Pre-baby, I had grand ideas about writing a blog post about our birth experience…but now that she’s here and it has been two months the birth details are a little blurry. Here’s what I remember: I went in early because contractions suck balls, I wanted an epidural asap, and I didn’t want to be one of those girls on Youtube who have the baby in the car!  The epidural, ice chips, & catheter made my birth experience so awesome! Peeing every 5 minutes at the end was getting old and the catheter felt like a gift from Jesus. We checked in at 6am and had Finn at 11:42pm. It was a long day and our family waited a looooong time. I really wanted her to have 11.1.15 birthday ( I liked all the ones) so I’m glad she cooperated and made her appearance with 18 minutes to spare. We almost had a c-section because the Pitocin was taking forever…but contrary to what that Ricky Lake documentary told us, my doctor really advocated for a natural birth…so we waited…even though I was stressed out to the max because they made me stop drinking water…and water is my life! When it came time to push, it literally felt like I had been training for this moment for my whole life. Suddenly all the years of constipation paid off and came into play like a hero! I pushed 4 times and her slimy beautiful body was in my arms!

Nate was taking pictures through my contractions, I wasn’t very happy with him then…but I’m glad he took them now. Our friends who had a baby the day before said to check in by saying “Hello! My name is Dana Epidural Dorn, and I would like an epidural” it was great advice because it totally worked.

This was my fake contraction face…I can’t imagine going through labor without pain meds!! High five to the ladies who brave birth without them!

Because what’s a birth story without a picture of the heart monitor :)

the coolest moment of my life! I couldn’t stop saying “Hi” lol You can see the goosebumps on my arms, I still get goosebumps thinking about it.

He’s such a good dad. We’re both lucky girls to have him.

One of my fears was giving birth to a 13-pound baby, I’m so glad she was a perfect 7lb 13 ounces.

It was really cool that most of our immediate family was able to be there and meet her during her first hour of life! It was a long day for everyone but totally worth it!

This is my favorite picture from the whole experience!

She has had personality since day one! Love this face!

Because it’s not a modern day birth experience without some cell phone photos :)

And just like that, now we’re three.

So we’ve been a little MIA soaking in every moment with this baby girl. Having a daughter has immediately impacted the way we view weddings. Every bride is somebody’s little girl… and the emotions that parents feel on a wedding day are brought to the surface for us.