Evelyn June!

"This is the day the Lord has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it!" Psalm 118:24

September 20, 2012 was most certainly a day to REJOICE as we welcomed our precious Evelyn June into the world!

The labor began Wednesday evening, and as we put the boys to bed, we told them that Mommy and Daddy would probably be gone when they woke up in the morning.  They were so excited; it's a wonder they ever made it to sleep!  At 11:00 p.m., the contractions were coming every 3 minutes, and at 2:00 a.m. I called Mom to come to the house.  My last pregnant picture at home before we left for the hospital!

"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." Psalm 139: 14

What an exciting time thinking that I was going to meet my baby girl soon and finally see with my own eyes all of God's handiwork from the past 9 months! I'm not really one for labor pictures, but this is where I spent the majority of my time the next few hours. (Not usually looking quite this "comfortable". . .)

"Let everything that has breath praise the Lord." Psalm 150:6

Then at 10:19 a.m., I heard the most beautiful sound in the world, my sweet Evelyn June taking her first breath and letting us know with a strong cry that she had indeed arrived!  Yes, we were all praising the Lord with our breath!!

Literally within seconds of her birth, even prior to cutting the cord, I saw my adorable husband poking his finger in our brand-new baby's mouth and he excitedly announced, "She has a palate!"  And here's the picture he took to prove it. . .

With that glorious palate of hers, she was able to latch on immediately and I think she may be the best nurser I've ever had!  It has been pure heaven to be able to breastfeed a baby again!  

So next, she was getting cleaned up. . .

. . . and weighed and measured. She came in at 7 pounds 15 ounces and 20 inches long.  What a perfect size baby girl!

Footprints made -- She is official now!

Dr. Bavishi, who took such great care of us these past 9 months! (Actually, she's been taking care of me for about 16 years. . .)

Definitely proud Mommy and Daddy! (And is it just me, or does Russ look more tired that I do?? I guess it had been a long night for him, too!)

Isn't she just gorgeous??

 LOVE all of her precious little baby parts!

 You couldn't keep this crew away for long!  They were so very excited to meet their little sister!

 Each of them had their turn holding Baby Evelyn.  It was love at first sight on all 3 accounts!

 

"Children are a heritage from the Lord, offspring a reward from him." Psalm 127:3

Such an amazing feeling having my whole family together with a healthy Evelyn as the centerpiece!

 Evelyn had several more visitors while in the hospital, all of her grandparents, cousins, and aunts and uncles and some friends, too!  Here are just a few of Evelyn's fan club. . .

"I sing for joy at the works of your hands." Psalm 92:4

When the pediatrician came through, as much as I tried not to be, I was a little nervous.  I just kept waiting for the news that there was something not right with our baby.  Don't get me wrong, she definitely looked and acted perfect in every way, but it was still hard for me to be completely confident that she didn't have something we would have to address.  When he informed us that she was indeed a "normal" newborn without any obvious defects, my heart was so relieved!  On a side note, I guess Calvin asked my mom, "So Evelyn is going to be like me, without any issues?"  Well, buddy, she'll probably have her share of issues at some point, but for the time being, I guess this is true!  Yay for boring babies!  And not only is she perfectly put together, as a bonus, she's pretty stinkin' cute!

 

 I was so thrilled to have a newborn baby I could hold and cuddle without the annoyance of wires, tubes, monitors and worry.  What an amazing feeling to truly be able to relax while loving on my new baby girl.

 Russ and I had always said that if we had a healthy baby we were going to take full advantage of our little vacation at the hospital and stay as long as they'd let us.  Well, we woke up on Friday morning and looked at each other and said, "Let's go home."  After only staying a few hours after Oliver and Violet, a full 24 hours really felt like a long time!  So we got our discharge paperwork, got Evelyn all dolled up in her adorable outfit Grandma Cheryl brought, and prepared to bring Evelyn home.

"My cup runneth over." Psalm 23:5

God is so good and I am forever thankful for all of his gifts in my life, most especially my family.  Thank you, Thank you to everyone who faithfully prayed us through this pregnancy!  Evelyn is such a perfect gift from the Lord, and my cup indeed runneth over.