Introducing...

Mariella Rose Schoenbauer

She was born on March 3 at 3:42 PM and weighed 8 pounds, 13 ounces - 21 inches long.

Here is the short version of her birth: The induction began at 10:00 AM. Yes, we were bumped again just like we were with Jacob. This time, though, on my first call back they had a spot. By 10:10 I was hooked up to pitocin and my water was broken. The doctor noted meconium in the fluid, which meant that some special care nurses would be present at the birth to make sure she was completely clear in her lungs. The pitocin was at a low dose, but the contractions came faster and stronger than they were hoping (and me). After 3 hours, I had progressed to 4 cm but the strength of the contractions was what I remembered at 6-7 cm with Jacob. I decided it was time to get an epidural.

After receiving the epidural, I progressed to 9+ cm in the next 1.5 hours. I still can't believe that. At 3:00 they turned off the epidural and at 3:30 it was time to start pushing. She was born after 4 series of pushes over the next 12 minutes. All in all, a pretty easy birth compared to the 14 hour marathon and 1.5 hours of pushing with Jacob. She was checked over thoroughly in the room before we got to hold her, but she came with a completely clean bill of health, so that was a relief.

She has been a very sweet baby. She loves to snuggle and actually lets us put her down once in awhile. We're going to have to work on days and nights, but for now she is a pretty typical newborn: eat, sleep, poop. For those who remember what we dealt with in Jacob's newborn days, you know how relieved we are about that third one. She looks a lot like Jacob, and it will be fun to see how she develops her own look as she grows. But for now, they share many of the same features.

Jacob is very excited to have a baby sister and he is so proud of her. He has been giving her lots of hugs and kisses, and always wants to know what she is doing. He can say her name, but often calls her either "Mary" or "Ella." He is going to be a great big brother, and he has already been very helpful around the house. We can tell there is going to be an adjustment period after this initial honeymoon, but Jacob has been very good at adapting to change lately and we know he'll do well with this big one. We hope that we can do as well at adapting as he can!

I'm going to get more pictures up, but that will have to wait because we are trying to prioritize rest right now. Having a new baby in the house, along with trying to give Jacob the attention he needs is a lot of work, even for the two of us together. We'll do this in small pieces!