Welcome, Sophia!

Our little princess was born Sunday, May 27, at Madigan Army Medical Center. We went in around 8:30 pm Saturday and she was born at 10:36 the following morning. In retrospect, I think that I started going into labor on my birthday, but the contractions were unevenly spaced, so I ignored them until they started getting really painful, even though they were still uneven. Finally, Mike made the executive decision late Saturday evening to drive to the hospital. It was good he did, because by the time we reached labor and delivery 20 minutes later, my contractions were quite regular--and 3 minutes apart.

Before we left, Mike gave me a wonderful Priesthood blessing. He said that this baby was a very special spirit selected by Heavenly Father to come to our family. He also said that all our doctors and nurses would be guided as they helped our little girl come into the world, and that through the labor process I would be reassured. At that moment, I had a feeling that her delivery wouldn't be quite routine, but I also knew that everything would be okay.

It turned out to be a very busy night on the labor deck. There were 9 other mothers laboring besides me. We were very blessed that the two obstetricians who had taken care of us through the pregnancy (Dr. Thompson and Dr. Bryant) were both on call while we were there.  The first 8 hours were uneventful and Sophia looked great on the monitor. Then they ruptured my membranes and five minutes later her heart rate started going down...and down...and down...until there was no beep from the monitor. The nurse tried repositioning the ultrasound, and still nothing. And after a minute I felt her little movements stop.

Finally, I said to the nurse (AMAZINGLY calmly, I might add--ask Mike), "You know, it's okay if you're concerned and would like to call for back up." So she did and within seconds our room was filled with about 8 people setting up the baby warmer, giving me oxygen, turning me over in the bed, and paging the OB. After a minute, Sophia's heart rate reappeared and then slowly came back up. During the entire episode, I was (appropriately) concerned but I never felt panicky inside. I remembered Mike's blessing and I knew everything would be OK. They debated taking me for C-section but decided to give me a trial of labor, which Sophia tolerated and 45 minutes later she made her debut. I've never been so glad to hear  a baby cry as I did at 10:36 am.

 Our Sweet Sophia

7 lb 0 oz, 19.5 inches

 Proud Daddy

Happy Mommy

She looked perfect at delivery and she did well in the hospital. We brought her home on Tuesday and have been enjoying being parents. She brings such joy into our lives, which were pretty joyful to begin with. My mom has been here all week, which has been so helpful and so appreciated. I just can't believe how blessed we are to have her here and healthy. Life is so, so good.