HAZEL RAIN HILLIARD made her debut!

I love my baby!!!!!!!



Proud Grandma Taylor

Proud Daddy and Grandma Hilliard

Hi Everyone...Darryl and I are the extremely proud parents of a beautiful baby girl. She is AMAZING!!!!! My water broke on Sunday morning at around 12:15 AM. Totally unexpected and I truly wasn't sure what was going on. I thought I knew, but I also knew that I had several more weeks to go. I had Darryl Google it for me and then I called the Dr. on call. And, yes, it was my water breaking and the Dr. said to head to Labor and Delivery and we'll be having our baby soon. Of course, I wasn't packed yet and I had never even thought about what should be in your hospital bag. I ended up taking a shower, shaved, put on makeup, did my hair and then packed. Darryl did the same and he also managed to read the instruction manual for our car seat so we could put it in the car. He is such an amazing dad.

We ended up getting to the hospital around 2:30 AM. I called my parents (my mom was in Cincinnati and she left immediately) and Emily and Kyle. I knew we'd have a baby within 24 hours and I needed some support. Gosh, we were caught so off guard. I did pray at dinner that night that God would let me meet my baby girl soon.....and, geez....there she was.

I checked into the hospital and was monitored for a while before they checked me. And, I was over 7cm dilated on their first check. They didn't understand how I was so comfortable and just about to have a baby. And, I was totally Hannah, truly felt just like any other day. The hospital claims no one has ever been this calm when they are having a baby. It was great, I never felt nervous or scared...just went with the flow. They hurried to get me checked in b/c I was almost past the point of when I could get an epidural. Absolute breeze! My labor was QUICK and really pain free. Sorry ladies!!!!! My recovery probably doesn't feel any better than yours did : ) I'm wearing giant ice packs and pads the size of a mattress! And my nipples....don't get me started. They may potentially fall off before I leave the hospital. OUCH!

I pushed 7 times and there she was. Hazel Rain Hilliard came into this world at 8:36am on September 21. She weighed in at 6lbs 9oz and is 18.75 in. She has a full head of brown hair....some is curly and some is straight, it's adorable! She looks just like her daddy and he is SO proud of her. Her eyes definitely aren't brown, they are actually blue like mine. So far, that's the only thing of me that I see in her. Gosh, she's cute stuff though.

I knew before having her that she would need to be monitored in the Nicu for 4 hours since I was insulin dependant, but as soon as I had her they laid her on my chest, Darryl cut the cord and she was off to the Nicu. It was hard! I held her for about 20 seconds. Her blood glucose level dropped rapidly so they had to start her on a feeding tube and IV which means she may spend a day or two in the Nicu. It's really hard to be sitting here in my room when my baby is somewhere else, but the care at Community North has been fantastic. I go up to feed her ever 2-3 hours and hold her, of course! Darryl has been absolutely amazing! I have to peal him away from the Nicu. He just sits with his nose up against her little bed and stares at her. He is so good at asking all of the right questions and making sure his baby is happy.

I love her more than you can imagine! She's better and more special than I ever could have dreamed. She's my world and I can't wait to spoil her. I am SO thankful that she is healthy. I can't even believe I have a daughter. How did I get this lucky?

I have so much more to say but it's almost 3 AM and the girl's gotta eat!