Well, we had a baby. I'll tell the labor and delivery story for those who have been asking for it, but I'll try to keep it short for those who don't care.
Early labor started for me on Thursday night, but didn't kick into full gear until early Saturday morning. I knew I wanted to try for a natural birth this time, but when I realized my labor was back labor, I definitely started to doubt that it would be possible. I had heard a few people talk about how much more painful back labor is and they were not kidding. Thankfully, the last part of my labor went extremely quickly and I was able to do it without meds with MUCH help and support from my amazing husband. I am not exaggerating at all when I say I could not have done it without him. Somewhere around 12:30 PM on Saturday I had reached 7 cm and I felt like I needed to push on the contraction after that. I got checked again about five minutes after that and was told I was "almost there". My water broke during the next contraction and less than 30 seconds after that our little girl came practically shooting out. I had her out in about two good pushes and doctors and nurses were scrambling to get things ready. Annie Elizabeth Matthews was 6 lb. 3 oz. and 20 inches long! She has been an absolutely wonderful baby. Her fussy periods are few and far between and she even lets us sleep through the night, feeding only every three hours or so. Will has been a fantastic big brother, usually running over to check on his little sister when she cries and giving her frequent kisses and snuggles. We're convinced we have the best kids in the world.
We had a wonderful visit with my parents this past week. They helped us more than I can say with meals and spending time with both babies, among many other things. It was great to watch them bond more with Will. He officially loves his Mimi and Papo.
Things have been busy around here while we try to adjust to twice the amount of diapers, crying, napping, etc. Andrew's paternity leave ends on Tuesday, so it'll be interesting to see how things go as I learn how to juggle both kids. We will definitely fall into a new routine soon and with how easy Annie has been so far, I don't anticipate major issues. As exhausting as it is sometimes, I can't get over what a sweet and amazing family I have. I really have never been so thankful to be a mommy and I keep thinking of a pin I saw on Pinterest a while back:
"Parenting is the hardest job in the world. It's a good thing my co-worker is cute."
:)
