grateful

our little girl is snoring as she sleeps soundly on my chest, all cuddled up in her moby wrap… and wonder overtakes me. i find myself in constant awe that this little life came to be. only a year ago, we were working at the baptist medical center in ghana, and olivia didn’t yet exist, except for in the mind of our amazing God. his creation inspires awe that is indescribable.

the past twenty-one days have been full of blessings. from the presence of family members (including moms that clean our house while we rest and care for olivia) to the outpouring of love from friends, and many other blessings large and small, we are grateful.

i am especially grateful for that beautiful day when olivia was born. as you can probably tell in the video we posted (see post below), it was a great day for me. although the labor pains i endured for six hours (until my epidural) were the most intense thing i had ever experienced, i look back on that day with such fondness and thanksgiving, for the many ways that God blessed us and the sheer joy that we experienced as our first child entered the world.

here are just a few of the things that didn’t have to happen, but did:

1. my mom and both sisters were in town, ready and waiting for that moment.
2. one of those sisters, erin, had a very short window to be in dallas due to her busy job as a midwife in san diego — and olivia being born on that day meant having the most amazing masseuse/coach to get me through those contractions and help decide when to head to the hospital!
3. my doctor happened to be the one on call that day — which helped me to relax and made the delivery extra special.
4. the nurses were all really sweet, especially my designated labor & delivery nurse, jenny.
5. with a doctor who knew me and a sweet l&d nurse (plus an uncomplicated labor), they allowed me to have all four of my support team (aaron, mom, and sisters) stay in the room with me when olivia was born — instead of the usual limit of two!
6. my epidural eased my pain beautifully, but didn’t delay the progress of my labor (which was my one fear about the epidural)!
7. though she was scheduled to fly the next day, aaron’s mom was able to hop on a plane to arrive just a couple hours after olivia was born!

there are even more little blessings i could mention, but i think you get the idea. i know that not every labor & delivery goes quite as smoothly, so i am incredibly grateful for all the ways we were undeservedly blessed that day. and most of all, i am thankful for a healthy little girl.

kells packing my bag with last minute items before we head to the hospital.

smiling as i rinse dishes between contractions.

my last few hours as a pregnant momma.
39 weeks + 4 days.

my lovely sister erin.

and lovely sister kelley.

a little comic relief — mom and kells happily documenting the day while erin massages me through a contraction.

mom and sisters — can’t imagine that day without them.

my husband of five years — about to become the most incredible daddy to our little girl.

at the hospital, all settled in.

the new baldridge family of three, just moments after we met our little olivia grace.

the first of many daddy-daughter snuggles.

olivia meets nana.

granny (elaine) arrives from phoenix.

enjoying our first days with liv.

home at last.

the three weeks since that day have passed quickly, and i am doing my best to soak them up, one at a time.

here are a few little facts about our sweet girl:

• her name reminds us of the olive branch brought to noah on the ark by a dove — the promise of new life. she is our little olivia grace, the promise of God’s precious grace towards us.
• just like when she was in my belly, she gets the hiccups on a daily basis — usually multiple times in one day.
• she is a crazy good little feeder — a natural.  despite dropping 9% from her birth weight by six days of age, she regained it like a champ, and weighed eight pounds (four ounces above birth weight) at 2.5 weeks old.
• she is incredibly alert, turns her attention to different voices, and has impressive head control.
• she sometimes gives us a run for our money — waking up every 1-2 hours to feed at night — and other times lets mommy and daddy sleep, feeding every 3+ hours.  [i should mention that daddy is a happy, willing helper — and i am so grateful.]
• she has blue eyes and strawberry blonde hair — are you surprised?

chilin’ with daddy.

little fingers.

her onesie reads: “(egg)plant a kiss on me”.

sweet flowers from nana and papa.

she loves her nana already.

first bath, happy the whole time — girl loves to be clean!

cuddling with auntie kells — who also happens to be the mommy of olivia’s newest cousin, due to arrive in january 2013!

happy in granddaddy’s arms.

granny and granddaddy with the newest little baldridge girl!

her first fourth — fireworks and all!

our sweet girl.

love.

thanks for celebrating with us… we are overjoyed.

we’re off to california next week, for a month of family time — woohoo!  hope to be back again soon with another update.  love you guys!