My husband Blake and I went to the same middle school, high school, and college campus. We knew of each other, but never really knew each other as we both ran in very, very different crowds. He went to class, I was on the hill smoking.
During the Spring of my last year of college, Blake would come and sit slightly behind me on the hill and ask me for a cigarette. I knew he didn’t smoke, and could tell he was struggling through it. Only later did I find out the only reason he did that was so he could look down my shirt. I guess he liked what he saw, because he asked me to get coffee and we hit it off. After a couple post-college bumps, I knew that he was the only person in the world for me. We were married June 18, 2011 in his parent’s backyard. It was one of best days of my life.
Besides our wedding, I have two other best days. The second one happened on August 30, 2013 when we got a positive pregnancy test while on a trip in Montana. It was surreal. We had only tried once, but as they say, that’s all it takes. I was so ready to meet our new little person.
The third best day of my life was April 29, 2014, the day that Reagan was born. The day before I was at the OBGYN for a checkup when my blood pressure started going up and not coming down. Finally, after watching it for about an hour, the doctor decided that they were going to induce as it was two weeks before my due date and safer for both the baby and me. Blake and I went home, casually packed, and then went out for an amazing dinner. We were checked into the hospital around 10pm that night.
In the morning, the doctor came in to break my water. As soon as it broke, I started having contractions. I was not a fan. I completely wussed out, asked for an epidual, and spent the rest of the day watching Harry Potter with Blake. It was a very relaxing day, a great “calm before the storm” of a newborn.
After three hours of pushing, Reagan was born at 5:16pm (to Harry Potter playing in the background). Those three hours did not do her face any justice. One of her ears seemed to be inside her head, her eyes were all swollen and puffy, and she was not happy, but she was perfect; we fell in love with our little potato instantly. Immediately the nurses put her on my chest, and then three minutes later she pooped. Not exactly how I had envisioned my new mother moment with Reagan, but nonetheless, a moment we will never forget.
Life with a newborn took some time to adjust to. But we got there. We eventually adopted some new patterns into our lives and began to settle into the role of parents.
