Libby Frances is here!

(Favorite Picture...ever!)

 

We are so happy to announce that Libby Frances Wennerstrom arrived on Saturday, November 24th at 12:29am.  She was 6 lbs 11 oz and 20 inches long!  She is absolutely perfect in every way!!!  We are beyond in love with her!!!!!

 

Libby's early arrival wasn't a huge surprise, but nevertheless, I wasn't completely prepared.  I had been having contractions for weeks and was already dialated to 3 so we knew she'd be coming soon.  On Wednesday night,  I was sent to labor and delivery for concerns with high blood pressure.   "The baby" was doing great, but they had some concerns with my blood work.  We spent Wednesday night in Labor and Delivery for follow-up bloodwork and were released on Thursday, Thanksgiving Day.  Before we were released, we were informed that I had low platelet counts.  They were at 99,000 (most people are between 150000 and 400000) and the cutoff for an epidural is between 80000 and 100000 depending on the doctor.  If I was further along, they said they would have induced that day, but because I was still 3 weeks away from my due date, they decided to hold off and let her grow.

 

We went to Thanksgiving at my parents...and it was wonderful, but I was not feeling great and sort of missed the whole Thanksgiving (I really need a redo, I LOVE Thanksgiving).  The next day, Friday, I woke up with contractions.  They continued all day, but were about 15 minutes apart.  Around noon I told Rob that I they weren't stopping, and while I knew they could go on for days, I thought he may want to work from home just in case.  Around 4:00, they picked up to about every 10 minutes.  Around 6:00, they picked up to every 6 minutes.  I realized this could be the real deal, so I went into major nesting phase.  Doing laundry, packing bags, cleaning the floors, taking out the garbage, etc.  At 7:00, they were between 4 and 5 minutes apart, so I knew it was time to make "the call".  First we called my parents and asked them to come on over.  We weren't sure if they would send me to labor and delivery yet, but we wanted them to be around.  Then we called the doctor.  He said he wanted us to come in because of my platelet counts...they wouldn't be able to do the epidural until I had more bloodwork done so he wanted us to come in sooner than later.  We also decided to let Nana and Papa (who were in Indiana) know that we were headed to the hospital.  I put the girls to bed knowing they might be waking up to a new sister.  We just told them that if they wake up and grandma and grandpa are here, that we went to the hospital to get their new sister and they would come and see us.

 

Once at labor and delivery, they hooked me up and I was dialated to 4 and contracting every 5ish minutes, so they said it was Go Time!  We were very excited.  They did the blook work and hooked me up to an IV..and we waited for the platelet count.

 

About an hour later, the pain was starting to increase so they called for the epidural.  This was when it got fun!!!  The dr came in..and I noticed he didn't have his epidural cart.  He said my numbers had dropped to 92,000...and he could not do the epidural.  WHAT???  I was at increased risk for bleeding which could lead to being paralyzed...so I knew I didn't want it anyways.  But still...wasn't really prepared.  Asked about other pain-controlling options....NOPE.  We were headed into an all-natural delivery.  I think I started to freak out here...more just because of the unexpected.

 

This was about 10pm.  The next 2 hours are a little bit of a blur, and a little bit of my mind probably not letting me remember...but I'll keep those details between Rob, Me, and our amazing nurse Colby. She NEVER left my side from the moment I found out I was doing it naturally till the moment Libby arrived.  She helped me change positions to move labor along faster...and talked me through each contraction.  This was the point I wished I would have taken some sort of lamazee class so I was a little more prepared.  Around 12:10am, I very quietly and politely ;) informed them it was time...and 15ish minutes later, Libby arrived (Baby Girl Wennerstrom at this point, no name yet).  It was a surreal moment that she was here and I did it naturally, but I was also exhausted and just wanted to sleep.

 

When they announced she was 6lbs, 11 oz...we laughed because of course she would be our biggest..and she was still almost 3 weeks away from her due date!  They were saying "you are probably glad she's so small"...little did they know she had a pound on Caitlin...and almost 4 on Abigail!  :)   She's so little...it's such a miracle to me how this little thing will grow into a walking, talking, little girl like Abigail and Caitlin one day!

 

Rob was amazing through it all.  He talked me through each contraction and kept telling me I could do it.  He was the perfect amount of support without being too much in my business.  I definitely could NEVER had done it without him at my side! 

 

He was instantly in love the minute Libby arrived!  Watching him hold Libby made every moment worth it.  It was amazing how instantly our family felt perfect and complete...and we wouldn't have done anything different in any way!  Having our 3 daughters here safe felt like we hit the jackpot!

 

The next few hours continued to be a little rough because of my low platelet counts...but about 2 hours or so later, things were under control and we were able to move to our new "home" upstairs with Libby in hand!  We don't take that moment for granted one minute.  I was also grateful I didn't have to have any blood transfusions, which I really didn't want!

 

About 4am, we were settled in our new room.  They took Libby to do some tests, 1st bath, etc..and we tried to get a few hours of sleep.  However, at this point, I couldn't sleep because we didn't have a name yet.  We had gone into it with a few names, and we couldn't decide.  I felt so bad that she didn't have a name, it was driving me crazy!!!!

 

The next morning, we were very excited to see all our family, and especially to see the girls!  I will post later about how we choose her name and about all the great visitors during Libby's 1st day of life!!!! 

 

I will leave you with some pictures from Libby's birth.  Every one of these pictures makes my heart melt....I had the normal typical fear of "how could I love another baby as much as the other 2"...but seeing Libby instantly took that away and I am beyond in love!  I need to redo thanksgiving because we have so much to be thankful for...our health and our 3 gifts from God!!!!

 

 

 

We are in the process of collecting pictures from all our sources...so lots more pics to come.  We had 2 still cameras, 1 video camera, and 2 camera phones!