Introducing...

Megan Kate Shiflett!

Born February 26, 2010

@ 4:47 PM

9 lbs. 15 oz.

22 in.

We are SO excited to finally have our baby girl here and in our arms. She is more than we ever imagined. (I mean, did you SEE her size?) She has Mommy's big eyes, Daddy's cleft chin, and sweetness in abundance.

If you read the post previous to this one you may have gathered that I was getting a little impatient for Megan to come. That post was written on her due date but still Megan wasn't prepared to show her sweet, round face. So when I went to my 40 week check-up I decided to go ahead and induce the upcoming Friday. Adam was practically begging to induce Wednesday but I really wanted to give the baby a chance to come on her own.

I know I'm (Adam) not supposed to be the one that gets impatient, but I wanted my little girl to come. I get frustrated towards the end of the pregnancies. Erin gets to feel the baby moving around all day and that becomes a way to bond with them, but I just have to wait. I was sickof waiting. I WANTED MY BABY GIRL!

.

Friday arrived and of course, still no baby. Adam just about had a nervous breakdown waiting for the hospital to call and tell us it's "our turn". They finally called around 9 AM so we dropped what we were doing -literally- and set out for the hospital around 10 AM. We dropped the boys off at G-ma and G-pa's and with nervous excitement arrived at the hospital. After we got all settled in our luxurious hospital room, they got me started on a delicious cocktail of saline (Whooda thought salt water tasted like rubbing alcohol coursing through your

veins?), pitocin, and penicillin (I had strep B).

This is actually the start to my favorite part. With all the pricking and prodding of my wife (no that's NOT my favorite part) they also wrap a bunch of monitors around her belly. I love this because it allows me to see what is going on in my wife's stomach. I watch the monitor constantly and tell my wife when she is having a contraction, to which she says, "I know I'm having a contraction." The monitors are the only time that I get to have the same experience as my wife with seeing what the baby is doing every second.

Time for the contractions to kick in and force that little girl out of her warm, protected cocoon (sad!). They started me at about 11 am. Doc came down to check it all out and break my water. She was still up high and not at all engaged so he worried that it would be a long labor. I wasn't too concerned. As long as I get my drugs I'll be good...yeah, well that's what TOOK A WHILE! AFTER they dial-up my pitocin and AFTER they break my water they tell me it'll probably be about 45 minutes before the anesthesiologist can see me since he was starting a c-section. This is my nightmare. I'm a pansy!

45 mins roll around and still no drugs. ("He should be here any second." Mmmhmmm...) By this time I'm panting and cursing anyone that even tries to talk to me.

Seeing my wife in pain I ran back and forth from the nursing station "Is he coming?", "When is the C-section done?", "Where is he now?", "He's coming down the hall? Can he run?".

FINALLY, my hero walks into the room (I wish she was talking about her husband...), sticks a giant needle in my back and leaves me praising his name. What a job he has.

After getting my drugs the nurse tells me I'm dilated to a 4 cm. Cool but I'm sure I still have a little time left to go. Yeah, no. An hour later she tells me "you're ready to push!" I was like seriously? So soon? I've only waited a mere 9 months. This point of labor is so surreal. Here comes baby!

I saw the baby's head almost immediately after Erin's first push. The first thing I noticed was the hair. Lots of babies have hair, but not ours, so this was a bit of a surprise.

When Megan's full head made an appearance my doctor just looked at me and said (almost solemnly) "This is going to be a big baby." At this time I saw that the doctor was moving his hands around Megan's neck. He told us later that he was unwrapping the umbilical cord. It was wrapped around her neck 3 times. Kyle's was wrapped once, Noah's twice. Stats say that 1 in 3 baby's have the cord wrapped around their necks, but we're batting 1,000. They were guessing she would be "big" and in the 8 lb range before she was born. Well, they were right that she was going to be big but boy, did they underestimate.

In the chaos that followed (weighing, cleaning, de-gooping) I followed Megan around with my cameras as the nurses passed her around. One of the first features we recognized was her cleft chin (like her father). The next thing we saw was her big eyes (mommy's) as she opened them and started to look around at the world.

The hospital stay was a great opportunity to get to know our baby. True I had to run back and forth for the boys, but thanks to our families baby sitting them, I was able to spend most of my time at the hospital. I enjoyed the quiet times Erin and I got to spend looking at her and getting to show her off to everyone that showed up.

Thanks to everyone who came to visit us at the hospital. The H1N1 rules made it a little hectic (only 2 at a time and no one under 14 not a sibling), so I appreciate everyone's efforts to come and see us.

The best visitors were Kyle and Noah. My parents brought them over to meet their sister and were waiting in our room when they brought Erin up from delivery. They reacted completely differently:

Kyle was quite and careful. He wanted to hold Megan and did so like a pro. He stared at her lovingly looking her in the face. If he said something he spoke softly. It seemed like he did not want to take his eyes off his baby sister. He would periodically bend over and give her a kiss on the head. Erin and I had been anticipating this moment and Kyle reacted just they way we thought he would.

Noah was a complete shock to me. I did not know what to expect from him (jealously?, confusion?). He wanted to look at the baby and started talking to her, "Hi, Megan, hi. This a baby. Her name Megan." He told everyone that walked in about her, even the nurses. He walked around the whole room announcing her name, obviously very excited. When it came his turn to hold her he sat still and kept talking to her.

The best Noah moment came when we were leaving. I went outside to get the car. Since I was not there and Erin was in the wheel chair the nurse picked up the car seat and started carrying it. Noah was concerned. "That's our baby," he said and grabbed on to the side of the carrier, not letting go until Megan was latched into her car seat base.

I very much appreciate everyone who brought over meals. A new baby, no work for a week and good food, does life get any better?

Megan is naturally a gorgeous girl and is, so far, a very calm, good-natured baby. She lets her mommy get some sleep at night but she is an even better sleeper during the day. Hoping to switch that around soon.

We are all very attached to Megan. We are so blessed to have this tiny girl in our lives.

(Thanks for the beautiful pic, Nichole! :)