A mother's perspective

Wow, that sounds so weird... "A mother's perspective." This actually applies to me now. I can't believe it. It is so surreal. I am loving every minute of it. Everything happened so fast that it is just now sinking in. I guess it would be safe to say that Addison likes holidays. We found out we were expecting on Valentine's Day, found out she was a girl on Mother's Day Weekend, and she was born on Grandparents' Day.

I am so grateful everything and everyone who played a special role in the last few days. When you begin your own family, it makes you think about how special and important family is. There is no way that I could have gotten through this without my loving husband. He was a great tower of strength through the whole process. He kept me calm and laughing. He was an excellent coach during labor.

Another key player in this whole thing was my mother. I could not have made it through this pregnancy without her guidance. It was very special to be able to share this moment with her. All girls dream of sharing the birth of their first child with their moms and I was lucky enough to do this and more. Not only does Addison and my mom share the same middle name, this birth was extra special for us because my mom actually got to deliver her first grandchild. It was a very special experience for me.

While my pregnancy was rather difficult, my labor was relatively easy, or so I thought. I didn't know half of what was going on until after delivery. I guess it was better for me not knowing all of the severity of the situation because it would have made my blood pressure rise into an even more dangerous level. After learning all of what had occurred during my labor, there is NO DOUBT that GOD was in control. With as many problems as I had and for Addison to not have a single problem and to be "perfect" according to her apgar score of 9/9, that is truly a miracle. I love being able to share these precious moments with family and friends. We are truly blessed to have so many wonderful people in our lives.

Please continue to keep our family in your prayers as we recover and adjust to our wonderful new life. We are still not out of the woods yet as far as my blood pressure is concerned so we still have to be very cautious. Thank you to everyone for the calls, prayers and visits. Hopefully we will see you all soon! In the meantime, here are a few pictures for your enjoyment.

One of Addison's first photos
5 pounds, 1 ounce and 18 inches

Our family- 1 hour old
Addison- 12 hours old
20 hours old
Going home- 40 hours old