{ The Birth Story }

Wow, it's been almost 2 whole weeks since I brought home my sweet little bundle of joy from the hospital and already I feel like she's been a part of our family forever! It's crazy to me how fast the time flies and how big she's already getting. Chubby cheeks!!!!!!!!

For days I've been dying to sit down and put into words the experience I had in bringing this sweet child of God to this earth, but of course having a newborn in the home is literally a FULL-TIME job! Truly, the little extra time you have in the day is spent sleeping, feeding yourself, and just breathing! But it's all worth it to have the sweetest little girl here in my arms to have and to hold forever!

Thursday afternoon I made my way out to Upland for my 39 week appointment with my OB and things seemed to be pretty normal. She decided to do an ultrasound just to check the position of the baby again and to monitor my amniotic fluids, which had been on the low side for the past couple of weeks.

Within minutes of the ultrasound the doctor had a very concerned look on her face and said "We need to induce you right now. Your fluids are at a 3 1/2." Now, keep in mind, normal levels are between 8 and 25, so I was immediately on alert. The doctor sent me home to grab my husband and an overnight bag and asked me to be back in the hospital in 2 hours. "Holy crap! We're having a baby!" was all I could think about!

Once we were all checked into the hospital, the waiting game began. We arrived at 6pm and sat around til about 9pm when they started me on a pitocin drip. For the next few hours I started to have pretty regular contractions, but nothing too painful. In fact, for the first couple hours we would watch the machine and Matt would say, "Ok, you're having another contraction, how do you feel?" And I would get all cocky and say "I feel nothing! This isn't so bad." Well, little did I know, the pain was on it's way!

From about 9pm to midnight I labored quite painlessly and only dilated from a 1 to a 2. I was bummed to say the least. At around 3:00am though I remember getting out of bed to use the bathroom when all of a sudden, my water broke! At first I freaked out and started saying "Um, somethings happening! Somethings happening!" as fluid rushed down my legs. Seriously, weirdest sensation ever. Luckily the nurse was there and calmed me down and told me this was really good and that labor would progress much faster from here on out.

Well, she was right! From about 3am to 6:30am I labored with INTENSE pain, I mean, the worst pain of my life as I dilated from a 2 to a 4. It was then that I asked for the epidural. Best decision ever! Although I had to have it done twice (the first one only took on the right side of my body because of my scoliosis), it was still better than nothing. The next few hours were a blur. I remember progressing quickly though. Before I knew it, the doctor was in the room again saying I was a 6, then an 8, and then finally a 10...time to push!

Pushing was dang hard! Partly because I was soooo exhausted from a sleepless night and hadn't eaten in hours! But mostly because I had NO idea where to concentrate my pushing. I pushed and pushed for 2 1/2 hours when the doctor finally let me put my hand "down there" and feel the hair on her head. She was soooo close! And I was more motivated than ever to push that little one out!

After 17 hours of laboring and pushing, the doctor finally decided to do an episiotomy to get our little babe here! Later Matt would tell me "There was no way that head was coming out of that hole!" Haha! Oh goodness! So grateful for doctors who know exactly what they're doing.

At 1:48pm as the doctor pulled her head, then shoulders, then little body from mine, I felt my life change forever! Tears streamed down my face as my brand new baby girl was placed on my chest, crying, and wiggling, and just taking in everything around her. I know it's so cliche, but truly, my heart was overwhelmingly full of so much love for my sweet little baby. Matt and I both shared in that special moment as they cleaned her up and took her measurements and decided that we would name her Blair Frances Laidlaw, after Matt's dear grandmother, Frances Laidlaw. We love how regal it sounds and know Blair will love to share her grandma's namesake throughout her life.

The next few hours were magical. Blair and I spent some time just skin to skin, breastfeeding for the first time, and resting from our long night. I was in love!

There is truly so much more to share, but I will save the rest for another post. I just wanted to make sure I recorded some of the details and feelings I had of the most special day of our lives. Matt and I are so happy to have this sweet little daughter of God in our home and can't get enough of her! Poopy diapers, screaming fits, and all! We love her more than words!