First Bath

Ruby had her first bath tonight. She absolutely loved it! At first she seemed a little uncertain about what her crazy parents were trying to do to her, but then she settled right in and loved the warm water.


She's still not crazy about getting her hair washed...if you'll notice, she's giving her dad the finger :)


And she loved getting bundled up and getting a cuddle from her dad when she was all finished.

Two Weeks

Ruby has been with us for two weeks as of yesterday. Man, has it seemed like forever! I can't remember a time when I wasn't exhausted. This little girl is so cute though and enthralls us with her sleep smiles and funny faces. I can't wait until it's really us that make her smile!

She's been pretty good at night. When we first brought her home from the hospital we thought we were very quickly going to lose any ounce of sanity we had. She woke up often and was pretty inconsolable for awhile. But after a few days, and my parents taking the first night shift, she settled into a routine of a little bit of fussing, going down by 11:30 and then waking up twice. But, miracle of miracles, she only woke up once two nights ago and then had a repeat performance last night. I'm still sleep deprived, but feel so much better than I did two weeks ago.

It's funny, in the hospital there was this kind of blissful time where I felt like I was on vacation with my new little family. Ruby was conked out most of the time and everything was so new and amazing that even her crying at night didn't seem so hard. But then once we came home, reality set in that this new little creature was truly ours and we were solely responsible for her entire well being and the whole deal quickly seemed overwhelming. Not to mention throwing hormonal craziness on top of that and I began to wonder if I'd ever see the light at the end of the tunnel.

But it just happens, life just works and somehow I find the energy everyday to do what needs to be done. And Ruby is such a blessing that while everything is definitely harder, everything is so much more worth it. Just to see her funny little expressions, wriggly little fingers and hear her little squeaks every day.

Grandma and Grandpa Somers

My parents were in town for the last week or so and we had such a great time with them. First of all, let me say, thank you Mom and Dad, you allowed us to regain our sanity after a rough few nights with Ruby.

We had so much fun; we took walks, sat around and just talked, they cleaned the house, cooked meals and did dishes, and we all just enjoyed the new little addition to our family. Ruby loved having her grandma and grandpa around and loved being snuggled and rocked by them. She's granddaughter number 3 and she'll be just as spoiled as 1 and 2.

It's just too bad that the next time we'll all get together will be in August.


How Ruby feels about her grandma and grandpa.

Peaceful Sleeping?

She looks mildly disturbed and totally cracks me up.

One Week

Ruby's one week old today! How time flies! Bobby and I couldn't believe it when we were talking about her last night and realized our girl had been with us for that long. And yet it feels like she's always been a part of our lives...and always depriving us of sleep: she's been a great sleeper during the day but at night she wants nothing to do with her crib. She'll do just fine falling asleep with me on the couch but lasts about ten minutes when I put her in her crib. So we're now trying to make that better. My sister Annie suggested keeping her out with us during the day and letting her nap in the living room. So that's what we're trying. I set her up in her boppy and she just loves it. Here's crossing our fingers for a good night!

My favorite thing about Ruby today

Her hair and the cute superman curl she was sporting.

Homecoming

We brought our little girl home today and it's nice just being able to relax and enjoy each other. Ruby did great on her release exam from the hospital. She doesn't have any jaundice, which we were really grateful for: she was crowning for so long that our midwife and nurse were really concerned about her head severely bruising and leading to jaundice. But she checked out just fine and we bundled her up in the car seat and left.


Bobby did have to sneak in one picture of me taking a nap and finally sleeping on my back...it's heaven!


And daddy just loves to hang out with his little girl. He's not enjoying the idea of having to go back to school this week and leaving his sweet baby at home.

Introducing Ruby Grace Berry

My contractions started on Thursday morning. I didn't think I was actually in labor; they were 8-15 minutes apart and lasted only 15 seconds or so. I thought they were just more Braxton Hicks with a bigger kick. I went to another prenatal appointment at 1 and was given an exam and told I was 1 cm dilated and 75% effaced. I thought, "Good, now stuff is starting to move along, but it could still be several days".

When I got home things really started to get miserable. I started having contractions 2-3 minutes apart but they only lasted 15-20 seconds, so I thought there was no way it was really labor, despite the fact that it was intense and did not feel good at all. What happened to contractions being 5 minutes apart and lasting for 1 minute?! I asked Bobby if he could come home early since I was so miserable, but told him I didn't really think anything was happening.

About an hour later my water broke and I realized this was the real deal. Bobby called a minute later asking how I was feeling and I told him and he said, "Shut up!" He raced home and we headed to the hospital.

We got there about 6 and when I was checked I was already dilated to 5 cm. An hour later I was at 7 cm and then by 8:30 was fully dilated. Wow that was fast! I'm glad it was though because we were set on doing a natural labor, and if it had taken longer than that, I know I would have gotten drugs. I told Bobby several times that I wanted drugs but we pushed through it. And finally we started pushing, which was a welcome relief to the first stage of labor. Much to Bobby's surprise, I told him pushing didn't really hurt at all (though I was pretty vocal during the process, it was just because I was exerting so much effort) so I think he felt better after that. Especially since I pushed for 4 hours.

Ruby was doing great, her heart rate was wonderful, but she just wasn't coming out. She was crowning for about an hour and was just stuck, so my midwife called in the on call doctor and I had to get a snip, and then Ruby wriggled right out at 12:16 AM.

And is she the cutest thing ever! 7 lbs 5 oz, 19.5 in long and with a head full of dark wavy hair.


Check out the hair!


My midwife, Lisa and nurse, Nora were absolutely wonderful, so supportive and attentive the whole time. I loved giving birth with a midwife and would do it for the rest of my pregnancies.


Daddy changing Ruby's diaper for the first time.



We are so grateful to have our little angel here with us safe and sound. She's absolutely perfect and has been a great sleeper and eater so far. We can't wait to take her home in a couple days and settle in to being our new little family of three.

Ivy

My twin sister, Annie, just had her baby this morning. And now I get to be an aunt for the second time and I'm so excited! Talking to her and to her husband, Jonathan, I realized how blessed I am to have such an amazing family and how lucky I am to have the gospel of Jesus Christ in my life. I know that families are eternal, and that this sweet little girl who is brand new to this world is a special child of our Heavenly Father.

Now that Ivy is here, it makes me want Ruby to be here even more. I want to love her, look at her, and just be amazed at what was brewing in my belly for 9 months. And wouldn't it be fun if Ivy and Ruby had the same birthday?

39 Weeks!

Ruby Update

Another prenatal yesterday and nothing new to report. Bobby was able to come, which was nice, and hear his little girl's heart. She was moving around, so we heard her heart accelerate and then slow down and it just amazes me to think of this little perfect baby that's in my belly waiting to come out.

Speaking of coming out...Ruby, don't you think now's as good a time as any to make your appearance? Mommy is getting tired of being huge, uncomfortable and pretty worthless. Daddy just wants to play with you and watch you and cuddle you and I think he'd like you to come soon, too. But not until Tuesday, because he has a test on Monday.