10-20-2011

Many things have happened since I last posted. The best of which is that our little Abbie Mae is here. She is the cutest baby ever. We all love her so much. She has three little mothers who constantly give her all the care and attention she needs. Barb and I have commented on how different it is to have a new baby after eleven years. In most ways it is easier. We are much more laid back and relaxed. We know that things will work out and that the baby will "grow up to be a person". We have the help of Angie, Sarah and Emily who are all phenomenal with Abbie and love her more than we could have imagined. When we were raising the other three girls we always had toddlers around to manage at the same time. Now it is as if we are having our first baby again. This little baby is an absolute joy to me. I can't wait to see her each day to see if she has changed and what she is up to. She is definitely a blessing in our lives at this time.

The labor and delivery went very well for me, and for Barb, well... she said it went well for her also - one of her best. Abbie was due on 10/10/2011. They induced Barb on Sunday, 10/16/2011 at about 11:30 AM. Lila, the midwife (one of only 3 people who deliver at the hospital in Carthage. By the way, we were the only ones at the hospital that day so we had the 4 nurses all to ourselves) broke her water and then not much happened for about 4 hours. At about 4 pm the contractions began to intensify. At about 6:30 pm Barb was dilated to a "5". Abbie was born at 7:08 pm just as the midwife arrived. As I witnessed the birth of Abbie, I was overcome with emotion. I am a big crier anyway and have cried at one time or another at the hospital with each of the girls, but with this one, it was right as she was coming into this world. Having just been on the other side of the veil moments before, I was overcome with love for her, for her mother, and for the goodness and generosity of our Heavenly Father in allowing me to care for yet another of his choice daughters.

Abbie weighed in at a whopping 9 lbs 10 oz and was 22 inches long. She has a good amount of light colored hair. She is very alert and very strong. Barb did amazing and didn't have any pain medication whatsoever - not even ibuprofen afterwards. She calls it her "completely needle-free" delivery and recovery. We all feel blessed that everything went so well and that Barb and the baby are doing great. We all feel so close to the spirit right now.