Saturday, September 5, 2009


Lilly Faith Heiner









 She is here!!! We couldn't be happier or more grateful for a healthy baby girl. And yes, you get to hear the whole story...
 Thursday I had an appointment for an ultrasound and check-up. I had been having pretty painful contractions off and on all night and I wasn't feeling well at all. I dropped the kids off at my friend's house (thank you Heather!) and met John at my appointment. Well in true "Melanie" fashion my blood pressure had sky rocketed to 160/110 and I was contracting consistently. The nurses got excited thinking they were going to get to experience a delivery in the office. Well, the doctor decided it was best to induce me because I was spilling protein in my urine and because of my elevated blood pressure. 
 We went straight to labor and delivery at 2:30 pm and we waited for a while before they even started me on oxytocin. I was having pretty consistent contractions anyway! My good friend Amy and who I teased was my "midwife" and photographer came to help me through the process and kept John in good company. Thank you Amy for being there (and for grabbing the car seat).  
After they started the oxytocin I didn't progress as fast as I thought I would. I waited until the contractions were pretty bad before I got my epidural. Once I did, I was obviously in heaven but only dilated to a three. About an hour after the epidural I started feeling serious pain and told the nurses I needed more anesthesia medicine. My epidural was wearing off!!!! They gave me more medicine but the nurse said it would take 15-20 minutes to take affect. The nurse checked me and I was complete and ready to push and the new dose of epidural medicine still hadn't kicked in!!!!  Let me just say it was the most painful delivery I have ever had. I was grateful that I only had to push three times and she was out.
 Our little Lilly Faith was born at 12:10 am on September 4th. She weighed 6 pounds 11 ounces (Hailey's exact weight when she was born) and was 20 inches long. I'm so happy she is here and so grateful she is healthy!
 
 















 Our neighbor Todd told us for months that he knew Lilly was going to be born on his birthday. He guessed to the exact day when Lilly was going to be born! During my labor John kept teasing me that I had to hurry and have the baby before 12:00 on September 4th because we couldn't name our baby Todd even if it was in honor of him guessing her birthday!  
Happy Birthday Todd and Lilly!
 The girls loved seeing their new baby sister!! Hailey wanted to do it all by herself. When I called to tell her she had a new baby sister she said, "I'll be very soft to her...at first." 
 




 This is my sweet mother-in-law Arlene. THANK YOU for jumping on a plane to share this special moment with us and help me with absolutely everything! Mom, we'll see you on the 14th!



WE LOVE YOU LILLY!






26 comments:

Lisa said...

Congratulations! I ran into your family last night at the Thai restaurant in town and they told me the great news. I hope you don't mind I ran across your blog. Your girls are all beautiful.

Kasi said...

Mel, she is gorgeous! The same thing happened with my epidural with Emily and especially with Jake. AWFUL, so I am so sorry you had to go through that! I am so glad your MIL is here to help out. PLEASE PLEASE let me know what I can do it help out!
I can't wait to meet her!

Sharp family said...

Mel and John- She is beautiful! I wish I were there to kiss and hold her myself!!!

Myklind said...

Mel she is beautiful!! Congrats Thankyou for sharing the story and awesome pictures! I hope you are doing good :)

Ang said...

Congratulations!!!! I can not believe you had her already! Holy smokes Girlie it sounds like you had one heck/memorable of a delivery. So so happy for you. You have THREE girls! Wow, congrats again to you and John!

Arlene Heiner said...

Wow!!!! What a beautiful baby. I am so grateful all went well. I guess we all just needed a Lil Faith.

Love, Grandpa Heiner

The Sullengers said...

I can't believe you had it natural!! You go girl! She is beautiful and I'm glad you are both healthy!

Laura Copeland said...

We are so happy for you, John and Melanie! What a beautiful little family you have! The name is beautiful, too! We're so glad she is here safe and sound. She looks just like your first little girl, don't you think?

The Greenwoods said...

congrats!!! she is so BEAUTIFUL!!! It makes me want another girl so bad!!! shhhh... dont tell dee that ;)

Mason Manor said...

Congratulations again! She is so cute! I can't believe the epidural wore off! I hope that never happens to me. :) What a beautiful family you have.

Heathelyn said...

Oh Melanie, congratulations!!!!! She is beautiful!! I'm so glad she's healthy. Rest up. Good work, Mama!!

Charlotte said...

Congratulations! She is absolutely beautiful and I'm glad she arrived healthy and happy! Can't wait to meet her!

Alicia said...

Oh Mel, your pictures made me cry. Your family looks so sweet and you look so beautiful. Your Lilly is just an angel baby and I hope she blesses your lives so much. Congrats! And thanks for sharing your miracle with us.

Kate and Cole said...

Oh Mel she is BEAUTIFUL! Congrats! I love the name too! I can't believe she was so early. There is nothing sweeter than a brand new baby sent straight from heaven. Congrats again! I can't wait to meet her!

Rebecca said...

Oh my goodness...I wish I was there to visit and hold your sweet little Lily. I can't wait to call and hear all about it again. I am so sad I'm not closer but so happy that she is here healthy and everyone is happy.

Wendi Oyler said...

Congratulations Mel! She is beautiful, I love all the dark hair.

Cortney said...

We are so excited for you. This is terrific news...and I had such a similar delivery with Naomi I can't even tell you how much I can relate! Good work!

Beverly said...

She really is a beautiful baby but what else did we expect? She fits in perfectly with the other two sweethearts. I'm sure Grandpa and Grandma Rigby can't wait to see her in person. Congratulations, Melanie and John. We are so happy Lilly is here and everyone is o.k.

The Dunns said...

Hey Mel, this is Britt, Car's sister. congrats on the baby!! She was born on my b day!! Awesome! you have an adorable little family.

Hanna said...

Awesome Mel! You have the perfect girly trio there! So much beauty in one little household. :) I'll keep hoping that some day we'll get to meet her in person.

Heather said...

Oh my goodness! How adorable is she?! I wish I could have been there. Anyway what a perfect addition she makes to your family of girls.
Congratulations! I am happy for you that the pregnancy part is done with! But it seems like you were just barely breastfeeding Kate!

Our Family said...

congratulations melanie and john! she is absolutely gorgeous! i love all the pics! we are so happy she is healthy and that you are too! way to go!

Unknown said...

Congrats you two! She is so beautiful! I wish I could be there to see her.

Stevie said...

Congratulations! She looks beautiful! So happy everything went well for you! It's always a blessing just to have them here and healthy!

Denise Rigby said...

I love all the pictures! Thanks for keeping us updated. We're so happy everything went so well. I'm flying out tomorrow and I can't hardly wait to meet little Lilly Faith in person! MOM

The Dunns said...

CONGRATS!!!
I feel so dumb that I didn't even find out you had your baby until Sept. 12. My sister Brittany told me to check your blog, because you had Lilly on her birthday! I am so excited for you guys! She is adorable!!! I love the name too! Lilly Faith looks like a combination of Kate and Hailey. Your girls are all so beautiful. I am glad you have had so much help and that your mom is there now. I sent you a little something in the mail. I miss you and hope you are recovering well.
love: Carly