Caitlyn Ansley Kilgore

Caitlyn - 11lb 4.2ozs 21.5in

On Wednesday, October 27th, we welcomed into the world our third daughter......Caitlyn Ansley. She came into the world making quite the statement as she weighed in at 11lbs and 4.2ozs! She was 21 1/5 inches long! What a blessing she already is to our little family!

It's hard to put into words the emotions of the day, but I am going to try. Then tomorrow, I promise there will be a slide show with lots of pictures of the big day.

We (Kevin and I) arrived at the hospital at 5:30am for all of the prep work before our 7:30am appointment in the operating room. The bulk of this time is filled with paperwork, questions, IVs, etc. However, there's always a short lull of time before we go to the operating room that is probably the only time that I feel anxious during the entire process. Part of my feelings come from the fact that I've been up about 2 1/2 hours at this point with nothing to eat or drink.......so I'm always feeling jittery. However, it's also the only point in the day when I have any time to think about how monumental the day really is. This go round, Kevin and I sat and watched bits and pieces of The Today Show and actually dozed a little as we waited for our call. But I still remember that feeling of anxiousness creeping up inside of me!

Finally, about 7:20am, we got the go ahead to proceed to the operating room......and this time I actually walked myself from my room to the OR (holding my gown closed and my IV bag!). I left Kevin right outside the OR and went on in to get my spinal. After this final prep work and the arrival of my friend and doctor, Kevin got to rejoin me in the operating room. The process began and our sweet Caitlyn was born at 7:59am. What sweets sounds that followed in the next few minutes! Sounds of another precious little girl, sounds of excitement amongst those in the operating room with us, and the sound of Kevin's voice as he brought her over to me to see. Daddy actually got to carry Caitlyn out of the operating room!

After Kevin and Caitlyn left, the process began of closing me up! As they worked, we chatted about how much Caitlyn would weigh and all threw in their guesses. After a little while, my doctor requested that one of the nurses call the nursery and find out the birth weight. The young nurse hung up and told us that she weighed 11 lbs. My doctor immediately, without hesitation, told the nurse to call back and verify that! Sure enough, the nurse was met with the same response........11lbs and 4.2ozs!!! I started laughing! What other response is there than to laugh! My doctor commented that she "was glad she didn't know that before!" What fun memories!

Recovery was fairly quick and I got to see Kevin, my mom, and my dad. Kevin kept bringing me pictures of Caitlyn. After we got back to our room, the pediatrician came to let me know that Caitlyn was breathing quickly and that they wanted to do a chest xray on her. He didn't seem very concerned so I chose not to be either! I just wanted to get my hands on my sweet baby! I finally got to hold her around noon, I think. Things start to get blurry at this point because I the pain medicine that they put in my spinal started to make me feel bad......hot, sweaty, clammy, light-headed, heavy-eyed, etc.

In the afternoon, Chloe and Claire got to meet their sister......so sweet! Claire kept saying that she was "so cute!" Chloe, even at 4, was still pretty unsure about the hospital, the hospital bed, and Mommy's IV. However, she loved touching and looking at her sister. It was amazing how her demeanor changed regarding me and Caitlyn when we walked into our house on Friday afternoon!

Caitlyn ended up getting to be with us for some of the afternoon on Wednesday and then spent the night in the nursery, per Dr. Simmons request. After another chest xray and more observation, she got to be with us permanently (but with monitors) beginning Thursday morning. Finally, on Thursday afternoon, she and I both were freed of all of our wires and monitors!!! Yay!

I apologize for the length of this post.......however I want to remember the events of day......so if you're still reading........kudos to you! :) Stay tuned for lots of updates..........