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Carrie - The Wait and the Big Arrival!


We arrived in Florida midday Saturday and made our way to the hospital where we met up with Ethan’s birthmother and her mother. We spent a long afternoon in the waiting room while the doctors and nurses put L through a myriad of tests. Finally, they verified the need to induce labor and proceeded to admit her to the hospital with plans to start the induction process Sunday. Exhausted, we left to check in at the hotel and ate what we thought may be our last supper before the baby came…but….
Sunday we arrived at the hospital mid-morning to see how things were progressing. The nurses gave L a medication to help start the dilation process around 12:30 PM…and told us it would likely take 12 hours for things to progress. We stepped out to enjoy the Florida sunshine for lunch for a bit, then settled in for the long haul at the hospital. We spent all afternoon, evening, and night together – holding watch over L as she slept. As we sat there, listening to the baby’s heart beating on the monitor, and watching hours and hours of SVU…all I could think was…this is family. We were there, together. Eventually L’s mom went home to get some rest, but Matt and I hung on to see what would happen after midnight. The nurse brought in a rollaway bed so I could stretch out while Matt laid back in the recliner. The hours crept by slowly...the baby’s heartbeat a constant reminder of the life about to change ours. At 12:30 they checked L and confirmed that the medication was working…and the doctor would start the Pitocin…at 8:00 AM. So…we gathered our things and stumbled back to the hotel for some sleep in real beds.
Monday morning we went back to the hospital around 10:00 and things were finally moving! They had broken L’s water and started the epidural. We were all excited and anxious for the baby we had all been praying over to finally make his or her arrival. At 11:30 the baby’s heartrate dipped a few times, so the nurse checked and confirmed the baby was ready! Matt and I went to the waiting room and nervously waited for what felt like FOREVER. At 11:52 the baby finally made her big debut! I’ll never forget watching L’s mother come through the waiting room door. She approached me with her phone out – no words…just a big smile as I peered at the photo. ‘Is that….a GIRL!?!’ I managed to blurt out! She nodded and smiled and we all hugged and cried over the wonderful news…a girl. After another eternity, the nurse finally came out to get us and brought us back to the room to meet the baby and see L.
Walking into the room, L was holding the tiny bundle. She handed her to me quickly with a big smile on her face. ‘Do you have a name?’, L asked. We looked at each other and I replied ‘Carrie.  Carrie Anne’ She smiled, as did her mother. ‘That’s pretty’, she said. We were all in disbelief over everything unfolding for us all. Before long Carrie was ready for a bottle and I was able to feed her…she ate like a champ. We all marveled at her perfect face and talked about how fast the actual labor went compared to the days leading up to it.  The rest of the day we all hung out again…passing the baby around in awe and wonder. L ordered a celebratory meal from food service and she and Matt shared what I’m told was a delicious steak dinner to welcome in our new bundle of joy.
That night we were able to stay in a room with Carrie, while L recovered in her room…all of us falling head over heels for this beautiful girl.

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