Introducing Catherine Grace Smith

Meet Baby Cate! (Pics are out of order below...that first one is Jack enjoying a lollipop his Nana brought him...he's such a big boy now)! Sweet little angel arrived a couple of weeks early on July 21 at 7:23 in the evening after my induction starting at 11:30 that morning. She weighed 7 lbs., 7 oz. and was 20 inches long. She is just perfect in every way.

I went in for an appointment at 8:30 that morning and ended up not getting to see the doctor until 10:00. He was in a tough surgery. He had checked me three times in the previous week and I was already dilated to 3+ cm. He said that if I got to 4, he wanted to go ahead and put me in. When he was finally able to get there, I was dilated to 4+, so I called Johnny to meet me at the hospital. We got all checked in and my awesome L&D nurse, Amanda, started pitocin to get some contractions going. The started pretty much as soon as she started the drip, and Dr. Gayle came in at 12:30 to break my water.

My contractions picked up at first and then stalled out and I was only dilated to a 6 for a few hours. We watched Footloose, which will forever hold a special place in my heart as a distraction from labor, and they started my epidural not too long after my water broke. I still didn't like the process of getting the epidural, but boy is the result worth it!

At around 7:00, Dr. Gayle came in to check me and I had finally dilated to a 9. He said it would be about an hour and I would start pushing. Almost as soon as he left, I felt that tremendous "pressure" (I call it pain) and the nurse came in. She immediately started setting things up and told me to push when I felt like it...I couldn't really feel any contractions and was confused about what was going on. She had me push a few times until Cate crowned then told me to stop and wait for the dr. I was NOT happy about this...remember, what most folks call pressure, I definitely call pain. I'm pretty sure the words "screw Dr. Gayle" actually came out of my mouth even though I absolutely adore him, and a couple of minutes later he was there with his calming presence. A couple of pushes later, and Cate arrived screaming away! The most amazing sound.

We spent two nights in the hospital in a MUCH bigger room than with Jack (Johnny even had his own bed) and I had them keep Cate in the nursery at night so I could get some sleep. I didn't have the stress of trying to breastfeed this time, so that made it much more relaxing. Overall, it was a really wonderful experience (except for the pain, of course).

We came home on Friday and we're all adjusting to life with two babies. Cate is, so far, a really good baby. Her days and nights are a little mixed up, but nothing too major. Jack is handling things pretty well, though he's been a little clingier than usual at daycare and home. He loves on Cate and is already attempting to say "sister." It's so sweet. I'll be sure to get some pics of them together soon. My mom is here and is such an awesome help with house, baby, and Jack. I'm trying to take things a little slower this time and get more sleep during the day. I'm so much less anxious with Cate than I was with Jack...it really has been easier with the second one so far.

I LOVE my new family. It's surreal to think I have two kids now, but you definitely instantly have enough love for both of them. Catherine Grace, thank you for all the love and joy you are going to bring all of us!



Jack the Big Brother enjoying his lollipop!


Mommy right after having Cate...so happy to have that over with!


Sweet baby Cate, our little angel girl!