The Birth of Payton Elaine Legg

So, this post is definitely way over due, but as some of you may know, as a new mommy, I am quickly learning that I don't have a lot of extra time on my hands. As I sit here at night watching my peaceful baby girl soundly sleep (which doesn't ever last very long), I can honestly say, I have never been more in love, challenged, excited, emotional, or exhausted in my entire life! It is so hard to fathom how much our lives have changed in the matter of 1 day, and at the same time, it is so hard to imagine how our lives used to be before Miss Payton Elaine Legg made her entrance into the world on Friday, March 11, 2011 at 2:26 pm. Below is the story of how little Payton made her debut.

Ryan and I made the decision with our doctor at our 39 week appointment that it was time to be induced! The induction was scheduled to begin around 8:00 pm on Thursday, March 10, with the hopes of a baby arriving sometime Friday evening. The induction process began with me taking a medication at different points throughout the night to get my body ready for labor and then to start pitocin, a drug that stimulates contractions, at 5:00 am on Friday morning. I must say, contrary to a lot of other birth stories, ours went pretty well as planned. I started out dilated 2 cm and felt mild contractions on and off throughout the night, but none strong enough to really get me anywhere. At 5:00 am, the nurse started me on pitocin which caused my contractions to become stronger and more frequent. By 7:00 Friday morning, I had made it to 3 cm and Dr. Brown broke my water. This really got the ball rolling! My doctor suspected that I would be ready for my epidural around noon and estimated that Payton would arrive sometime Friday evening. Little did she know, I would be completely dilated by noon and ready to start pushing!

Around 9:00 am I had made it to 4-5 cm and was more than ready for my epidural! During my two hours of hard contractions with no pain medication, I remember saying to my mom over and over again, "I don't know how you did this 3 times with no medication." She would kindly respond by saying, "I am just so glad that you don't have to." It was always my plan to have an epidural; I am a firm believer in modern medicine and was not about trying to play it tough. I just never thought about having to endure the pain of the contractions up until that point. I must say, I don't think I have ever felt pain quite like that and have never been so happy to see someone like I was to see my anesthesiologist!

I really think I had the perfect epidural. The pain of the contractions was completely gone, but I could still feel and move my legs. By noon, I had made it to 10 cm, but our nurse decided that since I was so comfortable, we might as well not start pushing just yet and let the contractions do the work. I was definitely ok with that!

At 1:00 pm, we decided to get this show on the road. I started pushing with our nurse around 1:00, Dr. Brown arrived around 2:15 ready for delivery, and Payton was born at 2:26! Words cannot express the flood of emotions felt by both Ryan and I as the doctor laid Payton on my chest and our eyes met for the first time. Ryan kept saying over and over, "Holly, she's really here; she's right there; she's here!" She came out so bright eyed, and we spent the next 15-20 minutes savoring every second of that magical, most precious moment when we instantly became a family of 3. We were completely oblivious to everything else that was going on and everyone else in the room.

Our experience at the Women's Hospital was truly wonderful. We had the best nurses, and after experiencing the care that they give to their patients on a daily basis, I now have an even greater respect for people who choose this as a career path. I will never forget my nurse Donna, who was with us all through labor and delivery. I think God must have had something to do with her being my nurse that day. She was the exact person I needed to help get me through this, and I cried like a baby when her shift was over. She got emotional as well, and we decided that she will be seeing me again in a couple years. :)

Now that Payton is here, the real journey begins! I know I have made some of the greatest memories of my entire life these first couple weeks at home. I have never been so thankful for great family and friends, especially my mom! Thankfully, she stayed with us the first week after Payton was born to make sure we had a clean house and cooked meals every day. By doing this, she enabled Ryan and I to spend every waking moment getting to know our sweet little girl and how to be the best parents for her. The gift of that time is the greatest, most precious gift we could have ever asked for!

As we begin this new chapter in our lives, I hope to never forget the advice given to me by one of my teacher friends, "What you do with your kids is far more important than what you do for them." We are so thankful to God for this amazing gift, and I hope to do my best to enjoy each and every moment. (Yes, this even means the 2 am feedings! haha!) Miss Payton- Thanks for making mommy and daddy the happiest parents on earth, and thanks for your patience, as we are learning right along with you each and every day! Below are some of our favorite pictures.

We Finally Get to Meet Payton this Week!

We just got back from our weekly check-up and found out that we get to be induced Thursday evening!  Oh how we have longed for this day!  We were kind of hoping for tomorrow, but our doctor has a lot of surgeries that day and really wants to be there.  It is so easy to get overly anxious, so I am going to try my best to enjoy these last few days where I know right where little Payton is, safe and sound right next to me.  :)

Thoughts and prayers will be much appreciated!  Even though we think we are ready, I still find myself at times doubting my ability to do this.  I think this is something that every soon to be mother probably goes through.  I am so thankful for the tons of friends and family that we have to support us, and I have really always felt, even before we were married and even dated really, that together Ryan and I could get through anything.  However, it is still a little scary and hard to fathom how much life is about to change.  This makes me think of the time back in February when were taking our childbirth class, and there were a couple girls who came alone.  I remember thinking to myself how challenging this time would be if I didn't have the support of a great husband and great family.  The strength and courage of these girls to tackle this challenge in the best way that they could was truly admirable.

Well, I have officially tried all the home remedies for inducing labor on my own such as eating spicy food, taking nice long walks, pedicures, etc. and none seem to work, and for some reason, Ryan felt the need to share all these crazy stories with our doctor today. lol!  She probably thinks I am crazy, because we haven't even reached our due date yet.   Why do I even try to mess with God's timing?  He has known since the beginning of time when her birthday was going to be and there is absolutely nothing I can do to change that.  I don't know why I would even want to.  On a much more light-hearted note, Payton will be arriving just in time for the Bachelor finale and will get to be our special little guest at our next weekly Bachelor get-together to help root for Emily.  lol!

Stay tuned for pictures!  We just keep praying for a safe delivery with a healthy baby!  Miss Payton- please know that mommy and daddy will be seeing you soon!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Still Waiting! 38 1/2 Weeks

We are getting closer, but I am starting to think that I should have believed Ryan when he stated "If Little Payton is anything like her mommy, she won't be on time." I really think these last couple weeks are going by the slowest!  We have everything ready to go, (or so we think) so all we have to do is sit and wait.

I officially went on maternity leave this week.  I had mixed emotions about this, which really caught me off guard.  I just knew for sure that I would be so excited to not have to think about school for a long time, but I always forget how attached you really get to your kids.  Even though I know my perspective will entirely change once Payton arrives, it did make me sad to leave my students. (This kind of scared me to think about how hard it will be to leave Payton when I must return to work.  Yikes!)  My kids at school somehow can't grasp that I won't be back until next year, and most of them really think I should be back the week after the baby is born. We turned this conversation into a learning experience about how much work a newborn is and how important it is to make sure you are really ready for that kind of huge committment.  (Hopefully, this was good for a bunch of 7th and 8th graders to hear.  lol!)  On a positive note, my blood pressure has went down a bit since going on maternity leave.  Imagine that!

We went to the doctor yesterday.  Payton is around 7 pounds, is head down, and is ready to come out!  (At least mommy thinks so!)  The doctor is giving us the option to induce next week unless she decides to come before then, so we are looking at about 1 more week at the latest.  Thank goodness!

I really can't believe that we have made it to March.  Ryan and I keep fantasizing about the moment when we get to see her for the first time.  I just cannot imagine what this is going to be like!  We feel so blessed to have gotten to share this wonderful experience together.  My mom really put it into perspective when she brought to my attention that not only are we bringing a little girl into this world, but we are creating an eternal soul.  Wow!  I just pray that God gives us the wisdom as parents to help mold her into the person that he has already designed for her to be. We are both so thankful that we have a tremendous support system to help us with this. We are also so thankful that God has helped us grow as Christians through this whole experience, helping us to realize what the important things in life really are!

38 1/2 week belly pictures are posted below.  It is crazy to compare these to my 5 week picture!  I sometimes wonder if I will ever look like that again.  Probably not, but I WILL be Payton's mommy, so it will all be worth it!   Also, I apologize if anyone is offended by bare belly pics, but we had to capture the moment. (Hopefully it will not look like that for much longer.  lol!)  Stay tuned for more updates!