Wow. The last few weeks have been such a whirlwind for us. As you probably know, Beverly’s due date was February 18th. Since it is past that day, I bet you can guess what this blog post is about. 
First, a few pictures of her while she still had a living human being inside her belly. This one is from late January. She was pretty miserable at this point and had started having a few contractions.
And here she is just a couple of days before delivery. Contractions were pretty much a daily occurrence at this point and she was really hoping to deliver the baby soon. She was scheduled to be induced on February 14th, but really wanted to go into labor on her own. She wanted to go without an epidural this time and that is usually easier to do when labor starts naturally.
We had started regular walking on the week of February 6th. On February 10th, I got home from work and we decided we would walk more than normal because Beverly felt like something was different. It was quite chilly and there was a bit of a drizzly rain, but we bundled up and walked around our cove anyway. Sure enough, contractions started to get more regular and harder. We decided at about 10:00 to go on to the hospital.
They decided about an hour later to go ahead and put Beverly in a room. So we started to prepare to meet our new baby for the first time.
While Beverly tried to stay comfortable, I kept the updates flowing to family and friends from both of our phones.
Beverly had made it through the night pretty well. We even wondered for a while if they might send her home. She was still having regular contractions but nothing was really progressing. At about 8:30 am, the doctor came in and broke her water. This picture is from right after. She was still hanging in there pretty well.
Things progressed very quickly after that. A little over an hour later, it was about time to start pushing. They called the doctor in at about 9:4o.
And 20 minutes later, at 10:01 am, our new little girl was born!
We had decided on Peyton for the name beforehand because it was a name that would fit for a boy or a girl. We were quite surprised when they said that it was a girl. Beverly was convinced she was having a boy. But we were so happy to welcome Peyton Merrill Riley into the world. She weighed 7 pounds, 6 ounces and was 18.5 inches long.
She was our biggest baby, but still didn’t feel like much more than blankets.
Beverly had some complications after delivery that caused her to lose more blood than normal. That was a really tough period for both of us, but fortunately she made it through ok. Afterward, she had a fever and they would not let Peyton in the room with us until they had it under control for a while.
Finally, later that evening, they brought her in. We had told Bev’s parents to go ahead and bring the kids up in the hope that Peyton would be able to join us. So as soon as they brought her in, she got to meet everyone for the first time.
The kids were in love at first sight. Amelia just loved the idea of having a real life baby doll. Kelsey and Roland were anxious to hold her.
The next couple of days in the hospital went really well. Beverly and Peyton recovered normally and many friends and family came to visit.
Finally, on February 13, we were allowed to all go home. Peyton barely fills up the bottom of the carseat. No surprises there.
Life at home these last couple of weeks has been really special. Amelia just loves her new baby sister. As soon as she wakes up in the morning, her first words are “Baby”. And of course, we can’t let Peyton cry for long without Amelia crying too.
Kelsey and Roland have been big helpers as usual. They keep Amelia entertained, and help us when needed when we are changing Peyton’s diaper or getting ready to go somewhere.
For her part, Peyton has adjusted really well to life at home. She eats and sleeps really well. And is changing every day.
Also while at home, we have had many friends and family stop by. Many brought food and gifts for Peyton. I think I warned most of them that they would end up on the internet. Their kindness over the last few weeks has been a huge blessing.
So we are now officially a family of six! And oddly enough, it doesn’t seem like that much of a change. As I said earlier, Peyton has adapted really well. And we haven’t exactly got the quietest house to begin with, so the fact that she still sleeps good is pretty amazing.
Thanks to all who have taken time to pray for us, stop by, bring gifts or food, and just generally been there for us when we needed you. We are honored to be able to welcome little Peyton into such a loving environment.
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