Nora Lynn has arrived!

She's here! She's home! She's healthy!

Early, early Wednesday morning (September 10th), Jeremiah and I headed to the hospital. It was the day we had scheduled to have Nora IF we made it that far in the pregnancy. Due to the complications and eclampsia at Hudson's birth, I thought my blood pressure would probably go up at some point in the pregnancy and I would have to deliver early...but it didn't! We made it to the scheduled C-Section date in my 39th week.

(You can read about my giving birth to Hudson almost two months early here....Part one and Part two. )

Last week, my parents had come to stay at our house with Hudson. They day before Nora's birth, Mom and I went around town to run a few errands. I kept thinking to myself "Please, don't go into labor. Please, don't go into labor." Although it wouldn't really have mattered, I kind of needed this birth to go exactly as planned. I needed the stability. I needed it to be scheduled.

Sure, it was technically a "repeat Cesarean," but since I had no memory of the first one, this was all new territory for me. I had two of my close friends tell me step-by-step what was going to happen. And, it went just as they said.

Everything went like clockwork. No complications. No seizures this time. No eclampsia. No memory loss. No unconsciousness. The Lord was with us just as He was before.

Surrounded by great nurses and my awesome doctor, I was able to immediately bond with my baby girl. It wasn't days before I remembered holding her. It wasn't weeks before I felt the mommy-baby bond...it was immediate.

I was so glad to have Jeremiah by my side. Since I was unconscious for Hudson's birth, he had to wait outside the operating room. But with our little Nora, he was holding my hand and snapping pictures.

She was 7 pounds, 1 ounce and 20 inches long. She seemed tiny, yet huge at the same time. Hudson was born at 3 pounds, 12 ounces and Nora was already way beyond that point in her growth.

With darker hair and super long fingers and toes, our little girl looked perfect.

My parents soon joined us at the hospital, bringing Big Brother Hudson to meet his little sister.

At first, he just ignored the baby. We'd ask him a question about her and he would just look into the distance like he didn't hear us. Now, he points at her and calls her "baaaaaby.' (In a very Southern accent). He is always putting his little finger up to his mouth saying "Shhhhh!" because she is sleeping. And this afternoon, he even decided it would be ok to kiss her forehead.

We are trying to make sure he still gets special attention from mom and dad.

And since grandparents have been here to help out, he is also getting lots of attention from them. PawPaw and Hudson played with stickers on their faces for a long time.

Lots of snacks have also helped.

I was so thankful to be surrounded by my family.

My parents are pretty proud of their little trio of grandchildren.

I also had friends stop by to officially meet Nora.

We can't believe all the meals and gifts that have been shared with us during this time.

We were able to bring Nora home on Friday morning.

She is sleeping and eating great! At her first check-up this morning, we learned she is already 7 lbs. 2 oz., one ounce over her birth weight.

We love having family here to cuddle and snuggle her.

We just love our little Nora Lynn. We praise the Lord for all that He has done in our family - He's never failed us!