Welcome Taylor Jayne

Well, we would have posted this yesterday, but we were experiencing some technical difficulties at the hospital!

Here's our babe, Taylor Jayne!! We are soooo excited she is finally here and could not be more smitten or in love with this precious girl! She weighed in at 7 lb. 15 oz. and 21 inches long. She is long and skinny and has these really long feet and toes! So cute! She has strawberry blond hair and the most adorable dimple on her right cheek! She is healthy as can be and she and mom are both doing really well! I think we are both feeling a whole lot better than we were yesterday!

The day was LONG to say the least. We got to the hospital at 7:30 and water was broken and pitocin started at 8:30. Within about 10 minutes the contractions were coming very hard and close together so the nurses and doctor were saying that this would probably be a really fast labor. I was thrilled! But then...nothing. The dialtion process was just not progressing very fast and it seemed that it took hours to get anywhere. I know this is to be expected, especially with your first, but they got it into my head that it was going to be fast so the progression was a little disappointing! At about noon, Taylor's heartbeat started to become a little unusual and even kept getting lost, so they did an internal monitor and determined that the cord was wrapped somewhere around her, and the eratic heartbeat was due to her squeezing it or sitting on it or something. This was the first time mention of C-section was brought up and I was freaked. Not because there is necessarily anything wrong with C-section, but because I hadn't really mentally prepared myself for that option. There were some issues with Tay's blood pressure as well, so I got to wear the fun oxygen mask for about 6 hours! Soooo annoying! After the afternoon spent away with not much change, the talk of C-section was becoming more frequent, but my doc said he would do everything he could to try and not have to do that. FINALLY at about 6:00 pm, I got to 10 and was able to start pushing (which felt so good to push through those dang contractions). Tay was not moving down at all, so it got a little scary and the doctor finally said he would have to try the vacuum and then it would be a C-section if that didn't work. (Tay was just not doing well with the labor anymore). So, he sucked and I pushed and at 6:19 Taylor Jayne came into our world! YESSSS! And if I look sickeningly exhausted, I'm pretty sure I was! I sobbed as they whisked her away, so grateful that she was here, healthy, and mine! All I could see were her long feet and toes, but I could hear her cries and I knew she was safe! The whole experience is such a miracle, such a spiritual experience, and I am so overwhelmed with the gratitude and love I feel for this little girl. It brought back a lot of the feelings and emotions that rushed over me when Kaiya was born. How am I so lucky to have these two lives to care for?! I love every little tiny inch of Taylor and could eat her up every time she is in my arms! She is pretty dang special to us, I must say!

My sister was able to be at the delivery with me, and she filled in as a good aunt/nanny for the first bit after Tay was born because I had the shakes so bad and was dangerously delirious from no food and no sleep for about two days. I was sooooo grateful to have her there. She provided such HUGE moral and physical support and filled in pretty dang well for my mom! Taylor and Kaiya are lucky to have such a great aunt who has been such a huge help throughout everything! Speaking of my mom, she and my dad were able to Skype in all throughout the day (which unfortunately happened to be in the middle of the night for them!), so they were really able to be so apart of everything! It was really, really special! It was almost like they were literally right there in the room with us! I'm so grateful for modern technology that allows to be so close, even when they are far away! This was such a huge blessing for us, and hopefully for them as well! I also have to give a HUGE thank you to Ashley, who drove all the way up with her kids to come stay with Kaiya for the day. It was such a blessing to not have to worry about Kaiya once during the day because I knew she was in such good hands! It really did help us a TON and we are so thankful for that!

Chris was AWESOME throughout the everything as well. He has this rare and special calming effect on me that made everything feel ok yesterday. He made me laugh when I needed to laugh and he was so encouraging and sweet when I needed that. We were able to steal a sweet glance at each other when Taylor finally arrived -- that kind of look that says how grateful we are for this life that we created together, for the family we share together, and that we have each other. I will always remember that look in that particular moment. I am so grateful for all that he has done throughout this whole pregnancy and love him to death! He is such an incredible husband and an equally if not more amazing father to these little girls! So glad I get to share this all with him! Kaiya has taken really, really well to her little sister! She came to see her last night and was more curious than anything. But today, when Chris brought her to spend some time at the hospital with us, she was loving on Taylor so much! She wanted to hold her, to hug her, to give her kisses, and would get so excited when she would make noises and so sad when she would cry! She really wanted to push Tay's little cart around all over the place, but it was more like a crash course and I don't think sister wanted to be on that ride! I'm so proud of how well Kaiya is handling things and I hope this continues when we go home! Kaiya will be such a great big sister! It's pretty cute!

So, we are happy and grateful and just enjoying every bit of this whole experience. We feel so blessed and I honestly don't know if my heart could love these two little girls one ounce more! Welcome, welcome sweet Taylor Jayne!