The Harrison Family: Caroline Elizabeth Harrison

We would like to announce the birth of our daughter Caroline Elizabeth Harrison. We welcomed her into the world on July 17th, 2014 at 8:25pm. She was 8lbs, 12oz and 22inches long.

Ok so I realize she is now 2 weeks old and I am just getting around to announcing her, but we have been a little busy with having 2 girls.

The morning of July 17th Jeremy and I got to St Thomas of Midtown hospital at 5AM. We checked in and were in our room by 5:45. The nurses started my IV and got the pitocin started. I was already dilated 3cm so when the night shift nurses left they said "Good Luck, we for sure won't see you tonight cause this is your second child, so this will all go fast!" That should have been our first sign this would not be a fast or easy process.

Jeremy and I sat around all day just waiting for me to dilated more. We could see our monitor and the patient next door monitor. Around noon we were very jealous as we watched her monitor have fast and strong contractions. Then there was nothing on the monitor, so she had her baby. I was checked multiple times, making very slow progress. Finally around 4 Dr. Lipsitz came in, checked me and said well it looks like we are ready to push. YEAH!!! We were going to have a baby soon!

I pushed with 2.5 hours with Kayleigh and just knew this could not be as bad, I had done it once before right? Well I pushed, and pushed, and pushed......and pushed for 3.5 hours. Nothing. The baby would make a little progress but nothing major. The baby's head was sideways at times and Dr. Lipsitz would turn it but it kept going sideways. I was exhausted, had the worst headache of my life and could not push any longer. I just wanted a baby. We talked about having a c-section. No, that is not what I wanted to happen, but at this point and time I didn't think there was any other way of getting this baby out. I signed consent for a c-section, Jeremy and I were dressed and ready to go, just waiting on my ancef (an antibiotic) to arrive. They were having trouble getting it from pharmacy (frustrating at the time, but in the end it was what saved me from the c-section).

As an ICU nurse I think of surgery as a HUGE deal. Of course everyone dies in surgery (they don't really, but in my mind it's a possibility) and so I was giving Jeremy my last rights thru many tears to please continue to dress Kayleigh in dresses, make sure her hair is always done with bows, and if this baby is a girl please do the same thing. To make sure he let our kids to go Colorado often to visit my family so they can continue to be apart of their lives and to please find a new mommy for our kids, someone who will love them. Jeremy had tears in his eyes, I was bawling and so were some of the nurses in the room.

In the meantime Dr. Lipsitz came in the room with one of her partners who she said has a few more grey hairs than her and just wanted him to check me and see what he thought. Well he did, he turned that baby inside me and made me start pushing again. After about 3 pushes, he yelled at me to STOP...this baby was about out. At that time 15 people flew into the room and set it all up for a delivery. One more push and Dr. Lipsitz announced "it's a girl!" I was in heaven, another little girl. We are very blessed and thankful to have another girl in our family!

Caroline had meconium so she was rushed to the warmer where NICU nurses suctioned her our a few times to make sure her lungs were clear and then placed our precious girl on my chest!

Jeremy and I spent a few minutes with her to ourselves and then he went to get BIG SISTER Kayleigh who was dying to meet her little sister.

This picture is perfect, it shows just how excited Kayleigh was to meet her sister Caroline! In Kayleigh's hand is an angel she brought for her a few weeks before she was born. I tried to talk Kayleigh into a gender neutral angel, but she insisted in a girl angel because baby "Bob" was going to be a girl. When Kayleigh got in the room she said, "See I told you Mom that it was a girl" Yes Kayleigh, you were right!