I Love Her!!!

It seems so silly to say now, but I would be lying if I said I was in anything other than a complete state of panic and fear the last couple months of my pregnancy. Grant can back me up on this, as he had to deal with my melt downs on a daily basis. My prayers of course included the usual that any pregnant woman's prayers would include; please let her be healthy, a good baby, and if I could still ask for more, a cute baby would be nice too. But the one thing that I prayed for, more just pleaded for through out my pregnancy was that I would just be able to love her. I didn't know how my life would change when she came, but I did know that I was pretty happy with my current situation, and I am a big believer in not changing something when it is working for you. So, here I was, knowing that ready or not this little girl was coming, and well meaning friends kept reminding me to "rest up", "be seen in public", and " enjoy this last bit of time that Grant and I had, because it will never be the same again". Did I mention that i don't like to change things that are working for you- what Grant and I had was working, I got all the rest I could ever want, and I was seen in public when ever I wanted. Life was great, being a stay at home Liz was pretty much the greatest "job" I'd ever had, and the clock just kept ticking away reminding me that it was all going to change soon. I was terrified of depression, and felt it was inevitable. Yep, I didn't know what to expect, but from what I had seen I was pretty sure that the day she was born, I would become a sleep deprived, depressed, resentful mom- and I didn't know how I could ever love the little stranger who would join our family and upset the perfect balance that Grant and I had struck. So I prayed, over and over again that I could love her, not that love would come eventually, but that I could love her from the instant I saw her. I knew this was the one thing I really needed to be able to deal with all the changes that would come into our lives.

The day before she was born I was in mourning, I cried pretty much the whole day, and it wasn't until Grant gave me a blessing that night that I was able to compose myself. I was grateful for all the friends and family who called all day to wish us luck, but I couldn't talk to anyone without falling apart so I didn't answer my phone the whole day. We ran our last errands that we needed to be ready for the hospital, and then we tried to go to bed.

I knew that we were going to go to sleep that night and the next morning life as we knew it would cease to exist. This is the only thing I was right about.

we got to the hospital our scheduled time for the c-section had been bumped back, so we had a couple of hours to sit and wait in our room. They put us in a labor and delivery room to wait for the operating room to open up, and I would say at this point I was numb emotionally. After about an hour of waiting, I heard a baby start crying in a room down the hall and it really sank in that in no time it would be our baby that we were hearing. The OR was finally ready, and they took me in to get me prepped. The rest is kind of a blur, I had some amazing drugs in my IV, I just kept thinking stay awake until she is out and then you can fall asleep. Just a few minutes after they started, they asked Grant if he wanted to look and see them pull her out. It was all happening sooo fast, and then I could hear her crying. I kept waiting for the doctor to hold her over the sheet so I could see her, I could hear her crying and crying, and everyone kept talking about how fat and cute she was, and then after what felt like an hour they finally held her up. It was a miracle, nine months of worries, and there she was healthy, cute, and most importantly I was in love. This is probably no surprise to people who have kids, but I still cannot believe how instantly you love them. I was strapped to the operating table this whole time, so I couldn't hold her, and I'm pretty sure I have never been so jealous in my life like I was of Grant while he got to hold her for an hour. They finally finished stitching me up and moved me to our recovery room, and I was able to hold her. She has been the sweetest, cutest, most amazing thing to ever come to us. One minute it was just Grant and me, and the next minute there were three and I didn't know how we ever lived without her. I could go on and on about how much I love her, I love my life, and how I am pretty sure I'm the luckiest person in the world. I was preparing myself for the hardest thing I thought I would ever do, but I have to say that the past 2 1/2 weeks have been the greatest of my life. We are a little sleep deprived, but she is totally worth it. For the first time in my life I feel like I have a job that is actually important, and that I love. For the rest of my life I get to be Hallie's mom, and I couldn't imagine anything better than that.

More Pictures

We have been home from the hospital for a week now and life is good. Hallie is still doing well and Liz is recovering well. We love just watching Hallie and are always amazed at how cute she is. Here is some more proof of her cuteness.

Hallie with Grandma and Pop Pop Johnson. They were such a big help in our first week home and we appreciate all they did. Thanks a ton.

Hallie is such a good worker, I was going to build a fire and she wanted to help so I let her.

After her hard work she was so tired she fell asleep like this and could not be woken up. Too cute.

After she woke up she realized that all that hard work had given her some amazing muscles so she called us over to see. Soooooo Strong.

Then we watched Home Alone, and she started to do her own "Kevin" impression.
Then Uncle Todd came to visit and fell in love instantly.

Then she decied she wanted to wear this great outfit that grandpa Campbell gave her.

After getting all dressed up she wanted to go downtown and see the world. So she jumped in this amazing carrier aunt Niki made and became a city girl.

After all this excitement she just wanted to be snuggled in this soft blanket from Nana Sue and spend some quality time with Aunt Bevaniel and Uncle Crusty. What a great time she has been having since she has come home.

Still Very Cute

Well little Hallie and mom are still doing great. Liz is recovering and doing more every day (she still acts like she is not well enough to change diapers though.) Hallie is also doing well and so far her interests seem to include sleeping, eating, and filling her diaper with big presents for dad. We like two out of those three.

And upon your request here are a few more pictures.

She is Amazing!

Born 1:56 P.M. on 11-11-09 8 Lbs. 8 Oz. and 19.75 inches Long and bothe mom and baby are healthy. Oh and really really cute.

Just before going to the hospital
On the way into the O.R.

Just Before They Get Started

During

And Now the many After

Our New Family, which now includes Hallie Elizabeth Campbell.

We Love Her So Much!!!

I think this might be what they call nesting

Grant had been obsessed with building fires in our wood stove this week. We have had one success, success being defined as a fire that didn't smoke us out and didn't need to be checked every 5 minutes to prevent it from dying. Our other attempts have pretty much left us smelling like we've converted our house into a smoke house. The rest of his time has been spent cleaning the gutters, and chopping up the wood we bought. He has become convinced that the reason we aren't having the best luck with our wood stove, is because the wood just needs to be chopped smaller... As a result of this, I will not be surprised if our 1/2 cord of wood is all turned into kindling by the end of the week. ( Grant just let me know he has changed his reasons for why the fire won't start, the wood is a bit wet, and he just doesn't know how to build a fire when it's not in a fire pit outside.)

So we have 3 days until we have a baby, and I think it's safe to say we have both been scrambling to get things ready for Miss Campbell. The house has been cleaned, baby furniture/accessories set-up, and our room rearranged for her portacrib. I've done laundry, laundry, and then a little more laundry. I cooked some freezer meals to help get us through our first weeks alone as family of 3. And most importantly her car seat is installed and ready to go (FYI, no one other than the baby will ever travel comfortably in the Kia again, it's amazing how much room a car seat takes up). Yep, we're tired, and I still have a list waiting for me tomorrow.

Good thing there is this amazing person called Mom/Gramma, flying in this week to pick up the slack on all the things I'm sure we've missed :)

I've asked Grant a few times if he's not even a little stressed/anxious about being a dad in 3 days, to which he always replies "No way, she's got a place to sleep and a car seat, what else do we need to worry about?" I did make the mistake of putting a white sheet in her bed, which Grant quickly changed to pink. You might be risking your life if you mistake Grant's little girl for a boy after the measures he's taken to be sure that everything that can be girly is girly.

I know, why would we have her in our room when her nursery is sooo cute? Well her nursery will still be cute in January and hopefully she won't be waking up every 2 hours by then (I'm lazy and don't want to walk across the hall). The Ohio division of the Campbell Hotel is also pretty much booked through to New Years, so our lucky guests will be enjoying her stripes and flowers until then. Once the tourist season slows down we'll make the transition.

I spent at least 30 minutes crawling around the back seat of the car trying to install the car seat. Grant told me to wait and he would get it the next day, to which I thought "good luck, easy to install my ( insert a swear word)." The next day we were going to run errands, and Grant decided to install the base on our way out the door... two minutes later it was latched in and secure. I think he just got lucky.

P.S. Grant has built an amazing fire while I put this post together- making 2 successful fires in the last week ;)

Two Weeks!!!

Mark your calendars, November 11th is the day! I went to the doctor today, and after feeling my stomach, and noticing that the baby isn't dropping at all, they decided to do an ultrasound to double check if she is in the right position... I shouldn't have been surprised, she's already show us that she like to call the shots, but it's official she's breech. The doctor said we have the option of trying to turn her, but because of my amazing abs ;) (Yeah that's right I have freakishly strong stomach muscles according to the doctor) and the fact that she's been nice and cozy in this position for at least the last 2 months, the procedure would most likely not be successful and it could be pretty painful as well. So Grant and I talked, and with the doctor's input, we feel the safest option is to go with a scheduled c-section. So, for now we are planning on Nov. 11. It's kinda nice to know when this is going to happen, and kinda a bummer too. Better safe than sorry though.

Reason five-million that I love him

He finishes my projects. This week at my doctor's appointment, the doctor said she would be surprised if this baby waits until her due date. I proceeded to freak out, and nesting has gone into overdrive. Grant being the amazing guy he is has indulged my craziness, accompanied me to the fabric store and craft store more times than I can count, and after all of that, sewed and hung our curtains after my 15 minutes of patience ran out. He didn't do to bad either! Yep, I sure do love him!