And then there were three

To our great surprise and delight, Avery Lynn was born at 8:44 on Saturday morning, April 24. She weighed 7 lbs 1 oz and was 17 inches long. We are so smitten with her! Life has been revolving around the Little Elf since the moment of her birth.

My labor was short and intense. My water broke around midnight Friday night and the contractions began shortly after that and went to being only 2-3 minutes apart within a couple of hours. I managed to have the natural unmedicated birth I wanted, and for that I am very thankful. Avery was so alert during the first couple hours after birth, and we were breastfeeding before they even took her away to be weighed and measured. I have been reliving the birth to the point of occasional torment and I need to type it all out before I forget, as it's already becoming a blur replaced by the warm glow of my sweet baby's face.

I am shocked by how incredibly and deliciously beautiful she is to me. She is so miraculously tiny and perfect I cannot stop staring at her. She has the most adorable pink rosebud mouth, and this full head of hair that slays me dead whenever I see it.
Every time I see the little swirl on the back of her head my heart shatters into a million pieces and whenever she's up on my shoulder I nuzzle the back of her head and want to stuff her in my nose the smell is so wonderful.
When she nurses, I just stare at her and she seems like such a small, vulnerable creature. There is nothing more heartbreakingly precious than watching a newborn nurse. Her tiny, skinny tummy pressed up against me, her legs scrunched up in the fetal position, her wee little toes curling. I try to memorize every crease in her impossibly small hands, the curve of her ears, her delicate hair. She seems like she's changing so much already since we were in the hospital.

She sleeps most of the time, but she's becoming more interactive every day. When she sleeps, she dreams and makes the funniest faces. She smiles, or scrunches up her little brow, or makes shapes with her perfect pink lips. She's hardly been put down since she was born.

I can't believe how intensely I love her and what an overwhelming expanse of emotions it is - elation, gratitude, fear for her safety, and sadness that she is going to change so fast and grow up so quickly.

You are so loved baby girl!