She is here!

We welcomed Shelby into our world this past Wednesday. Born on July 9th at 12:37 pm. She weighs 7 lbs 5 oz and is 20 inches long...and the best surprise: A HEAD FULL OF THICK DARK HAIR!

Birth Story:

The Tuesday before, my mom and sister both came from Muskegon. Crystal came to be a 2nd pair of hands to handle the girls and mom came to be with me during surgery since Michael was not able to be home with me. We arrived at the hospital on Wednesday morning just before 10 am. I got all registered downstairs while making small nervous talk with the clerk. At this point I was starting to feel nervous and anxious. We headed up to labor & delivery and were immediately shown to the room I would be in for my stay. I was allowed to unpack my bags, put things away and then change into the gown. I then got cozy on the bed and the nurses came in to start paperwork, get my stats and start my IV. Mom was given a pair of scrubs to change into and then we waited. I was of course getting more and more nervous and a little emotional about Michael not being with me. So we tried to kill time with some funny photos and lots of talking. The head nurse came in to check to see if Michael had internet abilities because she had gotten the ok to do webcam during surgery however he was not able to be at a computer so we weren't able to use that (which I was grateful they even tried and offered it). The time came to bring me back to pre-op/recovery where they would do the final things before taking me into the OR. They gave mom a special phone and said to instruct Michael to call L&D and that they would transfer his call to that phone for the surgery. I got to drink the HORRIBLE antacid crap and we were given our caps and mom a mask. At this point I am now EXTREMELY nervous and emotional. I got up and walked into the OR where they had me lay on my side on the table, it was 12:15pm. My nurse then used some sort of military move (at least I think she got some special forces training cause that is what it felt like) to "help" crunch me into an even tighter ball to do my spinal. Imagine curling up on your side with your knees into your chest so tightly that you can't take a breath...now put a 7 lb baby in the tummy and you truly can't breathe all the while someone what holding my knees to my chest through my shoulders. Add in a bit of feeling terrified of the needle and you have a party I tell ya. *wink wink* Once the spinal had taken effect, they laid me on my back and began to wash my tummy. Then the drapes went on and oxygen onto my face. Mom was brought in with Michael on the phone just as Dr. Vendola said: ok, let's start. It took a bit to get through my 2 previous scars but I was distracted by Michael's voice in my ear. He was telling me how proud of me he was, how happy he was to be having a 3rd baby with me and cheering me on when he heard me making noises that sounded like discomfort. Dr. Vendola was telling me to tell Michael that he appreciated his service and Michael was telling me to tell Dr. Vendola that he appreciated HIS service he was doing at that moment. Quite amusing that they were carrying on a conversation through me while one was cutting me open. When the time came, the doc had mom stand up to see and they warned me of the pressure...almost took my breath away I tell you. As soon as she was pulled out, I heard her scream and then thought: OMG I CAN BREATHE, this was at 12:37 pm when she was born. Mom then went to the side with Shelby snapping photos with the camera phone to text to Michael to see her...but he did get to hear her crying through the phone which was VERY special. I started to calm down at that point (yes, I was worked up through all of that with on and off crying) and this time, I didn't feel sick or queasy or anything bad at all while they finished. I kept hearing people making comments about her hair and thought to myself that they must be remembering someone else's baby because I don't make hairy babies. When the drape got moved so I could see her across the room I was in shock at all the hair! They took Shelby to the recovery room next door to finish her cleaning and evaluation while they finished me. I was then brought to the same exact room to find my mom holding Shelby as she had been doing for at least a half hour already. I stayed in recovery with Shelby & mom for a couple of hours while the feeling came back to my legs. The pain this time was much greater and we had some struggles getting that under control that afternoon/evening. As I was wheeled out of recovery to my room, I heard a lullaby being played on speakers in the hallway and the nurse leaned forward and said: do you hear the music? That is in honor of your baby's birth.

So that is that. She is here. She is wonderful. She is amazing. I am totally and utterly in love all over again. Michael was able to come home on Thursday night to be with us on Friday, Saturday and then had to leave on Sunday at 11:00 am. We got to have one night together as a family with our new baby and I cherish that. It was very hard (too hard to even begin to describe) to say goodbye to him on Sunday and we are still recovering from that pain although I imagine it won't ever truly go away. Here are a couple of photos for you. Mom had her camera and I had given mine to a nurse who was willing to taking photos for me. The nurse's photos are AMAZING but rather bloody so I won't post those as they are very graphic. I will however show you my precious baby! ENJOY!