Adriah Belle

Adriah (ADD-RHEA) is here!

My mom called me around 7 a.m. Tuesday morning and said Jill's water broke around 4 a.m. I talked to Jill and she said they'd gotten to the hospital a bit after 5 and that she was still dilated just 1 centimeter. I knew that, logically, we had a full day before Adriah would make her appearance, but I couldn't just sit around and wait. So I packed Micah and I and we were off to the hospital.

And when I say pack, I mean packed! I decided last minute to pack an overnight bag for all three of us in case Adriah should linger. Plus, I knew Jill was getting new carpet installed in the nursery and would need someone in Sugar Land to arrange things before they came home.

Micah and I got to the hospital around 9:30. Jill had been given pitocin to make her dilate which made her contractions more painful. She slowly progressed to 4 cm and then decided it was time for the epidural around 11. My mom showed up just as they finished with the meds, and soon Jill was in a better mood. They checked her 30 minutes after the epidural and she had gone from 4 cm dilated to 8 ("almost nine" according to the nurse) in just half an hour!

The nurse looked at my mom and me and said, "This baby will be here sooner, rather than later." And we cheered! Then she said, "No, I mean SOONER! In an hour and a half at the longest!" So then we had to make several calls to tell everyone to hurry up and get to the hospital.

And that was the first prank Adriah pulled on us...

6 and a half hours later Jill was still idling around 8-9 cm and there was no baby. Adriah took her time and finally made her appearance at 7 p.m. Tuesday night. Jill and Bill wanted some alone time with her before the family saw her, so we waited another hour before we got to see her as she was wheeled up to the nursery to be bathed and weighed. She ended up being 7 pounds 3 oz (not at all a big baby like the doctor had estimated) and is a little over 20 inches long. I think she looks mostly like Bill, but she definitely has Bennett toes (and Jill's mouth, too).

Micah had been a trooper all day, but with it being past his bedtime, he was quickly losing his patience. So, we stopped in to see an energetic (and hungry) Jill (she only took a few Motrin the first day then went without meds at all!) and then went home.

Terry met up with us after work ,and we all spent the night at Mel's. I was up at the hospital the next day by 9 so I could hold little Addie (or like Micah says, "Ah-Eee"). Then my mom and I spent some time putting all the pink stuff Jill had bought into the nursery before we went back to the hospital for more cuddle time.

Adriah Belle is now home and doing well. She has a soft cry, almost like a kitten. And she's hungry all the time! We had fun putting a few headbands on her and some socks that said, "cutie." She's definitely more fun than any doll I had as a little girl!


Micah really enjoys his cousin. He likes to hold her and kiss her. We're just thankful he was 100% healthy when she was born so he could enjoy her like the rest of us. He did so well at the hospital that I'm encouraged that he'll do great when Caleb's arrival time is here.