She's Here!!!

She's here, she's here, she's here!! Rachel arrived at 6:23 pm on Monday, July 21st. Mindy called us at about 1:30 am on early Sunday morning because they were going into the hospital, so we drove out but her contractions kind of stopped (or at least they weren't painful enough or doing enough for her to stay) so they sent her home. Sunday afternoon we went in again so they could check her progress, and after another couple of hours in the hospital, they sent us all home again. Her doctor said that if she hadn't gone into active labor by Monday morning, she would start doing things to induce. Happily, we all got to rest and we went into the hospital at 7:30 on Monday morning. They gave Mindy some things to get her going and after a few hours her contractions started getting stronger, and after a couple more hours, they got really painful. I almost cried the whole time watching her go through the painful contractions. :( I wished I could take them for her. After a while of pain, she got an epidural :) and it was almost time! She started pushing at about 5:00. Mindy let Mike and I be in the delivery room, and we just stood in awe at Mindy and how amazing she is. Mike said, "I could never do that," as he watched her push through contraction after contraction. She was so good though and everyone was so proud of her. Her mom and dad and sisters were there as well, and they are all so amazing and wonderful. We've always felt like family from the first time we met them all. Rachel came at 6:23 and she is gorgeous! I got to cut the cord (how many moms can say they cut their baby's cord?) and they got to work on getting her going. She was pink and beautiful, but, as yet anyway, she is NOT a crier. We actually have not heard her cry yet (despite birth, pokes and prods, a bath, etc.) but she does squeak pretty good. And she's got really good grip. When they put her in to weigh her she rolled and grabbed a firm hold onto the side of the scale. She is 6 pounds 11 ounces and 20 inches long. And she likes to stick out her tongue. :) We are so incredibly grateful for this amazing blessing and so grateful for Mindy. We love her so so much. I'm sure we'll be posting more updates later, but for now, here are some pictures. :)