Baby Cora

Our sweet baby Cora was born February 20. My due date was the 22nd, but I was getting super swollen so the doctor decided it would be good idea to induce. She said she could do it in a week on the 20th and I said yes. After going 10 days over with Alice and having such a hard labor Andy & I decided it wouldn't be a good idea to do it that again so we were going to have this baby 2 days early. Since I went so fast with Alice they decided there was no reason to go in at midnight so I didn't have to go in until 6:00 am. Yeah. No babies at the wee hours of the morning. Well, when we got there they said there were two women in labor and one scheduled for a c-section so I was going to have to wait. Andy, my mom & I (andy was totally traumatised from Alice's birth I felt it would be good to have my mom there for moral support in case Andy freaked out again. He really doesn't like the birthing process. I can't blame him. I was a crazy women with alice's birth) sat around until about 12:45 when they decided it was time to start things. One of the women in my ward is an anesthesiologists at the hospital I was delivering at and even thought she wasn't working in Labor and delivery she decided to stop by. She said she read my chart and that she advised me to ask for an epidural before they started labor or once again things would go to fast and I wouldn't get one. I really didn't want to go natural again. I really wanted an epidural so I asked and they said yes. The guy came in, stabbed me with the giant needle and then all my cares and worries melted away. i felt better than I had in weeks. So good in fact I was ready for a nap. About 1:30 they started the pitocin. I can't believe how awesome an epidural is. I knew I was having contractions from the tightening in my stomach, but they didn't hurt at all. Finally I started feel a little pressure when the nurse came in and said I was ready to go. The midwife ( Kris Conrad) came in (there are doctors and midwifes at my obgyn practice and depending on who's on call is who delivers. It's awesome. My midwife was amazing.), a midwife student, the nurse and the nurse in charge of the baby and they said it was time to push. I can't tell you what a different experience this was from the last one. It was so calm and quiet. I think I might even have laughed at one point. Epidurals are amazing. After just a few pushes we got to meet our sweet little girl. They placed her on my chest, she lifted her head for a second and looked at me and I said, "how old is this baby." They then told me the weight 8 lbs 12 oz and 21.5 inches long. Man am I glad I didn't go over with this kid. She would have been huge. 

 Alice was so excited to finally meet her little sister. While I was pregnant Alice would look at me and say, "oh, no mom you ate the baby." She would then pry open my mouth and try to look for the baby down my throat. She would then proceed to tell me I needed to choke (her word for throwing up) to get the baby out. While Cora was in my belly Alice loved to talk to Cora and she loved to tell people she was having a baby sister. This is Alice's first time seeing Cora in this picture. Pure happiness. 

 Thought I would just through this in. This was the night before I had Cora. 

 Look how sweet she is looking at her dad for the first time. Oh, I forgot to mention that Andy hid in this little bump out in the room during the whole labor so he wouldn't be able to see anything. I thought that was pretty funny. 

 Cora's first time meeting her Grandma Janice. 

 Cora's first time meeting her Grandma Rachel.

 My two gorgeous girls. 

Two of my friends were also in the hospital the same time I was. One had her baby on Monday, one on Tuesday and I had Cora on Wednesday. In my ward there were 7 of us having babies all within a couple months. Four of us were due in February. It was fun hanging out with my friend Dani while I was in the hospital and my mom was in heaven being able to hold all these babies. She would just go from room to room. This is Cora and Emily meeting for the first time.

 Emily on the left, Cora on the right. 

 Cora meeting her Great Grandma Bowman for the first time. 

 Alice had fun visiting me in the hospital. She would first love on her sister for a while, then she loved watching shows on the ipod. She is a tv addict.

 Cora 2 days old. 

 Cora 3 days old. 

 Cora 5 days old. 

 Cora 8 days old

 Cora 2 weeks old. This is my favorite. Seeing this sweet little thing sleeping. It reminds me so much of when Alice was a little baby.

 Cora's first bath. She didn't really like it, but now she loves it. I'm hoping she will be a water baby just like her sister. 

 Alice adores her little sister. Every morning she comes in looking for her sister. She loves it when Cora is awake and she gets to give her tons of hugs and assault kisses. I call them that because they are given with such force. Alice loves to talk to her sister and I love the way she calls her "my baby." The other day she told me she was happy I choked her baby sister out. She is a crack up.

 Cora almost 1 month old. Happy St. Patricks day. 

 Cora 2 weeks old. 

 This is my favorite picture so far. i love the expressions on both of their faces. Alice is the best big sister ever. I can't wait to see these two grow up together. 

Cora is such a sweet baby. We are so lucky to have her in our home. She eats really well (she thinks if she is awake she should be eating), she sleeps well (good naps during the day and 3-5 hour stretches at night), she hates having a wet diaper just like her sister did, she is very expressive with her face, she has the cutest cry ever especially when her lip quivers, she has red hair, she loves hearing her sisters voice she is the best snuggler ever, and as long as her needs are met she is very happy. I just feel like the luckiest mom in the whole world. I have two gorgeous, happy, loving girls that I get to hug and kiss everyday. It doesn"t get any better than that. 

How did cora get her name. Well  i came up with two names when we were naming Alice, Alice & Kerry. Andy picked Alice & really didn't like Kerry. While I was in the temple I had a strong impression I should give Alice the name Cora, but it was too late we had already decided. I thought maybe a middle name, but andy really didn't want a middle name so i just kind of forgot about it. This time around I couldn't come up with anything so finally I decided it must be a sign that I wasn"t suppossed to come up with the name. I told Andy it was all him. Andy didn't tell me the name until Cora was born. I couldn't believe he remembered the name. It is a name I love, but never thought to mention it. I was so touched that he remembered. Andy is always surprising me. He is amazing. Andy did an amazing job. It fits her so well. She is calm & sweet and very loving, just like her name.