Every child begins the world again.

She’s here! Sweet baby Amelia.

8/20/15 at 1733

8lbs 2oz

20 1/3″

It seems like just last week Logan and I were talking about having another baby and now she’s here! Here’s the story of how she entered the world.

On 8/13/15, my actual due date, I was showing no signs of impending labor.  I was induced three days after Easton’s due date and I really wanted this baby to come on her own. My doctor told me he wouldn’t let me go a week past my due date, so we went ahead and scheduled an induction on the 20th with the hopes that she would make an appearance before then. I had felt great my entire pregnancy with the exception of insomnia the last month, but I started getting uncomfortable after my due date and was definitely ready to meet her.

On the day of my induction, I started having contractions. Better late than never, right?  So, I headed to the hospital while my sister, Kylene, (who flew into town the day before) and Logan dropped Easton off at school.

Our last photo as a family of three.

By the time I arrived at the Naval Medical Center, I was having some pretty good contractions. I was admitted at 0900 and Kylene and Logan arrived shortly after. Special thanks to her for remembering the timeline of the day!

I had the best nurse, Patti, and midwife, Sarah, that I think I could have asked for. What a difference this birth was from Easton’s! We were quickly dubbed the “fun room” and really enjoyed bonding with both of them throughout the day. Sarah said we were in a race with the room next door to see who would have their baby first. Ryan (my sisters husband), came up with a horse racing name for me, Sarahtariat! Ha!

Doing a little work while waiting!

By 1100, I was 3cm dilated and so at 1145 they decided to give me a “whiff of pit” as they liked to call it. Basically just a drop of pitocin to get my contractions going harder. I’m happy to report that it did and by 1300, I was tired of gripping the side rails and was ready for some relief from the anesthesiologist.

Epidural attempt #1

He was the nicest doctor and I really wanted to like him, but after an excruciating amount of pain followed by attempt #2  at 1355 and topped with the contractions, I was having a hard time adding him to my Christmas card list.

So for attempt #3 at 1445, a different doctor was called in and I’m happy to report that he made it onto the “nice” list. I was given a pretty strong initial dose to help with the pain which ended up being too much and caused my blood pressure to bottom out and sent me for a little spin around the block. After the epidural dosage was under control, Sarah broke my water at 1536 and by 1715, I was 10cm dilated.

Kylene had joked early in the day that she wanted her to be born at 1730 so she could make it home to put Easton to bed, but not miss any of the action. Sarah, the midwife, took it seriously (since her shift ended at 1900 and she wanted to be there to deliver the baby) and came really close – we were only three minutes off!

Amelia Jordan Staggs was born at 1733! She was 8lbs 2oz, 20 1/3 inches long, and had a head full of dark wavy hair. Logan and I have liked the name Amelia since we first got married and Jordan is my mother’s maiden name.

She was born with a “true knot” in her umbilical cord, which Patti said was very rare and meant that she would be blessed. 🙂

We still aren’t sure who she looks like. I did have a head full of dark hair when I was born, but to me, that’s the only resemblance.

Kylene guessed Easton’s weight correctly before he was born and somehow surprised us all again by correctly guessing Amelia’s too! She’s good.

Sadly, Sarahtariat did not win the race, but I think God definitely gave us the best prize.

After a few stitches and the bad news that I would have to have a foley catheter in for 24 hours since my bladder contained 1200cc’s after I delivered, we were moved to a new room for the night. Ugh. On top of that, I was suffering from horrible postpartum contractions. I was only allowed to have Motrin, which wasn’t beginning to touch the pain. I’ve asked several of my friends that have had baby #2 and they said they vaguely remember having them too. I then realized that theirs couldn’t have been as bad as what I was experiencing because I will NEVER forget that pain. It was almost worse than a contraction and would radiate down to my knees and lasted for several minutes. The nurses said it was just my uterus contracting back down and that it was perfectly normal. I’m sure they thought I was exaggerating. The only thing that brought me some relief was a heat pack. Anyone else deal with excruciating postpartum contractions? It was definitely a long night, but I’m so glad Amelia was a dream baby and slept most of the time we were there so that I could deal with my own issues.

The next day Kylene brought Easton up to the hospital to meet Amelia. What a sweet moment it was!

He was in absolute awe of her and loves calling her “baby sister.”  There isn’t a doubt that he’ll be the best big brother ever.

First official photo as a family of four!

After 27 hours in the hospital, we left late at night and sprinted for home.

The postpartum contractions stopped after three days and I’ve slowly been getting out of the house and enjoying some fresh air. I am also happy to report that Amelia is a great sleeper! She has given me several six hour stretches of sleeping and for that I am grateful! At her five day check up, she had gained 2 oz from her birth weight, so she’s eating like a champ too! Fingers crossed that she stays this good. No idea how I got so lucky having two easy babies!

I feel so incredibly blessed to have two healthy and happy children. I thank God everyday for these wonderful gifts and I pray that they both grow up serving Him. We are getting used to our new routines as a family of four and I am almost back to 100%.

I am once again so grateful that my sister was able to be here and document Amelia’s birth. I know that these photos will be ones that I will always treasure. My mom was able to come out a week after Amelia was born and help out as well. I can’t wait to blog all the newborn photos we took of Amelia!

Thank you to all of our family and friends that sent their congratulations and an especially big thanks to everyone that brought us food! You guys are the best!

Birth photos by Kylene and Ryan Studios