On September 28th at 2:02pm, Dave and I welcomed our beautiful baby boy into this world. Charlie weighed 6lbs 8oz and measured 20 inches long. To say we are in love would be an understatement.

The past two weeks have been a complete blur. It’s crazy to think that his delivery was 14 days ago and honestly I wish I could relive specific moments again and again and again. I’d love to share my very anti-climactic labor story with you, if you’d care to read…

On Sunday, September 27th I woke up feeling really uncomfortable. My legs were swollen and I was experiencing a lot of pressure on the lower half of my body. Dave left at 7am to play golf with his buddies {one last hurrah!} and I reassured him that I really anticipated delivering past my due date rather than before. I watched a movie on the couch, took Webster to the park for a couple of hours and tried to distract myself from the fact that I wasn’t feeling 100%. At 4pm I had my first contraction and by 5pm I had experienced 4-5 within the hour. Dave got home from a fun day with the boys and was so excited to take a nap, I told him I was having contractions {he was thrilled! ha!}. From 6-8pm I was having pretty consistent contractions every 5 minutes lasting only 30 seconds. At 8pm I called my doctor and was told that I was experiencing early labor and it was best to stay home for as long as I could. I got into bed at 9pm and from 9-midnight I timed my contractions until they were 2-3 minutes apart and 40 seconds long. I decided to wake up Dave because I was worried that with my contractions being so close together I was going to have this baby at home. At this point my contractions were bad but I had honestly anticipated them being much worse but because they were only 2 minutes apart we headed to the hospital at 1am.

When we got to Northwestern I was 3.5 cm dilated so I was told to walk around Triage for the next two hours to make more progress. This was by far the worst part of my entire labor. By the end of those two hours my contractions were so strong and consistent that I could barely stand let alone walk but I was now 4.5cm dilated so at 4:30am I was wheeled to the delivery room and at 6am I got my epidural. I was having excruciating back labor and I have to say that epidurals are magical. At 8am I hadn’t progressed so my doctor started me on Pitocin to increase contractions. I tried to rest for the next few hours but was going in and out of light fevers and my nerves started to set in {not to mention complete exhaustion}. We put on a music playlist, Dave and I chatted about how crazy it was that we were finally in this moment and at 12pm my doctor came in to check my progress and I was shocked to hear that I was ready to push. My doctor arrived around 1:30pm and after coaching me through pushing he realized that our baby was ready to come NOW. Dave and our wonderful nurse held my legs and I watched as my doctor coached me through 4-5 contractions before Charlie  made his debut. Dave looked up at me with tears in his eyes and whispered “it’s a boy” before they laid him on my chest. It was the fastest 30 minutes of my life and will forever be embedded in my memory as the day my life changed forever.

It is so hard to put into words the experience of having a baby. After being pregnant for 9 months, feeling those little kicks and then seeing this tiny being come into the world – it’s beautiful, overwhelming and terrifying all in one. I loved not knowing the sex of our baby, it really made the delivery so much more exciting but I will say that the only negative is that I had a really hard time connecting to Charlie while I was pregnant. It was difficult for me to visualize this life that was on the horizon not knowing what I would be holding in my arms after 40 weeks. I felt guilty that I would call him “it” while he was in my belly and I think after he arrived it made it equally difficult to let go of my life before. The emotions and the hormones that come with pregnancy and delivering a human life is not something that is usually discussed and I’ll share those things with you another time but the adjustment is not easy for everyone. I will say that after two weeks of being a mom I can’t imagine my life without Charlie. He is a true gift from God and Dave, Webster and I feel so blessed that we get to share our lives with him. I know that it isn’t always easy for everyone but I hope that at some point in your life you get to experience the surplus of love, the gratitude you have for your body and the outlook that a child gives you on life. I have a newfound respect for my mom, knowing the love she must have had for me when I was born and feeling so grateful that I get to follow in her footsteps. If I’ve learned anything in the last two weeks it’s that the only thing that matters in life are the people in it. Everything else comes second.

So, welcome my sweet baby boy! You are the greatest thing to ever happen to us and I feel so incredibly lucky to be your mom.

Everlane Cashmere Sweater  //  DL1961 Denim  //  Everlane Loafers  //  Baby CZ Striped Hat

Photos by my dear friend Tim Tabailloux. You can see photos of our wedding here.