The Arrival of Miss Katherine Ann Paulin

It was a routine visit to the hospital for a non-stress test on Friday, August 16th. I had been having two each week since my blood pressure had started to escalate was 180/110... Not good. So I laid down for about thirty minutes and they re-checked it. It had gone down, but not by much. The nurses called my OB, Dr. Weisberger, and she asked me to come into the office. As Nick and I drove over, we knew she was most likely going to put me into the hospital. We didn't know if it would be for bed rest or to induce me, but we had a feeling that's where I was headed.

Dr, Weisberger came into the exam room and said, "Are you ready to go to the hospital?". Nick and I just looked at each other. Yep. We were as ready as we were ever going to be! The plan was to let me rest over night on Friday. Dr. Weisberger would induce around 5 on Saturday evening. She would be delivered 3 weeks early. We joke about how good of a listener Kate is; we had always said that we would be so happy if I could make it to 37 weeks, and she made it to that exact day.

Well... Our sweet baby had other plans. Around 10:00 on Friday night, I started having pretty bad, pretty consistent contractions. Despite getting a dose of Ambien that night, I couldn't sleep through the pain. Kate decided she didn't want to wait until Saturday; she wanted to get this party started right now. At 8:00 on Saturday morning, I received an epidural. So for the majority of that day, I felt fantastic and pain-free... Then my water broke around 3:00 that afternoon on it's own and all seemed to go downhill after that. I'll spare the details, but my epidural wore off shortly after and I was feeling pretty much everything from that point on. What I choose to remember from that time period is how wonderful Nick was for me. Before I went into labor, everyone joked at how squeamish Nick would be in the delivery room. Nothing could have been farther from the truth. He was right by my side the entire time, except for the times when he went to re-wet cold washcloths to place on my head. He was so brave for me and I know it couldn't have been easy for him to see me like that. I couldn't have done it without him.

Finally, after 20 hours of labor and 2 hours of pushing, we met Katherine Ann Paulin at 6:28 pm; our little Kate had arrived. She weighed 6 pounds, 2 ounces, and measured 19.5 inches long. I cannot describe how it felt to see her for the first time or to hear her cry for the first time. It was truly indescribable for both me and Nick and was the happiest moment of our lives. I'll never forget how alert she was right from the beginning. Nick held her and walked with her around the room and her curious little eyes were looking everywhere. I just couldn't stop looking at her beautiful face. What a miracle... 

Here she is!!!

View from delivery room

Bath Time!

That few days that we were in the hospital feel kind of like a dream. We were utterly exhausted and utterly elated all at the same time. There are so many good memories that we have of that time: our parents coming in to meet Kate for the first time and watching her get her first bath. Our nurse, Lori, that first night after Kate was born... What an angel. She was wonderful. Our friends and family coming by to visit, especially the Fowlers who surprised us by driving up from Nashville on Sunday to visit.

That drive home from the hospital when we were both a nervous wreck and acutely aware of all mistakes of surrounding drivers. Finally, walking in the door with Kate to our home, and now her home.

It's been a little over 3 weeks since she was born, and we have loved spending each moment with this sweet new addition to our family.