She's here! Born at 5:07 am on February 20 2010, Harlee Rae Burnett weighted 6 lbs 3 oz and measured 18 inches tall.
I've decided that there's really not anything about labor that is fun. The reward is fantastic, but BOY do you work for that reward! Brandon and I went to the hospital at about 10:00 pm (Brandon was driving like a madman convinced I would give birth on I-15)on Friday, February 19th. I was sure they would just send me home and tell me to "take it easy...rest...put your feet up...enjoy this--it won't last." But, after we arrived, I was dialted to a 4 and about 95% effaced--this was the real thing.
After a long night of labor I went from telling Brandon that I was dealing with the pain fine to telling him to, "PUSH THE ^%&$! BUTTON!" on the epidural pump. At 4:55 I began pushing. I was convinced I would push for at least 3 hours like I had with Brykn, but after only 3 contractions and less than 10 minutes, the cutest little girl on Earth made her appearance.
Harlee Rae was exactly 4 weeks early. 36 weeks to the date, her little lungs were not quite ready for the big gulps of air she needed to breath. So, after only a matter of 2-3 minutes, she was quickly wisked to the nursery for further assessment. Harlee was placed on oxygen and a c-pap--a machine that uses pressure to push the oxygen into the lungs. Harlee was officially a NICU baby.
I wasn't able to hold my new little girl until Febrary 22nd--my arms had ached for 2 days. She was connected to the oxygen, monitors, and an IV that had been placed to administer both fluids and antibiotics as Harlee had been diagoised with pneumonia. The first time I held her in my arms was pure magic. She was more beautiful than I could have ever imagined. Petite, fragile, and beautfiul.
After fighting the pneumonia, respiratory distress, jaundice, and a really lousy appetite, we were finally able to bring Harlee home 9 days after she was born. What a wonderful day! Brykn and Grandma Lauri had decorated our house with "It's a Girl" decorations, and Brykn was SOOOO excited to finally have both the baby sister he had waited so long to meet, and his mommy home.
Life has been an adjustment the past week. It's amazing how having a newborn in the house will make the days seem shorter and the nights seem longer. Harlee Rae has made me feel like our family is complete. Its such a wonderful thing to know that everything you wanted in life has come true. I have always wanted to be a mother. And, now, I have 2 little lives that call me Mommy. I am such a lucky woman.
The pictures on this slide show are of Harlee's first few days of life. More pictures to follow! (The first thing everyone says when they see Harlee for the first time is, "Holy cow! Look at all that hair!" incidentally, that's exactly what I said when I first saw her. Harlee's dark hair has a bit of a shimmer to it--something my mom said my hair also had...look out, Dad, like mother like daughter!)
