Lorelei- 7 MONTHS!

I haven't been able to take her 7 month picture yet with the volleyball. I tried but she is too wiggly and quick for my poor, slow camera. I will attempt when Paedn is there to help! =-)

Size: Diapers-3 She is probably close to 16lbs.   Clothes-9 months

Eyes: I swear her eyes get more blue everyday. Maybe she's going to have eyes like her Grandpa Steve!
Hair: Her hair is getting so long all of the sudden and there is so much of it. It is very blond and has a little wave in it.
Sleeping: She wakes up around 3am to eat and then again around 7am. We have a pretty good nap schedule down, too.
Eating: Finishes almost 8 ounces every 3 hours. She LOVES food. She is my little birdie. Every time she sees me eating she goes, "Oh! Oh!" and crawls over to me. When she doesn't like something, she sticks out her tongue and does a full body shimmy, as if she's saying, "Ew, gross! Get this out of here!"
Milestones:

• Oh boy, can she crawl!! She crawls FAST! She loves when we chase her.

• can pull herself up and then can sit back down.
• starting to walk along the couch. Right now, she's just staying in the little corner of the couch and goes back and forth.
• mastered grabbing food and putting it in her mouth.
• very close to mastering the pincer grasp.
• tries to clap!! She just started this. I love it!
• Has EIGHT teeth- all four front and bottom ones.
• Clicks her tongue nonstop.
• Starting to mimic us. She has said "hi" and "key key" (kitty). She tries to say "mama"-she moves her mouth like she is saying it but no sound comes out.
• ATB- All Terrain Baby! She crawls over everything and everyone. She has a bouncer/walker thing and she loves to crawl under those.
• Laughs and smiles ALL THE TIME. (not a new milestone- but I love it!)
• When she is standing up and then falls, she doesn't cry. She looks at me like, "Am I okay?!" I clap my hands and yell "yay" and she starts smiling and kicking her legs and swinging her arms as if she is cheering.
• learning to drink out of the sippy cup. loves water!! (not giving her juice)

Favorite toys/activities:

•  Lorelei loves music.
• As I cook dinner I put her in her bouncer and put on my "Show Tunes" playlist and sing and dance. She finds this hilarious
• likes to sit at the piano and help Daddy play and she sings along

• loves animals...especially dogs because they stick around when she "pets" them.
• loves blankets, especially crochet ones. She has to have her blanket to fall asleep.
• is starting to enjoy sitting down and reading a book. She was always too busy before!
• entertains herself very well. She is pretty independent!
• rarely watches the TV- she'd rather be moving and playing.
• chases down the vacuum. ha! She loves it!

Nicknames: Lady, Lor, LoLo, I have called her Laura a few times. Then all the generals like sweetie, honey, etc.
Funny moments:

• When she is tired she will crawl over to me and sit on my lap. Not funny but seriously adorable.

• Every time we make eye contact she gets a huge grin. I love how happy she is!

• At church she was being a little too active for class so I took her out in the hall. I let her crawl around and then I would go hide behind a corner and she would look for me. I would pop my head around the corner will quick so she could see me and she would squeal and head over. I would go behind a different corner and the process continues.

Looking forward to: Her first Christmas!! (if you know me, you know how much I LOVE CHRISTMAS!) Waving, her first words, standing up by herself. AH! Everything is happening so quickly.


Paedn and Hilary Update:

 Paedn is doing well! He is getting veeery close to be working full time again. He is talking about taking some college classes next semester.Very proud! He is such a help. He always washes the dishes (I hate doing dishes). He always makes sure I have a clean house. He likes having projects to do but we are working on him relaxing as well.

I had my first 5k race and decided to challenge myself and do the Mud Run. My wonderful sister and her husband ran with me. It is so helpful having someone run with me and push me to do better. It was more of a mental race then an endurance one for me. I do not like heights and some of the obstacles you had to crawl up a wall and then go back down the other side, which is fine! But, it's the whole switching sides up top that freaks me out. But, I am proud I can say I did every obstacle! My forearms are completely bruised and all up my legs. Awesome! Working out puts me in a better mood. The fresh air is great for Lorelei and me. Plus, getting my blood pumping is refreshing!

Six Months!

Size: Diapers-2   Clothes- 6-9 months

Eyes: Her eyes are very blue!
Hair: She actually has a good amount of hair, it just doesn't look like it because it is so blond!
Sleeping: She has gotten comfortable with the midnight feeding and our doctor told us to cut that habit now. So, we are in the process of that. She actually did pretty well last night! Let her cry for about 15 minutes then went into her room and rubbed her head/scratched her back while I sang to her and she fell alseep! Her naps have gotten better. She sleeps between 2-3 hours.
Eating: 6 ounces every 3 hours. We have given her sweet potatoes and she LOVED them. She kept humming and singing the whole time. So adorable. I am going to start giving her new foods and different textures. Excited to see what she will think!
Milestones: Still a busy bee!! She will not sit still and is army crawling so quickly. She is very close to crawling. She gets up on her hands and knees and takes a couple steps forward and then flops down to army crawl. ...I think she is impatient. She can also push herself up to a sitting position but won't sit for too long because she wants to be moving. She loves to talk and to squeal!
Favorite toys/activities: Anything that makes noise or anything that she is not supposed to have!
Nicknames: Paedn has been calling her Peanut a lot and I am still calling her all those pet names like "honey" or "sweetie"
Funny moments: This lady keeps me laughing the whole day! She is hilarious! Probably the most recent moment has to involve our cat! We just put up a gate to block the kitchen from the living room and Daisy (our cat) will sit on one side and Lorelei will be on the other and they will play through that gate. Lorelei will reach her hand through to try and pet Daisy and Daisy will swat back at her hand and Lorelei will just bust out giggling!! Daisy will reach up and stretch on the gate and Lorelei will giggle. It's so funny! She loves that cat. It's pretty impressive how fast Lorelei caught on to petting the cat softly. She is doing great! Daisy actually allows Lorelei to pet her and even tolerates the occasional fur pulling.
Looking forward to: When Lorelei will crawl over to me and will just want to sit and cuddle. That will be an amazing feeling. She is so busy all the time I don't know if it will ever happen!

At Lorelei's six month check-up she weighed 14 lbs 9 oz and was 26 inches long. She is a tall skinny girl! After her shots, she cried for only a few moments until I was able to pick her up and hug her. She is always getting compliments on what a happy baby is- and it's true! She smiles all the time and is very curious about the world around her. Lorelei loves little kids and is just mesmerized by them. Makes me certain that she is definitely supposed to be the big sister because I know in a few years she is going to be a big help!

learning how to escape the barrier 

my birthday cake Paedn made me!

doing push ups with Daddy

learning to sit!

All smiles!!

Rolling around.

climbing on Mommy!

Lorelei's First Time Eating Solid Food!!

This was Lorelei's first time eating solids. She did so much better than I thought she would do!!

5 MONTH Update!

I started writing this when Lorelei turned four months but life became so busy I never posted it. Added a few more notes and now it is all updated for her five months!!

Size: Diapers-2   Clothes- 6 months

Eyes: still very blue!

Hair:  The new hair that is coming in is very blonde and there is more of it. 

Sleeping: She has been off the past few weeks. Waking every 4 hours. I think she is going through a growth spurt!

Eating: averaging 4-6 ounces every 3 hours

Milestones: She will not sit still! Rolling EVERYWHERE! When she sees Paedn or I walking by she will try to roll over to us. SO FUN! She rolls to go get toys. She is so smart. 
When we are sitting on the couch and she is on the floor she tries to reach for the couch so she can be up there, too!
She loves to stand. If she could stand all day she would. She holds onto our index fingers and balances and tries to walk. She gets so excited.
Can sit while placing her hands on the floor in front of her. (tripod sit)
TWO TEETH!! So cute to see when she smiles.
She is getting so close to crawling. She inches like a little worm; brings her bum into the air and scrunches together and then shimmies and inches forward.
She jabbers ALL the time. Oh.my.goodness. She also figured out she can squeal so she has been doing that a lot more. She also does a fake cough to get our attention and as soon as we look at her she gets all bashful and smiles and looks.. 
Smiles all the time!! She is giggling more and more every day. She even giggles now when she is being tickled! LOVE! 

Favorite toys/activities: Anything bright and colorful. She has Pooh Bear, Marie (the kitty from Aristocats), Moo Moo Cow, Sherman the Giraffe, Catherine the Caterpillar that sings lullabies  and she loves her play mat.

Nicknames: Lor, Sugar, and we call her Turkey a lot

Funny moments: So many! They always seem to be poop stories! She was with Grammie Leeann at the grocery store and she was getting fussy so mom picked her up out of the car seat and didn't notice she exploded her pants. There was poo everywhere! I guess mom and the ladies working at the deli had a good laugh about it. Another one happened to Paedn. He was nice and changed her diaper for me. I was in the kitchen and all of the sudden I hear, "AHH!! EXPLOSION! Lorelei!! How can you have that much in you?!" I just started cracking up. I think I got all the poop during the newborn stage so it is being passed around for everyone else. =-) 

Looking forward to: Crawling! Call me crazy but I am loving each stage more than the last.


Updates on Paedn and Hilary
Paedn has had a good few weeks here! He has been able to work maybe 3-4 days a week. This is the most he has worked since his incident.  He isn't in as much pain. This makes my heart so happy!!  I am so proud of him. He is so happy to be feeling better. He still needs to take it easy though. His body definitely isn't used to all this work. He is still staying positive and is finding that motivation! When he can, he still loves to do his leather work to help him relax. When he wasn't able to work he did this all day long and it helped distract himself from the pain. We are hoping these are his steps on the road to recovery!! We are done with Mayo and they think he is getting better!


I am doing well. I am still working part-time and now am also coaching 7th and 8th grade volleyball. I love my girls!! I have a great assistant coach as well so it makes me feel less hectic. I am definitely keeping busy. When I am home I just want to sit and relax. I am feeling worn out, especially since Lor hasn't been sleeping well (she is waking up twice during the night instead of just once). But, we are making it work! I am training for my 5k in Novemeber. It's a slow process because of how chaotic my life is right now, but it's happening. I ran a 9 minute mile the other day. I was so proud. I am trying to get back to my high school days when I ran a mile in 5 minutes. I am weighing in at 126lbs!! I am so happy. I am only 10 pounds from my pregnancy weight. Ha- if you knew what I weighed when I had Lorelei then you would realize why I am so excited. The weight has been dropping pretty quick.

Lady Lorelei- 12 weeks

I decided each month I will do this little survey to keep most of my thoughts in check about Lorelei!

Age: 12 weeks, not technically three months yet though.

Size: Diapers-1 and finally fitting into 3 month clothes

Eyes: Very Blue

Hair: Turning slightly more blonde and gets fuzzy quickly. It has a slight wave to it.

Sleeping: Daytime naps are iffy, but nighttime she will sleep 6-7hours straight then wake up 3 hours later then back to sleep for another 2-3.

Eating: Mostly about every 3hours.

Milestones: Rolling over from tummy to back! She's trying to go from back to tummy but her arm gets stuck. 

She scoots a little bit and can scoot to face herself in different directions. She wants to be on the move nonstop and gets upset when she can't crawl! 

She is holding up her head much better. If she is sitting in her swing or bouncer she is always lifting her head up like she is trying to sit up.

Starting to teethe- chewing on everything!! 

Almost giggling, when she smiles really big she squeaks. I was so excited!

She slept in her crib for the first time!!

She can fuss herself back to sleep which has been very nice.

She loves to have conversations with us. Whether we are oohing at her or talking for real she always talks back. It is so much fun!

Favorite toys/activities: She loves Sherman, her giraffe, her Daddy's knuckles and just

 about anything else she can chew on. 

She LOVES to be outside- I wish it was cooler so we could do that more.

She likes the TV but would much rather watch me in the kitchen.

Loves bath time! She kicks and splashes like crazy- I am always soaking wet. She hates getting dressed afterward.

Nicknames: Lor, Ellie, Cookie, Mogli, then all the typical pet names like sweetie, baby, honey, etc

Funny moments: So many! One of the most recent ones though- I always make fun of Paedn because he freaks out when she starts filling her diaper. He always jumps and moves his hand out from underneath her like he forgets there is a diaper there. Well, I was holding her and she started filling her pants and I didn't move and she pooped everywhere!! I called Paedn while  he was at work and couldn't stop laughing. Karma my friend.  

Looking forward to: Giggles! More rolling over. Her being able to sit up by herself. Her reaching for me. 

This past month she has gotten so long and is starting to fill out more. She is still our skinny minnie though! She is an adorable little girl with such a sweet personality. She loves her daddy and gets so excited when he comes home. She will just sit on his lap, grab his thumb to chew on and watches TV. She has long eyelashes. We get told more often that she looks like Paedn. I have had a few tell me that she looks like me though. She hasn't found her thumb yet to suck on but shoves her whole fist in her mouth and gnaws on that. She has finally started taking a pacifier a little more consistently.

Fourth of July! Always playing with her tongue.

We call her Mogli because she looks like she is chilling up in a tree like in the Jungle Book.

Phone pictures so they are poor quality! 

I thought I was funny and wrapped her head up in a towel.

The first outfit she grew out of! Always make sure the back up outfit in the diaper bag actually fits her!

Three Peas in a Pod

Little Lady

Lorelei is doing beautifully. She is such a sweet baby. Even in the hospital she was never much of a crier. It was funny at the hospital because the rooms on either side of us had babies who were screamers and our sweet little lady was fast asleep.Lorelei has only had one day where she just would not go to sleep. She cried for nine hours straight. Other than that, she only cries when she's tired, hungry, needs to be changed, or her ever dreadful gas pains! I feel like a good mommy because I can tell each one of those cries apart. I don't even consider most of it crying, it's more her just communicating. She was definitely supposed to be the first baby. If I had a baby who cried all the time I would pull my hair out and not want anymore kids. She is teaching me patience in a nice and slow manner. I am very thankful. She is getting stronger every day. Since she was only a few days old she wanted to hold her head up and she did so in the hospital. She is now having longer stretches before getting tired. Some days she loves tummy time, some days not so much. I think she doesn't like it because she wants to be mobile. She lays on her tummy and kicks and kicks and wiggles, trying to inch herself forward. She is slowly starting to move. Paedn or I would put our hands on her feet so she has something she could push off of and she would lunge forward. She has also started to push up onto her forearms or up on her hands. One time she got up on her tippy toes, she thought that was pretty interesting. Lorelei is starting to smile more and more while she's awake. She has laughed in her sleep several times but we have not heard a full giggle while she's awake. Lorelei loves her daddy. When he gets home from work he comes over to hold her she just stares at him with big ole eyes and then soon breaks out into a smile. It is so special and Paedn just adores it! Paedn says, "Man, that smile is going to get her anything she wants with me!" I can't help but watch those two interact. They are going to have a special bond, just like me and my daddy! Now that I am working I even get little special moments. As soon as she sees me she starts wiggling like crazy, as if she is saying, "Mom!! Mommy, Mom, Mom, Mom!!" It puts a smile on my face. I was getting a little jealous because she only thought of me as a food machine. ;-) Since the first moment I held her she knew how to eat. She has been a champ. Yet again, I am so grateful she is my first baby! She is still eating well and has taken the bottle perfectly since her first time. Lorelei is still our tiny little girl. It is fun watching her slowly put on weight and watching her face mature. Some days we wake up and look at her and say, "Whoa! You look older today." It is amazing how they honestly just change right before your eyes. She has her 2 month check up in a couple of weeks, I am nervous for those shots! But, she is good baby. She and I will just have a lazy day and cuddle up and watch Gilmore Girls.

Paedn

Paedn is doing well. Some days his mobility is down, other days it is his speech, or some days it is both. It seems that if it is not one thing it is something else. He went to a chiropractor a couple weeks ago and he did these interesting tests on him. The doctor had "essence" of things, like metals, chemicals, pesticide, etc. He would have Paedn hold out his arm and then touch the jars with his other hand. If his arm dropped, that meant his body was weak towards it. He did the same thing and the doctor touched the liver, heart, etc. We found out that he has a very strong heart and the doctor was impressed and very grateful because of everything that he has been through. The doctor said his thyroid and his pancreas are weak. Which makes since because when he had mono those are what the mono attacked. It was an interesting appointment with the chiropractor but hasn't seemed to really help anything. Paedn is going to Mayo Clinic on Monday. This is our last chance. They are supposed to be the best of the best. We are praying for answers. Even though Paedn has been so strong and so optimistic through this whole ordeal, I know he wants answers. We both do. He was back to "normal" for a few weeks after Lorelei was born but then went back again. We are just so confused. Please keep prayers in your heart for the doctors to be guided to where they can find the problem.

Hilary

I am doing well. The first couple weeks with Lorelei were stressful. I was so paranoid! I even slept with the lamp on at night because I would wake up every ten minutes to check to see if she was breathing. Anytime she would spit up I would get so worried thinking that she was going to choke, I would run to the other room to grab the blue sucky thing. As I look back now I just laugh. I would call my mother and sister multiple times a day to ask questions. Thankfully, I have a loving mother and sister so they understood. I definitely had the "baby blues" for a couple weeks. I started going for walks and switching my days up so that helped it from transforming into depression. I never went "crazy" though, as my managers so nicely told me to warn my husband about. I was a little emotional, but I was tired. What would you expect? My nerves were short! I was neither crazy or mad or happy. I was just...there. Now, I feel more like myself than I have in a long time. My personality is back, I am outgoing and talkative again. It is nice to feel that way. At my 6 week check-up I lost all the weight I was supposed to gain...now I am just left with all the extra weight I did gain. I am still losing the weight though so that makes me feel good. Every time I can fit into a pair of pants I do a little dance. I even bought a shake weight because the clearance was on clearance so it ended up being $7! Boo-yah. I actually like it and have noticed a difference. I just need to get into a work out routine. My engagement ring is back on, but not my wedding band because it is a half size smaller. It is a 3 1/2, just give me time. ;-) I am back to work and working part-time. Thankfully, the grandmothers are watching Lorelei. If not for that, I would probably not be working. The first day I dropped her off I cried all the way to work. The first day back to work was horrible anyway so being emotional about Lorelei did not help. I am not as emotional now but it is still hard leaving her. Some days I wish I didn't have to work. For now I have to though, I just keep reminding myself that. I am wanting to go back to school. I have been playing around with different careers, mostly careers I could do from home. The main one I have come up with is an occupational therapist. I actually want to do equine assisted therapy. The only Arizona school that offers a program is in Prescott. Those do require a master's degree so it is still a long way away. Other ideas are an event planner, a writer, or a dance teacher.

Labor and Delivery: Welcome Lorelei

Thursday- April 19th
I told Paedn I had a feeling I am going into labor this weekend, at the latest by Wednesday.

Friday- April 20th
I had an emergency trip to Triage. Lorelei was not responding to anything. I would feel her little leg and move it around and she did not kick back or anything. This was extremely unusual because she usually was so active. I called my doctor and they told me to go to the hospital so I could get hooked up to some monitors and checked out. That evening I also received the ultrasound my doctor told me I would get since I was measuring small. Of course, they called after my trip to the Triage to schedule the appointment. Made me a little irritated. But, at the Triage I learned that 1- I have really high blood pressure towards the end of pregnancy. 2- I was having a lot more contractions than I realized. This whole time when I felt a tightening feeling I thought it was just Lorelei stretching around in there. Nope, they were contractions! All in all Friday was a very emotional day. 

Saturday- April 21st
Timmy and Christina's Wedding!! Saturday was another emotional day. I wanted to be in Utah. I wanted to see my family and be there to celebrate with everyone. I cried quite a few times. I was so grateful that Emily had her phone hidden but on during the ceremony so I was able to hear almost all of it. Then, Christopher and Stephanie let us use their phones and they skyped me and I was able to watch all the major events plus get a glimpse of my family! It was so nice and I am so grateful I was still able to included in the some aspect. The rest of the day, I was restless. I cleaned out and vacuumed my entire car. I had been putting this off for a while but finally found the energy to just do it. I just kept thinking of how nice it will be when I don't have this big belly in my way. I grew pretty accustomed to it but I knew how easier everything will be when it was back to normal. Then, Paedn and I just enjoyed our time together. We knew the time was soon approaching that we would no longer be alone.

Sunday- April 22
I slept well to about 1AM and then I was up every hour. I finally text my mom and my sister at 3:25AM telling them I was having really bad pains but I wasn't sure if they were contractions or not. My mom called me about an hour later telling me to start timing them. They left their hotel and made their nine hour trek back home by 5AM. I woke Paedn up and told him what I was doing. He decided to get up and shower and then came out to the living room and passed out on the ground while I was timing the contractions and showered. I wrote down a few notes before the contractions started to get worse.
1- pain
2- after contraction she moves around like "ugh! what the heck!"
3- nauseous
4- prayed
5- best husband in the world! he just took the car seat out to the car
6- thought the contractions were going to be further apart at first

leaving for the hospital!

I wasn't sure if they were real contractions because they were happening in my back. It was a weird feeling!! My mom called me to check on me, I was definitely in more pain than I was a few hours earlier. As we left for the hospital I called the Hancock's to let them know what was happening. I then received a text from my daddy that he sent out to my family. It read, "Vancouver, Vancouver this is it!" Seriously made me laugh so hard. My family is kind of nerdish and I am super proud of it. =-) This is the phrase that was said when Mt. Saint Helen's erupted.
When we got to the Triage to check in they asked what we were there for and I looked at Paedn, "It's baby time!" We started laughing. They lead me back and checked my weight, I lost three pounds since my Friday visit! Woo-hoo! I then went back and got hooked up to the monitors to track Lorelei's heart rate and my contracts. They checked my cervix and I was dilated to a 4, almost 5, and was about 90% effaced. They were going to have me go walk around but my blood pressure was too high so I had to stay in bed. Then, we left Triage and got situated in our delivery room. I had to lay on my side for basically the whole time because of my blood pressure. My delivery nurse walked in and she's said, "You look so much like your mother!!" I realized my nurse was one of my mom's friends! It was so nice to have her be my nurse since my mom could not be there with me.. My nurse said she was in no hurry to have the baby delivered, she was trying to stall for my mom so hopefully they could be there! My cervix was checked again, I was dilated to 7 and 100% effaced. My contractions were getting pretty painful so I asked for the epidural. I was beyond scared, my mother and sister told me their horror stories. I tried not to cry because I was scared. Paedn was able to stay by my side and he and my nurse held my hands to comfort me. My anesthesiologist was amazing! He explained everything he was doing and was so calm about it. The epidural did not hurt nearly as bad as I thought it would. I only had one tear run down my check and only squeezed their hands once. It was a weird feeling since you could feel the medicine run all the way down your back. As the anesthesiologist explained, it just felt like a lot of pressure. I was finally able to relax. I had not been snippy at all the whole morning but having the epidural definitely put me in a better mood and I was able to interact with Mama Hancock, Danny, and Paedn, who were in the delivery room, instead of trying to breathe through my contractions. I was given the peanut ball to put in between my legs to help open my hips up and help everything progress. Pretty soon, I looked at Paedn and I said, "Umm...you need to go get a nurse now. Something is leaking..." I felt awkward since it wasn't just us in the room so I tried not to say it very loud. When the nurse came in I asked everyone but Paedn to leave. I told the nurse, "Either I just peed my pants or my water just broke." My water definitely broke. It was not what I expected...I was picturing more of a "water" type substance. I found out my actual doctor was coming to deliver me so I wouldn't have some random man doctor! I was very excited.  My nurse started setting everything up. She checked me just to make sure I was complete, I was. She told me the baby's head was right there! She asked Paedn if he wanted to feel. I just started laughing, I really thought he would say no. I looked at him, "I dare you! I double dog dare you!" We all started laughing. He put on a glove. He felt our baby's head!!! That was seriously so cool. I am so glad our nurse gave him the opportunity to do that. One of my doctor's patients was in the other room and she was complete as well. Our nurse and the nurse with the other patient were "fighting" over who got the doctor first. I made it into a competition, of course. I told my nurse to go to the other room and tell them I bet I will deliver first. While everything was still getting ready, Paedn and I were choosing Lorelei's song. This is something that Mama Hancock did for her kids. She chose a song that came out the year they were born. Example, Paedn's song is "Forever Young". Paedn and I chose Lorelei's song, "Heartbeat" by The Fray. I then requested to listen to some Billy Joel. I wanted something soothing but sassy to listen to. Right before I started pushing Paedn mentioned how surprised he was I didn't ask for Michael Jackson. WHAT WAS I THINKING?! I told him to put it on. I started pushing. In between each push I would dance and sing along with Michael. Some of the nurses joined in as well and my doctor just laughed. During one push, the song "Shake Your Body (Down to the Ground), started playing and I actually broke out in laughter during mid-push. The nurses asked if I wanted a mirror to be placed so I could "see what I was doing". I reluctantly did it and I told them exactly where to place the mirror. They were like, "Man, we like you! You aren't afraid to speak up." When I would push I would shut my eyes and the doctor would call out "Open your eyes! Look! Look! Look!" It was so awesome to see! At first I was a little apprehensive to have the mirror there, I thought it was really weird, but I am glad I ended up doing it. My nurses and doctor were so encouraging. They kept telling me how amazing I was doing. I would look at Paedn and all he could do was smile. When I saw my baby's head for the first time I yelled out, "She has hair!!" After a few minutes the song "Beat It" started playing and I said, "Ya, Beat It, Lorelei! Get out of there!" We all started laughing but before the second verse started, Lorelei was born. She was born at 3:09PM after only 30 minutes of pushing. (I looked at my nurse, WE WON! We bet the other patient! We high-fived one another.) Lorelei was placed directly on my chest and Paedn was able to cut her cord. When she was taken to get weighed and everything I couldn't help but say, "Ah! There really was a baby in there!" Paedn never left her side. He was so curious about everything that was happening. He really did so well in the delivery room! I knew he wouldn't have a problem but when the nurses told him how great he was I realized that not every guy could do what he just did. I was so proud of him. I was on a high. I couldn't stop smiling, I never really cried. My eyes were wet but I wasn't balling like I thought I was going to do.
Everything else happened so quickly. My family made it to the hospital only 40 minutes after I delivered. They were the first to come in and visit, then the Hancock's came and meet Lorelei, then Danny and Amanda. Later that evening, my grandparents were able to come visit me as well as they made their way back home to Texas. I barely held my baby the first day!
I did a lot better than I ever thought I would do. I handled the pain of back labor, of the epidural, and of recovery. I was out of bed as soon as the epidural wore off. I felt great! I wasn't as emotional as I thought I was going to be. I wasn't snippy or rude as I thought I would be. I think the worse thing I said was I asked Paedn not to talk to me while I was having a contraction but he could keep holding my hand or brushing his hand through my hair. After delivery, I looked at Paedn and smiled, "I am so proud of myself!!" I still am. I am a lot stronger than I ever knew! Thanks to the stories I heard, I was preparing for the worst. I was preparing for unbearable contractions, for the pain of the epidural, for pushing for 3-5 hours, for a 4th degree tear, none of which I ended up having! I was so grateful.

newborn

1 week old

First ever tummy time!