Lily Marie Mather has Arrived

Nate and I are now parents to a big baby girl, Lily Marie Mather. We are so proud. She was born Friday at 1:46pm and the fact that she weighed 9 lbs 1 oz and has a full head of black curly hair still amazes me. I also had black hair when I was born but Lily has so much; she looks like she's wearing a toupee and has sideburns. We will be in the hospital till tomorrow afternoon and we don't mind being here one bit. It does feel very much like a hotel except that we have a whole team of concierges helping and spoiling us. I hope they don't mind that we plan to kidnap our nurses and take them home with us.

I have made sure to remember every detail of the labor and birthing process because OMG! I'll spare the blog all its details but for any of you that are interested, I'd be happy to share my birthing story. Nothing goes as planned or expected is definitely the theme.

Just a few hours after coming home from a Dr's appointment Thursday afternoon where no new progress was noted and our Doctor predicted Monday or Tuesday delivery, I started having my first painful contractions. I could attribute it to the hormonal funk I was in, the long walk I talk around town, or the big piece of St. Moritz German Chocolate Cake we ate about an hour before contractions started. Right when "The Office" finished, I started looking at the clock and taking note of my contractions. After a sleepless night of contractions and Nate timing them, it was time to go to the hospital. I was in labor at the hospital from 6am till 1:46pm. Our doctor actually had the day off but decided to come in and still deliver Lily. I helped make it a quick trip for him. I only pushed for 15 minutes which I'm grateful for because unbeknownst to me, epidurals don't promise to work. The one thing I didn't want to do was have a natural birth (sounds so weird typing that) and that's exactly what happened.

I just finished breastfeeding and she's a great eater so far, hopefully not beginner's luck. The moment she was placed on my chest after she was born and when she looks at me while she's eating, indescribable how much my heart just sings.

I also love watching Nate with Lily. He's such a proud Dad and already so great with her. Here's a picture of Nate giving Lily her first birth shortly after she arrived.