As most of my readers come from my Facebook links, you all know that we welcomed Mac to the family on February 5.  And yes, she has my last name.

I’m finally able to post some pictures and a G rated version of her birth story. Mac is thinking you might enjoy hearing her entrance into the world.

Monday was my last day at work before I started my maternity leave on my due date and Andrew’s birthday. I spent that day at home nesting. I was a cleaning machine.

I went to bed that night and ended up waking up at 3 am with contractions. As a first time mom, I debated back and forth whether I was really in labor or if it was something else. So I laid there for two hours googling to try to figure out what was going on. I kept typing in things like “contractions feel like stomach cramps” and “contractions without back pain.” I think I was partially in denial.

After not being able to fall back to sleep, I finally got up at 5 am. I woke Andrew up at 6:30 so he could help me time the contractions. Of course he was totally confused and disoriented and I had to tell him multiple times that I was in labor while he stared blankly at me before he really understood what was going on.

Then I spent the rest of the morning hanging out on an exercise ball and working on a puzzle book like a really cool pregnant lady. We called the midwife line at noon and they said we should come in. So we packed some last-minute necessities (Nintendo DS, some DVDs, laptop, etc.) and headed out the door. Of course, I had to take one last picture of my giant belly.

We were told that I was probably in labor, but not very far along and we were given the option to walk. So we spent an hour and a half walking the halls while I wore a super figure flattering hospital gown. It didn’t really progress, so we loaded the car back up and drove home so I could rest after my early wake-up. When I got up, I paced our tiny living room until the contractions were closer together again and once again the midwife said to come in. We sent Ralph to have a sleepover with his best friend Fozzie Bear and headed back to the hospital.

This time, they admitted us and gave us a room. After a visit from Andrew’s parents, we settled down to sleep for the night. I was actually able sleep from midnight until 6 am with only minimal wakeups. My sister picked up Starbucks for Andrew and came to spend the day with us. After laboring in the room for a while, we decided we should walk. As we made laps, my water broke and while Andrew and I were calm, my sister freaked a little bit.

I had been planning a water birth, but unfortunately there was meconium in the fluid, so that was out of the question. I was a little disappointed, but I came into labor with the mindset that I just had to go with whatever happened.

Fast forward through more labor and after 36 hours of it, I was so weak I could hardly stand. I had wanted a natural birth, but at this point I asked for an epidural. I think having the flu just two weeks ago had really taken a toll on my body. But I’m not disappointed. The epidural allowed me to take a nap and have energy for the rest of the process.

So after 40 hours Mac made her dramatic entrance into the world at 6:01 pm, just in time for shift change which meant that her audience was doubled. She weighed 7 lbs. 14 oz. and was 19 1/2 inches long.

We stayed in the hospital for another two nights and were discharged Saturday afternoon. Ralph got to meet his little sister and he is smitten with her.

Focus on the cute baby and not on how spectacular the new mother looks.

Our first night at home was trying. Mac only wanted to eat and didn’t seem to sleep at all. The next day, we had a visit from the home health nurse. She weighed Mac and took a blood sample.

That night, we got a call from our pediatrician that Mac had jaundice and her bilirubin numbers were high enough that we needed to come into the hospital that night to be admitted for treatment. That would explain the incessant need to eat.

So after I had a good cry thanks to my hormones, we once again sent Ralph off for a sleepover and headed to the hospital. Mac spent almost the entire night under the lights of the tanning bed to get her bilirubin levels down. She was allowed to come out for 30 minutes every 3 hours so I could feed her. While I appreciated the time to sleep, it was so hard to have to give up my new baby right after she came into our world.

Here is our poor little girl in the tanning bed. And I will admit that when I first saw her in there with the little thing over her eyes, I definitely cried again.

Thankfully, we were able to leave Monday afternoon at dinnertime.

Here is our sleepy little bear on our way home from hospital round 2.

Now today we had another doctor’s appointment at which we had to make yet another doctor’s appointment for this week. I think everyone just likes Mac so much that they want her to keep coming around.

No worries though, everything is good. The jaundice is under control and the next doctor’s appointment is to take care of her tongue tie.

So that is the beginning of the story of Mac. Andrew, Ralph, and I are all smitten with her and are so excited to spend every day loving her more and more.