It's A...

Girl!!!
Baby Girl Petty is Finally Here! No, we still haven't decided on a name, but we know what gender it is, so that's a start. Our top five girl names now (in alphabetical order) are: Ava/Eva (We like the name, but if we spell it Eva people will say it wrong and we'll sort of be stuck with E's), Hannah, Kara, Lisette and Zoe/Zoey. No guarantees that we'll listen, but feel free to cast your vote (see poll to the right). This is the first time Eric and I have been at an impass with names. Usually we are in-sync, but not this time. We have until Monday to decide.
Labor and delivery went well. Here's about how it went:
1:30 Couldn't sleep because of contractions
2:15 Woke Eric up to time contractions, wrote blog post, took showers
3:00 Went to hospital
6:00 Got epidural (which slowed contractions down)
9:00 Doctor broke water
12:15 Felt like the baby was going to come, checked with nurses who confirmed that I was ready.
12:20 Nurses called doctor, Eric called his mom to bring Elia.
12:30 Doctor came
12:35 Elia came running in from the parking lot
12:40 Pushed 2.5 times
12:45 Baby came
We decided earlier in the day that Elia (who had requested to watch) could come watch. She sat right on the bed next to my shoulder and held my hand (we told her that was her job). She saw the baby after it came out and saw the umbilical cord get cut and then she and Eric watched the nurse clean off the baby while I got two stitches then cleaned up. She really was just so interested and curious in the baby, asking so many questions. I am really glad we included her.

Ethan likes to be near the baby, especially if Elia is, but is generally less interested and more of a roamer in the hospital room. Nancy told me that on the way out of the hospital the first time Ethan said, "I don't want this baby. Let's put this white baby back. I want a brown baby." (It's a good thing Ethan didn't get his wish.)

It's been so nice to have Nana and Grandpa around. Eric's been able to stay with me the whole time in the hospital, the kids have come to visit several times, but have been able to leave before they get too crazy and Ken made a delicious chicken enchilada dinner for our homecoming today.

I saw someone do this on their blog and liked the idea. I'm including a picture of Elia and Ethan (in no particular order) on their birth days. Can you tell which picture is Ethan and which is Elia? Who do you think the baby looks most like?

So, we're home now (out of the Garden of Eden of the hospital). Eric thinks the hospital is like that for new parents and then you have to go back into the real world when you check out. We'll tell you how the real world is with three kids. Wish us luck!