Maycee Lynn

Our daughter, Maycee Lynn, was born on February 8th. The EDD was the 6th. And, believe me, I wanted her out, but secretly I was hoping she'd come on the 8th. My reasoning behind this was the fact that both Shem and I have 8, 1, and 0 in our birth dates. Having Maycee on the 8th continued that pattern! Leading up to the scheduled induction, I was wondering if we were even going to make it in the hospital. For the week prior, there was a waiting list for all inductions. But luckily, with the induction on Super Bowl night, it seemed like all the husbands were begging their wives to stay home an extra hour or two. But, of course, Shem was the complete opposite. For days Shem was nagging at me to call the hospital and get in earlier. He was so anxious! I'm sure, in the grand scheme of things, she came when she was meant to (consider the date).

Labor lasted less than 24 hours--I consider that pretty good for an induction. And pushing lasted 51 minutes--much quicker than anticipated. Although, to me, it seemed like 15 minutes. Compared to the 10 months of pregnancy, labor was nothing. All those months of preparing and planning for her arrival, the room, the clothes, the accessories, the books, was not sufficient for what parenthood truly is. When Maycee arrived, we were elated. The moment the doctor layed her on my chest, my heart swelled with an overwhelming feeling of love. With tears in my eyes, all I could say to her was "you are so beautiful." And she really was. It was stunning to see a baby only seconds old look so gorgeous. I wasn't expecting that. Because I'm her mother, I wonder if it is my opinion or actual fact. Over the last three months, I've realized that it's a fact, shes' absolutely beautiful. She's so sweet and so innocent. She is really what Shem and I need right now in our lives.

We feel so lucky to have her as our daughter. The night she was born, we prayed and expressed our gratitude to our Heavenly Father for this new little person who is our responsibility. We are excited to watch Maycee grow and learn. Parenthood is the greatest blessing I have received this far in my life, along with marrying such a wonderful man.

These pictures were taken when Maycee was 6 days old by my visiting teacher. She is so talented. It was so nice of her to do this for us! To visit her website, go to http://www.saracoral.com/index2.php?v=v1#/home/. Some of our pictures are on there.