Sophia's Birth Story

Where has the time gone?! I cannot believe my baby girl is already one month old today. Happy One Month Birthday baby girl! It has been the most difficult, terrifying, BEST month of my life. Johnny and I are loving every second of being her parents.

Here is the story of sweet Sophia's arrival on May 26th, 2012. (I realize it is a bit overdue, but little princess likes to be held 24/7, and it doesn't leave me with much time to get anything else done!)

Saturday morning, I woke up with a huge stomachache at 5 am. I went to the bathroom and realized that my shorts were all wet! My first thought was "did my water break?!" I was not 100% sure since there was no gushing water of Hollywood proportions. I waited 30 minutes to see if anything progressed and proceeded to call the doctor. They told me to come on in to check to see if my water broke! I woke up Johnny, took a quick shower, and arrived at the hospital at 7am.

By then, I was sure that my water broke. Water was running down my legs! The nurse confirmed it, and I was finally admitted to Labor & Delivery. Johnny and I waited until this point to let our families know that the baby was on her way because this was my 3rd trip to the hospital in a month. I didn't want any more false alarms.

Once in Labor & Delivery, I was hooked up to an IV and given pitocin to help along my contractions. Boy was it painful! Between the needle of the IV (I HATE needles) and the pain from the contractions, I was such a mess. Shortly after, I got an epidural. I had heard how giant the needle was, so I was terrified! But best decision ever! I was a completely different person post epidural. From there, my contractions were a minute and a half apart, and I went from 4 cm dilated to 8 cm to 10 cm within a couple hours! All the nurses were surprised at how quickly I processed, especially for my first pregnancy.

Around 1:15 pm, I knew that I had to start pushing soon. Baby Sophia was ready to see the world! As the doctor and nurses set everything up, I made Johnny hold my hand through the contractions. At this point, I was sobbing from the pain. After 13 minutes of pushing, I heard my sweet baby's cry! "It's a girl! 1:48 pm! She's beautiful!" Welcome to the world Sophia Rose Rivera!

They laid Sophia on my chest for a brief moment. The nurses cleaned her off while the doctor stitched me up. I could not (and still can't) believe that this tiny, perfect baby was in my belly for 9 months! Sophia's birth day was such a special day. I wish I could experience it all over again. I often find myself sad that that day I had anticipated for so long is over. Apparently becoming a mommy has turned me into SUCH a sap! 

We have spent this past month learning so much about our sweet baby.

• She is THE cutest, sweetest, most beautiful baby in the whole world. Okay, I might be a little biased, but would't you agree?
• Sophia is such a daddy's girl. She stops crying the second Johnny picks her up. She's even given him two sweet baby kisses already. I love watching the two of them together. They are the cutest!
• At least once, sometimes even twice, a day, she gets the hiccups. Those, and pretty much every other sound she makes, sound like a squeak toy.
• She has the strongest legs. Yesterday, Johnny propped her up on the boppy, and she climbed over it!
• Her head is tiny tiny tiny. All the cute little headbands we have for her are too big and fall into her eyes. 
• Sophia already loves shopping. She will scream and cry, but the second I pick her up in her carseat, she gets really quiet. She'll just look around with her big, beautiful eyes.

Stay tuned for one month photos of my sweet angel! I'll post nursery photos as well once I'm finally done decorating. For more pictures, follow me on Instagram @emilierivera.