On January 18th at 3:11am, our little Rachel Catherine was born. She weighed 6 lbs. 8 oz. and is healthy and hopefully happy to be here. One of the most amazing things was when Lauren and Ryan came to visit. I hadn't realized just how big Lauren had become--she's huge compared to Rachel. Since the labor and everything went well and we were all able to come home the next day, which was really nice considering Ryan and Lauren were at home. I can't say that Rachel is super good at eating or sleeping yet, but we're working on it. It has been a pretty overwhelming week with Ryan going back to school but every day we figure out a little bit more and things are getting better. Lauren has been having a little bit of a hard time adjusting, though she does seem to like Rachel. The first day Rachel was home I was changing her and Ryan was reading to Lauren in another room; Lauren heard Rachel crying and stopped Ryan mid-story (which she never does) and ran in and gave Rachel her Piggy, which is a big deal because Piggy happens to be her favorite little friend that she rarely ever shares. Lauren does get angry with me though, mostly when I don't respond to her needs as quickly as she would like. Luckily Rachel does takes naps during the day and so Lauren gets some one on one time then. Mostly I've been so grateful for our ward and my wonderful visiting teachers, who have made sure that we've had meals and that Lauren's had places to go if needed. I'm also grateful for how quickly I felt like I was able to heal. Even though I'm not totally back to normal I have been feeling really good and have even managed to get a few showers this week :)
Here are a whole bunch of pictures of the blessed event:
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| Daddy's Girls |
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| Yay for hospital food |
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| Daddy and Rachel |
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| Checking things out |
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| Classic Dad and Baby sleeping pose |
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| Just for scale, Rachel and Lauren's doll |
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| Rachel and Lauren (and Piggy) |
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| Taking a snooze |
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| Our Girls |
