Corie May McGinnis - Born on 12-17-2010

Final profile picture!
39 weeks along

Let's get this party started!

Right after delivery

Enjoying my new baby girl!

Her hat reminds me of the hats we used to wear as kids. Also reminds me of a hat my uncle wears down to the barn, to feed the cows! Some sweet lady crocheted the hats for the Christmas babies.

Her very prominent scowl!

Ahhhh, so sweet! (Mike would hurt me if he knew I posted this picture, hee hee!)

The cutest elf you ever did see!

1-Week-Old
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Corie May McGinnis was born December 17, 2010 at 7:31am at the Dixie Regional Hospital, in St. George, UT. She weighed 8 lbs. 2 oz. and was 19" long. She came out SCREAMING and a healthy 10!!!! Choosing her name was tough! We thought it would be easier! We didn't name her until the next day, later in the day. Corie comes from Mike's middle name, which is Cory. May comes from my Grandma Jeppesen's middle name, which is also May.

We arrived at the hospital at 5:00am. They hooked me up to the monitors as I laid there and tried to rest and not go crazy! After about 5 minutes, my nurse came in and said, "Did you know you're in labor?" I had no clue. I just thought I was have braxton hicks from anxiety and not eating. Sure enough though, you looked at the monitor and every 1-3 minutes I was having contractions. The longer I laid there, the more intense they got. They didn't ever really hurt but, were full of pressure! So, the 17th must've really been the day, whether I wanted it to be or not! Another crazy thing happened, they got my I.V. in on the first poke! That, in and of itself, was a HUGE miracle!!! With Connor it took 4 pokes, with Rylie it took 7 pokes (after calling in the anesthesiologist). So, that put me at ease. Around 7am, they wheeled me to the surgical room where they'd be performing the c-section. They gave me my spinal block, which went very well, and then I laid there as they prepped and started the c-section. For some reason I felt a lot of pushing, pulling, tugging, etc. I didn't ever feel them cut, thank heavens. With my other c-sections I did feel the pressure but, that's it. So, I was very nauseous through the entire procedure, which made me sad. I love the anxiety and intensity of laying there, wondering when the baby would be here, and what the sex of the baby was. This time I didn't get to think about that and was busy trying to not throw up. I also think that maybe the anesthesiologist might not have put enough medicine through me? He was too busy talking to Mike and everyone else and didn't seem to pay attention to how I was feeling. So, I lay there wanting to die and then all of a sudden I heard this loud cry and screaming and the Dr. announce our beautiful little girl had arrived!!!! I was SHOCKED to say the least!!!!! I was 100% expecting this baby to be a boy. I just kept saying, "Are you sure? ARe you for real?" I am so grateful for my baby girl though!!!! Oh how I love her!!!! Mike then headed over and got some video and pictures of Corie while they finished working on me. The anesthesiologist gave me some medicine for my nausea (FINALLY!) which, for some reason, made me forget some things because I have no idea when and how I got from surgery to my room in the hospital. Absolutely no clue!

Things went great in the hospital the next 2 days! I got there on a Friday and left on Sunday. I wanted to stay longer but, their beds were KILLING my rear end and tail bone!!!! I didn't have to have pain meds. while I was in the hospital and was able to walk around and take care of myself quite easily. I was VERY VERY blessed!!! Corie was amazing too! She came out hungry and ready to attack and that really helped feeding! My other kids came out lazy and it was a struggle! Corie is an agressive eater and we've had to train her into eating every 3 hours, rather than every minute!

I'm feeling pretty dang good and so glad to have Corie here!!!! My Dr. did an AMAZING job on my c-section! The incision looks beautiful, if that's possible! You can't even tell he cut me open. No redness or anything! I am amazed at his work! The first night we were home things went amazingly well! Corie slept excellent and the kids were so good for us! The rest of the week was tough! Hormones were out of control, I was overwhelmed, feeling ugly, feeling stressed, and have had a hard time getting into a routine! I'm so grateful that Mike was able to work from home the majority of the time! He was a HUGE help for me!!!! He took such good care of me! Also, we were so blessed to have help from friends and family who would come and take Connor and Rylie every day for a while to give me a break and get some rest! Its been hard to limit my activities but, I can say that I haven't been as good about it as I maybe should be. Some things just have to get done and so I do them. However, not driving has been a pain in the butt. My Dr. said no driving for 2 weeks because of meds., etc. and so Mike's had to drive me everywhere! UGH! I'll be glad when Friday is here so I can drive again! You all know how I seriously love to drive! My feet are swollen, worse than when I was pregnant, so I'll be glad when they go down and are back to normal, whatever that may be.

Corie is doing very well! She is still eating really well and sleeps excellent, knock on wood! She gets the hiccups almost after every feeding. She makes the cutest squeaky and grunting noises. When we left the hospital, she weighed 7 lbs. 9 oz. Yesterday she weighed 8 lbs. 6 oz. I love when she looks at me and lifts her head to look around. She's the sweetest thing ever!!! She makes me so happy and just feel so good all over!!! We feel so blessed and grateful that Corie has come to our family. I struggled feeling connected this pregnancy and was scared that I would have a hard time after I delivered. However, I am glad to say that has not been the case. I love Corie so much and can't get enough of her! When I'm not near her I miss her! We love you, Corie!