3 baby stories, & life the first week or so...

It's truly amazing to me how completely unique your own labor and birth stories can turn out.

My babies at 2 days old

With Oliver, I was 6 days past my due date when I finally went into labor, and that labor lasted for days, plus 3+ hours of pushing. He weighed 7 pounds, 11 ounces (and his head was probably 5 of those pounds!) He was the most adorable thing I'd ever laid my eyes on, even though I remember saying with a laugh, "Who are you???" because I didn't picture him looking like he did.

Peyton was 8 days early, and my labor was rather quick at about 12 hours from the first contraction to her debut- with basically half a practice push to get her out. She was 6 pounds, 12 ounces and the tiniest thing any of us had ever seen. I think we were expecting her to look exactly like Oliver, so when we first saw her we were so confused! We weren't expecting her to be her own little person (and her own little person she turned out to be!)

My labor with Dylan was about 6 hours from start to finish, and just about as easy as Peyton with 2 pushes. I really only had about an hour and a half of really bad contractions, but apparently I have the lowest pain threshold around because I was miserable for that hour and a half. As it turned out, I was miserable because I was dilating 4 cm (from 3 to 7) in that short amount of time... so at least I didn't have to wait long for my epidural. {And yes, I'm an epidural person. When I was in labor with Oliver, I planned on (among other things listed in a detailed, 3-page birth plan, haha) a drug-free birth. About 12 hours in, I scrapped that plan and- though I felt a bit like a failure- asked for the epidural, as I was throwing up on myself because I didn't even have the energy to turn my head away at that point. Once I actually got the epidural, though, I felt like I was able to focus on and enjoy the birth of my baby, and I never dwelled on the fact that I didn't stick to my original plan. And so, with Peyton and Dylan, my birth plan was always one sentence: Bring on the epidural, STAT.}

5 days before | 5 days after

Dylan weighed 7 pounds, 8 ounces and was 19.5 inches long. As I've mentioned, we were pretty positive that she was a boy because of all of the speculation by friends and family (and strangers...) and also because we thought that the OB had spilled the beans moments before she was born. So when she was born and it was announced, "A little GIRL!" it was the most wonderful, special surprise ever! Jon and I both said, "Oh my goodness, she looks exactly like Peyton!!!" She looked so tiny that the nurse actually re-weighed her two more times to make sure that the 7-8 wasn't a mistake!

From the second she was born, Dylan was a sweet love. At 11 days old, she has so far been the easiest of my babies. She's a champion nurser, she's not ashamed to take a nice solid nap for most of the day, and while she prefers the warmth and coziness of being held, she does alright in her Mamaroo too. Annnnd... I'm knocking on wood as I write this... she goes 2-3 hours between night feedings (sometimes more!) which is unprecedented in this household. There have been a few nights where she's demanded that I hold her between those feedings, but the last few nights have gone well and she's gone back to her Co-Sleeper without complaint.

Since coming home, Dylan has celebrated her first Holiday: 

1 week old on Valentines Day!

And had her first bath (given by Peyton with help from Mama!): 

Dylan has the most adoring sister on Earth:

And her brother is less and less afraid of her every day. Last night he gave her a kiss on the top of her head, just because:  

Peyton loves to go through Dylan's drawers and pick out clothes for her to wear. Then we have to go to her room to find something that matches:

"Mommy, I need circles and lines like my baby"

Outfit by Peyton.

And, personally, I just think she's really stinkin' cute:

And in other news, I can eat deli meat again, so I am officially a nicer person:

Sweet thing, I waited 9 months for you...