Sally's Birth

Today Sally is two weeks old! It feels like the time has flown, and yet giving birth to Sally seems like it was forever ago.

Our lives have changed so much in the past two weeks. The first few days in the hospital with Sally were absolute bliss. The first few days home were some of the hardest of my life. Johnny and I were so exhausted physically and emotionally, and we didn't know how to take care of our little newborn. My mom was in town until last Tuesday, and we couldn't have made it through our first week home without her. Now that we've been on our own the past few days, we feel like we're finally starting to get the hang of parenthood. And we are so, so, so in love with Sally.

January 5th was my due date. I went to sleep on the night of the 4th having some slightly painful Braxton Hicks contractions. I had had nonstop Braxton Hicks for a few days, so I didn't think much of them. When I woke up on the 5th, I was still having slightly painful contractions. It was my due date, so I was certain nothing would come of them. I had already mentally prepared myself for having the baby a week late. But the contractions didn't go away as the day progressed. I got a few texts from family and friends asking how I was, and I just said "same ol', same ol'" because I was sure that the contractions would go away. The contractions became regular enough that I called my doctor at about 3:00 p.m., but soon after I called her, the contractions slowed down.

A few hours later Johnny and I started tracking them again, and at about 8:00 p.m. we decided to gather our things and go to the hospital. The contractions had gotten painful enough that they were starting to be more than just uncomfortable, and I was having to actually stop everything I was doing during some of them. We drove to the hospital, and I felt kind of silly. But with painful contractions coming 5 minutes apart, I couldn't justify staying home.

At the hospital a resident checked me and told me I was on my way to active labor but that they would probably send me home for a few hours and then have me come back. Then the doctor came in and made the decision to keep me and put me in a room! We wouldn't be leaving until the baby was born! The process of getting checked into a room and getting hooked up to an IV and such took a few hours, so at about midnight, Johnny and I started walking the halls. I walked for about an hour and then my contractions were so painful that I could barely walk. I was feeling miserable, so I decided it was time for an epidural! Getting the epidural didn't hurt at all, and I was one happy woman after I got it.

I labored through the night, and because of all the loud monitors I was hooked up to, and my blood pressure being taken every 15 minutes, I didn't sleep a wink. At 9:30 a.m., it was finally time to push. Johnny and our incredible nurse Kathy coached me through pushing. My epidural ended up not being very effective on the right side, so I was actually in a lot of pain the last hour of labor. I couldn't have made it through that last hour without Johnny. I felt so grateful for him. After 20 minutes of pushing, Sally made her debut into this world. She came so quickly that the doctor wasn't in the room, and our nurse delivered Sally on her own. Thankfully, Sally was perfectly healthy so it all worked out.

The moment Sally was born was the most incredible moment of my life. Up until then, I don't know that I really believed there was an actual baby inside me. Johnny and I were both crying and so amazed by our little baby. The nurse put Sally on my chest, and she was wide awake and calm. I held my little girl so close and couldn't believe how perfect she was. It took Johnny and me a few hours to decide on her name, but out of the four we had, the only one that fit was Sally. Sally's birth was the highest moment of our lives, and we feel so blessed to have her.

Thank goodness for Johnny taking pictures while we were at the hospital! I never want to forget those first few moments.

a few moments after birth

holding sweet Sally

Johnny's first time holding Sally

Sally's bath

all cleaned up!

wrinkly feet!

Sally looking at her daddy

a name

tiny fingers

Sally's first day home