Welcome, Kaitlyn  − 14 December, 1998

My pregnancy with Kaitlyn went well. I had one minor scare in June. We had traveled to Florida by car and when we came back, I was experiencing some pain. Everything turned out OK. I continued working until the end of October. We had just bought a house so we moved in the end of October as well. So, I spent my last few quiet weeks moving stuff around the house, unpacking boxes and getting things a bit more organized before the baby arrived. We didn't know if Kaitlyn was a boy or girl, so I didn't buy a whole lot of stuff expect for nursery furniture, diapers, generic baby items, etc. I did buy a girl comforter set and boy set, but they remained in the closet until the arrival. My MIL had a baby shower for me in Washington and then sent gifts, along with a cute scrapbooks Steve's aunt had made. I really had a feeling Kaitlyn was a boy because of the way I carried her...it was totally different than how I carried Brittany.

Because Christmas was right around the corner, I was also finishing all the decorating and shopping. My MIL came in town for what she hoped would be Kaitlyn's birth, whose due date was 12/12. On 12/13, we went to the mall so Steve could finish some shopping and so Brittany could sit on Santa's lap. I hadn't felt very well all day, but I wasn't sure if it was me getting ready for birth or me just being completely worn out from a tiring month.

I woke Steve up the next morning and told him I was having contractions. We paid attention to time and around 6:30, decided we were going to have to make it to the hospital. My MIL was a frantic mess. She was scrambling all around the house trying to get ready. The rest of us were actually pretty calm. We got Brittany up and then we headed to the hospital.

The contractions moved along well. I thought I'd have a fairly easy time since I'd went through Brittany's birth as a terrified 17 year old without any medication. I was wrong, though. I don't know if the pain was worse than I remembered or I was just a big baby. Either way, they gave me an epidural. Man, I didn't know what I missed the first time. Steve was in the room as they gave me an IV and he just about passed out. I guess my hand bleeding made him queasy. I was a little worried at that point since it was obviously going to get worse and way more messy.

After my MIL got Steve some water, things were OK. Everything progressed well. I was so relieved when the nurses said I could start pushing. At 11:38am, Kaitlyn arrived in the world. The doctor first said, "it's a boy" and then said, "no, no..I didn't mean that, it's a girl." It was weird. I held Kaitlyn and then Steve. MIL and Brittany got to come in after I was mended.