One week old.

Although this is a week late, I still wanted to post these pictures. I thought I would give Callie's birth story while I was at it. So, on the Tuesday and Wednesday before she was born, we had a huge ice/snow storm that made the roads unbearable. I was PRAYING that she wouldn't come then because I DID NOT want to get stuck in a blizzard and have to have my baby in the car! I had about 3 contractions 20 minutes apart for an hour on Wednesday morning, but nothing after that. Thankfully, she decided to wait until the next day when the snow had stopped and the plows could clean off the roads somewhat. BUT, she must have REALLY wanted to come because at 7:30 in the morning I started having contractions that were 10 minutes apart and by 8 a.m. they were coming consistantly every 4 or 5 minutes! I called the doctor and they said they would call the hospital to let them know I was on my way. They asked me what number of pregnancy this was for me and since it was my 4th, they didn't mess around! Earlier we called Kent's brother because his mom was already at work, but had told him to start getting ready because I would probably be going in soon, but once the contractions got closer and closer, I knew we needed to leave pronto! I told Kent, "We have to leave NOW!" So, luckily, my visiting teacher lives in the same apartment complex as us and she was able to come over until Clark could make it here. As if that wasn't exciting in and of itself, during the middle of the night Tyler woke up and threw up about 3 times and Morgan was all congested and coughing up a storm. To top things off, I started getting a chest cold with a horrible cough as well as still having that horrible itching. What a way to start the day! When we finally got to the hospital, they were waiting for me with a wheel chair, and while Kent parked the car, they wheeled me up to labor and delivery. Trust me, I had lots of looks my way, and for good reason - I was at a 9 when they checked me! It was too late to even think about an epidural and although I asked for some pain medication, I really don't think it helped much because I arrived at the hospital at 9 a.m. and delivered Callie at 9:26 a.m.!!! I can't even put in words the pain I felt - definitely the worst pain in my entire life! But although it was NOT fun, I also recovered a ton faster than I did with all the others when I had an epidural - even the nurses were surprised that I could get up and go to the bathroom by myself after only a little bit. And the fact that my labor from start to finish was only 2 hours was definitely a plus. Kent likes to tell everyone all the comments I made while in labor. The first was directed to the doctor, "Get it out of me!" The second to the nurse, "I can't do this anymore!" and the third to Kent "We are NOT doing this again!" Yep, that's for sure! Since I had the Group B Strep and Callie came too fast to have the antibiotic given to me during labor, she had to go to the NICU to be able to get the antibiotic through an IV. It was kind of a pain to have to go back and forth to feed her or see her, so I was sort of relieved when her IV came out (I figured that out b/c when I was nursing her I looked down and there was all this blood all over her hand and neck - kind of scary!) and they weren't successful in putting it back in. So they decided to just give her shots instead and that way she didn't have to stay in the NICU anymore. From the beginning she was a good eater and sleeper, and for the most part, has continued to keep up the good habits. :) Because I was sore from my episiotomy, I couldn't get a productive cough the whole time I was in the hospital and I was so worried about giving my cold to Callie. Luckily she hasn't shown any signs of an illness yet! Oh, she did have to get her tongue clipped, like Tyler did (although he was 4 or 5 and not one doctor mentioned it until I mentioned it to them!), but thankfully the doctor (who was from Riley Children's Hospital) noticed it right away and was able to take care of it in the hospital. Other than that, Callie was a healthy baby. I have noticed since then that her left eye gets a lot of discharge in it, so I'm going to talk to the doctor about it at her next check up. Kent wasn't able to be at the hospital very much because of school and watching the kids - in fact, he went to school and took a mid-term the afternoon of the same day Callie was born! Everyone was surprised he was there, but he just told them that by the 4th one, it was a breeze and I was recovering so well that he would have just been sitting around at the hospital or taking care of the other kids, so he decided not to miss his test if he didn't have to. We didn't let the kids come until Friday evening, once they started feeling better. The hospital provides a celebratory dinner for the family, so the kids loved that. Unfortunately, I couldn't taste ANYTHING because of my cold, so it was kind of a waste for me. Kent enjoyed the lobster tail and fillet mignon though. It was definitely nice to have some quiet time while at the hospital, but I was ready to go home and not have people coming in all the time to check on me, take Callie away for this or that, etc etc. I was glad we came home on a weekend so that Kent could be around to help out the first couple of days. I know I've been blessed to recover so quickly because with 4 kids and a husband in school, life goes on and there still is laundry, dishes, grocery shopping, homework, etc that has to be done. I think I have recovered the fastest with this one for sure! OK, on to the good stuff - cute pictures of little Callie!

Harrison simply ADORES Callie and is constantly wanting to hold her, give her hugs and kisses and runs to comfort her when she is crying. What a good big brother he is, even if he is a little over-bearing at times. :) He was SO excited to take some pictures of Callie and him together!
Look at that smile! She definitely is loved!

She usually has 3-4 1/2 hour stretches at night and a good 2 or so hours for each nap during the day. Wow! I'm not used to that! She doesn't mind laying on the floor for a bit, but has started to like being held a lot more. She's better now, but she would get MAD when she wouldn't get her milk INSTANTLY! I love her big eyes and head full of dark hair! Hopefully she won't lose her hair like Morgan did. I love how she sits in wonder as she stares, taking in the world around her.

I just love the little booties she has on! My friend sent me these and some cream with light pink flowers as well. I'll be sad when she won't be able to wear them anymore! I love her little sighs of contentment and spontaneous half smiles when she is sleeping. Kent is always saying how cute and adorable she is and loves holding her until we go to bed. She has brought lots of smiles into the lives of those around her!

She has been such a blessing and we can't imagine life without her! We love you, Callie Brynn!