Hey, everybody! I’m happy to report that Baby Z is now on the outside! We have named her Eliza Lydia.

I had been having contractions pretty randomly since Monday night. Finally, my water broke on Thursday morning at 1:30am or so and things progressed pretty quickly from there. We got into the hospital around 3am and Eliza was born at 1:13 pm.

Josh and my sister were there coaching and helping me with contractions and changing positions the whole time. My friend Krista showed up around 11am I think – she was a fresh help. And my Dad showed up sometime near the end and sat behind the curtain and prayed.

Karin was the midwife – she was great. She was the same one that delivered my sister’s baby. Dr. Bell was the OB on call and he was helpful, too. Apparently, baby Z’s head was a little crooked at some point and they couldn’t figure out which way to turn her. The midwife said that she was afraid they might have to do a C-section (I didn’t know about this until after). She offered an epidural, but Josh and Kym and Krista said I could do it and said I was doing great. I was exhausted and completely out of it, so I just trusted them! Finally, she turned enough to start pushing. I think we only had an hour and a half of real pushing.

Of course I am sore all over, but the recovery is definitely better than a C-section! Praise the Lord! Eliza is cute – 8 lbs, 6 oz… 20.5 inches… What else? Oh, she’s another holiday baby. PJ is 4th of July and Eliza is a Thanksgiving girl!

I think I’m in for it the next week or so – milk coming in, hormones trying to regulate, Josh leaves for 3 weeks… I may go over to Mom’s for a week or two… We shall see…