Announcing the arrival of Luciana Iris!

On April 19, 2012, I was driving around West Knoxville trying to clear my head. I was frustrated that I hadn't gone into labor yet and was just having the baby blues and anticipation that comes along with it!

I happened upon the 'Lucy Lane' sign when I was at the end of the road (Northshore) and just started smiling because I knew that God had given me that 'sign' to tell me to keep the faith. So I pulled over to take  a picture and as I checked the photo to make sure it came out ok, I saw the 'No Outlet' on the top and just started laughing because while God is loving and benevolent, He also has a wonderful sense of humor!

 Our due date for Lucy was April 23, 2012. Needless to say, the 23rd came and went without a baby. On the morning of the 24th, Michael and I met with my OBGYN to discuss options on getting this little girl to come into our world! We scheduled an induction for the next morning and the Doctor stripped my membranes to get things moving in the right direction! Mike and I were just outside of the hospital parking lot when my contractions started happening. There was no regularity to them, so I just assumed they were normal contractions. Mike decided to stay home with me anyway and I am extremely happy that he did! By 4:00, the duration of each contraction and the closenes between each one had picked up considerably. I called my doctor's office and they told me to go to the triage at the hospital! We arrived with me gripping handrails and blowing through contractions and were quickly taken upstairs to labor and delivery! We were so excited! I was put on a monitor and then....we just waited. and waited. and waited! Finally it was decided that my water would be manually broken and this is when we decided to put the epidural in. Not fun, but totally worth the pain relief! I labored all night with the help of pitocin and the epidural meds to get me through it. Sometime on the 25th, I was told to start pushing. And I did. I pushed and I pushed and I pushed. Lucy wasn't making and progress and I was getting worn out! My OBGYN realized that Lucy was too big to go through my birth canal, and it was then decided that I would be having a C-Section! By this point, I was too exhausted to care, plus I knew that MIchael would be in the room with me, so off we went to the O R. 

 The C-Section experiece was surreal and absolutely amazing! I remember feeling them pull Lucy out of my womb and knowing that my baby had just been born! She came out screaming her little head off! Apparently, she also stuck her fist up in the air when the doctor first opened up the uterus to get her out! Dr. Jones said she had never seen a baby do that before! My little head strong girl! 

 Michael immediately went to see Lucy while the nursing staff was getting her statistics. When he came back to me he had tears in his eyes and told me how beautiful she was! I felt so complete at this moment - as a wife, as a mother, and as a woman. 

 So here are the details! Luciana Iris Petrone was born on April 25, 2012 at 4:15pm. She was 19" and 8 lbs, 10 oz. Her hair is a beautiful shade of brown and we are waiting to see if her eyes will be blue like her Daddy's or brown like mine! 

 Lucy is definitely a snuggle bug. Here she is cuddled up on Mike's chest which is one of her favorite spots to sleep! 

 Proud Grandpa! This is Mike's Dad holding Lucy when she was 2 days old! Lucy is the first grandchild on both sides! Can we say spoiled? 

 I could just stare at this face all day! 

 Lucy's first car ride on the way home from the hospital! 

 Lucy loves her swing which is wonderful because at times, it's the only way we ever get anything done! 

I adore this picture of my girl! She looks so peaceful and serene! 

  Lucy's Grandmother holding her after we came home from the hospital!

And last, but not least, a close up of the princess! I am anxious to be able to post pictures with her eyes actually open, but as she is a newborn, this is pretty much how we see her all of the time anyway!