Little Lizzie

Our little girl came into the world this past Sunday, June 20 at 11:48pm. She made it just in the nick of time for Father's Day! Her stats: 6.0 pounds, 20 inches. We love her to pieces and she is the most precious thing.
Sunday morning, I woke up and felt as though my water could be breaking. I wasn't sure since it was more of a strong trickle over a gush, but was also getting some contractions that seemed regular. After much internal debate (I feared being sent home and told it was a false alarm), I called Kaiser and they told me to come in. The whole time I was deciding, Alex got everything ready to go- he seemed to know this was it. This was the last thing I expected since I wasn't due until July 13!
After checking in, the nurses checked and sure enough, I was leaking amniotic fluid- admitted I became. At that point we called the parents since it was official the baby was on the way- surprise!
Once I was settled into my glorious L & D suite, the waiting began. My contractions got more spaced apart and less intense, so I had to go the pitocin route. It wasn't that bad. Probably since I also got the epidural around 4 cm :) I was scared for that, but that was the least of my worries.
After Mary Poppins and Toy Story and a bit more waiting, I was to 10cm and the 3 HOURS of pushing began. It was intense and the hardest thing I've ever done. I really didn't think she was ever going to come out. The clock kept ticking along and with each contraction I gave it my all and it seemed like nothing would budge. Finally, the last 3 or 4 push sessions, she decided to make her entrance. WOW, the most rewarding workout of my life!
Since I spiked a fever toward the end of pushing, protocol requires the baby to go to the NICU. So, the first 2 days of Lizzie's life were spent there. She graduated out of there for our final night at the hospital with us, then we went home on Wednesday.

Kaiser provides a celebration dinner, complete with sparkling cider and keepsake glasses. We had salmon and steak, with quite good strawberry cream cake. This photo was taken before all my swelling and post partum recovery had really set in, so now I feel a bit blah, but trying to remember it's temporary...
Alex is head over heels in love with this girl and it makes me so, so happy. He is the best daddy and it just warms my heart when they cuddle :)

Here she is in the NICU, I think about 2 days old. Her hair is so light and she's got a good amount of it, it really cracks me up- not what I expected! She's hilarious with her facial expressions.

Alex is starting to experiment with the photos, it's been fun, but this is just the beginning of the crazy photo shoots. Not that I'm complaining- you can never have too many baby photos, right?
Anyway, we're grateful to have a healthy baby girl and she is the biggest blessing in our lives. Thank you for all the well wishes, phone calls, advice, willingness to help, etc. We are truly blessed and still can't believe such an angel has joined our little famliy.