Wow what a whirlwind of a week this turned out to be. During my sermon last Sunday I half joked that when we met again for service we might be new parents. I have to be more careful with my words.

Even though we are a full week early, the timing could not have been better. The baby turned out bigger than anticipated, and the doctor even said that if the baby stayed until her due date, Priscilla would have needed a c-section. Looks like Someone knows what He is doing.

These last several days are just a huge blur. Now that we are finally home, I have a chance to process it all. More for my own sake, here’s a recap how our little miracle came into this world. If you don’t care for the details, you can scroll through to see the pictures. It all started about 9 mos ago after a romanti… just kidding we won’t go that far back.

Tuesday morning (12/30/14) while I was getting ready for my last week of work, Priscilla mentioned she had a small amount of discharge that was more watery than usual. She hadn’t had much in terms of contractions, but after an extensive review of medical literature on Google, we decided to just go in to be safe. Turned out to be a good call.

Around 8:30 am we arrived at Labor and Delivery, and they sent off a sample to the lab. Thirty minutes later, the nurse confirmed that Priscilla was leaking amniotic fluid. Even though it was a very small amount, they decided to admit her to induce labor since she was at a higher risk of infection (GBS + for the medical people) and told us that the baby will come in the next 12-24 hours.

Hearing that, I went into panic mode since I thought I still had one more week to prepare. While Priscilla got admitted, I went home to tie up what seemed like a million loose ends for work, church, and just regular life before disappearing for at least 3 days.

Turned out I didn’t have to rush since her induction lasted quite a long time because other than the fluid leaking, Priscilla was not at all in labor. They started the medicines around 10 am, and by 10 pm she was only about 3 cm dilated. We spent the day chatting, watching movies/shows, and hanging out.

Originally we had wanted a natural delivery without too much meds on board, but by that time Priscilla was exhausted from being in the hospital all day. We decided to go for the epidural to help her relax more, and that turned out to be another good call.

Around 10 pm, the epidural went in and early AM 12/31/14, things started to move, but even then it was still painfully (pun intended) slow. The rest of her water broke, and the contractions started to come on stronger and stronger.

After around 4 am, she finally reached 10 cm and was ready to start pushing. Unfortunately, the baby didn’t seem to want to come out. 2.5 hours later, Priscilla was pooped out (not literal), and the baby only progressed a small amount.

Around 6:45 am, the doctor came in and decided to give it one last go at pushing. If baby didn’t come out, then it was to the OR we go. Praise the Lord it didn’t come to that. With the help of a vacuum and some extra encouragement, Ansley entered the world at 7:06 am!

Almost 24 hours after going in for a quick check just in case, we had a brand new baby girl. The next two days was setting into a routine of feeding, resting, and showing her off to visitors. We have had so much support and love from those around us, thank you! I have never gotten so many Facebook likes with any other pictures/status updates.

All the leftover time, we just hung out and enjoyed the gift God has given to us. We were sad we weren’t able to be with family and friends on New Year’s Eve, but we had fun celebrating as a new family. And by celebrating we mean feeding and changing poopy diapers past midnight.

Your eyes do not deceive you, that is a steak dinner they give for new moms! As for the rest of the stay, it was pretty uneventful. Ansley had some jaundice that needed additional blood tests, but those turned out fine. Friday 1/2/15 in the morning we were discharged home!

It really is a miracle, this whole birthing thing. As I watch my daughter move and squirm in her new bed, it’s surreal to think only days ago it was her that was making Priscilla’s stomach move. God really has knit her from the womb, and as I have loved her before she came out, I know that God has loved her even before she was conceived.

It’s crazy that as exhausting as these last couple of days have been, it is just the beginning. We are in totally way over our heads, but surrounded by friends and family, and with God’s guidance, somehow we trust that it will turn out alright.

A big thank you again to all who have come alongside of us in this journey, and a thank you ahead of time for walking with us. It’s going to be an eventful 2015. Happy New Year!

“For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother’s womb. I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well. My frame was not hidden from you when I was made in the secret place, when I was woven together in the depths of the earth. Your eyes saw my unformed body; all the days ordained for me were written in your book before one of them came to be.” (Psalm 139:13-16)