Major Life Update: We Have a BABY!

OH MY GOD WE’RE HAVIN’ A BABY! Well, we had a baby! Adelaide Frances Nunnelley was born on September 15th, 2023, weighing seven pounds and nine ounces. She’s a tall gal, measuring in at 21 inches long. I’m hoping she gets the height from her maternal grandmother’s side of the family.

Adelaide came exactly on her due date, which was partly orchestrated by her parents. I didn’t want to go past my due date, so we elected to be induced. After 20 hours of labor, our baby girl made her entrance into the world. Labor and delivery is a WILD ride, a motherhood crucible of sorts. Thinking back on our experience now, it feels like a some sort of fluorescent-lit and light blue nursing scrubs blur. I was pretty nervous about labor and delivery leading up to my due date, and I think this was mostly due to the unknowns. Every mother, of course, wants her labor to go smoothly. George and I prayed and prayed for a happy and healthy baby and we are so lucky to have been given such a gift. All in all, we were very thankful for the hospital staff, nurses and our doctor!

As soon as the nurse laid Adelaide on my chest, I started bawling crying. The emotional toll of nine months of pregnancy, labor and the anticipation of finally meeting our child crashed over me. SHE WAS FINALLY OUT IN THE WORLD! I think tears of shock might have been mixed in there, too. That joyful moment of seeing her for the first time and looking up at George to see tears in his eyes was golden. I heard once that the hour of quiet you get with your partner and newborn after the chaos of delivery exits the room is called golden hour. I couldn’t think of a more accurate description. It felt like time stopped and all we could do was stare at our little creation.

We were lucky enough to have both sets of parents help us settle into parenthood, after bringing Adelaide home. George’s parents stayed with us for a week, George was able to stay home with me the second week, and my parents stayed the third week when George went back to the office. Raising a child takes a whole village, and now I understand that saying completely! Taking care of a newborn is a full-time job and it’s SO helpful to have extra sets of hands around, especially when you’re still trying to figure out the whole being a parent thing. There have been so many sweet moments with our girl and many challenging ones, as well. I think your patience and grit is tested in bringing a new human into the world. Things like going to the bathroom on your own become more of a challenge or learning how to sooth your baby to finally fall asleep. I’ve shed a number of joyful tears as well as frustrated tears. But WOW when she smiles at me, my heart EXPLODES.

Needless to say, content creation has taken a bit of a back-burner to caring for Adelaide (and myself). I’m working on trying to let myself really lean into the purpose of maternity leave versus trying to get back to normal ASAP. These early moments are fleeting. My best friend wisely said, “Being a parent is an amazing lesson in being present and gratitude.” I couldn’t agree more.