7 weeks, 4 days

It's been almost 2 months now since my life became motherhood and I am ready to take a breath and begin documenting my new journey. Evelyn Claire Applegate joined our family August 4, at 11am.  She weighed 7lb 2 oz, exactly the same as her mamma and was a tall 20 inches.  She had a little bit of dark hair, very dark eyes, and yummy baby cheeks.  The delivery was a lot like the pregnancy: tough, long, and miraculous.  We were placed in a room by the NICU because the doctor didn't know what to expect. I was induced at 39 weeks for the same reason.  The induction was incredibly slow, taking 24 hours before I reached 10cm and was able to start pushing.  However, it was much less painful than I had expected (with a few exceptions). When I finally reached 10cm on the morning of the 4th, they discovered that Evie was face up and tried to turn her several times without success (the exceptionally painful part). I pushed for 3.5 very long hours and thought I was going to die from hunger and fatigue. Evie, however, was very happy inside of me and did not move down AT ALL! Little stinker! So the doctors decided it was time to take her out and we went in for a C-section.
With mom and Scott watching and holding my hands, we were finally able to bring Evie into the world.  She took about 15 seconds to start crying and I was very freaked out, but then she began wailing and we all burst into happy tears.  I remember being so relieved and so tired and wanting more than anything to see and hold my precious baby.  I hated having to wait while she was cleaned off and checked out.  After what seemed like an eternity, they decided she was perfectly healthy and placed her in my arms. It was so surreal to hold her and know she was mine.  I didn't feel like a mom yet, but I was so thrilled to have her out of me and be able to look at her and hold her close.  When I first looked at her I was struck with how much she looked like me.  It was the weirdest thing, I felt like I was looking at myself as a baby.  Since then, however, she has grown more and more to look like Scott, and now she hardly looks like me at all. Now she has brown eyes, dark hair, and gorgeous eyelashes.  Her face has thinned out a lot, but she still has squeezable cheeks. I love her button nose and tiny chin, and she always smiles when I poke them.
The first two weeks my mom was here and it was such a blessing to have her. She fed us, took care of us, and kept me company when I was too sore/tired to go anywhere. Evie slept a lot, nursed constantly, and cried occasionally.  We learned very quickly that she loves her pacifier, being swaddled, and being talked to.  She gets lonely at night, and always sleeps better when we hold her or let her sleep next to us.  She is a major cuddler, and a great eater. She now weighs about 10 pounds and has grown out of almost all of her newborn clothes (sad day!).  She is starting to get very active and will kick and squirm when placed on her back, but hates tummy time and will only stand it for a few minutes. She has been smiling more and more over the last few weeks and has Scott and I wrapped around her long, tiny fingers. Evie loves it when we stick our tongues out at her, and will stick hers out to get our attention. This week we've been working on vowel sounds, mostly Ahh and Ohh. She has started sleeping for longer stretches at night, usually 6-7 hours at a time, much to her sleepy parents' relief. She also loves getting her diaper changed and gives me a huge grin when I place her on her changing table.
So far Evie has been right on track with expected development and doesn't show any deficits. She is a happy, bright baby, and brings joy and meaning to my life. I am so grateful the Lord sent this miracle to our family and can't wait to see what He has in store for her.
***More pics to follow!