Welcome, Savannah Elaine!

On Tuesday, 8/9/11 we welcomed Savannah Elaine Vargas into our family! She was born at 2:42p:

Weighing in at 6 lbs, 10 oz (measuring 19 1/2" long) she is the smallest baby I've had yet but she is by far the LOUDEST one! She pretty much bypassed the early newborn cry & has quite a set of lungs on her:

To say that my labor & delivery went fast seems like such an understatement! My contractions were strong & painful within 10 minutes of starting the Pitocin. I received the Epidural 20 minutes later (after enduring what felt like a lifetime of the worst contractions EVER!). Given the fact that I *always* have a reaction to the Epi (it makes me violently shake & vomit!) the Dr had given me what she called "the strongest anti-nausea drug you can get - this is what we give to cancer patients to help w/ their nausea" via an I.V. prior to giving me the Epi. Unfortunately, it didn't work. About 15 minutes after the Epi kicked in I started to vomit & shake. Poor Jim. He politely asked the nurse "Can she have that medicine now to help settle her stomach?" to which the nurse replied "Oh honey, I'm sorry but she's already had it.. It looks like it didn't work". *sigh* Fortunately, Savannah all of a sudden seemed to be in a BIG rush to be born. As I was getting sick I could feel the pressure building & building so I took a quick 2 second break to glance up from my "sick bag" so I could tell the nurse that I thought the baby was coming. 1 minute later the Dr arrived to take a look at things. Not 20 seconds later she said to me "Do not move, Do not cough, Do not sneeze. The baby is here" -- & w/ that she proceeded to rush into her "gear" & prepare to deliver the baby. 2 minutes & 1 contraction later & a perfect, pink, healthy baby girl was born:

Savannah's cord was unusually short so the Dr had to rush Jim to cut it so she could place the baby on my chest. Jim did a great job & within seconds I was attempting to snuggle & bond w/ my little girl. I use the word "attempting" because I was still very sick. Infact, I was so sick that the Dr wouldn't/couldn't move me into a recovery room for hours after the baby was born. After over an hour it was decided that I be given another anti-nausea drug. Unlike the 1st one administered this one came w/ some pretty big side effects - it pretty much put me into a hazy fog. Originally Jim was going to pick up the kids & bring them to see me & the baby but after watching me stare off into space & fall asleep sitting up several times he decided it would be best to wait until the morning to bring the kids. Eventually the drug completely took over & I fell into a deep sleep for 1 1/2 hrs. I woke up feeling GREAT! But my evening felt long & lonely without Jim & the kids. Fortunately they all arrived bright & early the next morning!
Kyle & Isabella meet their new sister:

Bella's doll is just a smidgen small than her new sister:

Both kids are fascinated by Savannah's little hands & feet:

I'm not sure if Bella realized that Savannah isn't a doll..:

So I gave birth on Tuesday at 2:42p & on we were discharged from the hospital on Thursday at 8:00a! We were pretty excited to go home!
Kyle has proven, once again, to be the bestest big brother ever! He absolutely adores Savannah & enjoys helping feed, change & hold her:

Isabella loves to shower her sister w/ kisses & especially loves to hold her when given the chance:

We always try to make sure there's room enough for whoever wants to sit near us when we're holding the baby. Bella likes to just look at her:

So far Isabella hasn't shown any jealousy issues at all!

We've had LOTS of visitors -- I have tons more pictures to go through -- but here are a few:
Auntie Carole

Grampy thinks Savannah looks just like Kyle. I think she looks more like Bella & she has a lot of Jim's features, too

Cousin Brandon

Auntie Leslee

Nana

It's Daddy's job to give the 1st bath:

Savannah is adjusting well - she eats approx every 3-4 hrs & sleeps away most of her time here on Earth!

Big brother Kyle can't get enough of her!

We had our 1st "difficult" night where Savannah was up crying for what felt like an eternity. Finally, around 7a (and in desperation!), I handed her off to Jim. Within seconds she was in a deep, peaceful sleep!!!! Who wouldn't want to be cuddled up in those arms, afterall :) Seriously though, since then whenever I'm having trouble getting her to sleep Jim takes over & has her out cold in minutes! Hey, whatever works!