We are so much in love with our new daughter. Elizabeth (Libby) Shay was born on December 28 at 11:11 am. She weighed a whopping 5 lbs, 12 ounces and is 18 inches long. We love her so much and can't wait to introduce her to everyone!
Libby's entrance into the world was a quick one. For those who are interested, here's how it happened: On Thursday night I had stomach pains that kept me up pretty much the whole night. After a few calls to the doctor on call, we decided maybe it was heartburn related and I was told to go to the ob office at 9:30 Friday morning. Around 5 am, the pain shifted much lower, but stopped long enough for me to get a little sleep. Though it got more intense as the morning went on, I didn't think they were contractions. Until around 8:00. While getting ready for the 9:30 appointment, the pain started to take my breath away. I asked Jim to start timing them just in case. At this point, they were coming every 2-3 minutes, so I still didn't think they were contractions. Weren't first time moms supposed to be in labor for hours? Days even? Still, I decided that I couldn't drive myself to the appointment and that we should just go to the hospital instead. We grabbed the hospital bag just in case and Jim called a cab around 9:00.
The cab ride was, in reality, quite short. But to me it seemed to take forever. As soon as we got to the hospital, I jumped out and made my way toward check in, leaving Jim behind to grab the things from the cab. I told the receptionist that I wasn't sure what was happening but it hurt; she just looked at me and said, "Oh honey, you're in labor." I still didn't believe her but she was moving quite quickly to labor and delivery which I appreciated. When my doctor made her initial check to see how far dilated I was, I looked at the expression on her face and thought, "Please don't send me home!" Instead she said I was 9 cm and they rushed me to the labor room. After breaking my water and 20 minutes of pushing, little Libby decided it was time!
Many of you know that I was completely convinced that we were having a boy. I had been calling baby "him" for weeks, months even. Two ultrasound techs had used the pronoun "he" when showing us something on the screen and a few other reasons led me to be almost 100% positive that she was he. So, in addition to the shock of having just had her in about an hour, Jim and I were even more shocked when the doctor announced "It's a girl!" I really thought that she was joking. But there she was, our perfect little itty bitty tiny girl!
Libby is now almost a week old and it is amazing how much our lives have changed in the last few days. It hasn't been easy, but always worth it when we look into her tiny eyes. We never knew our hearts could feel so much love! It's so cliche, but so true. Stay tuned for highlights from her first week along with lots and lots of pictures!
Oh, Stef. She is so beautiful. I can't believe that all happened so fast! LUCKY! :) Yeah, it's never like what you see in movies or at all what you think it will be like. But she's here, and she's healthy and thriving, and that's all that matters. Congrats to the three of you! Oh, and if at any point you look and her and all your love for her overwhelms you and you burst into uncontrollable, slobbery, shoulder-shaking sobs... totally normal. :)
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