Introducing...Lily Christina Smith!

We are thrilled to announce the arrival of Lily Christina Smith - born at 2:56am on December 08th. Both Annette and Lily are doing well despite a very rapid delivery. We got to the hospital at 2:15am and she gave birth about 45 minutes later!

We'll post more pictures as we get settled.

January 18, 2009 - Tomorrow our beautiful daughter will be 6 weeks old and while the memory is fresh, I am going to recount the night Lily Christina was born...

My mom and dad arrived on Saturday, Dec. 6th and we were happy to see them, hoping the baby would come soon. On the Sunday(Dec. 7th), I requested hot wings for lunch to try and get labor moving. We had a relaxing afternoon and that evening we went over to our neighbor's Marty and Jan's house for dessert and drinks. We all had a great time and I enjoyed lots of cookies and cheesecake. Before we left their home, I mentioned some "activity" or braxton hicks contractions happening. I didn't think anything of it and we all went to bed. Then....

Around midnight I woke up(deja vu from Liam's labor) with some contractions, however they were quite mild, so I went downstairs and tried to stay quiet. I emptied the dishwasher and watched Desperate Housewives. The contractions were coming and I had breathed through them, until they came more frequently and started to hurt. I woke Ross up around 1am and said it was time. We took showers, got dressed, got the bag and cameras ready and ate bagels. I woke up my parents to get them ready and my dad made us all laugh because he mentioned the baby coming ruined plans for dinner that night at the Chop House ; ) My contractions were coming on strong and I called the doctor before we left for the hospital. She would call the hospital and let them know we were coming. The car ride was to the hospital was 15 minutes and I had two or three very strong contractions and things were getting serious.

We checked into the hospital at 2:10am, it was a LONG walk to the labor and delivery ward(I should have agreed to the wheelchair). We burst through the doors and I announced to the nurse staff we were here to have a baby. The nurse took us to the triage area, I got my gown on and I was already asking for an epidural. She said that I needed bloodwork and she needed to start my IV. Our nurse, June, already knew things were progressing because of my breathing and activity during contractions. Once I got into our room, she checked my progress and I was 6 centimeters(with a bulging bag of waters- basically, I was about to blow). I was so relieved because I was afraid it was only 3 cm. The contractions continued and were VERY strong. I walked around the room and was breathing and constantly changing positions to work through them. The epidural was not coming. As the contractions intensified, I got on my hands and knees to work through them, and during one my water exploded all over the bed. For a second, I didn't know what happened and thought I peed myself. At that point, the nurses realized things were moving fast and I was at 8 cm. The pain intensified beyond my imagination and I screamed for relief. Ross wanted to help, offered to rub my back and the nurses said to breath. NONE of it helped and I ignored it all. I rolled from side to side and screamed a the top of my lungs because of the pain. I then said I had to go to the bathroom and the nurse said, "no, you are having a baby and no babies in the bathroom". The nurses remained calm, but knew things were moving along. My doctor was on her way and the hospital doctor was not yet available. Then, a nurse motioned Ross to grab a leg, then she grabbed and leg and then all of a sudden I was pushing. Lorraine, one of our nurses, was in the lead and things happened fast. They saw hair, then i put my hand down and could feel her head and another push (or rather baby trying to fly out of me) and her head was out. I didn't completely know what was happening, but I was told to stop pushing, relax for a minute because the cord was wrapped around her neck. The nurse unwrapped the cord and then our baby was here(2:56am). What an incredible feeling to see her come out and be with us. She was given to me immediately on my chest and Ross and I were amazed! We did it, she was here. Then, she was taken to be weighed, wiped down and her anatomy confirmed(I only got to ask a few minutes later to see if she was a girl ; ). She was crying and doing well, although she did need some oxygen because of the fast delivery -the quick adjustment to the world took its toll. Everything happened so fast and we were catching our breath. It was very surreal and I needed a few minutes to realize what just happened! I called my parents and let them know she was here, as expected, "that was fast" was the response. They could not wait to meet Lily.

In the meantime, the hospital doctor arrived, injected a local anesthesia and sewed up the damaged area. OUCH! Shortly after, Dr. Corbett arrived and felt bad for missing the delivery. She made sure all was well and headed back home to bed by 3:30am. At that point, I felt great and we took Lily to the nursery. As we headed there, the nurses who saw me come in a short time earlier, smiled because I literally did "have a baby" with me so quickly ; ) Lily was given a bath. cleaned up and we headed to our room. Life with our new little girl began.

Around 5am, Ross headed home to be there when Liam woke up and share the wonderful news with the new big brother. The rest of the family was called during this time and everyone was excited for the newest addition! My mom, dad, Liam and Ross arrived back at the hospital around 8am and everyone fell in love with our beautiful little Lily right away. What a truly miraculous day, our family was complete....