Izzy was exactly 2 weeks old on Wednesday so we took a few pictures to compare her to the older ones to get a feel for how much she has really changed. I knew she had gained some weight but I had no idea how much until I took her to the doctor's office yesterday for a check on her eye (the poor baby's eye is stuck shut every time I turn around, but thankfully it's just a blocked tear duct) and she was weighed there. 8 lb 7 ounces.. A FULL POUND in a week. And honestly I wasn't TOO surprised because I spend all my time feeding her and she spends all her time pooing.




Looking at her daddy..

Sleeping on daddy's chest, so sweet.

Her stylish outerwear.

Catchin a few winks..

Just waking up..

Sleeping again!

It was also Papa's birthday on wednesday. I teared up just typing that sentence, miss you so much Papa! I really wish you could be here to meet her, I just know you would fall in love with her.

Izzy had her first doctors appointment yesterday to check her weight and I am in love with her doctor!! I kind of picked her out of about 10 other doctors in their practice and struck gold! Sweetest woman ever. She just made me feel like the best mom ever! Isabella's weight was only one ounce short of her birth weight at 5 days old and apparently that's a really good thing? She said most babies have to come back a few times to have their weight checked, but it's definitely all her because this baby wants to nurse 24/7. At first I thought maybe I wasn't giving her enough since it's so hard to tell how much she's getting unless I pump it out and give it to her through a bottle (which she hates!). But it was so comforting to know that the little one was getting enough to eat (and I love chubby babies, so I'm dying for her to get FAT!) Other than being mildly jaudice, everything was perfect with her, and it gave me comfort - that is, until we got back home and I went back to checking on if she's breathing everytime she stops moving! I really can't believe how I feel about her. Now I know how much you love me mom!! Such a good feeling to have and to understand! Speaking of the baby, she needs to eat AGAIN!

Isabella Grace Hefferon was born on March 4th, 2009 at 5:13 pm!!! She weighed in at 7 lbs 7 ounces, 19 inches long, and perfect. I wish I could write about how I feel now that she's here but just like everyone says, it's indescribable. I was induced tuesday night with that insert they put around your cervix to help start contractions and an hour later I was feeling them. They got worse as the night went on and I had to accept some medication to get a little sleep. I still felt every bit of the action but was too out of it to care so I was definitely relaxed but didn't do much sleeping. The next morning around 9am they started the pitocin and the contractions started to get more regular. The hours passed and they were about 2-3 minutes apart and intense. LITTLE DID I KNOW there was nothing intense about those. My water broke right in the middle of one and I thought my insides would explode. However, God was definitely watching over me as I had asked for the epidural about 10 minutes before this happened and the doctor was going to break my water for me after that to get things rolling. But my body had different plans and I have to say that I have never felt such horrible pain. The contractions started coming at 1 minute apart and I think I nearly broke the Nurses call button begging for some relief! I didn't feel the epidural at ALL and the relief was so great. I finally got some sleep. After about 2 1/2 hours of napping I woke up to a lot of pressure and just knew she was ready to make her debut!! I called in the nurse to check me and I had gone from 3 cm to 9 cm in just a few hours! Baby Bella was born an hour later! I only had to push for about 45 minutes and they placed her on my chest and I was speechless. I looked up and Gerard and saw him crying and I just lost it. I'm tearing up just thinking about seeing her for the first time. It was the most amazing experience and worth every day of waiting. Gerard was by my side every minute and wouldn't sleep unless I was. He helped me take a bath, use the bathroom, and held my hand through every contraction. Once my water broke he talked me through every painful minute, helped me breathe, and told me jokes to take my mind off of it. He is head over heels for this little girl and wants to be with her every second of the day.. he is so amazing. Now for the pictures!!


























And more to come!!

39 weeks and nothing.. hmph.

Anyone ever had their membranes stripped?? Never again.. no sir. On a happier note, the induction starts tuesday night and is carried onto wednesday so just a few more days!! I never thought I'd be so ready. The day I was born, March 21st, it snowed (in Texas!) weird right? Well check this out..






It is really coming down! How cool would it be for her to be born while it's snowing in March - it was in the 60s just 2 days ago!! Rocky is LOVING it by the way. I wish I knew how to upload videos because I got a few hilarious ones of rocky sticking his head under with his rear in the air. So cute. And here is hopefully my last belly shot.. everyone keeps telling me I'm going to miss having her in my tummy, and I'm starting to think they're right now that it's almost over (or beginning I should say).

MASSIVE!!!!