She Is Here!

Our sweet baby girl, Makenzie Ruth McGee, has arrived and our world will never ever be the same!

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(Part of the reason I write this blog is to remember the little parts of life that often get washed away with time, so for this post I’m going to document the night of Makenzie’s arrival with all the details that made her entrance into the world so incredible… that is if I can recap it all without being a weepy mess over my laptop)

Wednesday, October 3, 2012

Wednesday was one day past our due date.  It was also a huge day because we were headed to the hospital that evening to be induced.  In preparation for a sleepless night, Denny was napping upstairs and I was downstairs watching the Kardashians (don’t judge please).  At 2:14 PM I felt a contraction much stronger than I has been feeling the past 2 days and I immediately knew our little girl was ready to arrive.  The next contractions came at 2:19, and then 2:24 and then 2:28.  Thanks to the recently downloaded contraction app on my phone we knew we were officially in labor!!

By 5:15 PM Denny and I were pulling up to Millard Fillmore Suburban Hospital (yes, he was a gentleman and dropped me off, and while I waited I had a killer contraction which caused a group of what appeared to be high-profile drug reps awkwardly stare at me as I hunched over the flower beds).   As I recovered from the contraction and we walked through the lobby, the tears started for me… this was it, we were going to meet our daughter!  The nurses whisked us in, and before we knew it we were listening to our little girl’s healthy and steady heartbeat on the monitor.  It was a relief to know we made it to a safe place and it would only be a matter of time until we held her.

The next 11 hours and 29 minutes were a blur — countless contractions, 2 epidurals, 10 centimeters, and an exciting countdown to meet our girl.  We were told to rest but neither of us could close our eyes for a second.  I remember laying in bed trying to memorize every detail of the room, every scent, and every moment of the night.  Denny held my hand and supported me during every second of the night.

Auntie Melissa documented the progress

8 then 9 centimeters

Thursday, October 4, 2012

Finally at 3:44 AM, a perfect, beautiful, sweet, eight-pound, three-ounce baby girl arrived with ten fingers, ten toes and gorgeous dark hair!  Dr. Susan laid her on my chest and Denny and I fell madly in love with her.  It was the most incredible, surreal, overwhelming, amazing and beautiful experience of our life.

PERFECT!

Just like that, we were parents, and we were a family of three.  Despite worrying for months how we would decide on her name, Denny and I looked at her and knew her name within moments – Makenzie Ruth McGee.

The morning went by in a blink.  Makenzie met her Auntie Melissa, her Nana and Papa and spent some time in the nursery.  Here are some more pictures below!

Pretty girl!

Meeting Aunt Melissa!

Nana with Makenzie

Papa with Makenzie

The famous Quilty It’s A Girl sign! It was used for both Melissa and me when we were born.

We feel SO incredibly blessed to have welcomed such a sweet and healthy baby girl into this world.  We continue to be overwhelmed with love and support from our friends and family and can’t thank everyone enough for sharing our joy (even is we haven’t yet had the chance to call you back or return your e-mail).

The past seven days have been wonderful and I promise I’ll document more of the first week of her life shortly.  Have a great night and if you happen to be awake at 3:44 AM tonight think of our sweet baby girl and send her a Happy 1st Week Birthday wish!

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