Saydee Olivia Sogard

Words cannot express our love and excitement for our sweet new baby. It is indescribable. Our perfect little baby, half Eric, half me, made her way into this world on Decemeber 9 at 12:19am. To say I was a tired, hot mess by the time she arrived would be a complete understatement, but the second she arrived my world was complete.

I won't go into too much detail about my labor, but here's the gist of it…

I labored for about fifteen hours. I was dilated to 5cm until about 10pm (I had been at 5cm for about 5 hrs), and we expected it to be well into the next day before Saydee made her appearance. At 11:30pm I woke up with excruciating contractions. The nurse checked me, and I was finally dilated to 9cm! Hooray! Within the next half hour I made it to 10cm and was able to start pushing. I pushed for about 15 minutes, and our little miracle was born. 

Saydee weighed 8lbs 1oz, and was 21.5" long. The perfect size. She is just the most amazing baby and is so alert and aware of what is going on around her. The second they put her on my chest she looked straight into my eyes. She was so aware of Eric and I's voices, and knew exactly who we were. I have no doubt it was because of the countless hours we spent talking to her while she was in my belly.

We are so incredibly blessed to call her ours, and are just so thankful for her great health and the chance we have to be her parents. Our hearts are so full of love, and we are grateful for all of the sweet messages and visits we have had from our family and friends.

Of course, being the photo-fanantic that I am, I had my camera fully charged and ready at the hospital. I manned my camera before and after delivery, and my mom and CJ (13 yr old sis) took over during. As a matter of fact, I think CJ may have found her calling ;) As I sat and edited these pictures, I felt such an overwhelming sense of wonder for the miracle of birth, and how perfect every piece of this amazing puzzle is.

Saydee Olivia Sogard, we love you.