Hi friend! I'm Stacey, a wedding photographer based in Central PA. I'm also a wife, believer, encourager, and lifelong learner! I'm so happy you stopped by, enjoy browsing the blog!
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February 18, 2020
Our little Ali Joy made her way into the world on February 10, 2020!
She arrived 10 days after her due date and was actually born on the same day that she was scheduled to be induced. Our plan was to head to the hospital at 7PM on 2/10/20 for the scheduled induction but thankfully I went into labor naturally the day before!
Ali’s birth story began on the morning of Sunday, February 9th when my labor started. I had mild contractions throughout the day and they became more consistent around dinner time. By 11PM the contractions became very painful. At that point I began recording all of my contractions by time and duration. They were consistently 4-5 minutes apart and lasting between 30 seconds to 1 minute. I labored at home until 8AM the next morning when we decided it was time to go to the hospital.
While I was laboring at home, I kept my mind occupied by watching the Cheer series on Netflix as well as some of the Great British Baking Show. When Dustin and I arrived at the hospital, I was 4cm dilated. I decided to get an epidural soon after arrival because I wasn’t able to be mobile at all (too shaky and light-headed) so I figured I might as well be comfortable and have the ability to rest!
After I got my epidural, I kept saying to Dustin, “This is the best decision I ever made!” I was loving life, feeling very comfortable, and was able to rest and take naps. I also enjoyed eating jello and a double orange popsicle! 🙂
Our doctor came back in to check on me and I had quickly dilated to 6-7cm. It took our doctor awhile to come back for the final check because she was performing an emergency c-section. However, when she finally came back, it was no surprise that I was 10cm dilated and ready to start pushing soon!
One thing that surprised me was that when you begin pushing, it’s only a nurse and your spouse with you in the room. I guess I always had the impression from TV shows that a doctor was present but that wasn’t the case. I loved my nurse and she was so encouraging as she helped me begin the pushing process. I pushed for a bit and the doctor came in pretty quickly because I was making good progress. Unfortunately she had to leave very soon after because another patient was actually delivering at that moment. I had to take a pause from pushing for about 45 minutes until the doctor was available again. Once she came back in it only took a few sets of pushes before Ali Joy made her entrance!
When Ali came out we were shocked by how much hair she had! She also pooped and peed all over me multiple times as soon as she came out, haha! Ali initially looked like a little blueberry with a blueish tint to her skin. Ali laid on me while Dustin cut the cord and then a nurse took Ali away to do some tests. When she came back her skin color was totally normal and we enjoyed skin to skin time for the next hour.
The rest of our hospital stay was incredibly enjoyable! We LOVED all of our nurses and they answered so many questions for us and served us so well. Ali ended up getting her tongue clipped which helped improve the breast feeding process immediately. There were so many little miracles along the way and we were so grateful!
Ali also received several visitors and has been so loved since day one! We’re now all back home and learning how to best care for our sweet girl and establishing new routines.
Throughout my pregnancy and leading up to the delivery, I was overwhelmed by all of the support and encouragement from so many people. We felt totally lifted up in prayer and know God was with us and helping us in every single moment.
One simple encouraging verse my sister shared with me that I would repeat many times to myself during the labor process was:
“He will sustain you.” (Isaiah 46:4) And He did! We thank God for entrusting us with Ali’s life and for His goodness, provision, and guidance throughout the process.
We can’t wait to do life now as a family of three and are beyond grateful for our sweet little Ali Joy! 💕
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February 19th, 2020 at 1:45 am
Love this story! Thanks for sharing all the moments leading up to Ali Joy’s arrival 😍
February 19th, 2020 at 3:21 pm
Stacey,
This is beautiful! Thanks for sharing your precious memories with us! The pictures are adorable!
Deborah 😉♥️😘👍