First I would like to thank my very best friend, Heather, for redesigning the background of our blog! The background matches Caroline's bedding and its perfect! Thank you Heather- I love you!

Caroline is six days old today! It's hard to imgaine that this time last week I was almost in labor with her! The last six days have been joyful, emotional, and most of all such a blessing! We love Caroline so much! We think she is perfect in every way!!

I would like to say that labor and delivery was all that I thought it was going to be- no, it was better than what I had anticiapted! I went into labor last Saturday, March 28 at 11:15 pm- Sam and I had just finished packing our bags for the hospital and we crawled into bed very tired. Five minutes later I had my first contraction- thinking that it was a Braxton-Hicks I tried to fall asleep. Five minutes later I had another one. This continued every five to seven minutes until 12:30 am- this was when I decided it was time to call the doctor- I was a little nervous calling him because I called him early Saturday morning with a minor issue and he told me that now all I had to do was wait for the contractions to begin- I waited all day- well until 11:15! So anyways, Dr. Salley told me to come on in! We got to Baptist hospital and by 2:00 am we were checked in. I immediately met my labor and delivery nurse that I would have until 7 am- Libby- and she was fabulous. Libby and Dr. Salley checked me right away to see how far I was dilated and it was still 2 cm (same as Friday's doctor's appointment). Libby hooked me to two monitors- one for the baby's heartrate and one that monitored my contractions. Soon after I got nubain and potossin.

I just knew it was going to be a long night so I told Sam to try and get some rest and that I'd do the same. This did not happen- well not for me anyways!! Because of the IV I had to use the bathroom every 30 minutes and I was still having frequent and consecutive contractions. I don't think Sam got much rest either because he was helping me to the bathroom and talked me through the contractions. Every time I tried to fall asleep during bathroom visits I'd have a contraction. Somehow I found myself not exhausted. Libby stayed with me pretty much the whole time. She told me everything she was doing so that I wouldn't be scared or worried. She reassured me several times that everything was going great and all was occuring naturally! Because I was restless I tried moving around in different positions and at one point the baby's heartrate got to 60 bpm and Dr. Salley was paged, but when he got there her heartrate got back up- he told me that if it had lasted a few more minutes a c-section would be needed.

Around 3 am Libby told me that I would be getting my epidural around 5 am. When 5 am rolled around she asked me how I was doing and I told her fine and she said that the anesthesiologist would be by at 6 am to give me the epidural. At 6 am I was dilated 8 cm! I could not believe that I progressed this far and did so without the epidural! The contractions up until this point were not monstrous- the nubain helped take the edge off. I was very nervous about the epidural and the anesthesiologist reassured me that everything would be fine and he even stayed with me a few minutes longer to ease my mind! Soon after my water broke! Sam heard my water pop even before I felt it! Everything was going so perfect! Dr. Salley came in a little later and told me that I would be having my baby probably around 10 am or so. At 7 am I got a new labor and delivery nurse- Lauren- and she too was awesome! She was just what I needed!

When daylight came my family as well as Sam's started arriving. They visited us until about 9:30 and this is when Lauren asked them to leave because it was pushing time! She told me that I was 9 cm dilated and that when I started to feel pressure it would be time to push. She gave me directions for how to push and gave me great advice. At 9:45 I was ready! Sam and Lauren were my coaches during this whole time and they were both great! However at about 10:05 I started to feel a lot of pushing pressure and I didn't like it. Lauren asked if I needed more of the epidural and I said yes. She adjusted it but it didn't much help so the anesthesiologist was called back in to give me what they call the "emergency epidural". In less than five seconds I felt tons better and could better concentrate on the task at hand- delivering my baby! Dr. Salley was called in around 10:45 and at 11:03 our precious Caroline was born! It was amazing- Dr. Salley was wonderful! After Caroline's head and shoulders were out he told me that I could grab under her shoulders and pull her the rest of the way. This was such a special moment- Sam and I both cried when she was born and it was so momentous I cannot even begin to describe here!

We spent Sunday through Tuesday at Baptist. I received excellent care from everyone that took care of us. It's funny that our night nurse was also named Caroline! We loved her! Sam and I still talk about Lauren and Caroline! We also enjoyed our visitors! Caroline had lots of visitors!

Being a mommy has been joyful and exciting! I'm filled with all different kinds of emotions. At times I'm so happy and at other times I'm scared and filled with worry. I know however that the Lord will take care of Sam and our new little family! We have a great support system of family and friends and we're looking forward to all of the things that we'll get to share and experience with Caroline!

Some of you may know but after Caroline was born I noticed a white speck in her right eye. On Monday when the pediatrician came to examine her she also noticed the white speck but said that her eye scope shows a black line- one that she's never seen before. I became very worried at this news. On Tuesday, Caroline's pediatrican came by to examine her before we were discharged and said that she made an appointment for us to see a pediatric ophthamologist on Friday. She couldn't assure me that Caroline could see and when she left I just cried and cried. I was so sad to think that she can't see me and see how proud I am of her. It was a long three days for us. Friday finally came and I was extremely nervous. The nurse tech prepared us for the doctor's visit- she dilated both her eyes and talked to us about the procedure. When we saw her doctor he told us that he'd have to use special instruments to pry her eyes open so that he could get a good look in the backs of her eyes. He told us that she would scream and not like it. He said that I could stay in the room or not. I decided to stay but not look. Sam held her on his lap and the doctor looked into her eyes. When he finished he said do you want the good news or the bad news. Sam said good news. The doctor said good because I don't have any bad news!! She does however have what they call a Mittendorf dot. A mittendorf dot is a congenital anomaly manifested as a small gray or white opacity just inferior and nasal to the posterior pole of the lens, representating the remains of the lenticular attachement of the hyaloid artery; it does not affect vision. We were both relieved to know that she could see- I cried happy tears this time and thanked the Lord for our answered prayers! Dr. Cheeseman also commented that when he looked in the backs of her eyes he could tell that she'd be a blonde and that when she got older she'd need to wear sunglasses when outside! Her hair is blonde and her eyes are blue right now- so we'll see if they both change! We would like to thank everyone for praying for her! She's perfectly healthy and we feel so blessed to have her!

On Thursday we had a follow up with her pediatrician! At birth Caroline weighed 8 lbs and 3 oz when she was discharged she weighed 7 lbs and 11 oz. On Thursday she gained 4 ounces! So now she weighs 7 lbs and 15 oz. I had a host of questions to ask her and Dr. Thomas answered all of them! The questions ranged from swaddling at night to when we might could go back to church. We got a clean bill of health and a new appointment for when she's two weeks.

Enjoy the pictures!

Melissa in Labor!

She's Here!

One Proud daddy with his new daughter!

Bringing Home Baby!

The Leviners

Today has been another wonderful day with Caroline! She's figured out that she's been born and lets us know with her crying, smiles, and grimmaces. She likes to be swaddled, held, and rocked! Sam says she's already spoiled! We love her so much already!

Our First Stroll!

She's so sweet!

Our Sweet Caroline!

Caroline Faye Leviner has arrived!

Sunday, March 29th at 11:03am

8 pounds and three ounces

20 1/2 inches

Caroline, Mommy and Daddy are all doing very well. Caroline is one perfect little princess!

This morning I woke up with excitement thinking that this would be the day we'd be headed to the hospital. I had a "minor" issue and thought that I was getting ready to be in labor but after calling the doctor at 7:00 am, he told me that what I was experiencing (won't discuss here but if you have the latest edition of the book "What to Expect When You're Expecting turn to page 363 and look at the first set of bold words on the far left), was normal and that now I'd be waiting for contractions to begin. So all day I've waited and NOTHING! Oh well let's see what tomorrow brings!

I mentioned in a previous blog how my OB practice will allow me to go a week over my due date. Their reasoning is that it would be best for a woman to go into natural labor instead of being induced. I'll be induced on Tuesday if natural labor does not occur for me within the next several days. As I was pondering the reasoning for going into natual labor I ran across a magazine article on the subject. It comes from the April 2009 "Baby Talk" magazine:

"Every Week Counts"

"Full-term and wishing your doctor would induce you? Don't push it. Babies induced or delivered by scheduled c-section at 37 weeks have a 100 percent increase of complications, and a 50 percent increase at 38 weeks, a new study shows. These risks don't apply if you naturally go into labor at that point. Why? Nature knows when the time is right. At 37 or 38 weeks, rapid development can occur. 'Think of it as your baby lowering his landing gear- every extra week helps ensure a safe landing', says study coauthor Lucky Jain, M.D., a professor of pediatrics at Emory University in Atlanta."

From reading this I trust my doctor's decision for allowing me to go past my due date. My only fear is that she'll be so big that I'll struggle during delivery and when I brought that up he said there's no way to tell until I'm in labor.

I am very thankful that I'm full term and a few days over is just fine too! I just can't wait to hold her and kiss those chubby cheeks!!

This morning I had the non stress test and an ultrasound to see how baby Caroline is doing. Dr. Salley was pleased with the results (he's also the doctor that'll be on call this weekend and on Tuesday if I'm induced- I'm very happy with this news- he's wonderful). The results were that Caroline has enough amniotic fluid and has regular moving patterns.

The ultrasound tech predicted that Caroline's birth weight will be at the high end of eight pounds or even right at nine- YIKES- but I'm so thankful for being full term and getting to have a healthy baby girl! She also noted that Caroline couldn't get any further down than she is- so she's ready and I'm feeling it- but no contractions or any signs of labor. She also commented that Caroline has these huge chubby cheeks- more for me and daddy to kiss!!

This is Caroline's position- look at your belly- on the left side is Caroline's back and on the right are all her extremities- no wonder why only on the right I've noticed these bulges! The ultrasound tech used a visual (a baby doll) to demonstrate her position. She pointed out too that Caroline had one hand over the other wrist- like she was praying- how sweet! I tried to see if she had hair- as much indigestion as I've had I'm thinking she has a head full- but I didn't see any- guess I didn't know what I was looking for!!

I also asked her to check for body parts- feet, hands, ears, eyes, nose, etc- she assured me that all of those things were there as she was checking for them and also said that these items were seen in the 20 week ultrasound- so I shouldn't worry. She also told me that we were defintely having a girl- Sam asked me the other night- what if its a boy- I just told him that it would be fine and that we'd be painting the nursery a different color if this were the case! I did get pictures of todays ultrasound, but only of her girl parts so I'm not going to post those-Caroline wouldn't appreciate it! I wanted to see her head too and she mentioned that since she was full term it was harder to see her than at 20 weeks- she did the best she could and said that since she was so low that what we were able to see (her face) was it. I tried to determine who she looked like in the 3D ultrasound and I guessed me of course but we'll see very soon! She said it wouldn't be long before I'd be holding her! I'm so excited to meet her I can hardly stand it!

If Caroline doesn't make her debut before Tuesday than I'll be induced Tuesday morning. I'm really hoping I'll go into labor on my own instead of being forced- it'll be a lot easier on mommy and baby and not so long in duration, but whatever we have to do we'll do of course.

After my appointment I went to visit a friend and I had the best afternoon!!

Thank you all for your phone calls and prayers!

Love and Prayers,
The Leviners

40 Weeks and Counting!

Today, I'm 40 weeks or 280 days pregnant! I feel so blessed that I've made it this far with the pregnancy. I had my 40 week appointment today and I'm 2 cm dilated and still 75% effaced. We go back on Friday to see if there are any changes. On Friday I'll also have a fetal stress test and an ultrasound, both are protocol for being "overdue". They will check to see if Caroline is in distress and if she has enough amniotic fluid. If she is in distress and/or the fluid levels aren't where they need to be then I'll be induced. If everthing appears normal and if she doesn't come before Tuesday then I'll be induced Tuesday morning. I'm hoping that she'll come on her own this Friday (no particular reason for Friday, but I'm thinking two days after her due date, maybe just maybe she'll just want to be born)- but we'll see! Also, my BP and urine were great and I had no weight gain.

After the appt. Sam and I made a day of it-we headed over to my school to give my team a visit and an update- I also stopped in to check on my sweet lambs, we did a little shopping, went out for lunch, and came home to tidy up (Sam did the cleaning while I rested- he's so sweet, but I did help with the picking up after my nap, etc)!!

We are so thankful for all of your thoughts, prayers, and phone calls! They mean so much to us! We feel so blessed to have each and everyone of you in our lives and to be with us as we begin this journey of becoming parents. Looking forward to sharing the news of Caroline's birth with you! Here's probably the last of the belly shots! We'll keep you posted!

Letter to Caroline

“Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, before you were born I set you apart...” Jeremiah 1:5

Sunday, March 22, 2009

Dear Sweet Caroline,
We are so excited to be having you! Daddy and I have waited such a long time for this very special time and we know the Lord will be blessing us with you very soon.
It’s been so wonderful being pregnant with you and watching my belly grow as you’ve grown. It’s a miracle feeling your kicks, punches, bumps, and movements. Besides flutters, I first felt you kick on Saturday, November 1st and daddy first felt you kick on Wednesday, November 12th- these were both amazing moments. Ever since then you’ve been such a busy girl with all of your moving around. Daddy and I watch you everyday do all your “funny” things in my belly.
Over the last nine months we’ve wondered many things like who you would look like- daddy or me- what your hair color will turn out to be- if you’ll have daddy’s easy going personality and patience or mommy’s get up and go determination. Whatever your characteristics and personality make up we promise to love you and be there for you each and every day.
We have just a few days now until we get to meet you and we’re filled with excitement and anticipation! Daddy and I are very excited about becoming parents and are especially thankful that the Lord has given us this wonderful blessing and opportunity. We know that you are going to bless our lives in so many different ways!
We’ve prayed for you daily over the last nine months. We’ve prayed that the Lord will help us to be what He wants us to be for you. That He will guide us and instruct us on how best to parent you. We also can’t wait to teach you about Jesus. We hope you grow to know that He’s always with you and loves you more than anything else in this world.
We already love you so much and can’t wait for when we get to present you to your new grandparents, aunts, uncles, and cousins. Until then our prayer is for you to continue to grow and develop and be a healthy beautiful baby girl! See you soon baby girl! We love you!
Love and Prayers Always,
Daddy and Mommy

Nope, no baby! We're just waiting!! Tomorrow I'll be exactly 40 weeks and I have a doctor's appointment at 9 am to see if I've made progress since last week! I am very thankful that I've made it this far and when Caroline's ready to be born she'll be born!

Here's some things that I promised to post!

On last Friday my sweet students gave me a surprise baby shower- complete with shower food, a fun game, and presents! It was so much fun and I'm sure the children enjoyed it as much as I did! The game we played was to see who could come close to estimating the size of my belly with a string- we had a winner. Sean was within an inch of getting my measurement just right!

We have a new take home dress for Caroline and its very lovely! My best friend's grandmother smocked the dress with matching bonnet and its beautiful! Thank you Mamie!

Also this past weekend was my birthday weekend (Monday was my actual birthday)! My mom and stepdad came up and took me out to eat at one of my favorite restaurants, Copper River. We had a wonderful time and the food was yummy!

Baby Shower at WKE!

Last Morning Message:

Birthday Weekend:

Caroline's Take Home Dress and Bonnet

Made by Mamie!

Waiting for Caroline!

39 Weeks 4 Days

Sam and I had a very busy weekend! We got a lot of things done in Caroline's nursery over the last two days- it's still not finished but it'll get there- we just have to add some accessories! We also did some last minute shopping and this was really fun- Sam picked out several cute outfits for Missy Moo and I can't wait to see her in them!


This was also my birthday weekend! I'll be 29 tomorrow- March 23rd! How lucky for me that I get to share it with a twin sister!

Friday was my last day at school and my precious children hosted a baby shower in Caroline's honor- complete with shower food and presents! They are so sweet!

I'm going to post pictures of this weekend and the shower on my blog soon- hopefully tomorrow!

39 Weeks Pregnant!

Yesterday I reached week 39! Today I had my 39th week doctor's appointment! It went very well. My BP and urine were both normal! I did however gain 6 more pounds- to which I could not believe. Sheron, the lab tech said it was because of all the fluid that I was retaining- yes, I'm beginning to really swell in my ankles. This is from standing all day while teaching. It goes away when I wake up in the mornings but not totally. I mentioned this to Dr. Giudice today and he told me that this was normal and that I shouldn't be worried. I just have the swelling in my ankles but not my hands or face- I'm still glad to be able to wear my rings!

I've made some progress toward delievery but not much- I'm effaced 75% now and am still 1 cm dilated. Dr. Giudice said that they wanted me to have natural labor so things will go more smoothly but if I reach a week past my due date then they'll do some things to help me speed things along (induce), but that would not likely happen since most babies come a few days after their due date. All in all I'm doing very well (41 pounds total weight gain- and I'm proud to say that I'm in the same size maternity clothes since it all begin!!)

Sam and I have had a very busy week with getting all of Missy Moo's things ready- washing clothes, packing her bag for the hospital (and mine), shopping for those last few needed baby items, etc. Last night we went clothes shopping for her and we picked out the most adorable outfits- they are so cutie! I can't wait to see her in them! We are in still need of a cradle mattress but hopefully Babies R Us will have a shipment in tomorrow!


Today we had her car seat base professionally installed by a certified car seat technician! This was pretty neat to see and it only took five minutes! The only thing to it was attaching our car's latch system to the base and making sure that there was no more than an inch wiggle room- no seat belt required! Our base has leveling guides to ensure that it is properly installed- all these new gizmo's and gadgets sure do come in handy and make life so much easier! When we got back from having it installed- Sam assembled the stroller- it's cute too and I can't wait to use it!


Tomorrow is my last day at work... I'm going to miss all of Leviner's Lambs but they will be in good hands with Ms. Smith- my long term substitute. I've been notified that the children are planning something special for me and Caroline tomorrow afternoon and I'm excited! They have been just the sweetest bunch of children and I'm going to miss them dearly. I promised them that when Caroline was a few weeks old we'd be paying them a visit!



Oh, also, I'm realizing that pregnancy has caused me to somehow lose my ability to spell- I'm generally a very good speller and don't mind bragging about this (I seldom brag on myself about things)! So if I happen to misspell words forgive me- it'll all resolve soon enough!

Big Day!

Shower for Baby Caroline!

Today was another fun baby day! My friends Michelle and Fran hosted a baby shower for me and Caroline! Caroline received a lot of nice things- changing pad cushion, clothes, books, bibs, bottles, pacifier clips, bath towels, washcloths, baby wash, sleepers, boppy essentials, car seat toys, Dr. Seuss books, lotion, onesies, tummy time mat, burp cloths, and lots more. It was so much fun getting together with family and friends to share this special time! Caroline even got her very own smocked Gamecock dress!

Joining LBC!

Not only was today Caroline's baby shower but the day that we joined Lexington Baptist Chruch! We have been visiting LBC for 2.5 years and we are excited that we joined today. Sam and I have very strong ties to our home churches in Orangeburg- Sam's grandfather was a preacher at the church in which Sam grew up in so this was a very big decision to make not only for us but also for Caroline!

After attending worship services at different times in the morning (LBC has 3 morning services), visiting several Sunday School classes, and touring the children's department (which by the way is awesome, brand new, and very modern) we were ready to join. We have been ready to join for some time except that when we got ready to become members the preacher announced that there'd be a class required for all new member prospects! We took the class with many other families for four weeks. Afterwards we felt the class was very informative on how the church operates and about the Baptist Denomination in general. After our last class we felt assured that this was the place for our little family! We thoroughly enjoy our SS class and have met many new friends! We are now looking forward to continuing to serve Him in places of ministry within the church! Another decision that we'll make is to when we'll be baptised (I was sprinkled when I was a baby in the Presbyterian Church)- I wanted to already be but because of our timing with joining and me being very pregnant I'm unable. Sam wants to be baptized in June when the church offers the baptism at a local lake and he wants me to do it with him but we'll see- I'm not to fond of water that I can't see through.

Today was an awesome day and we feel very blessed! On another note, Caroline's due in ten days! Friday and Saturday I had for the first time Braxton-Hicks contractions- I told Sam that these aren't anything that's like what's to come and they are very painful; however they don't last long and for this I am thankful- I've been stopped dead in my tracks more than once!

We'll keep you posted!

Week 38!

Today I had my 38th week appointment! Caroline is measuring 38 weeks- the last two weeks the measuring showed that she was one week behind- as the Dr. put it- she has caught up! Everything was normal for the visit- BP- great, weight- gained 2.5 pounds (for a total of 37.5 pounds- I blamed today's visit on the baby- Dr. Salley did say that she was going to be at least 7 to 8 pounds at birth!!)- urine- excellent, swelling questions- very minimal and it just comes with being this far into the pregnancy (I'm thankful for no stretch marks and the fact that I can still wear my rings!!), Exam- HORRIBLE... yes I did say that today's examination was horrible however it wasn't due to the pressure I've been feeling lately but to the doctor doing the exam (won't mention any names here). I haven't seen this Dr. at all during my prenatal visits and wasn't supposed to see him today but the doctor that I was scheduled to see was in surgery. Don't get me wrong he was very nice, answered all of my questions, and was very friendly to me but the actual exam to see effacement and dilation was non too comfortable- Sam couldn't go with me so I squeezed the nurse's arm instead- I think he was a little too rough and from what I've been told it just hasn't happened to me- so I'm not a weenie! As I toddled out of the office almost in tears I thought to myself if labor is anything like what I just experienced I'm in Big-Big-Big trouble- the receptionist said that if I could handle that then labor will be a breeze- I tried to make myself think more positively about labor but I'm think I'm setting myself up!! We'll see....keep praying!!

After my appointment my friend, Michelle, called to see if I wanted to go to a local consignment sale that's only twice a year here in Lexington- It's called Bells and Beaus! I was very excited about going and found cute, cute, cute, things for Caroline- one of them being a precious Gamecock smocked dress! This was my find for the day and I can't wait to see our Missy Moo in it! It was an experience- looking through racks and racks of clothes- it reminded me of going to TJ Max or Ross, where you have to search for the goodies- but it was extremely organized so the searching wasn't that bad after all.

After coming home from the consignment sale Sam and I went to Babies R Us to get some needed items for Caroline- her traveling system, changing pad cushion, crib mattress, cradle mattress (which was not available- Yikes), and some other items. My sister Rhonda is coming on Saturday to help me with whatever else that I might need for Caroline and for my hospital stay! I'm very excited about our outing!

We had a very busy day today and I'm tired. Here's some pics of me at week 38- I'm one big mama but I love being pregnant- I'm going to miss her being in my tummy when she's born. Here's also her name above her crib- Sam did a great job of putting them up. The nursery is coming along nicely we still have some things to do so when it's all finished I'll post those as well!