And then there were three.

It turns out that everything they say is true. Labor really does suck. And it's LONG. Or mine was, anyway. Hospital gowns don't close in the back. There is an awful lot of blood. Breastfeeding is hard. Driving away from the hospital with an infant is terrifying. When you get them home, they don't sleep at night. And they go through an insane amount of diapers. When they cry and can't be soothed, it's the most powerless and awful feeling on the planet. Your best friend gives you perineal cream with a note that says "we never have to talk about this," and you will forever consider this the pinnacle of gift-giving. You worry about literally everything and are transfixed by the baby monitor. Postpartum hormones are no joke. Commercials for car insurance can actually make you cry. There are days you can't manage to take a shower or brush your teeth, and couldn't care less.

The first time you hear your baby cry, your heart stops and your life changes forever. There is no greater bonding experience between two people than holding hands and locking eyes and trying to block out the pain and the worry of labor. You fall in love with your husband all over again when you see him hold your daughter for the first time. And again when he won't let anyone else change her diaper. And again when he snuggles with her in bed in the morning so you can try and get that shower. And again when you hear him singing "Danny Boy" to her from the kitchen, and see tears in his eyes as he watches her sleep. You look at her perfect little face and marvel that you somehow made this miracle. You vow every day to be better, to deserve her. You want to thank your own Mom 100 times a day, and ask her how she did it. There is a "Mom club" you didn't even know about, and it is amazing. But nowhere near as amazing as the feeling of being a family now, instead of "just" a couple.

So the last ten days have been a crazy whirlwind of dizzying heights and painful lows and new discoveries and changes, big and small. 

My water broke at 6:30pm last Tuesday, the day after my due date. 22.5 hours later, at 4:56pm on the 5th of November, Finley Savanna was born, finally hauled out with the help of forceps. Her tiny cry upon being eventually dislodged was the best sound we had ever heard. She emerged looking like a prizefighter, thanks to the forceps and her rough journey into the world (having been stuck under my pelvic bone for most of the previous day and night). The hospital time was a blur. She couldn't nurse at first thanks to a busted lip, so we spent a rough couple days over that (while Seth fed her pumped milk with a syringe and his pinkie), eventually hiring a lactation consultant and taking her back to the hospital for a frenotomy. She barely cried for the procedure, or for her first shots. Her daddy couldn't be more proud of his tough little girl.

We're gradually getting into a routine at home, although she threw us for a loop today with her first growth spurt. She's a voracious eater and a good sleeper. I'm starting to be able to walk again (having required a billion stitches), and we take family walks around the yard and watch her little eyes dart around as she takes in the world. We, of course, think she's a prodigy. (And she's definitely, exceptionally strong.) She's already mastered FaceTime, is wild about her Dad, seems to be partial to Joe Walsh guitar solos, and doesn't hate a good diaper change. Seth is already back in school (writing papers during major life events is becoming a family tradition) but never skips out on diaper changes, does the grocery shopping, brings home flowers, and never mentions the fact that Finley and I perpetually smell like spilled milk and rarely bother to put on shirts.

The very best time of the day is morning family snuggle time. 

We've slowed down a little bit, but we're enjoying every second of this time at home with our little miracle.

And we did manage to get the Christmas tree up today... Walters family tradition mandates this about a month before everyone else. We're only a little behind. Not bad, all things considering.