Aiden was singing to her and it was so precious.

She likes her recliner

Sleeping on her side

Getting adjusted

This week has been rough on all of us. Catherine is gaining weight, which is a blessing. We've had to go to the dr twice to check in. We're working on the 2 hours of sleep at a time. We are so thankful for our church family bringing dinners to us. This was a huge help as we came home. Here are some pictures of Catherine during her first week.

Here are the details.

I started having contractions as soon as Jonathan left for work on Monday morning at 6:45am. I didn't think too much of them other than they were more intense than ever before. They were not at all regular and were 15 minutes or more apart. By 9am Jonathan called to check on me and all I could say was "Come home now". He rushed home and then rushed me to the hospital all the while having contractions with no relief at this point. By 10am I was already 7cm dilated. (Mind you on Friday I was 4 cm). Within another 20 minutes or so I was 9-10cm and was begging for an epidural. I really do think the epidural slowed the progression of labor down because for another 1 and 1/2 hours I was pushing her head through the pelvis. Then all of the sudden my nurse said "ok don't push anymore." I could tell that Catherine only needed one more push and she would be delivered. However, my doc was in the middle of a c-section and the standby was at the office down the street. So I really did have to shut my legs to keep her in. Once the doc arrived all it took was one push and she was completely out.
Catherine Renee was born at 1:40pm on Jan 12. She weighed 7 lbs 12 oz and was 20.5 inches. She is doing great. She does have a heart murmur but that was checked and there are no problems. She has lost about 10 oz so far so we are to see the dr tomorrow as a follow up.
Jonathan was wonderful at the hospital. He changed all of the diapers and got up at each cry as I am still in a lot of pain from a severe tear. I'm really tired but working on that. We all are so happy to be healthy and at home.

Here are some pics from the past few days.

Catherine is home

Just after the epidural.


The spacious L&D rooms


World meet Catherine Renee Hardy









Going home


A family of three

She's not excited about her bed being taken over by stuffed animals.

Halfway there?

I went to the dr yesterday and found out that I'm 4 cm dilated and 75% effaced. This was an improvement from 2 weeks ago when I was 1 cm and 50%. Contractions are a little more intense but still irregular. If I make it to my next appt the dr is going to strip the membranes to further along the labor. So right now we're taking advice on anything that could help the process along before that appointment.
We'll keep you posted on the progress.