Welcome baby Addilyn!

We got a call to go to the hospital at 5:50 in the morning on December 21, 2010.  It was hard to get the kids to wake up to go to Grandma and Grandpa's house.  Once they realized  what was going on they were so chatty and excited.  By the time we made it to the hospital it was 7 am.  They got me all set up to get things started.  By 8:30 the Doctor broke my water.  Mel and I had plenty of time to hang out.  By 9:30 or so Mel was getting hungry, again.  (He ate breakfast before we got to the hospital.)  I sent him out to eat because nothing was going on yet.  He took off to get something to eat and to check out the river that was flooding.  He came back with a video of it.  It had been raining for days.
        The contractions started coming on stronger, so by 11:30 I got an epidural.  I was only to a 5.  I was so tired that I was planning on sleeping or resting (I was awake from 2:30 on).  Mel started getting hungry again, (mostly bored) so I sent him to get food again.  It was about 12:30.  The nurse came in to check the baby's monitor because it wasn't picking up the heartbeat.  I was feeling pressure.  She went to put a head monitor on and the baby was right there.  I was at phase two!  She called the other nurses, they suited up to get ready for delivery.  I texted Mel at 1:13 saying that it was time.  He made it back by 1:17 and Addilyn was born at 1:21pm.  Talk about timing.  I thought it would have taken a whole lot longer to progress so that was why I sent Mel away. 
         She was 7 lbs 10 oz and 20 inches long.  She looks just like Dalton did when he was born.  She definitely looks like she belongs to our family.  Her full name is Addilyn Adele Terry.
          We had to stay in the hospital three extra days.  She was very jaundice.  Her blood type and my blood type is different so its causing problems in her body.  She was able to come home Christmas Eve.  The other kids had a hard time with Mommy gone (so did I).  They were good troopers not having Mom there the whole time.  Mel had to leave me in the hospital to be with the kids.  He had his birthday on the 22nd, so he took the kids to the movies and to hang out with them. 
          The doctor told me that he thought we needed to stay again on Thursday.  I lost it then, my emotions got the better of me.  I felt bad for the older kids because they have been tossed around for days.  I knew it was best for Addilyn to be under the lights at the hospital to get her system working right.  I got to hold her every three hours to nurse.  The kids would come and see her at her breaks.  Then they would go home.  I was able to be discharged but stayed as a hotel status.  Meaning I could sleep there and they wouldn't charge me anymore.  The extra days helped me to recover quickly.  I read, watched tv, and caught up on some sleep. 
      We were finally able to leave on Friday after her last bilirubin test came back showing that she could handle being under less lights.  At three in the afternoon, we were able to go home.  I was so excited.  I didn't want to miss Christmas with my kids by being in the hospital.  Our prayers were answered.