Baby Steps: Welcome, Felicity Kay Pind!

The wait is finally over! Baby Girl Pind has graced us with her presence! Felicity Kay Pind was born at 3:46 p.m. on Feb. 27. She weighed in at 7 pounds, 12 ounces and measured 20 inches long. We couldn't be happier she has arrived.

I was induced Thursday, Feb. 27, since my doctor was going on vacation the week of my actual due date. Since I was already at 4 or 5 centimeters and the baby had been in the "go" position for four weeks already, my doctor decided the time was right for me, and I no longer had to wait for the little princess to decide when she wanted make an appearance.

I was set to be induced with Cooper, as well, but he did not wait and decided to come three days before the induction date. Since this was my first experience with induction, I asked my doctor lots of questions and got advice from other mommies who had been through the experience so I could be prepared for everything and anything. Overall, everyone, including me, thought the second they broke my water a baby would pop right out. Of course, that was not the case.

We began at 5 a.m. and by noon I stilled hadn't progressed, so the nurse broke my water. Two hours later, I had progressed to 6 centimeters, so my doctor decided to give me some Pitocin to speed things up. After 20 minutes on the lowest dose of Pitocin, I went from 6 centimeters to 9.5 and was ready to go. Four pushes later and our beautiful baby girl was here!

This time around seemed more real to me. Labor and delivery with Cooper was so difficult that all I really remember is yelling at my husband, being in pain and begging the doctor to get the baby out. With Felicity, it went so smoothly that I can actually treasure the memories, and I remember everything.

Everyone is ecstatic that she is here, to say the least. My mom was here for two weeks and can't wait to come back. Max's parents fight over who gets Felicity time, and Cooper is the best big brother helper a mom could ask for. So far things are all going smoothly, but let's face it, she is barely a month old, and I'm sure the newness will wear off soon. It will only be a matter of time before Cooper will be begging us to send her back, but right now, things could not be more perfect, and I will decide to focus on that instead of dreading tomorrow.

Kristen Pind, a native of small-town Gower, Mo., came to Southeast Missouri State University with big dreams of being the next Katie Couric or Diane Sawyer. She never thought that by her mid-20s, she'd be married with two kids and living in Cape Girardeau. Keep up with Kristen's adventures as a young mom who's still trying to figure out how her own life fits together. Turns out, she's living a dream she never knew she had, and loving every minute of it. Kristen invites moms of all types to find her "Baby Steps" page on Facebook.