Introducing Rainbow Baby Lauren!

Baby Lauren Marie was joyfully welcomed into our family on January 6th, 2011! She was born at 7:21 am and was 6lbs, 9oz and was 49cm long. She was born at 37 weeks. We feel so blessed to have her at home with us. :)Lauren Marie - 6 or 7 hours old

I wish I could say that I went into labour naturally, but I was induced. On Wednesday night just after 9pm I started bleeding. I was so scared and yelled for Mike to get Ethan ready to leave for the hospital right away. On the way there I was feeling for baby moving and was relieved to feel movement on route. Once we got there, I was hooked up and they did a NST on the baby to make sure everything was okay. Baby had a strong heart beat and was very active. It was such a relief to hear, but I was still anxious over knowing what was going to happen.

My peri's were not there that night and there were a few emergency c-sections being done and I had to wait. It was not until after midnight that I saw the resident (not the OB) and she told us that she had talked with the OB and since I was 37 weeks (just barely!) that they were going to give us the option of induction. I knew right away that it was what I wanted, but my hubby was a bit hesitant seeing as though the baby was still meant to be growing for 3 more weeks. I knew that they wouldn't have kept me at the hospital, and even if they had there was no way that I'd have been hooked up non-stop being able to listen to that heart beat. I knew in my heart that we had to have that baby that night. And so it was decided.

Several hours later, baby Lauren was born. It seemed like forever after she came out until when they could get her in a position to see what the sex was (although it was probably only a second!) and I cried when I found out it was a girl. She came out screaming and I knew she had a good pair of lungs. They placed her on my chest and put a blanket over her - she quieted as soon as I started talking to her. It was love at first sight. <3 <3 <3

She has been at home with us for a week and two days now and she continues to do great. She is eating well, and packing on the weight! She lost 8.6% of her birth weight in the hospital and just 6 days after being born she put on several ounces making her 6lbs 11oz! Lauren does have a heart murmur and we found out she has a tiny hole in her heart in the bottom chamber between the two walls. She saw a cardiologist before we left the hospital and we were assured that it should not cause any health problems and may even close up on it's own by age 2. If we don't see any changes in her eating and sleeping by 6 weeks, it is safe to say that things will continue to go well.


Ethan loves his little sister and wants to help out with her quite a bit! He is so confident when holding her (this scares me a little!) and wants to help dress her like he dresses "dog" or "monkey". He also says that she is really noisy (she hardly cries at all :) ) and wants to know when he can play with her. In time Ethan!

This past week I was supposed to be at home on vacation getting ready for Lauren to be born - cleaning, organizing, haircut, cooking/baking etc but instead I've spent several hours each day just watching her sleep or gazing into her eyes. I can't put her down sometimes and give her a thousand kisses each day. I love her so much and am thankful every day that she arrived with us safe and sound. We are so blessed!