The Renton Family: Sweet Caroline

So sorry for the delay in posting...it's been quite an adjustment period for us!

Our sweet Caroline was born on Thursday February 9, 2012 at 4:46 pm. 7 lbs exactly, 19" long, and a head full of beautiful hair! The labor and delivery could not have gone any smoother. I was nervous about being inducted but it turned out to be a great experience. I was already 4 cm dilated when we checked in to the hospital, so that was a great advantage. They started Pitocin around 8 am and the next 2 hours were not bad at all, the contractions were very manageable. Then at 10 am the doctor came in and broke my water. The next 2 hours were more difficult...had to really focus on breathing and getting through each contraction. By noon I was ready for the epidural. What a godsend!! I was so comfortable and relaxed after the epidural that I just slept for the next 3 hours of labor! The doctor came in just before 4 pm and said it was time to start pushing, and about an hour later she was here! They let Bill make the big announcement...it's a girl! It was pretty funny because all day the doctor and nurses were saying they thought it was a boy, based on her heartrate. So we were a little surprised! But I'm glad to know my instincts were right. Bill went out and announced our daughter to our family in the waiting room, and about an hour later everyone came back to meet her. She was wide-eyed and alert as she met her grandparents and aunts and uncles for the first time.

We checked out of the hospital Saturday morning and came home to my mom and Winnie eagerly waiting for us. We waited until Winnie calmed down to introduce him to the baby. He came over, sniffed her, looked at her, and then looked at us like 'what is this?' He didn't really understand until the next day or so that this little person was a permanent fixture in our house now. And he was so depressed. He gave us sad eyes, ignored us, didn't really want much to do with us for a few days. Eventually he started getting used to the idea. I'm happy to report he seems pretty much like his old self again by now and I think he'll be ok.

We had my mom stay with us for the first week, and Bill's mom stay with us the second week. They were a HUGE help!! We could not have gotten through the first two weeks without their insight and expertise! I was so sad (and a bit petrified) to see them go and know we were on our own now. There's still so much we just don't know! She's a good baby, but she's been having some eating issues....LOTS of spitting up and sometimes vomiting, and acting in pain/fussy for hours at a time. We haven't figured out what the problem is yet and until we do it feels like we're just trying to get by one minute at a time.

Here's a few pics from our first two weeks. Enjoy!