Random updates

There has been a lot going on in the Hayes Household the past few weeks. Here are a few highlights:

- We are adjusting to life as a family of 3. And learning how to function on very little sleep. We have ventured out into the real world a few times, with some short trips to Target and Babies R Us. Olivia and I even met my mom for lunch and made our first trip to the grocery store alone. I felt like I needed 10 hands, but was glad to have overcome that first mommy-daughter outing :)

- I have been overwhelmed at the amount of love Olivia has gotten in these 3 short weeks. We have had so many people visit, bring meals, send sweet messages and gifts and it amazes me how many wonderful friends and family we have. We are so, so lucky and thankful.

- Friday our baby girl will be 1 month old. ALREADY?! How is that possible?

- Recovery from the c-section has gone pretty smoothly. It no longer hurts to get up and down, or walk around, and the incision seems to have healed nicely. I still can't carry anything heavier than the baby for 2 more weeks, but at least I have my driving privileges back!

- Olivia already has her first gig as flower girl- MY BABY BROTHER IS GETTING MARRIED! Mark asked Rachel to marry him on February 22 (the same day D & I got engaged!) and she said yes. We couldn't be happier for them both! They are tying the knot sometime in Summer 2015, so I guess I have 1 year to get my pre-baby body back...

- My amazing husband, D, is an even better daddy. I could sit and watch them together all.day.long. It is the absolute sweetest thing ever. It honestly makes my heart melt every single time.

- We decided to have newborn photos done for Olivia, and I am so glad we did. I never ended up doing maternity pictures, but I knew I wanted newborn pictures. We decided to use SJK Photography and we are so pleased with how the pictures turned out! She came to our home for the shoot, and it made the pictures that much more real and personal. I have looked at them every day since we got the CD :) Here are a few of my favorites...

She is here!

Olivia Grace is here!

She was born Friday February 21, 2014 at 5:06 PM. She weighed in at 6 lbs 15 oz and measured 20" long.

We had a scheduled c-section for Monday February 24th at 6:30 am. I went to the hospital for my  anesthesiology  appointment on Friday at 10:00 am. When I got there, my blood pressure was a little high, but I figured it was my nerves. So the nurse agreed to complete the paperwork and retake my blood pressure before sending me on my way.

Well, that didn't happen. My BP was still up, so the nurse put in a call to Dr. Johnson , who was the on call doctor that day. After talking with Dr. Johnson, we decided it was best to go ahead with the c-section that day, instead of risk sending me home over the weekend. And, not long after, I was admitted to labor and delivery, where I sat for 5 hours waiting for surgery.

D left work immediately to get to the hospital, along with my mom and dad and both of his parents. Around 4:45, D dressed in his suit for the OR, they put me in a wheelchair, and  we headed down the hall. This was it. No turning back now. I had a mild panic attack but knew that I would soon be meeting my girl. And it would all be worth it.

They sat me up on the operating table, and started the spinal in my back (which barely hurt at all actually!). I felt myself getting numb, and they laid my down on the table. The screen was placed in front of my face and Dustin was called into the room. He came and sat by my side and I have never been so happy to see him.

I felt some pushing and pulling, but nothing I thought much of. Next thing I knew, the anesthesiologist told D to stand up and look over the sheet. I heard a "Woah" come from him, which caused a slight panic, but then I realized, he was seeing our girl! She was already out. I had barely felt a thing and I swear it had only been 10 minutes!

D went over to where the nurses had her, cut the cord, and they brought her over so I could see her. It was so surreal. She was ours. She is what I have been feeling in my stomach for the past months. She is actually a little person, and not just an alien floating in my stomach. I was instantly in love.

Recovery was awkward. I had no feeling for about 2 hours, but was finally transferred to our room when I could bend my legs. Our parents came in to see her.  She was beautiful.

She is beautiful. I can't stop staring at her. I want to hold her all the time. D is smitten. He looks at her with a look I have never seen from him. It all sounds so corny, but it is so amazingly true.

And all of a sudden, every uncomfortable night, and back pain, and pound gained, and pimple, and swollen body part no longer matters. Our girl is here and we are officially a family of three.

And it can't get better than that.