Introducing Elizabeth "Libby" Day Gooden!

She's here!  She's arrived!!  We are all so in love!!!  Let's start with pictures of pure cuteness before I tell her birth story...

On Wednesday, May 20, 2015, Barry and I woke-up early and headed for Sacred-Heart Hospital in Pensacola.  We were so excited because we were heading to meet our beautiful bundle of joy, but we were also nervous because we were facing a scheduled c-section with increased risk of hemorrhage due to my anterior placenta previa.  It's a little scary when your anesthesiologist assures you that they have plenty of back-up blood in the room, just in case... but I digress...

We arrived at triage at 6:30 am to prep for an 8:30 surgery.  Unfortunately, we spent a good amount of time in triage because another placenta previa Mommy came-in bleeding and needing an emergency c-section.  Barry and I both prayed with gratitude that we were not in that situation and that our pregnancy had gone all the way to 37 weeks as planned with no major episodes.  We were happy to wait... And strangely, it calmed my nerves a bit to just sit there with the hospital sounds and IV, etc.  While we were waiting, I had an ultrasound which determined that Libby, who had been head-down from day 1 through 35 weeks, had decided to move transverse.  She just wanted to give Dr. Medlock a run for his money ;).

At 9:45, the OR nurse retrieved me from triage.  I received a spinal (okay, that was the worst part... I tried so hard to be a good patient, but that was really hard to sit through...) and was numb very quickly.  Shortly thereafter, lots of things started happening.  Barry was in the room, the doctor and his colleague arrived, NICU nurses came in the room and I started feeling pressure, but no pain.  It felt like 5 minutes later, and I heard her cry - at 10:32 am.  I started asking Barry, probably 10 times, "she's here already?"  I started crying out of joy and excitement.  Then, naturally, "is she okay? does she need NICU?"  The nurses were so kind, brought her over for me to meet her and told me her Apgar scores were great and that she didn't need NICU that they could tell right now.  I was going to get to spend time with her in Recovery, but not before some pictures in the OR ;).

The next few minutes were uncomfortable as they did whatever else they do during a c-section, but the great news came when the doctor came around the curtain.  He said, "that couldn't have gone any better."  I didn't lose any more blood than normal (actually far less than they expected) and my body responded well to everything they did while under the anesthesia.

Recovery was a very pleasant experience.  Libby took to nursing right away - like a champ!!  I was so relieved because this was my biggest worry with the c-section.  I was so proud of us all for making it through the morning and moving on our way to recovery.  I couldn't wipe the smile off my face!!

Later that evening, Ryleigh visited her sister to wish her "Happy Birthday."  Ryleigh ate a cupcake in Libby's honor and sang her the Happy Birthday song.  Side note, Ryleigh loves to hold Libby and sing to her (Twinkle Twinkle is the current favorite).  We spent a couple days in the hospital, but were discharged on Friday because Libby and I were both doing very well.

And so, that's her story.  Born May 20, 2015 at 10:32 am with measurements of 6 lbs 13.7 oz and 20 inches long, Elizabeth Day Gooden has blessed our lives.  Our first week together has been everything I prayed it would be - full of love and laughing and time together as a family.  Many thanks for all the love and support from our family and friends as we continue to celebrate and enjoy our beautiful family.

It's Almost Time!

Holy moly!  We are 3 days away from delivering this baby... I'm kinda freaking out.   The house is coming together (we had the tile floors steam cleaned yesterday so we can actually walk on our floors now), my Momma is flying in tonight and we are as ready as we're going to be!

We are all really enjoying being close to the water!!  Ryleigh and Barry are constantly feeding the fish, and Cody is exploring every chance he gets.

Last night was rough... I had contractions about 7 minutes apart, lasting 45 seconds each for about 2 hours.  I was less than 5 minutes from calling the doctor, who would have told me to get to the hospital STAT, but fortunately, they let up.  I'm exhausted today from the ordeal and haven't done much of anything.  Barry is (rightfully) forcing me to take it easy, but he's helping me "nest" though I know he'd prefer to do anything else... Here's a picture of the decal he applied to Ryleigh's wall for her.

Since this is likely my last post before Libby's birth story, I also want to share pictures of her nursery :).

I'll post again in a few days, once Miss Elizabeth Day Gooden arrives!

New Home, New Way of Life

It's hard to believe, but I live here!  This is where I work... In fact, this is the view from my desk...

We are spending our afternoons feeding the fish and the ducks from the dock and taking-in the lovely, sunny outdoors as much as my tired body will allow me right now.  I have a feeling we're going to love the proximity to the beach as soon as I'm allowed to go be out in the sun after Elizabeth arrives :).

Speaking of Elizabeth, I'm sitting at my desk feeling Libby roll around in my belly and getting excited that I'll meet her in a week and a day!!!  Her room is a work in progress, but I'm hoping to get it mostly situated before she arrives.  Ryleigh's room is ahead of Libby's in terms of progress, naturally, but she still has requests (i.e. she needs pink paint) that we'll want to get to sooner than later :).  I feel that way about the house, in general.  We're making progress - slowly but surely... Here are some in-progress pictures to give a sense of where we are in the process.  Hopefully we'll knock out a lot more this week!!!

Mother's Day was this past Sunday, and it was lovely!  Warm, sunny and my family took me to brunch.  I was spoiled by homemade gifts from my daughter and cards and well wishes from family and friends.  I couldn't have asked for a better day!

She's a Big One!

We met our new doctor today, and he was awesome!  Not only did he spend a good amount of time getting to know us and our family, but he gave us a tour of the OR suite and postpartum rooms in the hospital.  Don't get me wrong, my previous doctors did not make me feel rushed, but the amount of time my new doctor invested to make me feel comfortable was beyond my expectations.

We also had an ultrasound and discussed the plan for how to bring Libby into the world.  Libby looks wonderful on ultrasound and is weighing-in at 6 lbs, 2oz.  She cooperated and showed us her beautiful face and profile - the first time since 20 weeks.  We watched her "practice breathing" and checked-out more than we were scheduled to look at because the ultrasound technician was just really nice and wanted us to feel confident that our baby will be ready to meet the world in 2 weeks.

And that's the next bit of news... We are officially scheduled for our c-section on Wed, May 20th.  So, two weeks from today, we'll meet our new little princess!

Florida Residents!

We made it to Florida!!!  Packing was busy and the drive was LONG, but we're here and we're enjoying a week of down-time before we settle into the new house.

Ryleigh is settling into her new school, but I don't plan to keep her there very long... I'm not a fan of her teacher... I did tour another school today that can accept her June 1, so we'll be doing another transition, but it's for the best, I think.  More to come on that front as we make progress, but in the meantime, Ryleigh likes her new friends and is doing well so far in her new class.

On the baby front, Libby is very active still and my feet are swollen, which is not something I experienced with Ryleigh.  I've also had a resurgence of morning sickness and exhaustion.  That, combined with not being able to get comfortable, it's been an interesting last couple of weeks.  All-in-all though, I'm doing well and hanging in there!  My allergies are already better down here in Florida, which is keeping my coughing down to a minimum.  And I meet my new doctor on Wednesday, so here's to hoping I like him!  I'm also hoping to make it to Babies R Us this week for a few things I still need to buy before she arrives (i.e. Diaper Genie).

Just over 2 weeks to go!  She'll be here before we know it :).

Birthday and Baby Sprinkle!

What a whirlwind of a week it has been!! Last time I posted, we were getting ready for a big weekend.  And it was a fabulous one!

On Saturday, my step-mom and good friend threw me a baby shower.  It was pink and pretty and perfect!  I had close family and friends around to sprinkle Libby and me with gifts and shower us with love and well wishes. I felt extremely blessed!

On Sunday, for my birthday, Courtney Taylor Bowles took lovely photos of our family as we await Libby’s arrival.  The previews turned-out so sweet!  I can’t wait to see the whole set when they’re ready.

After the photo shoot, I met my family for a birthday/going away brunch at the Boathouse.  YUM!!!!  What a fun day!!!

The rest of this week has been spent working, checking items off the “to do” list and spending time with friends (Ryleigh’s and ours) for final hugs and send-offs.  Bittersweet!

We capped-off the week with a dinner at Ruth’s Chris with my dad and step-mom.  So delicious (and fun)!

Today is my last day in the Richmond office before working remotely full-time.  This day arrived quickly!  I’m nervous and excited, but really looking forward to my send-off lunch with co-workers :).  Now on to a weekend full of packing and more celebrating/fun/eating with friends and family.  I know I’ve said it a hundred times, but I’m so very blessed!