Hayden Elizabeth - A Birth Story.

Our Little Princess is ONE WEEK OLD.

It's amazing how FAST time flies, especially when it felt like it was going so slow when I was pregnant. We had our one week weight check yesterday and baby sister did great!  She weighed in at 5.8 lbs (.1 oz shy of her birth weight).
Thought since I was feeling up to it, I would share how our little girl joined our family. Enjoy.
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It all started when the SeaHawks won the Super Bowl!!  (According to Kevin) Kev and I crawled into bed about 10pm on Sunday February 2nd. Kevin leaned over and whispered to my belly,  "OK Hayden, You can come now. Daddy's team won the Super Bowl! We said our prayers, kissed each other goodnight and fell fast asleep. About 1am I woke up with consistent contractions 6 minutes apart.  After a few weeks of false labor, I decided I would watch and time the contractions for the next hour before I woke Kevin. By 1:30 they were under 5 minutes apart and MUCH STRONGER. I started to get my things together, put on a little face makeup and texted my sister. (I am so grateful my awesome sister Aubrey lives so close) I woke Kevin up at 2am and we were out the door by 2:15.

I was dilated to 5CM when the nurse checked me and we were officially admitted by 3am. I couldn't believe I had progressed so far along before we got to the hospital. (One of my biggest fears was having my baby on the kitchen floor since my labor with Hunter was so quick) By 4:30 I had my epidural.

This part is always a little scary and this time the tube hit a blood vessel and I began to bleed a bit. The anesthesiologist said "Uh-Oh". It wasn't really a big deal but in all my nerves I asked about a million questions after that and left the doctor, the nurse and my husband in laughter. The epidural slowed my labor down and at 7am I had only jumped to a 7. I was given some pitocin and within in an hour I was at a 9 but my water still hadn't broken. My room began to fill with people as tray tables were brought in and the baby bed was prepped.

Dr. Judd arrived at 9am. He gave each nurse a task. I had Kevin on one side and another nurse on the other. (this nurse was a student nurse and it was her FIRST live birth) Dr. Judd asked me to push once. Push twice. Push three times.  He asked for a half push. Then another half push. Told me to stop. And there was my baby.

At 9:07am Hayden Elizabeth took her first breath. She weighed 5 lbs 9 oz and was 18.5 inches long. Kev cut the cord and they placed her right on me.

She was so tiny. She was so perfect. 

She had her first bath right there in my room.

It was amazing to finally have her here.  I was able to keep her and hold her all morning. Such a different experience then Hunter's birth and our NICU experience.  It all seemed to quick and easy this time.  It was so fun to have a healthy baby and to just "hang out" in the Postpartum room watching TV, entertaining visitors and getting to actually sleep!  (Thank you Well Baby Nursery!)

It was so fun to have Hunter come and visit his baby sister.

I was so anxious and excited for this moment. He did great. He was so happy that sister was here but wasn't so sure why mom and dad were in this strange building and not at home with him. He brought her a cute Minnie Mouse gift and gave her lots of kisses.

Seriously melted my mama heart! 

I am so lucky.
We spent Monday & Tuesday being monitored and were able to go home Tuesday night. 

I am so grateful for the wonderful nurses I had during labor and the nurses in Postpartum. (I even got to have my fabulous neighbor Rose as one of my postpartum nurses.  I adore her)  I am again amazed by the staff at Timpanogos Labor & Delivery and feel so blessed to have had another wonderful birthing experience.  Thank You Timpanogos! 

We are LOVING having our sweet little girl home.

It's been a BIG week here as we adjust to being a family of four. I am so thankful to my sister Aubrey who came to our rescue in the middle of the night to watch our Hunter and that she and her husband kept him for the next two days!  I am so grateful my mother has been able to be here this week to help with sister, keep my house clean, cook meals and entertain Hunter.  We are so lucky to have her.
PS. Can I tell you how hard it is to find clothes that fit a 5.8lb baby?!?  Preemie is TOO small and Newborn is SO Big on her!  That's my explanation for why you have only seen her in the same 4 outfits the last week. #tinybabyproblems
Thanks for Reading!