Welcome Selah Renee Blanchard!!!!

On October 13th 2010 we welcomed baby Selah Renee Blanchard into our family! She weighed 5 pounds 10 ounces and was 18 inches long. She is a perfect angel and has the sweetest quiet cry.

We went into the hospital to be induced with Selah at 5:30pm Oct 12th and thankfully I didn't need any pitocin to start my labor, they started the "prep" of induction with a cervadil and lo and behold I ended up in labor less than an hour after they started it. This was really exciting for me since I've been confined to a bed for my past two labors due to having pitocin and needing constant monitoring. Since I ended up going into labor without the need of pitocin, I was free to walk around and labor the way I wanted. It was MUCH easier to deal with the pain not being in bed and my labor, although long, was easier than with Asa and Lillian. Thankfully I didn't need an epidural and I had the amazing support of Lee and my mom and after 25 hours of labor, Selah was born perfectly healthy and with a 9.9 apgar score. Here are a few photos we snapped in the hospital. Enjoy!

Family trip to Charlavoix

A few weeks ago we had a wedding scheduled in Charlavoix Michigan, which happens to be the hometown of my Uncle Mike and Aunt Carla. So we took a family trip up there for the weekend and had so much fun with the kids and family! On Sunday we took the kids to see the "big water" which is what Asa calls Lake Michigan. lol. He also got to see the boats go through the draw bridge which he thought was amazing, of course.

We had a blast trying to find petosky stones on the beach and playing on the playground there. It is a gorgeous city and we're looking forward to visiting again.

Welcome to the Blanchard Family...welcome to our newest addition

So I've decided to start a blog because I need the encouragement to record things as they happen since I've already missed recording so much with my children already. So this partly for motivation for me and partly to keep family in the loop with what's going on.

These last few weeks have been hectic, preparing for Baby Selah's entrance into the world which was anything but what we expected it would be like. We had a trying three day hospital stay where they diagnosed me with an enlarged pituitary gland and high prolactin levels in my blood which was giving me severe headaches and vision loss. They started treatment but couldn't do much with me being 9 months pregnant and I ended up being induced 10.12.10 so that we could have our baby and treat me separate from the pregnancy.

Baby Selah entered the world after 25 hours of labor that was induced with cervadil. She's gorgeous and perfect. 5 pounds 10 ounces and 18 inches long she was born 2 1/2 weeks early but other than her size you wouldn't know it since she's about as perfect as they come with her health. She's was a 9.9 apgar and has been sleeping since she was born lol.

I feel amazing, a little too amazing, I have to remind myself to slow down and not get ahead of myself since I feel so great. Right now Selah is sleeping in her bassinet beside me and she's bundled up and looks like an angel and all seems well in the world.

I miss my other two children, they are spending the week with their great Aunt Carla and great Uncle Mike in Charlavoix and I can't wait to see them tomorrow! I think they will be in for quite a shock when all of a sudden "Selah" no longer refers to the large lump of a belly I've had for 9 months but now is a spitting, crying baby that they have to live with everyday. lol. Lillian in particular may have some issues with all of this but I know they'll come to love her once they get used to each other.

Well this ends the first of many bloggings on our family...stay tooned for more fun filled bloggings in the future and I'll try to post photos of Selah tonight so everyone can see her beautiful sweet face.