Caroline Day Smithson

Sweet Caroline having awake time

Tiny Footprints

Tiny Baby Girl

Proud Daddy...or is that Dr. McDreamy?

Grandpa and Grammy are so excited!

Papa and Grandma welcome Caroline

Morning after delivery brought lots of smiles

Thanks Aunt Christy for our incredible Diaper Cake

We had a really fun birthday celebration as a family

Curious Big Sister

Are you sure she's coming home with us?

Snug as a bug

The nurses didn't recognize Sally after her shower

Smithson, Party of 4 heading home

Showered, shaved, dressed, and ready for action

Abigail is excited to show Caroline the real world

Home sweet home!

To quote Dora (since that's a reputable person in our lives), "We did it!" We were discharged and made it home today around 6:00pm. Lets back up to September 13th to fill you in on the journey that led to today in case you haven't heard the full story...told via Josh since Sally is resting.

As most of you know, we were wanting to try a VBAC (Vaginal Birth After C-Section) with Caroline since Sally went so far with Abigail and then found out Abigail was facing the wrong way so they had to perform a C-Section. All along our doctor was willing to let us try so when we found out on September 13 that was still an option we had to make decisions. Just before 5pm on the 13th Sally called the doctor and told her we would be coming in the next morning at 7am to have her water broken. We decided, knowing there was a small chance of success and there were risks involved, to give it a shot.

We woke up Tuesday, September 14, 2010 ready to have our sweet little Caroline. Once they got Sally checked in, settled, and comfortable our doctor came in around 8:15am and broke her water to try and spur on labor. Once her water was broken everything else had to happen on its own...so Sally tried to use gravity. We walked laps like we were in training. She sat on a birthing ball (a large excercise ball) almost everytime she left her feet. She just stood around sometimes. She danced to "Sweet Caroline" hoping it would attract that little baby to come out (assuming she knew what her name was). Needless to say, Sally either sat down in a chair or laid in her bed a total of about 45 minutes from 9:00am-10pm. The other 12 hours and 15 minutes of that 13 hour labor was doing something causing gravity to work in her favor. Throughout the day she made progress. It was slow and painful, but consistent so we remained positive. Knowing that pain medicine can sometimes slow labor, Sally refused any pain killers all day long. She did everything she could to try and deliver Caroline.

As 10pm rolled around her doctor came in and did what was our final exam. Though contractions had increased in pain and stayed very consistent, Sally's body had stalled in the dialating process. We were told for the safety of Caroline and Sally another C-Section was the best option. So at 10:55pm, as I sat at Sally's head holding her hand through surgery, we heard the first cry of Caroline Day Smithson. She weighed 7lbs 3 ounces and measured 20 inches long. Our hearts were filled with joy as we realized we were now officially a family of 4 (or 5 counting Wrigley). Life was and is getting better.

Thanks for all your thoughts, prayers, gifts, love, and support through this process. We are excited for you all to meet Caroline. She really is precious, has a full head of hair, and will be a great little sister for Abigail.