Here is Katelyn's birthday story. Pictures to come when I get my camera working with our computer.
I was due the 26, but nothing had been happening. According to my mom, she was 11 days overdue with me, so I wasn't expecting anything to happen for a while. Monday morning I got out of bed and I felt a little wet, but nothing serious. No gushing water break. I talked to a friend that afternoon and she said she had felt the same thing and that it wasn't a big deal according to her doctor. I had an appointment scheduled for that Wednesday and thought I would wait until then. Tuesday morning 2am, I felt some severe cramping but nothing that I was able to time. After an hour or two they went away and I could go back to sleep. Nothing happened all day Tuesday. Wednesday morning, the same cramping pain was back at 2am. It continued on and off again for the entire morning. So I went to my appointment and told my doctor what I had been feeling. She checked me and did a slide to see if my wetness was amniotic fluid. It was. My water had broke Monday morning and I was expecting "the gush" everyone talks about. So she said I was going to have a baby that day.
What's funny is that Jason had been asking me everyday and everytime he called me, "Are you going to have a baby?" He had asked me that morning, I said I would see. I had had a feeling that morning that something like this would happen when I went to the doctor. Once Dr. Spomer saw that it was amniotic fluid, she called the hospital, which is next door to the clinic, and let them know that I was on my way. I called Jason from the doctor's office and let him know that he was to clean up his job and go home and get my suitcase, cause we were going to have a baby! He couldn't believe it and I think was kind of shocked. I got my first ride in a wheel chair as Misty the nurse, pushed me down to the Baby wing. I got settled in my bed, met the nurse who would sit with me. I never had a moment by myself, which wasn't all bad. There was always a nurse in the room with me. They put all the info into a laptop right beside me and she can monitor me better. So 11:30 am I checked in and my doctor schedule Pitocin induction for 1:30pm. I was only 1 cm dialated, unlike her assistant Lisa, who thought I was at 3 the week before when my doctor was away on a trip. I was so hoping that I wouldn't go into labor when she was away, which I didn't.
Jason had called our friends Quin and Tracy and they were in town so they stopped by and chatted with us for a while as we waited for them to start the pitocin. I was still having cramping contractions but they weren't too bad. 1:30 came and they brought the pitocin a little later and we got hooked up to it. I had also been given some antibiotics as a precaution since my water had been broken for 2 days and also some fluids so I wouldn't get dehydrated. Once I was on the pitocin, the contractions were getting more frequent and more intense. I was going to go as long as I could handle them and see how hard they would get before I would ask for something. They were coming really fast and would last for 60-90 seconds with 30 seconds in between. Around 4ish, I was really starting to get overwhelmed with having no breaks in between contractions and the anticipation of the next one. I tried the breathing and concentration techniques but they just weren't working. I was starting to lose it and Jason and the nurses had to tell me to breath because I would hold my breath. I had asked a nurse for the first drug I could get and she told me it doesn't do a whole lot. It didn't help at all. Jason said the contractions were registering off the chart and the nurses said other women would be screaming at that point, but I held it together and never had the urge to scream.
Bring on the epidural. The doctor took a while to get there and made the joke about me walking down to the operating room so he could do it there. HA HA, not so funny. 4:30pm I was sitting up for the epidural but the contractions were so close together that I had to tell the doctor when I was having one. As I was sitting up, I got light headed and thought I was going to throw up. Once it was over, they noticed that the baby's heartrate went way down and my blood pressure had dropped. Doctor Spomer was there monitoring and was very concerned about the drops we were having. She didn't know why and I didn't say I had felt faint. I was put on oxygen for the rest of the time hoping that would bring up her heartrate. The stomach monitors were also taken off because they weren't giving accurate readings of my contractions or her heartbeat. Instead I had to have internal monitors put in for the contractions and one ontop of her head to read her heartbeats more accurately. I was feeling really good after the epidural but was scared that she would want to do a c-section. Spomer didn't want to let me go too long if there was no improvements. Jason called our pastor and some friends to start praying that we wouldn't need to do a c-section. We both were praying and just waiting. The heartbeat took awhile to improve and thankfully Spomer was patient and didn't rush with any decision. After an hour or more, she decided that we were doing okay. She told the operating room that we wouldn't be coming in, we would be on our own. My room was a constant flow of people. We had nurses and doctors and a medical student in there and we were laughing and talking. By 7:50 pm I was a full 10 cm and the bed was broken down so we could start pushing. Thankfully I had enough drug in me that I never felt any pain with pushing or when Katelyn was born. I was so thankful for that. 8:30pm she popped out and I opened my eyes to see a little blue baby with eyes wide open, in the arms of my doctor. She couldn't put her on my chest because she had had a bowel movement inside and was handed off to another doctor. My doctor didn't even look to see what we had had. So I asked as she was handed off what we had and the nurse said "it's a girl!" Jason was excited and was taking pictures of her as she was cleaned off and suctioned. She didn't cry until a long time after and it wasn't a very big cry. They thought they would have to put her in some oxygen for a while but again my doctor came through and said to give her to me for some skin to skin. They like to do that for at least an hour or two. She was pink and wide awake and didn't need to go on any oxygen. Our pastor and his wife and Quin and Tracy were waiting in outside and they came in to see her. When she was weighed later on, she came in at 7lbs 14 oz. and 18 inches long.
We had really great nurses and I love my doctor. She was so easy going and friendly. Looking back now almost 3 weeks later, I can't believe I went through it all, but I would do it again. I love this little girl and I just want to keep her small forever. I'm not worried if stuff doesn't always get done, because I'm taking the time to snuggle and hold my girl.
I love this face! This is what I get to wake up to every morning and she greets me with the biggest smiles. Especially when it's time to change the all important diaper.
Notice the books in the box. Since the hat was so light, I thought I would add some weight to throw him off. Well, he had found the box under my side of the bed and had already felt that it was pretty light. So my idea didn't really work.
I also got him a new western shirt. It has been ages since I've bought him a really nice shirt. It took me a while to look at everything the store had and I took a risk with a bright green and blue check, which he actually liked. Thank goodness!
Noah and Katelyn enjoying a nap in the shade. Noah is 5 months old and a big boy.
Faith plays with her 2 yr old, Caleb. He is so much fun. It was a special day and a great way to celebrate dads.
Jason's sister Malissa is home for a couple of weeks from Oregon, where she works on the YWAM base in Salem. She just got home from leading a school on their outreach to Columbia. She was very excited about the birth of Katelyn and couldn't wait for us to email and tell her when it happened. This was her first chance to meet her niece. She is also obsessed with taking pictures and took quite a few in the 3 days she was here. 
She wanted to take some family shots of us, which was nice since we don't have many since she was born even though we've been to many photo opportunity occasions in the last couple of weeks. And yes, I cut my hair short. Not for the new mom reason but because I was sick of long hair and went in and let the hair dresser do something different. Time for a change.
A blast from the recent past. This is my friend Sheila Henson. This was both of us 6 1/2 weeks ago. This last Sunday, June 7th, she had her little bundle of joy after 19 hours of labor. Some of us have it rougher than others. She had to be induced early and had a bouncing 5lb 14oz baby boy. Micah Jon Henson. 
(He looks much bigger in the picture. Katelyn is almost double his size) His daddy is pleased as punch that he finally has a baby. Jon would have had one on their honeymoon if he could. 
The new families. It was also announced to us that Sunday, by our pastor, that our future son-in-law had been born. HA HA They may be neighbors and future playmates, but we'll hold off on any marriages yet. We've got a lot of future son-in-law prospects in our circle of friends.
Both dads enjoying their kids. AAAAHHHHH!!!!!
Our first meeting
New family of 3
Katelyn Rose Pellegrino All 7lbs 14 oz of her! She came out with her eyes wide open! Very Observant!
Proud Papa! He was so excited it was the girl he'd been praying for. 
On mother's day, we dedicate Katelyn to the Lord. What was really special about it, Pastor Roger had asked a few people to pray about what the Lord would have them say to us about being parents and words for Katelyn's future. Some words that were said about Katelyn: She would have a great heritage of Faith just like Timothy did.
