Callie Ann Hoyt was born this morning at 1:48 AM! She is perfect! She weighed 7 lbs 10 oz--exactly the same as Spencer when he was born! And they were both born 1 day after their due date. Ashley did an amazing job with the labor and delivery. I got off work just after 5 PM (unusually early for a day on inpatient consults). Ashley had gone over to the Pyfer’s home where Nate and Mindy were staying. They had made dinner for us all. As soon as I got there, Ashley started gathering her things and said that she felt like we should go home. I wasn’t sure why, so I asked Brian for a quick tour of their house (we are considering moving there this summer). Once I caught on to the fact that she was having contractions, we expedited the tour and then headed home. I was busy getting Spencer ready for bed, so Ashley largely labored on her own for 1.5 hours or so. She didn’t think it was “real labor,” but eventually we decided that it was the real thing, so Ashley asked her mom to come up, and she called the midwives to update them. Ashley’s mom arrived around 9:30 PM or so. Ashley continued laboring, mostly in bed. She was having some back pain with contractions, so she was convinced that Callie was posterior like Spencer had been. That was pretty discouraging for Ashley, but she kept taking it one step at a time. I hadn’t finished one of my notes from the day, and I realized that it would never happen if I didn’t take care of it, so while Beth took care of Ashley, I took 20 minutes to wrap up my note. Then I was finally able to be fully engaged in Ashley’s labor. At 11:30 PM we decided to go to the hospital. Contractions were more intense and Ashley thought she might want an epidural. Ashley was feeling sick and shaky, and she even threw up on our way to the hospital. When we arrived, they got us checked in, started an IV, and began the antibiotics. The nurses and Lucy, the midwife, all said they didn’t think Ashley’s labor would last long enough to get the second dose in 4 hours. Ashley didn’t really buy it, but she was pretty focused and in the zone. Shortly after midnight Lucy checked Ashley’s cervix and found that she was dilated to 5 cm! They said the rest of labor often goes quite quickly. Ashley’s contractions continued to be fairly intense. Mindy arrived at 12:45 AM to help as Ashley’s “doula.” Ashley had mentioned that she might want an epidural, so I asked Lucy about that process, and she suggested that we should try the tub first. Before moving to the tub (now around 1:15 AM), she re-checked and Ashley was 7-8 cm. We moved across the hall into the birthing tub, and within minutes Ashley was feeling the urge to push. Ashley had toyed with the idea of a water birth, but it certainly wasn’t something we were planning on. But she felt comfortable in the tub, and decided to go for it! Callie was born at 1:48 AM. Ashley was overwhelmed with emotion when Callie was put in her arms--she cried and hugged/kissed her sweet little girl. I think Ashley couldn’t believe that labor had gone so quickly and Callie was already here! While they clamped the cord and moved Ashley out of the tub, I got to hold Callie for the first time. I walked into our room with just me and Callie, and I started to tear up. I felt so much love for this little girl. In my mind’s eye I could see her growing up, getting married, etc--I am so excited to see her life unfold. We hadn’t decided on a name at first (we were between Callie Ann Hoyt or Kaitlyn Harper Hoyt), but by early afternoon we had settled on Callie Ann. Ann is both Beth’s and Marsh’s middle names, so we felt that it was a sweet tribute to both of our moms. She is beautiful! She has a quiet, peaceful nature, and she has been pretty exhausted today. She is already proficient with nursing. She is easily consoled when sad. I love holding her and cuddling with her.
One of the sweetest experiences was watching Spencer meet his sister for the first time. He was really excited, and he loves holding Callie. He asked to hold her multiple times each visit. Spencer, Beth, and eventually Eric came this morning. Then around noon they left and Ashley, Callie, and I tried to get some rest. Around 4 PM, Nate, Mindy, Holden, and Isaac came to visit, along with Spencer, Beth, and Eric. We had quite a birthday party for Callie! It was wonderful to be surrounded by friends and family. I love these sacred days in the hospital. It feels like life is on hold, and everything revolves around the sweet new addition.
