On February 10th Baby Jack made his way into this world. The past few weeks have been spent adjusting to life with a newborn and ooo-ing & aw-ing over every little thing this sweet boy does. To say we are in love is an understatement.

His arrival and existence is everything and yet nothing like what I thought it would be We are still learning what our new normal looks like, but overall everyone is happy and healthy.

Labor and delivery was also nothing like I expected. Looking back on it I’m surprised I stayed as calm as I did, but as so many mom’s have told me, in the moment you just want what is best for the baby and are determined to bring them into this world as healthy as possible.

On the morning of February 9th I woke up and felt like something was wrong, worried the baby had already had a bowel movement so we went to the hospital. It turned out I was wrong, but while I was hooked up to monitors I realized I had been having contractions since the night before and didn’t realize it. I knew that even if we got sent home it wouldn’t be long before we were back.

Right before leaving my doctor decided she wanted to check one more thing and I’m beyond thankful she did. They realized that I had very little amniotic fluid and had been slowly leaking for an unknown amount of time. Thank goodness we had gone in, I like to think it was early onset mother’s intuition.

I was told I needed to be induced and while I had always hoped for going into labor naturally I was just anxious to deliver the baby and make sure he was okay.

I was induced by 10am and most of the day was spent waiting as I slowly dilated. My contractions were never as bad as I expected so I held off on the epidural until close to 7cm. Epidurals are pure magic… after that I barely felt a thing. Contractions then just felt like dull stomach aches.

As it grew closer to pushing the baby’s heart rate started to drop. I jumped from 9 to 10cm in what felt like minutes and suddenly it was time to push just before midnight.

Shortly after starting to push my heart rate also dropped and I was hooked up to oxygen. Normally these kinds of things would have set me into full panic mode, but in the moment I think I was so unaware of what was happening I just wanted to meet my sweet baby.

Delivery was a breeze and I didn’t feel a single thing (thank you magic epidural). Within 40 minutes Jack entered this world and life has been better ever since.

This past month of being a mom has been the greatest experience. I had no idea the kind of love I would have for this little guy. It is overwhelming at times but so incredible. I also have a new appreciation for my own mom after knowing the kind of love she has for me.

Thank you to everyone who has reached out, prayed for us and helped us adjust as new parents. We feel so blessed and are so thankful for how loved this sweet boy is.